Sunday Excerpt 11

Enjoy:

Dimitri had already tried to call his granddaughter twice in the last hour. Both calls went straight to voice mail. He nearly jumped out of his seat when his cell rang. He saw it was from Alexis, and connected the call before the end of the first ring.

"Hello? Lexi, are you okay? Where are you?" Dimtri's concern overwhelmed him; thoughts manifested themselves in a seemingly desperate stream of questions.

"I'm safe, Papa."

Lexi's voice soothed him, his only Granddaughter was safe, but it did not completely dissolve his worries. "Where are you," he said, realizing immediately he did not really want to know where she was.

"I'm just safe, Papa," silence followed, and he could sense her forming her words, hesitating to speak. "How are Mom and Dad?"

"They're fine, he responded, and then added, "They're just worried about you."

"Is Leonidas okay?" Dimitri heard her ask. She must've known word would spread quickly, and everyone would know what happened within minutes. "I might have hurt him. He attacked me, and with everything else going on, I just had to get away."

"I understand, Lexi," Dimitri told her in the most gentle voice he could muster. "I think maybe you just hurt his pride."

"Yeah, I choked him pretty good, but you have to know that he choked me first, Papa."

"It will be alright, Lexi," he tried to control his tone to conceal his worry. "Knowing Leo, I'm sure he deserved it."

"Well, for what it's worth. I'm sorry for challenging our future Alpha." Lexi's voice came through his cell phone scratchy and distant. "But I want you to know that it doesn't change anything. I will not be mated to Leonidas."

Dimitri fell silent. He was not sure how he was going to tell Alexis about Leonidas. There was really no way to spare her the worry. He would just have to tell her the truth.

"Lexi, about Leonidas," he hesitated, choosing his words carefully. "He plans on heading to Atlanta to look for you. Rumor has it, his father threatened to denounce his succession if he did not find you and bring you back."

"It's okay, Papa, I don't think he'll find me."

Lexi's voice gave no sign of worry. Usually, even if she was trying to hide her feelings or put on a strong front, he could see through it. His Granddaughter may have been good at hiding her feelings with everyone else, but he always knew how she really felt.

"Grandpa, I don't think I'm going to be coming back home right away."

Dimitri was not sure what to think. He was glad she was safe, but not so sure Leonidas could not find her. Leonidas was known for being as determined and ruthless as a pitbull when he wanted something. He was equally childish and petty when he didn't get his way. His sheltered upbringing did not give him the benefit of maturity.

"I gotta go, Papa. Don't worry about me. I'm safe, and I'm someplace Leonidas will never find me,"

"Okay Lexi." Dimitri already missed his Granddaughter. "Just be careful, and call me if you need anything. Better yet, call me even if you don't need anything."

Dimitri's phone clicked as Lexi ended the call. He knew that she could take care of herself, but that did not decrease his concern. He could only hope that Leonidas would get tired of looking for her and give up. He hoped that, sooner rather than later, Lexi would come to her senses, and come back home. While he understood how she felt, he thought it best she reconsider her position in the pack. Maybe consider their entire family's position, and the future of their community.

Dimitri checked the computer screen to see a small pulsing dot stationed over the overlay of a map. The software was working exactly like his old friend from the police department told him it would. He rolled the wheel of the mouse and the map zoomed out until he could read the name of the city around the source of her cell phone signal. It became clear to him why Lexi sounded so confident Leonidas would never find her.