Dakota said nothing in response, just continued staring at him with eyes that were slowly fading from the crimson glow of her wolf back toward whatever their normal color was, reality beginning to penetrate through the haze that had been driving her actions since she'd thrown herself into his car.
"Richard's daughter, unless I'm very much mistaken," Kade continued, his voice taking on an edge of dark amusement as pieces clicked into place with satisfying precision. He'd seen her before, years ago when she'd been younger and less broken, had recognized her the moment she'd stumbled into his car even though she clearly had no idea who he was or what pack he represented.
Dakota's expression flickered with something, wariness maybe, or the beginning of concern that she'd just thrown herself at someone whose identity she should probably have established before climbing into his lap. But she still said nothing, apparently too exhausted or too overwhelmed to formulate coherent responses to his observations.
"And judging by the formal dress and the timing," Kade said, his golden eyes never leaving her face as he cataloged every micro-expression that crossed her features, "I'm guessing you just came from your sister's engagement party. The one the entire region's been talking about for months. Maya Winters and Ethan Cross, uniting two powerful bloodlines through a bond that's supposed to strengthen alliances and create new political opportunities."
The names heavily hit her chest, Dakota whizzed. He watched her flinch at the mention of Maya, watched her entire body go rigid at Ethan's name, watched tears spring fresh to her eyes at the reminder of exactly what she was running from even though she'd offered no explanations about why she'd fled.
"So the question becomes," Kade said softly, dangerously, "what would drive Richard Winters' youngest daughter to flee her sister's engagement party, throw herself in front of a car, and climb onto the lap of her pack's greatest enemy?"
His hands shifted slightly on her hips, not releasing but adjusting, and Dakota became acutely aware of exactly how intimately they were positioned, how much of her body was pressed against his, how her dress had ridden up during her grinding to expose far more skin than was appropriate.
"What are you running from, Dakota Winters?" Kade asked, and there was something in his voice that suggested he already knew the answer, or at least had guessed enough of it to be dangerous.
Dakota's throat closed completely. She couldn't answer. Couldn't put into words the magnitude of what she'd just discovered, what she'd just lost, what she'd just remembered.
Her eyes, finally returned to their normal color after the crimson glow had faded completely, filled with tears that spilled over without permission, tracking down her cheeks in silent testimony to a pain she couldn't voice, a pain that went too deep for words to adequately express.
And Kade, this stranger whose name she barely knew, this man whose pack affiliation she still hadn't identified, this Alpha whose territory she'd apparently invaded and whose person she'd assaulted with desperate advances he hadn't asked for...
He didn't push her away.
He didn't take advantage of her vulnerable state or her obvious willingness to give him whatever he wanted if it meant forgetting for even a few hours.
He didn't do anything except sit there with his hands on her hips, holding her steady while she fell apart on top of him, his presence solid and grounding in ways that made no logical sense given they were complete strangers.
"What if I tell you I want to kill someone?" Dakota's voice emerged weak and broken, barely above a whisper, the words carrying a weight that suggested she meant them more literally than most people would when making such statements.
"Killing?" Kade's tone held genuine curiosity rather than judgment or alarm. "We are civilized creatures, Dakota. Why resort to killing when there are so many other ways to handle conflicts?"
"And if it's killing we're discussing," Dakota continued as though he hadn't spoken, her voice taking on that bitter, hollow quality that suggested she was spiraling somewhere dark, "I guess I'm the one who should truly die."
She burst out laughing at her own words, the sound harsh and jagged and completely devoid of any real humor. It was the laugh of someone whose mind was fracturing under pressure it couldn't withstand, someone who'd been pushed past breaking points and was now operating in that dangerous space where nothing felt real or consequential anymore.
"You want to kill your sister?" Kade asked quietly, his golden eyes studying her face with an intensity that suggested he was cataloging every micro-expression, every shift in her emotional state. "Maya? Is that who you're thinking about?"