“I have to go,” I tell Sirius. “It seems my work has already started.”
Sirius nods, a proud grin on his face. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
“Being partnered with Cecelia Morales was no mistake, Sirius. It was fate, even if it meant your son had to pull some strings that led us together,” I admit, frowning. “But…how did you know?”
Sirius chuckles. “From one alpha to another, it becomes an easy thing to decipher. Lunaris’s authority only fears fated mates because of their power. Fortunately for you, you were always going to be the next alpha.”
“Hugo Morales?”
Sirius nods. “My father thought he'd be a threat,” he admits. “But now that Lunaris is already in your hands, it will only make sense to reveal yourself as a powerful wolf. But if you knew, why did you continue with the trials?” Sirius raises a skeptical brow.
I sigh. “It was always about proving myself capable of being this pack's alpha. Being a fated mate was never in the cards until Cecelia came along. But even then, I wasn't sure. It's as if she's blocking me out.”
I pause and stare at Sirius thoughtfully, mulling over how many wrongs had been committed. But now that I'm in power, things are going to change.
“Then it's time you claimed not just your rightful place as Alpha, but your fated mate as well.”
“Thanks, Sirius, for all this information.”
“I always had faith in you to do the right thing, Dominic. Your father would be proud.”
With those parting words filling my chest with pride, I head out toward Cecelia's cabin, wanting to give her the good news that I have the evidence to clear her father's name, but I also have the authority to make her my luna without feeling guilty about it.
How can I deny what the Moon Goddess has orchestrated for me? How can I deny destiny?
The evidence I have will be enough to sway the Lunaris Pack into acceptance, and I have nothing to be afraid of anymore.
At least, that's what I think until I go to Cecelia's cabin and find that she is not there.
I race back home through the streets of Nightmist, cutting corners until I burst through the front door of my house.
“Dominic!” Mama greets me as soon as I enter, frowning when she notices worry flashing through my eyes.
“Is Cecelia here?” I ask my mother, and Donna comes out of her room.
“No,” Donna shakes her head. “She left about an hour ago.”
“She said she'd be back for dinner,” Mama says with a frown. “She wanted to freshen up before that.”
Grunting under my breath, I fling the envelope on the table and growl, my fists curling at my sides. Something happened to her, I just know it, and I'm spurred into action, racing back to the door. There's no way Cecelia would have run away again; she has too much riding on sticking around—like being around for her father's name to be cleared, and this thing between us. Because she's my fated mate, I can sense that she's in danger. I have to find her. Just as I'm about to blow a fuse and punch the door, an urgent knock snaps me out of my rage.
“Dominic!” Santo pants on the other side when I pull the door open. “You have to come! Quick!”
Chapter 21 - Cecelia
An Hour Before
“Please stay for dinner, dear,” Delphine, Donna and Dominic's mother, tells me kindly as she places a lid on the pot and turns to me. “I made the traditional meat stew you love.”
Smiling warmly at the older woman, I see no point in resisting her offer. She's always been kind to me and seemed to fill the void of a mother while I was growing up. Donna always brought me around, especially during those three years Dominic was gone. Delphine is one of the very few in Lunaris who've treated me kindly, and I'm grateful to her.
“Of course, Delphine. But I'd like to go home and take a shower. I'll be back when I'm done.”
“I understand, Cecelia,” Delphine smiles warmly as she rounds the island table and lifts my hand. “I want to thank you again for helping my Dominic in the trials. We are indebted to you.”
“Oh, it was nothing!” I giggle nervously. “It was all Dominic!”
“She's lying, Mama,” Donna titters as she enters the kitchen. “My hard-headed brother would have messed something up if it wasn't for Cece.”
