She lifted her skinny shoulders in a sullen shrug. “Then pick someone else.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. He hoped she didn’t mean ‘pick me’. When her uncle had first suggested that he might want Dominic and Giuliana to be mates, she hadn’t argued. He had assumed that was because she didn’t care less who she mated with, as long as it got her out from under her uncle’s oppressive paw. But now he wasn’t so sure. She had seemed a little disgruntled ever since the mate-biting, he realized.
“You know that’s not how it works,” he said.
She snorted, picking up her magazine again. “Fine. Take her out to dinner.”
“That’s all that you’ve got? Sorry I asked.”
“If she doesn’t appreciate what she’s got, she doesn’t deserve you.” Giuliana flipped a magazine page and made a big show of ignoring hm.
Dominic, annoyed and more than a little concerned, shoved his chair back. Since when did Giuliana give a damn about who he mated with? He’d dated women over the years, and she’d never seemed to care. Maybe she was upset because this, unlike his other dalliances, was permanent? Damn, he hoped not. He liked Giuliana a lot as a person, he would hate to hurt her, and his life had enough complications right now.
His wolf felt restless, pacing under his skin, itching for release. He couldn’t sit still right now, he needed to move.
“My wolf needs a quick run. You stay here and wait for me, or you go straight home,” he told her. He headed outside, crossing the street to Greenwald Park, the giant rectangular green space that ran through both the east and west sides. There was a long iron fence dividing the pack territory in half. He’d eat his sandwich quickly, shift, go for a brief run, and then resume his collecting activities. Giuliana would still be waiting for him. She didn’t want to have to go back home and do secretary duty for her uncle.
As Dominic strolled, he took enormous chomps of the sandwich, barely tasting it. But his senses were still sharp enough – he was heading deeper into the park, and he heard something rustling in the bushes. And he smelled unfamiliar wolf. And he smiled.
Enemy.
The packs kept to their own territories. If any pack member wanted to travel through another pack’s territory, they formally notified the pack headquarters and requested permission. If they failed to do that, then they were a soldier in enemy territory. A female would be taken prisoner and held for ransom, a male would be killed.
He kept walking, and chewing. There wasn’t a single wolf in the entire city of Encantado who worried him enough to make him put his sandwich down – and furthermore, he was irritable and itching for a fight.
As if the universe were answering his prayers, a wolf exploded from the bushes. The gray wolf was enormous, as were all warrior class wolf shifters. Its eyes glowed yellow with fury, ropes of saliva dribbled from its black lips. It blocked his path, tail lashing. He shoved the last of his sandwich in his mouth and brushed his hands off on his shirt, his bored expression unchanging.
The wolf paused for a moment, as if confused.
“I’m going to give you a freebie,” Dominic said, grinning fiercely. “Roll over and expose your belly, and I’ll just maim you, not kill you. You can live another day as a member of the world’s lamest pack. You’ll just be a gimp, that’s all.”
The wolf threw back its head and howled in rage. The last howl of its life. It crouched low and then leapt, aiming for his throat. Dominic shifted in a blur of motion; nobody but Arturo could shift as quickly as he did. A disappointing twenty seconds after that, the wolf was bleeding out at his feet, its throat ripped open and spinal column nearly severed.
Dominic shook himself and forced his angry wolf back inside the cage of his humanity, his fur melting into smooth skin, tail shrinking into his spine, fangs sinking back into his gums. Passers-by who’d been strolling by stood frozen, staring in shock, and then edging away. It had happened so quickly that they barely had time to react – damn it. He’d been hoping for a good round or two, at least.
Dominic’s clothes had fallen off him when he shifted. A slender young woman in a business suit caught his eye and then let her eyes rove over him. His lip curled back and he growled at her, letting fur ripple over his face. She stifled a shriek and hurried off. Good. The only woman who should be admiring his naked body was Zoey.
He dressed quickly, scowling down at the dead wolf, which had melted back into its human form. Looked like a Bianchi, with that strong Roman nose and too much hair product. Also the gallons of cologne. Was that a Bianchi pack requirement, or what? His sensitive shifter’s nostrils flared, offended.
His phone rang, with the tone indicating that it was Arturo calling. He snatched it from his jacket pocket.
“Let me guess,” Dominic said, nudging the dead wolf with the toe of his boot. “The mage’s board ruled in the Bianchi pack’s favor?”
“Close. The mage’s board has decided to abstain,” Arturo said. “They feel the law is unclear in this case, so they’re not weighing in on either side.”
Dominic felt a snap of anger. He hadn’t expected that at all. “The law is clearly on our side. Can we appeal to the National Council?”
“It won’t help. A full out war between packs benefits the Mages. Both of our packs are getting too powerful, and this will thin our ranks and possibly eliminate one of our packs altogether,” Arturo said. “This was coming sooner or later anyway. The Bianchi pack is just using this as an excuse.”
“Well, that explains why one of the Bianchis is taking a dirt nap right now,” Dominic mused. “He tried to jump me about sixty seconds ago.”
“Huh. That was fast,” Arturo said. “The ruling came down mere minutes ago. It’s almost like he was lying in wait, just in case the ruling favored them. He’s in our territory, then? Where are you?”
“Greenwald Park. He came at me from behind a bush. Primo was strategic about it, I’ll give him that. You know about the rumors that Jimmy was angling for Primo’s position? And then Primo sent him to kill me. Whatever the results, it would have been a win for Primo.” If Jimmy had succeeded, he would have made the Blood Oath pack look weak, and by taking out Dominic, he also would have taken out one of Arturo’s strongest warriors.
“Wait a minute.” Arturo’s voice suddenly went sharp. “Isn’t Giuliana with you right now? Oh, never mind, I see she’s still at the sandwich shop.”
“They wouldn’t mess with a non-combatant female unless they want every shifter pack in the country to declare war on them,” Dominic said. “Wait – do you have a tracker on your niece?”
