Give You A Kid? No Way!

Chapter 4

Dante

“Her name is Aria Macy,” Shay said, sitting across from Dante again, her eyes twinkling with excitement. She started typing on her laptop. “Let’s see if she has any social media accounts.”

“Why?”

“Because the more we know about her, the better. Especially if she disappears. If that happens, maybe we can figure out a way to prove to the council that Mick is up to no good.”

“You’re going to need more than a missing girl to prove anything,” Dante muttered, stretching out his long legs.

“I know but we’ve got to start somewhere.”

The idea of this Aria girl getting hurt made his blood boil. He hoped to hell they were being paranoid, but something told him that Poppie was up to no good and her brother was behind it all.

“Maybe we should intervene now, before she goes missing.”

“I’ve already tried warning her. I even gave her your number. I hope you don't mind.”

“No. I'm glad you did.”

“Just pray that poor girl doesn’t need to use it.”

“No shit.”

“So, how are things? How’s the pack doing? I haven’t had much time to visit lately.”

"Things could be better," he said with a sigh. "As you know, we’ve been growing larger, which means more work to do."

“But more allies too,” she pointed out.

“Yeah.”

Her eyes softened as she studied his face. “You look tired.”

Dante was exhausted. He and Jax had been traveling non-stop for the last two months, trying to re-establish territory and appoint pack leaders under his authority. All thanks to Mick and his shenanigans. With his fortune and dirty pool, he’d managed to break up some of the other clans. To his disappointment, however, the strays sought Dante’s protection and there was no way he could turn them away.

“You’re a good man, Dante. But you have to remember that you can’t take it all on by yourself.”

“I have Jax.”

“Oh, wow,” she said dryly. “Well, my bad. You should have no trouble supporting - what is it now - seventy of us?”

Dante smirked. “One-hundred- and-seventy-six.”

Over half of them were males and all under his authority. Nobody else seemed to want to challenge him for leadership. He had to admit, at this point, he welcomed it and wouldn’t put up a fight. Especially if they deserved the role.

She gasped. “Dante! That’s insane. No wonder you’re exhausted.”

He picked up a wolf paperweight on her desk and rolled it around in his hand absently. “They need protection. I can’t abandon them.”

Shay sighed. “What does the Council think of all of this? It’s not protocol.”

Typically a pack consisted of less than twenty males and one Alpha in a territory of maybe two hundred miles, depending on the agreed upon borders. His territory now expanded into South Dakota and covered most of North Dakota.

“They’re not exactly thrilled about it either, but they have their own problems to worry about right now.”

“You mean with the Vice President?”

Dante nodded. The VP of the Unites States was a Lycan and didn’t have much common sense, which the Council was starting to realize. Although having him in such a high role in the government was a win, the i***t was always getting himself into trouble. It was almost a full-time job covering up his mistakes. At least that’s what he’d heard from Easton Tabbert.

“Yeah, I hate to say this, but they really should have stopped him from getting into politics when they had the chance. With our luck, he’ll get caught shifting and that will be a mess.”

“I agree. He only has one more year. Hopefully, he won’t want to run for president.”

Shay laughed. “At this point I doubt he’ll get any votes if he does. Last week he was caught on camera entering a strip joint. Then he tried lying about it but one of the strippers called him out on it. His poor wife.”

As far as Dante knew, the woman was having an affair with another Lycan, so he doubted she even cared.

“Anyway, about the territories, you’re going to get burnt out if you keep this up. We need you strong and healthy, Dante.”

“I appreciate your concern, but don’t worry about me. I’ll manage.”

She smiled sadly. “Your parents would be so proud of you. Especially your mother. Shawna always knew you’d be a powerful alpha.”

“I only wish I remembered more about her.”

She’d died in a tragic car accident when Dante was three. He would sometimes get flashes of memories, like the two of them on the beach or her singing to him. Other than that, all he had were old pictures his dad had kept.

“I know. Speaking of your personal life, what’s going on with you and Henley?”

He thought of the last time he’d seen her and the vases launched at his head. The woman not only had a temper but was extremely jealous. She demanded something he couldn’t give her – monogamy. Dante was a Lycan with a large s*x drive and females were always throwing themselves at him. He’d been open and upfront with her and she knew better anyway. But Henley freaked out whenever another woman even smiled at him.

“It’s over between us.”

“She know that?”

Dante smirked. “Hope so.”

“Well, good. She should know better than to try to control an Alpha.”

“Agreed.”

Shay went back to her computer search. The only thing she found on Aria was an old i********: account.

Frowning, she typed some more and then sat back in her chair looking frustrated.

“Nothing?”

“No, and I did a paid search and that didn’t help either. Whoever this girl is, she doesn’t have much of a background on social media. I can’t even find any family accounts. Of course, that would make sense if Poppie is trying to bring Mick a girl home. It would be better if she had no family.”

“She’s pretty young. I’d imagine she has family. Maybe they don’t do social media.”

“Maybe.”

Shay smirked. “You should have seen the look on Poppie’s face when I brought up Easton Tabbert.”

Tabbert was the only council member that wasn’t afraid to stand up to Mick. He knew what kind of a monster the guy was too, which was why Dante trusted him.

“I should give him a call and let him know about this Aria girl. Give him a head’s up,” Dante said, pulling out his cell phone.

“Wouldn’t hurt to let him know.”

Dante tried calling but got his voicemail. He sent him a text instead and a few minutes later, received a reply.

“He thanked me for the information and said to monitor the situation if I was able to.”

“Once they get to Montana, you won’t be able to.”

“Maybe. Maybe not,” Dante replied.

Shar gave him a warning look. “You of all people know you can’t cross that border. Not without permission.”

He also knew that if someone’s life was in danger, especially a young, innocent human, the Council would excuse it. And Easton had basically given him the okay.

“Dante. I mean it. You’d start a war if you crossed where you shouldn’t.”

“He started a war when he killed my old man,” Dante said.

She nodded. “True. But there’s a right way and a wrong way. Just like you told Jax.”

“I know.”

“Look, I know our pack is massive, especially now, but they’re not going to want to be dragged into a feud with your cousin. He plays dirty and has the money to do a lot of damage. He could hire a swat team if he wanted. He has friends in high places and even darker places.”

Shay was right. If Mick felt threatened, one could only guess what kind of retaliation he’d use. With his money and power, the possibilities were endless.

Dante set the paperweight back down. This business with Mick was frustrating. His hands were tied at the moment. All he could do was wait and bide his time until an opportunity opened up.

Shar closed her laptop. “Who knows, we might be worrying over nothing.”

“Do you really believe that?”

Shar frowned. “No. Especially considering Poppie was so adamant about not giving me Aria’s name. That’s the thing that really bothers me.”

“Yeah, it’s suspicious.”

“Very.”

Dante stood up, he was weary and tired. He needed sustenance. “I’m going to order some food. You want anything?”

“No, doll. Thank you though.”

Nodding, he went back out into the bar just as Poppie and Aria were heading toward the Exit. As if sensing him watching, Aria looked back at him over her shoulder curiously. Their eyes met and again he felt a connection between them. She must have too because her cheeks turned pink and she looked away quickly.

Sighing, he knew he had a lot of s**t to do and worrying about this pretty young thing shouldn’t be one of them – she wasn’t part of the pack and definitely not his responsibility.

But worry… he did.

And that... really pissed the hell out of him.