Dominic felt his jeans tighten at the thought of it as he shoved his hands deeper into his leather jacket pockets. No, he couldn’t have that. This was just a phase, a burning curiosity over someone he hadn’t met before. There was something about Erica that fascinated him and excited his wolf, but there was nothing in their conversation that should have inspired such desires. They were polite and the meeting was brief. Far too brief.
The sun was gone now, completely submerged below the horizon, and the moon was just barely visible through the treetops. The silver glow glittered across the grainy blacktop as the live oak branches swayed above him. A dog barked in the distance, and he could keenly hear families sitting down to their evening meal behind closed doors. It was a night like any other, a typical walk back home, but something seemed so different. Scents were stronger, sounds seemed louder, and even the muted colors of the coming night seemed to stand out in his sharp vision.
It wasn’t until Fox Way, just a block away from Crescent Lane at the corner of Prince Cutoff, that Dominic realized he hadn’t even been thinking about the way home. His feet just kept moving, following his nose, and his nose followed Erica.
Dominic slowed his steps as he tried to rid his mind of her for the dozenth time in the short hour since they met. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Come on, Dom,” he whispered to himself. “Get a grip.”
It was something his father had said to him so often, when he was being an unreasonable child, which was the majority of the time. He heard it every time he rolled his eyes during a lecture, every time he was caught running off with the other boys when he should have been home or at the antique shop. He could almost hear his father’s voice rumbling in his chest, telling him to forget about the girl, but he couldn’t.
With renewed purpose, he strode faster toward Crescent Lane, but the lingering trail of vanilla perfume, Erica’s perfume, haunted him with every step. When he turned the corner, he saw his home on the far side of the street and let out a breath, knowing once he was inside, he could distract himself and cure this curiosity with a good night’s sleep.
A sight made him stop dead in his tracks. The house beside him, the old Donaldson place, was not vacant anymore. Its oncedarkened windows came alive, and light cascaded through the glass for the first time in almost a year. He knew it had been bought but didn’t know by whom. Now, he knew. Erica’s scent trail ended on the old Donaldson front porch.
Shit.
In his pockets, Dominic’s hands tightened into fists as he stared up at the newly occupied home. Her black Jeep sat on the curb, an empty U-Haul hooked up to its hitch. She must have arrived earlier that day while he was out dealing with pack business or at his shop.
If he listened close enough, he could hear the sharp slap of bare feet on the wood floors and the hiss of cardboard boxes being moved and opened.
His home was no longer a safe haven. He’d be up all night, straining his ears to listen to her roam about the house as she unpacked. He shouldn’t daydream about what she wore when she slid between the covers once the lights were out. He shouldn’t have wanted to know if she had a bedtime routine. Dominic shouldn’t have cared. But she was such a pleasant, delicious distraction.
Even the wolf within him wanted to walk up to her door and offer to help her get settled into her new home. He couldn’t allow himself to be so stupid. His inner wolf, the one he had been born with, liked her like a puppy starved for affection. Such a feeling was rare. His wolf barely liked anyone, even Hank or any of the other alphas, and would often urge him to growl or snap at any other werewolf who intruded upon his space. With Erica, he wanted more of her, and that small taste he received in the shop wasn’t enough.
Dominic’s lips tightened into a grim line as he started back down the street and hurried up the walkway to his home. He had to clear his head, and in his experience, there was only one way to do that.
Once inside, he quickened up the stairs and to his bedroom. Under his poster bed, he snatched up the duffel bag that was already packed with a spare change of clothes, a stick of deodorant, water, wipes for cleaning off dirt and mud, and a stained towel, all the things he would need for a night running as a wolf outside of town. He knew, once the soft earth sank between the pads on his paws, he’d forget about Erica, if just for a moment. Maybe then, he could recover from their first meeting and come to his senses.
He raced out of the house, locked the door behind him, ignored his silver truck parked on the curbside, and set off down Highland Road that led south toward Larson Caves Park. It was a safe place to run, monitored by a member of his own pack who ensured that no campers or tourists wandered down paths set apart for all the shifters who came to Tolstone. He could go there, far out of range from Erica’s scent and all that was now connected to her memory.
Just when the strong vanilla faded from the air, Dominic heard the familiar growl of a vehicle he knew well. He didn’t have to turn to see Sheriff Cole Spradley’s police squad car roll up beside him and keep up with Dominic’s long, determined strides.
The whirl of mechanics told him the passenger side window rolled down, and the stout smell of a warm car interior and subtle scent of chili dogs wafted out.
“Where ya headed?” Cole called from the driver’s side.
Dominic looked over and met the sheriff’s dark eyes. The alpha was old enough to be Dominic’s father. The touch of gray around his temples and in the stubble on his chin showed his age in the blue light of the dashboard controls.
Cole, along with Hank, had been an invaluable asset in training Dominic to take on his role as Prime Alpha. As an alpha himself, he knew a thing or two about how to best protect a packin danger. His own pack had survived a hunter epidemic almost twenty-five years ago. Dominic remembered those months when Tolstone was flooded with imperiled packs and his father had to make tough choices. Cole and his pack of three were permitted to seek refuge, but from what he remembered, at a steep cost. The pack never left, which was unheard of, but Cole proved himself to be useful in helping to enforce order in Tolstone, so he was permitted to stay. Unlike other alphas, Cole was content with his lot and never gave any hint that he’d want to challenge for the title of Prime Alpha. He had always been an ally to Dominic’s father, and now he was an ally to him.
“Larson Caves.”
He heard the click as Cole unlocked the car doors. “Hop in. I’ll give you a lift.”
Dominic hadn’t expected that. He almost tripped to a stop, and the squad car screeched to a halt. Cole’s brakes were in desperate need of replacement. The passenger door flew open, and Dominic was too stunned to refuse.
Hank would have told him that running off to Larson Caves alone was a dumbass move. He’d be away from his phone, out in the open, and though the park was secluded enough for a shifter, it was too secluded for the Prime Alpha unaccompanied by his pack. If an incident like last night with Madison happened again, no one would have been able to reach Dominic, who always had to be available. However, that suited him just fine right about now.
Cole didn’t seem to mind the risks. Dominic buckled in and saw the discarded chili dog wrapper on the floorboard at his feet. Cole sped down Highland Road and turned off onto the County Highway that led toward Larson Caves.
“Rough day?”
Dominic adjusted the duffel bag in his lap and sighed. “Rough week.”
“I heard about what happened with Madison last night,” he said. “Maybe you should take a break so you don’t burn out like your dad did.”
Dominic didn’t want to touch that subject with a ten-foot pole. The doctors and autopsy said his dad died from heart failure. Decades of driving himself to exhaustion, taking care of Tolstone took its toll. Cole had told him another theory, but Dominic didn’t want to give it any credence. He didn’t want to believe that he was to blame for his own father’s death.
He couldn’t speak a word about why he really wanted to go to Larson Caves. A good night running around would certainly release a fraction of the pressure he was under, but his reasons were far deeper and more complex than that. He might hold Cole in high esteem, but he was just as likely to talk about women trouble with him as he was Hank.
