Giuliana’s face went white with anger.
“You will regret this,” she informed her uncle. Her back was stiff with fury as she let two foot soldiers escort her to an SUV.
Arturo spun on Dominic with a snarl. “And you! Letting her come here? It’s only the fact that I owe you my life many times over that keeps you breathing. You are no longer aCapo. You are no longer in my pack.”
Dominic stared at him in shock and swallowed hard. Just like that. His pack, his family, his protection, his identity – snatched away from him.
“Yes, sir,” he said tonelessly.
That meant that he was searching for Zoey on his own.
“I respectfully request release from the pack, to go with Dominic,” Romano said.
“I don’t want you,” Dominic bit out. “You’re no good to me. You never have been, you do nothing but get in my way, and I’m sick of carrying your deadbeat ass. As soon as I claim my mate, I will be leaving the city. And I will not be taking you with me.” He saw the look of dark hurt in Romano’s eyes. But he wouldn’t do that to Romano. Life outside of the pack would be too dangerous. And the only way to get rid of the big, loyal, dumb bastard was to make him hate Dominic.
Romano’s face went blank.
Dominic turned and walked away, quickly. He made it around the block before he shifted, and then threw back his head and howled in rage.
Thoughts of Zoey floated in his head. She needed him. He couldn’t go feral, couldn’t give up now. With agonizing effort, he grabbed ahold of his wolf and wrestled it back inside him. His wolf didn’t want to go, and it fought him all the way, making the transition sheer torture – but he did it. He broke his own bones to force them back into human shape, dragged his fur back under his skin.
He couldn’t think as well when he was a wolf. He needed to be able to plan, to strategize.
He crouched on the ground, panting.
Think, you stupid bastard, think!Was Arturo going to cancel the blockade and let the van with Zoey escape? No, he probably wouldn’t do that – because the van full of Bianchi wolves had invaded Blood Oath pack territory, and he needed to capture and kill them.
But if Dominic was no longer Blood Oath, then Zoey was no longer Arturo’s concern. Zoey thought that Dominic was hard-hearted and calculating – Arturo made Dominic look like a girl scout.
A familiar voice sliced through his fog of panic.
It was Romano, yelling his name. Romano came barreling towards him, furious.
“Fuck! I’ve lost her, damn it!” Dominic howled his sorrow. “Go away, Romano! I can’t save you, I can’t save anyone!”
“I never asked you to save me, asshole!” Romano barked at him. “I asked you to let me serve by your side, and that’s where I am as long as I’m breathing.”
Dominic fixed his bleary, wretched gaze on Romano. “I don’t deserve you. And I have to go look for Zoey now.”
“Cin just called me, she’s got a line on where they are. Street kid network, they all keep in touch with each other. 37thand Harris. And no, you don’t. But you’re fucking stuck with me.”
He was talking to Dominic’s backside, because the second Romano said the street names, Dominic had gone wolf again, and was tearing down the street.
*****
“Are we there yet?” Zoey chanted, as they drove. “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
“Shut up!” Luigi, Primo’s nephew, bellowed in frustration. “Damn it,” he complained to Salvatore, Primo’s first in command. “Just let me kill her!”
Salvatore shook his head. “Your uncle said no. She’s more useful alive. For now.”
Luigi gave her a dirty look. “Doesn’t mean I can’t slap you around some,” he growled. “Say ‘are we there yet’ one more time. I dare you!”
Zoey grinned, her eyes glowing with malice. “Are we there yet? Are we-”
Luigi’s fist shot towards her face. Salvatore was faster, grabbing his wrist. “Your uncle said no! If you hit her too hard, she’ll die!”
“So what?” Luigi yelled. “Nobody disrespects me like that, nobody! Let the fuck go of me!”
