Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian 9)

"I'll escort you home," he said, once we were out the door. "Just to ensure you don't get yourself into any more trouble."

"I can handle myself." I rubbed my arms lightly. The night air seemed a lot cooler now than it had when I'd entered the bar. Maybe my sunburn was finally starting to heal.

"You probably can, but Denny doesn't like being taken down by anyone, let alone by a woman." His blue gaze met mine, assessing, calculating. A wolf undecided whether I was friend or foe. It was mutual. "Watch yourself, because he's likely to seek retribution."

I raised my eyebrows. "So warn him off."

"I will. But it won't make a blind bit of difference. And until he actually tries something, I can't do anything."

"If he tries to get back at me, he'll regret it."

He didn't smile. Didn't frown. Didn't really react in any way at all, in fact. It made me wonder at the reasons for the tight control.

"His dad is the pack second," he said evenly. "He's well connected, so watch how you react."

Don't damage him too much, in other words. I smiled grimly and shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans. "So what pack runs this town?"

"West. Remy West is the leader, although you won't often see him in town. He dislikes tourists."

That raised my eyebrows. "Then why open the town for tourism? If these lands are pack owned, you have the legal right to restrict entry."

He snorted softly. "Not if the land has some significant natural feature. In such cases, the government insists it be available for all."

"And Dunedan has a significant natural feature other than red dust, heat, and ocean?"

Amusement briefly twitched his lips and lent his stern features a surprising amount of warmth. "We have what is known as a fringing reef, which means the coral starts right at the water's edge. It's rare, and therefore significant."

"I'm guessing the pack makes a whole lot of money from that significant feature."

"We all live rather comfortably," he agreed.

I studied him for a moment, then said, "You don't look like the rest of the pack. Why's that?"

He slanted me a sideways glance. "You don't mind getting personal, do you?"

I shrugged. "When you can't remember anything of importance, you quickly learn to ask questions, personal or not."

He was silent for a moment, but his gaze roamed across the darkness and there was an alertness about him that suggested he was ready for trouble. If that trouble was Denny, then he could relax. Werewolf or not, I didn't think he'd be capable of walking for a day or so. I really had hit him hard.

"My mother came from a different pack, hence the blue eyes and lighter skin."

"And I'm guessing the pack never let you forget that you weren't entirely one of them."

His gaze flicked to me. "What makes you think that?"

"Because I know what it feels like to be unwanted by the pack."

"That's an odd statement," he said, "given your brother has been heard to say that his upbringing was happy."

I shrugged. "That doesn't mean mine was."

"Indeed." But again, I got the impression he just didn't believe me.

The caravan park came into view. Few lights were on and the caravans were little more than hulking shapes in the darkness. The perfect place for an ambush, except the cool air was free of any scent. The only people out in this darkness were Harris and myself.

"I can make it the rest of the way by myself," I said. "You don't need to baby-sit me."

"I'm protecting my packmates, not you." It was said as flatly as he said everything else, but this time, the teasing hint of amusement touching his lips also reached his eyes.