Maya was the one everyone recognized at gatherings, the one who knew all the pack members by name, the one who'd built relationships and networks throughout their territory and beyond while Dakota had been off living her own life without much thought to pack politics or family expectations.
Dakota had been the carefree one, the one who chose her own path and didn't worry too much about what people thought or what was expected of someone in her position as the alpha's younger daughter.
She'd embraced her freedom at university, had reveled in being able to make her own choices without constant oversight or the weight of pack judgment following her every move.
And that freedom had led her straight into Ethan's arms.
She'd met him during one of her travels, or maybe at some neutral territory gathering, the exact details were fuzzy even now that her memories had returned, lost in the haze of how overwhelming that initial connection had been. What she remembered clearly was the intensity of their bond, the way her wolf had recognized him immediately as mate, the way everything else had faded into insignificance compared to what she felt when she was with him.
She hadn't known. That was the crucial detail that made everything somehow worse instead of better. She hadn't known that the man she was falling desperately in love with, the man her wolf recognized as mate with absolute certainty, was the same Ethan who'd been betrothed to her sister Maya since they were children.
From her reaction, he already knew what the problem was.
"Marcus," Kade said quietly, his eyes never leaving Dakota's face. "Drive to the estate. And inform the staff we have a guest who will be needing the east wing suite."
"Alpha, her father....." Marcus started.
"Can wait until morning," Kade finished. "This one's not going anywhere tonight. Are you, Dakota?"
It wasn't really a question. But it also wasn't quite a command.
Dakota shook her head slightly, the movement small and defeated. No, she wasn't going anywhere. Couldn't go back. Couldn't face them. Couldn't survive seeing Ethan and Maya and Cooper together again so soon after remembering everything. All she wanted was to run away, to disappear completely.
"Good," Kade said simply. Then, with surprising gentleness, he shifted her off his lap and onto the seat beside him, his movements careful and controlled despite the obvious tension in his body. "Now sit properly before you do something we'll both regret."
"Who told you I will regret it?" Dakota's voice emerged rough and defiant, her eyes flashing with something between desperation and reckless abandon. "I have never regretted anything in my life! I make choices and stick to them!"
Before Kade could respond or reinforce his boundaries, she was moving again with that fluid grace that spoke of her wolf being dangerously close to the surface. She climbed back onto his lap with deliberate purpose as the car began moving forward, her body settling against his with the kind of determination that suggested she wasn't going to be dissuaded easily.
Kade felt a genuine surprise ripple through him at her persistence, at her complete lack of fear or hesitation. In all his years as Alpha, most females he encountered, especially those from unfamiliar territories, scrambled away from him out of fear. They recognized the predator beneath his skin, the danger he represented, and gave him the cautious respect that danger demanded.
But this woman was different. She pressed closer instead of retreating, sought him out instead of fleeing, treated him like he was a safety harbor instead of a threat.
"I don't sleep with anyone," Kade said firmly, his hands coming to her shoulders with clear intention to create distance. His voice carried absolute conviction, the kind of statement that wasn't negotiable under normal circumstances.
"Who told you I care about the people I sleep with?" Dakota shot back, her voice taking on that hollow quality that suggested she was operating from a place of pain rather than genuine desire. "Who says you are holy? Come on..."
Her lips found his neck before he could stop her, pressing against the sensitive skin there with heat that made his wolf stir despite his considerable control. Her scent surrounded him in the confined space, desperation and grief and something underneath that called to parts of him he'd kept carefully locked away.