When Pad plopped down in front of him and started barking, the old man held out a worn piece of rope. Instantly, she latched her teeth around it. I waited for the man to say something to me, but he was too busy playing tug-of-war with my partner to do it.

He knows she’s a search and rescue dog, I thought. She found him. She barked to indicate her find. They’re playing.

Another part of my brain focused on his posture, his size, any hint of movement in my direction.

“Would I be right in assuming you belong to Cady Bennett?” The man’s gaze flicked up to meet mine. I focused on thinking in words, not feelings, not colors, not heat. I wondered if he was with the army, if he was here for Pad.

As long as I was wondering, I had everything under control.

“Cady Bennett,” I repeated, the feel of the name familiar in my mouth—another safeguard, another anchor. “She’s my mom.”

I’d never called Cady by anything but her first name. Even after she’d adopted me, I’d still referred to her as my foster mother. Something inside me wouldn’t let me do anything else, but here, now, with this man looking at me like he knew something I didn’t, the words slipped out.

I was Cady Bennett’s daughter, and every instinct I had was telling me two things. First, that she knew this man, and second, that she didn’t know he was here.

Our territory. Not yours. The muscles on the back of my neck tightened. I wasn’t conscious of taking a step toward him until he held up a hand—the gesture for stay.

“I’m not an animal,” I gritted out, my throat tightening around the words.

“No,” the man said gruffly. “You’re my granddaughter. And from the looks of that glare on your face, you are very much your mother’s daughter.”

Chapter 4

“I feel this bodes well.”

Jude and I were sitting at the top of the stairs, listening as best we could to the conversation that was going on in the kitchen. Cady had gone ashen the moment she’d seen her father. I hadn’t wanted to leave her alone with the man, but the look on my foster mother’s face had promised retribution if I didn’t.

With most people, I wasn’t capable of backing down. But every pack had its alpha—and Cady was ours.

“You think everything bodes well,” I told Jude. “We didn’t even know that Cady had a father. You really think she would have kept his existence a secret without a reason?”

Jude dismissed my objection with a wave of his hand. “He’s our grandfather, Kira. By definition, that entitles us to certain grandchildly privileges.”