Free No Man's Land by Debra Dunbar Page B

back property. It’s not like she’d never been here before. It’s not like she didn’t see her Alpha weekly.
    “There’s a vampire one trailer down from me. I’m respectfully asking everyone to keep their paws off.”
    Jonah turned to her, his ruddy face tightening with displeasure. Interrupting the Alpha was not polite, but Jaq had been more than patient this evening. It would soon be dark, and she’d need to hurry back to make sure her new neighbor didn’t start eating the locals.
    “Yes, Dale told me this afternoon. He’s more upset that you’re protecting a vampire than the fact that one has moved in half a mile from his place of business.”
    “She’s injured, and pretty young from her scent. I just want to give her a chance to heal up a bit, then I’ll chase her off.”
    The Alpha halted and turned to face Jaq, his hands on his hips. “What, like a wildlife catch and release? Seriously, Jaq, this isn’t a bear cub for you to bottle–feed then return to the wild; it’s a vampire. You’ve seen what they can do, how little regard they have for any life but their own. What in the world are you thinking to allow such a danger to live?”
    “She was severely wounded,” Jaq argued.
    In truth, she wasn’t sure what the heck she was thinking. The broken and bloody girl in the trailer had tugged at her sympathies somehow. Maybe Jonah was right. This was complete folly. Kelly wasn’t a little kitten in need of help, she was a predator that would most likely turn on Jaq the moment she was strong enough.
    “Severely wounded now,” Jonah said, echoing her thoughts. “Give her twenty–four hours and we’ll see how quickly she tries to take your head off. They’re fast and strong, sneaky with no sense of honor. It doesn’t matter that you fed or sheltered her; she’ll try to kill you, and you won’t be able to take her by surprise like you’ve done the others.”
    He was right, but something inside Jaq still rebelled when she thought about killing Kelly. “Her own family beat her almost to death and dumped her here to die. They know we’re here, that we’d kill her. What kind of people do that?”
    “Vampires do that,” Jonah’s voice was firm. “And don’t you ever forget it. Don’t go thinking that this one is different because she’s a little tiny thing covered in bruises. Dale told me what she looked like, and said even he felt a bit sorry for her himself. I don’t blame you. You’ve got a big heart, Jaq, and you’re full of kindness and optimism when it comes to others, but you’ve got to snap out of this sentimental crap and face the reality. Kill her tonight and be done with it.”
    No . Jaq held back the word. The circumstances of her birth had always allowed her great privilege when it came to the pack and the Alpha, but she knew better than to draw a line in the sand with Jonah.
    “Can I please have one month? I’ll take care of her, be personally responsible for making sure she doesn’t break any rules. One month, then I’ll drive her back over the border.”
    Crap, she did sound like a child pleading to keep a found pet . I promise I’ll feed it, and clean up if it pisses on the floor….
    Jonah muttered a soft explicative. “I swear, Jaq, if you weren’t a First–Born, you’d never have the balls to ask such a thing of me, your own Alpha for Christ’s sake. If this gets out, I’ll have a riot on my hands. Full–fledged riot, pitchforks and torches and the like. Vampires.”
    Jaq smothered a grin. He’d spat out the last word like it was rotted possum in his mouth, but she knew she’d won. “How’s the leg doing?”
    Jonah instinctively reached down to his thigh and rubbed it. He was still young, barely fifty, and with more blond to his beard than gray, but even a werewolf in the prime of his life found it difficult to take down an enraged bear. “Not even a twinge,” he replied, gratitude in his voice. “Just a scrape. Nothing compared to what I did to that