Nine

Chapter 9 Cherry

I hurried off to the cash register to serve the next customer. It was Saturday, so I was doing overtime in my store. It had taken me the last year to find and train Nina and Kendra, my two sales assistants, to my satisfaction. But Kendra was expecting her first baby now and had asked for the weekends off. I was in the process of interviewing for a new sales assistant for the weekends and to cover Kendra's maternity leave, but until I found someone suitable, I had to cover it.

By five o'clock, I'd left Nina to lock up and returned home. With fantasies of stripping out of the tight black dress and heels I wore, ideas about dinner zipped through me. Deciding I was too tired to cook, I pictured the excitement on Fern's face when I told her we'd order in. As I traipsed up the stairs to my second-floor apartment, a grassy, woody scent filled my nostrils. The aroma tugged at something deep inside me, conjuring up long- buried memories: lush farmlands with hedgerows. I stopped dead on the stairs as my thoughts whipped up the image of a tall man with a strong jaw and dark eyes. Dylan. My heart raced as if my wolf were careening over the grasslands I imagined.

I'd know that scent anywhere. It belonged to the Starsmoon Pack. My old pack. As I took the stairs two at a time, panic whipped through me. Someone from the pack was in my building. Although I'd kept in touch with a few friends from Starsmoon by email and the occasional phone call, no one had ever visited, nor had I gone there. And although my design

business had a big social media presence, I'd been careful to keep details about my personal life out of the media. I didn't want anyone to know that I had a daughter.

Terror pulsed through me as I pictured my apartment empty. As Dylan's daughter, Fern was part of the bloodline of the Alphas of Starsmoon. I worried that if the pack found out about her existence, they'd want her to return to Lord Hills to be raised as part of the pack. With dread fueling my every step, I arrived at my door, breathless and wondering what or who I'd find in my apartment.

Anxiety gripped me. Had my Alpha and Luna come to claim their grandchild? How could I say no to the Starsmoon Alpha? I may have left the pack, but I was still governed by pack rules. If they wanted Fern to go back to Starsmoon, I'd have no choice but to obey their decision. Terror and anger warred within me as I imagined being forced to abandon my life here: my business, my apartment, Fern's school with all her friends, and Carl. I didn't want to be wrenched back to the life I'd left and forced to abandon the life I'd chosen.

My stomach cramped as I imagined Dylan looming on the other side of the door.

With a deep breath, I let myself in. The sight of Fern, ahead in the living room, talking to a tall, lean man made me dizzy. My eyes tracked up the man's frame to his face… Bert. Dylan's Beta and my old friend stood in the center of my living room as if it was the most natural place for him to be in the world.

Astounded by the sight of my friend, I stood in the main doorway, gaping. He looked so achingly familiar. The same blond hair and easy-going smile defined him as he listened to Fern with a look of interest.

Alarm got the better of me again as I worried about what Fern was telling him. What had he asked her?

Either catching my scent or hearing my breath or racing heart, Bert was the first to turn toward me. "And here's your mom. Cherry!"

In a blur, Fern darted toward me, bestowing me a hug while chattering wildly about our visitor, Bert. She flapped her arms in his direction as if the story about his arrival demanded a dramatic retelling.

It was then I noticed Lara, our nanny, standing in the kitchen doorway as if in a trance. Her dilated pupils told me that she kind of was. As a werewolf, and especially as a Beta, Bert could be dominant in his demands, especially over humans. He must have used his shifter authority to persuade Lara to let him in. No wonder Fern was overawed by him. Bert had managed to charm his way in, despite being completely unknown to either Lara or Fern. I knew otherwise. Lara, a completely trustworthy young woman, would never have let a stranger in.

As I took in our nanny's trance, I eyeballed Bert with a glare. He only shrugged, a rogue smile creeping across his face.

"Lara," I called gently until our nanny snapped out of it. "Can you take Fern to play in her room? I need to chat with my friend in private."

