Survival - Howl in the Night 2

Chapter 9e - Oh great, a moon night!

Dan stood there and watched the two girls slowly walk into the house. He could feel Mari's fear since it was at the top of her mind. Deep down he could sense something he knew she hadn't felt for a very long time. It was going to take time and careful nurturing for it to show but there was hope. It was hope that she could be loved. It was hope that someone could see beyond what had both been done to her as well as what she had been forced to do. Mari knew that Dan and Angie loved and cared for her but it just wasn't quite the same. Oddly enough Dan and Angie had become surrogate parents though in a rather odd way.

He knew that Mari somewhat thought Dan had to care for her since he was her Alpha. There was also the bond between Alpha and Submissive which she felt. Some of Mari's feelings were also driven by her simply being a kid and he was old beyond human belief. Assuming he didn't do anything stupid nobody really knew what the true life span of what a Were was. There were rumors of Were's who were over a thousand years old. It was possible though the older a Were got the screwier they could get. She had been forced to put Dan into a protector and father figure role. What Mari didn't realize was that Dan had mentally adopted her as his daughter. Dan truly loved and cared for her. Eventually she would come to realize this.

Angie's relationship was far more complex because it had started out as a business transaction. She had paid for Mari's time and the use of her body. It had grown beyond that and Angie did genuinely care for Mari and showed it by shifting their relationship. She was working on moving it from a sexual relationship to a younger and older sister or aunt and younger niece. It was a smart move but Mari really needed someone for her, someone who would look past what had happened. From what little he had seen of Shanna she might just be the best thing to have happened to Mari in a long time.

Once the two had entered the house Dan beeped the SUV and walked in himself. Upon entering the house he secured his weapons and stood there for a moment. He could hear the two girls upstairs and thankfully from his room was silence. There was the slight sound of breathing so he assumed Steph was still there. He silently walked to his room and opened the door and had to smile. At the moment she was curled up under the covers and was looking content.

Dan had been forced to shake his head since this was going to be very awkward for everyone. If things had worked out she wouldn't have been there when he brought the girls back. After shaking his head one more time he stripped out of his clothing and walked over to the bed. Dan slid between the sheets and curled up around her and it felt rather nice. She was warm and fitted in his arms very comfortably.

She felt his weight cause the bed to shift when he joined her in the bed again. After he had wrapped his arms around her she wiggled somewhat closer to him, "How are your client and employee? Are they going to be okay?" Steph rolled over and wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a good kiss, "Did you see the girls? Are they doing okay?"

Dan had to smile when she woke up and rolled over. With the question about the man he sighed, "The client was hurt pretty badly but I can't say more about it than that. They are at the hospital right now and I have one of my other employee's keeping an eye on them." He disliked lying but had grown fairly good at it over the years, "We did and I just brought them home. Joachim and I decided to spring them early. For the time being Shanna is going to be staying with Mari and me." Dan returned the kiss, "There are reasons for this that I can't touch on right now."

"I am sorry to hear that and I hope they recover without a problem." Since she had no idea how badly they might have been hurt that was about the best thing she could say, "Okay, something to do with the treatment Joachim was talking about?"

He really should say something just to keep Steph from upsetting either girl, "One thing I have to ask is that you don't ask either one about what is going on. As you know I am Mari's guardian. I can't tell you why since I won't breach her trust. I will say that she came from a badly damaged home. Shanna is giving her help dealing with that. For Shanna when she lost her family it really hit her hard. Mari is helping her with that as well." Dan lifted one hand to Steph's cheek, "I am pushing what I can say as it is. Please don't push them right now."