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“Exactly, you don’t know what you’re walking into,” he growled. “It’s why we created the system in the first place. So I’d know you were safe.”
“Trent…”
“Is not responsible for you,” Dom interrupted. “I am. And I can’t do that again. Feeling you die once was enough, twice was,” he paused, his jaw working, “Let’s just say there better not be a third time. You get me?” I nodded, dropping my gaze at the reprimand in his voice. He exhaled. “Alright, I’m done.”
A grin tugged my mouth as I said, “Sure? I feel like you could yell at me longer.”
“Don’t tempt me,” he snapped, stacking the dry plates and pans. “You want to talk about her?” I gripped the sink at his question, my fingers whitening as I shook my head. “I’m here when you’re ready.” I managed a nod and he clasped my shoulder. “There’s a meeting in a few hours. Gregory’s going to tell the story of how we came to be. Everyone will be there.”
“Count me in,” I replied hoarsely and Dom nodded, stepping away. “The mating bond,” I burst out and he stopped, waiting for me to continue and I stared down at the white sink. “Have you ever heard of a pair recreating the mating bond after breaking it?”
A low whistle escaped him and I saw him start to shake his head out of the corner of my eyes before he stopped himself. “I’ve never heard of anyone surviving a broken mate bond to be honest.”
“It wasn’t sealed,” I told him, meaning we hadn’t had sex to finish the bond.
“Even then, that’s almost a formality. It’s the mental link that would concern me,” Dom replied and I nodded in understanding. “I don’t know for sure, but maybe talk to Sam and Payne,” Dom offered and my eyes shot to his. He shrugged. “Like I said, I don’t know for sure.”
“Thanks.”
“Anytime, Caleb.” His hand grazed the back of my head and I ducked out of habit. “I’m glad you’re here.” I didn’t look at him, hearing the choked quality of his voice and he cleared his throat before leaving the room.
The silence echoed with everything I’d missed and the need to escape pressed in on me, but this time I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I grabbed a shirt out of the box left by the backdoor and went outside, my feet taking me unerringly to the edge of the forest.
“Want some company?”
Liam appeared by my side and I cast him a sideways glance. “You got watchdog duty?”
He smiled, but didn’t answer, dogging my steps as I kept walking. “Thought we might catch up.”
“I visited fifteen packs across the country, ending with the Ghost Pack to the north where I met my mate and died, but…spoiler, I came back and here I am,” I summarized, lengthening my stride as my need to hurry intensified. Liam kept up, but I noticed his limp grew more pronounced and I stopped, spinning around. “Look, I’m not leaving Pack land. You don’t have to follow me. Or pretend like you care.”
“This is gonna come as a shock, but it’s not pretend,” he retorted, positioning himself so his weight wasn’t on his bad leg. “We all felt it, Caleb. It wasn’t just Dom, and this will probably shock you as much as it did me, but feeling your light fade….we mourned. It was losing a brother, one I don’t particularly like but still want to keep around,” he finished, his lip curling. “You know what it’s like to lose a Pack mate and an Alpha,” he reminded me unnecessarily. “So sue me if I want to check on you.” He turned, about to go back and I coughed. His head swung toward me, but he didn’t turn back, waiting to see if I was actually going to say something.
“I’m going to the burial grounds,” I admitted, shoving my hands in the deep pockets of the sweatpants. “I could use the company.” He nodded, swinging back around as I hunched my shoulders, unused to having another shifter at my side after years of roaming, but surprisingly, the position wasn’t an uncomfortable one. “How’s Leah?”
“You suck at small talk,” Liam informed me and I nodded in acknowledgement. “But she’s good. She’s a veterinarian now,” he said proudly. He gave me a meaningful smile. “Specializing in Canis Lupus to the never ending confusion of her father.”
“Your leg?” He’d broken it years before in a car accident and been forced to shift before it could be set properly, leaving him with a permanent limp.
Liam shook his head, grimacing slightly. “It’s a great barometer, but there’s nothing we can do to fix it. Trust me, Leah has tried.” I wondered if Paige could fix it, but didn’t mention the possibility to him since I wasn’t sure if they’d ever have a chance to meet and I didn’t want to get his hopes up over a long shot.