Still dazed but obviously feeling flustered about zoning out, my nanny readily agreed. But Fern stomped her feet, point blank, refusing to go to her

room. It was only when I suggested they make some chocolate milk and have a tea party with her teddies that she submitted. I also had to agree to her demand that once Bert and I had talked business, I'd let her say goodbye to him.

Once again, I scowled at Bert, annoyed that he'd somehow managed to get Fern to like him in one brief meeting. Thoughts about how impossible it had been to get my daughter to warm to any of my past suitors made me even more angry with him.

Finally, safely coaxed into her room by Lara, and with the door shut, I was left to confront Bert.

Shrugging off my jacket and slipping out of my heels, I padded into the living room. My hands settled on my hips. "You know, it's rude to barge into someone's house uninvited."

He shrugged. "Kinda gave up on ever getting invited after the first five years."

My face blanched at his retort and the doleful look in his eyes.

The truth was, I hadn't dared invite Bert or any of my old friends from the pack to visit me. I hadn't dared to disclose the fact that I had a daughter, knowing they'd be suspicious about who her father was.

And… rightly so.

I hadn't even told my own dad that he had a granddaughter. Instead, I'd managed to meet him during business trips at fashion shows over the last few years: once in Milan and Paris. He'd tried to persuade me to come back for a Christmas or his birthday a few times over the years, but I'd always

told him I was too busy with work. Guilt gnawed at me. Not just because of the little time I'd spent with my dad over the years but because I'd deprived Fern of having a granddad. But the danger the Starsmoon Pack posed was too great a risk. A threat that had now morphed into a very real one, standing in the shape of this man.

Realizing he might be here to take Fern back to Lord Hills, I tried to tread carefully. Perhaps if I appealed to him and our old friendship, there was still a chance he'd keep my secret. "I'm sorry, Bert–" I began.

"Don't worry," he interrupted, not meeting my gaze. "I'm only here to ask you to visit Lord Hills on behalf of our future Alpha. Dylan's going to be named Alpha in a few days' time. You know every pack member has to swear loyalty to him at his ceremony–"

"I left the pack," I blurted out.

"Pack rules still apply. Every wolf born into a pack has to swear loyalty to a new Alpha, even if they don't live within that pack."

I bit my lip, discomfort at the thought of going back, making me argue. "Don't you think that's a little outdated?"

Bert sighed. "I don't make the rules, Cherry."

I started to wring my hands. They wanted me to return to Lord Hills after all these years?

I frowned confusedly as I realized Bert could just have called me to tell me this. There must be more to his visit than this. "Why didn't you just call?"

My friend's blue gaze fell to the floor, and he shrugged again, not seeming to know what to say. "I guess I thought the news that you were expected to come back… might be better delivered in person… by a friend."

Relief sluiced through me. Bert wasn't here on Dylan's orders or the old Alpha's to claim Fern as part of their bloodline. They still didn't know that Fern was Dylan's daughter. If Bert had known, he wouldn't just be demanding that I visit Lord Hills.

Caution still trilled in me, but I felt my guard lower as I realized Bert was here for me. My friend had flown out here to have this difficult conversation with me in person rather than over the phone. Warmth stirred through me. It was touching that after all these years and with so little contact, he'd gone out of his way for me.

More than anyone else, Bert knew how torn up I'd been during my year of trying to live with Dylan, trying to make a go of things, and how much it had hurt to leave the pack. He'd been worried about my well-being enough to come all the way here to deliver this news that definitely stirred up all those difficult emotions I'd buried in the past.

Tears prickled behind my eyelids, and I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around him.

With a surprised, "Ooph," his arms closed around me too. "I've missed you," I croaked.

He breathed me in deeply. "I've missed you, Cherry." The scent of grassland and wooded slopes washed over me as my friend's scent

blanketed me. Warmth fluttered through my chest, and I felt as if a little piece of my childhood had returned to me with my friend.