Dangerous Read Free Page B

behind and a life before he’d sworn never to return to. But there were scarier things out there than an insane alpha. He’d found them. Whatever stood before him wouldn’t be as bad as what he’d left behind in Africa. Xan picked up the pace, anxious to find his stable ground, to soak in Mother Earth and let her wrap him in comfort as only the North Dakota wilderness could.
    He stretched out his stride, eating away the miles. If a person were to look at him, they’d see little of his Asian ancestor. Unlike his sister, he took after his great-grandfather’s side. He and his sister couldn’t be more opposite in appearance. Xio was petite to his tall and rugged. She had long, straight, dark hair. He, on the other hand, had light brown and wavy hair. His eyes were green—Xio’s, nearly black. He did have a slight Asian slant to his eyes, but they didn’t dominate his features the way they did sister’s. He looked more Pacific Islander than Chinese. Regardless the non-twin appearance, Xio and he did have something in common.
    They were wolves. Stubborn, dominant, wolves.
    His eyes in the country, a good friend in the CIA, said she’d run off weeks after he’d left. A deep sense of guilt settled on him. If he’d stayed, would she still be there? He’d been the only buffer between her and the pack’s Alpha, a Wolf who ruled with an iron fist, and a brain short a screw or two.
    It didn’t matter. Xio wouldn’t be there. He’d lost contact with her a long time ago, and other than the pack, he had no reason to come home. No family. No friends. His pack raised him, but the only person he’d felt close to had been his sister.
    Yet, he couldn’t resist the pull, as though the Hills called him home, snapping an invisible lead, drawing him back. Perhaps his starting place would also become his end. He’d kept his promise. The pack had no reason to turn him away—other than he brought danger to their doorstep. If he lost it, nobody could protect them from him. Unless they killed him. Something inside him hoped it would be the case.
    Xan turned down the main street and entered Los Lobos. People froze where they stood and watched him approach, as though he were a tornado about to rip their town apart. Seconds later, one mother scooted her children inside, followed by a town-wide exodus. Curtains snapped shut. Dead bolts locked. He knew he gave off a vibe, one the wolves sensed before any other. Even so, it wasn’t exactly the welcome he’d anticipated.
    Did he look that rough? Dangerous?
    Maybe a beer or something stiffer could help him relax?
    He walked by what used to be the old dentist’s office and stopped to study the outside. Someone had painted it a cheery yellow. A wooden sign hung outside, swinging in the wind. Liv Dunn, Psy.D. His feet stuck to the street, as though he’d sunk into tar. Xan stared at the sign as it squawked, tempted to run to the local hardware store and secure a can of WD-40. If a person wasn’t insane, the sign could see them there in swift order.
    Squawk, squeak, squawk.
    What kind of dumbass put a sign up like that around those with sensitive hearing?
    Squawk, squawk.
    Xan rubbed the scruff on his jaw.
    Squawk .
    He snorted. Liv Dunn? He sniffed and picked up the scent of a human female. Fucking great. Humans . Magnum would never have allowed them here. What the hell is going on? He wrinkled his nose and looked across the street to Gee’s Bar, a familiar sight. A new sign hung in the front window, but the rest of the building looked like his old stomping grounds. Again, not an unusual sight. The town hadn’t been in the greatest state of repair when he’d left, and the old bar had its share of fights in the past. From the looks of it, with one of the large panes in the front boarded up, the tradition remained alive and well. Familiarity won the day. Xan started across the street to get a drink and figure out his next step.
    “Look at what the dust storm dragged in,” a giant