I imagined that he meant he had to steal. Hopefully, that was all he had to do. Since he was small, he might have been good at pickpocketing. But as he was so young and so boyish, he would be a prime choice for sex trafficking. And since he wasn’t violent like Hoodie Guy, that could be where he’d eventually end up. Gods.

On top of that, given the way Declan had reacted to the fighting, he probably had a history of abuse. I’d seen it before when Tessa and I had been passed from house to house growing up. Some of those homes were in areas of Chicago filled with poverty and crime. Runaways were a dime a dozen, and all of them had been abused in one form or another.

I glanced over my shoulder to see the Fire Wolf with a cell phone pressed to his ear, talking quietly to someone. So he did have a phone. Prisha had been right. When the hunter finished speaking with whoever he’d called, he crossed his arms and watched me.

His eyes had gone back to their usual amber glow, and I gave silent thanks that he wasn’t scaring this kid off or beating him up. I had no idea what the Fire Wolf was capable of but it was a relief to see that he didn’t harm kids. That and he wasn’t rushing me as I spoke to Declan. As much as I wanted to find my sister, this kid needed help too.

“Do you have anywhere to go tonight?” I asked Declan.

After a moment, he shook his head.

“We can get you to the shelter.” The Fire Wolf pulled a wallet from his pocket and extracted a few twenty-dollar bills. He held the money toward the kid. “Hide this, so no one takes it from you. And when you get to the shelter, ask for Miranda. Tell her Kaillen sent you. She’ll look after you.”

Kaillen?

Declan’s hand darted out, snagging the money before he stuffed the bills into his sock, under the arch of his foot. “I don’t need the shelter.”

“You do,” the hunter replied. “Miranda will look after you. She’ll get you food and a bed with a roof over your head tonight. In the morning, she can get in touch with social services—”

“No way!”

The Fire Wolf held up his hand. “No social services if you don’t want it, but the shelter employs a few social workers that are experienced with helping kids in your situation. It doesn’t mean you’ll go back to your parents’ house. There are other options.”

He scoffed. “Like foster care. I know.”

The Fire Wolf sighed heavily. “I know, kid. I know it’s not easy. But at least go to the shelter tonight. I’ve already called a ride for you.”

That’s who he was talking to?

I tried to smother my surprise. So not only did the Fire Wolf not hurt kids, but he also helped them and knew enough about runaways to know where the resources were to assist them?

And Kaillen? I mean, WTF, is his real name Kaillen? Or was that another alias he went by?

A minute later, a sleek Cadillac pulled up to the alley’s entrance.

“That doesn’t look like a rideshare to me,” I commented.

“It’s not.”

I waited for the hunter to elaborate, but he didn’t.

Declan backed up and waved his hands. “No way. I’m not getting in that car.” He turned to run just as the driver of the sedan stepped out.

The Fire Wolf’s hand clamped onto Declan’s shoulder, and my protective instincts flared. “If he doesn’t want to get in the car, he doesn’t have to.” My hand strayed to my potion belt as I called upon the magic inside me, but the hunter ignored me.

“You’re the one who took this call?” the Fire Wolf said in surprise to the woman sauntering toward us from the sedan.

Red hair draped over the newcomer’s shoulders, and the pale skin of her face reflected like ice in the moonlight. She wore skin-tight pants and was sans jacket, as though the cold didn’t bother her.

She shrugged. “I had time. What’s his name?”

“Declan,” the hunter replied, his grip not lessening on the kid even though Declan was now actively fighting him.

“Would you let him go?” I snarled. “He doesn’t want to go with her!”

I advanced on the Fire Wolf, but before I could interfere, the woman bent down to look Declan in the eye. “Hi, I’m Miranda, and I’m not going to hurt you. Can you please stop fighting and remain calm?”

Declan immediately went slack in the Fire Wolf’s grip.

Rage fired through me when I registered the woman’s species. I rounded on the hunter. “You’re giving him to a fucking vamp to feed on? How dare—”

“I’m not going to feed on him.” The female vampire cast me a withering glance before turning back to Declan. “I’m a vegetarian.”

My jaw dropped as the young boy stayed wrapped in her compulsion, a dreamy look on his face.

“What’s your full name?” she asked him, her pupils constricting momentarily before dilating.

“Declan Matthew Roundhouse.”

So he had told us his real name. That aching sadness coursed through me again, and I was about to interfere once more, but one look from the Fire Wolf had me stopping in my tracks.

“Declan, I’m going to take you to a home for kids like you. I’d like you to remain as calm as you can because nobody is going to hurt you. We’re going to help you find a safe place to live. Okay?”

Declan nodded dopily, and I glanced between the Fire Wolf and Miranda again. It was obvious they’d done this before.

What the actual fuck is going on here?

Miranda murmured a few more encouraging words, and then held out her hand for Declan. He took it readily, his shoulders relaxed as his fingers curled around hers.

She led him toward the car, and I advanced, but the Fire Wolf fastened a heavy hand on my shoulder. “He’s safe. Stop.”

Scowling, I watched as Miranda led Declan to the car, my heart hammering a hundred times a minute. After Declan was shown to the backseat and they’d pulled away, I spun toward the Fire Wolf.

“What the hell was that? How do you know he’s safe?”

The Fire Wolf crossed his arms again, his face utterly blank. “That’s Miranda. She helps runaways.”

“But she’s a vamp.”

“You’re very observant.”

I gave him a scathing glare. “Don’t play cute with me. What just happened and how do I know I didn’t just hand that kid over to be her next meal?”

“What happened is that you just got a taste of what typically goes on in this part of town. There are a lot of drug addicts and homeless in this area. Declan is just one of many. And that little scuffle I got you out of? That happens all of the time around here. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon after I’d told you to stay put in the back of a dark alleyway.” He said the last bit with a hint of irritation, as if all of this were my fault.

My nostrils flared. “Okay, first off, I went out to look at the street only once. I didn’t mean to attract anyone’s attention. And secondly, you still haven’t answered my question. What was that?”

His face turned unreadable. “That was me getting that kid help.”

“You’re serious that he’s safe?”

“He is. You have my word.”

For some asinine reason, I believed him, but I still frowned. “I don’t understand. You’re the scourge of the Shadow Zone, yet you just helped a runaway kid.”

“You don’t need to understand. Besides, we should get moving. I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was doing since I had to stop to help you with that little run-in.”

My brows furrowed. “I didn’t need your help.”

His gaze grew hooded, and he was quiet for a moment before replying, “As I’m beginning to see.”

I sighed. “Can you just tell me what’s going to happen to that kid?”

A rumble came from his chest before he growled, “I have an arrangement with Miranda. When I find kids like Declan around here, I contact her so that she can have them picked up. She works with a non-profit organization that helps runaways.”

“But she’s a vampire, and he’s a human.”