Layla sat on the edge of the bed, her hands still trembling faintly. Her palm still hurt, the wound an angry red line. Mating marks never healed as quickly as a shifter’s normal wounds. She pressed it to her heart and closed her eyes, but all she could see was the white wolf again, torn apart and silent, and the pale figure standing in the snow, waiting.
Chapter 13 - Dominic
Dominic was about ready to collapse. After meeting with Arthur and the rest of the high-ranking Nordan, he had joined them on several fruitless scouting missions out into the forest. When he returned with no leads to speak of, Julian had forced him to sleep, reminding him he’d been on his feet for well over twenty-four hours.
A few restless hours on a couch in the corner of the Chilkat Inn, the Nordans’ main hub, was all he managed before he was awoken by shouts.
The two missing scouts had been found.
At least, their mangled remains had.
The next few hours had passed in a blur of orders, of strategy meetings, of defense talks, and planning. Julian had taken over when it became apparent Dominic was about to drop from lack of sleep, his eerie ability to forge through any exhaustion becoming vital.
Dominic had clapped Arthur on the back and left the Chilkat Inn with a promise to be back first thing in the morning.
He was halfway down the street when a hand caught his arm.
“Dominic.”
Theodore stood, eyes rimmed red from lack of sleep, his uniform jacket unbuttoned at the collar. He looked more like the boy Dominic had trained beside than the lieutenant he’d become. But the steel in his grip was all grown male.
“What?” Dominic said, sharper than intended.
Theodore flinched slightly, his throat bobbing. “Where are you going?”
“The Anchor,” Dominic said, running his hand through his hair. “I want to check on my…on your sister before I head home.”
“She doesn’t need you right now,” Theodore said, stepping into his path, “she needs space. This all happened so quickly.”
Dominic stared at him for a beat, then brushed his arm free. “She’s my mate. I’ll decide what she needs.”
“You’re exhausted. Trust me, if you try and talk to her right now, it’ll end badly.”
“I don’t care,” Dominic growled, stalking past him.
“You should,” Theodore said, rushing to keep up. “I’m only trying to help, Dom.”
“I appreciate your concern,” the words came out low, dangerous, “but you don’t get it. The bond between us…I’m not in a state to control it right now. I need to see her.”
“She’s also exhausted,” Theodore shot back, “vulnerable. You’ve tied her to a life she didn’t choose, in front of a pack that already half-hates her. I don’t want her getting the wrong idea.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened. “And what idea is that?”
Theodore paused a moment. “That this mating is…anything more than political.”
“You don’t want me hurting her feelings? She’s a grown woman, Theo. She can handle herself.”
“I’m not so sure,” Theodore said. “I mean, you heard her. All excited about her dreams. She’s not thinking rationally right now.”
“So you don’t believe her?”
“Why should I?”
Dominic growled, “Because she had a dream about a white wolf being torn apart, and within an hour, a scout from the Nordan pack, famously always white in color, was ripped to shreds.”
Theodore’s eyes narrowed. “Coincidence.”
“You don’t believe that.”
