but he wasn’t the one she wanted to scratch that itch. He was too risky to take a chance on. Plus, after her two-week fling, Haven decided the next man she slept with would be one with whom she could have a committed relationship. For all intents and purposes, she was alone in the world. Her mom had gone to Alaska to be with Haven’s father when he’d decided to move to this state. Her mother’s family back in Seattle hadn’t approved and had stayed out of the picture ever since.
Her phone rang as she stood with her head in the fridge to see what leftovers she could throw into the microwave. Haven crossed over to the counter and picked up the cordless that sat there. She debated not answering when she saw it was her dad’s cell phone number registering on the call display. But in the end she did, figuring he’d only keep calling until he got her.
“Hello?”
“Hi, baby girl.”
“I already told you no. I’m not giving you any money.”
“I’m not calling about that. I thought maybe you’d like to go out for dinner with me.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Can’t I see you without you thinking I have another reason besides seeing my daughter?”
“No. You’ve never spent time with me unless you wanted something.”
“I think I’m a little hurt by that.”
Haven put her head in her hand and shook it. That was just another thing her dad liked to play—the poor-me card. He liked to remind her of how worse off he was compared to her. He’d never quite figured out the reason why was because she held down a steady, well-paying job whereas he only worked when he had no other resource to go to.
“You’ll get over it,” she said, feeling more exasperated by the minute. “Look, I don’t think dinner would be a good idea. Let’s be honest, we both know it would be a ploy for you to try to wear me down enough to give you some money. So why don’t we leave it at that.”
There was a long pause before her father spoke again. “I’m desperate this time, Haven.”
Here it came, the sob story he’d try to bullshit her with. “It always is,” she said in a bored tone.
“It really is. I sort of got into something that kind of backfired on me. Now I owe someone a lot of cash. You know I wouldn’t come to you if I hadn’t tried everything else.”
“It’s called get a job, Dad. You know, earn your money like you’re supposed to, not from all these so-called schemes you swear will make you rich. They always backfire in the end, leaving you coming to me for a handout.”
“I don’t need a lecture from my daughter.”
“Then stop acting like a dumbass and be more like my father.”
Right then, Haven heard a young-sounding woman tell her dad to get off the phone to pay attention to her. Her father told her to give him a couple of minutes, then proceeded to tell her exactly what he’d do to her once he ended the call.
Haven saw red. Her dad was pushing fifty, but she bet the woman he was with was younger than Haven’s twenty-four years. No longer able to stand talking to him, she said, “Have fun sleeping with your slut.” Then she hung up on him.
She might have wavered on her decision to not see Ketah again, but now she knew she absolutely had made the right choice. Her father had reaffirmed her stand on not being able to trust gorgeous men. They were all snakes in the grass and needed to have their heads cut off with a shovel.
* * * * *
Ketah stepped into the house he shared with his five wolf brothers and two of their mates. There was one other wolf brother, Carson, but he was newly turned and had chosen to stay living on his own. But that didn’t mean he didn’t spend a lot of time there. They were still in the process of teaching him all it meant to be a werewolf sentinel. Carson was also the true brother to Wachei’s mate, Eryn.
He sniffed, then put his hand over his nose to try to block out the most disgusting thing he’d ever smelled. And given it came from