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Breaking out of the tree line and onto an open path, I slow now that I’m confident Dominic isn’t following. I try to ignore the pang in my chest at the thought of how easily he gave up on me. The feeling is so ridiculous and misplaced.
I put my focus instead on my body. My leg is tender, but I’m pleased to find it’s not as bad as expected. The older I get, the faster I seem to heal. I’m lucky, for a lot of wolves it tends to be the opposite.
I lope along adjacent to the line of Dominic’s territory. I feel like I go forever, my guard almost completely down, when a line of wolves step into my path.
What the hell?I pull up short, my wolf letting out a string of obscenities.
The wolves start to move in an arc, blocking the path in front of me completely. I glance behind me just in time to see an identical line doing the same from behind me. They’re boxing me in, slowly advancing forward so that I have nowhere to go except back over the line into Anchorage Lake Pack territory.
Bastard. I realize Dominic must be responsible for this. No wonder he didn’t bother chasing me.
I’m not expecting the thought to travel, but apparently it does. And for some reason, the fates really do have it out for me, because the mind link between Dominic and I still exists. It shouldn’t be possible, but I hear him answer me clearly.
Mark my words, little one. I won’t chase you, but you go when I tell you. And not a moment sooner. See you back at the pack house.
He sounds so smug that I snarl in response, but he cuts off the link with no further acknowledgements.
The fur on the back of my neck raises as the other wolves leave me no choice but to move back towards Dominic and whatever fate awaits me.
* * *
Dominic’s pack house is nothing like what I expected. The old, renovated library stands like a fortress in front of me, the architecture so stunning I have to just stand and admire it for a long time.
I can feel Dominic’s team getting antsy behind me. With all of us in human form, it’s easier to read their expressions of unease.
“Alpha is waiting,” a woman on the outskirts of the group blurts out.
I study her from the corner of my eye. She looks nervous, though whether it’s for my sake or her own, I’m not sure.
“Feel free to let your Alpha know I don’t take kindly to being summoned, and I’ll come when I’m ready.” I feel childish digging my heels in and returning my attention to the gorgeous design of the building, but the last thing I want to do is accommodate that rude, domineering asshole.
He might be their Alpha, but he isn’t mine.
The front door slams open just like at Luca’s house. I press my lips in a thin line as I turn my gaze to Dominic, his chest heaving as he stands in the open doorway and glares daggers at me.
“You’re dismissed,” he barks at his pack.
They move unbelievably fast, clearly wanting to be as far away from the Alpha’s ire as possible. I snort a quiet laugh under my breath. Not quiet enough apparently, because his eyebrows knit down and he stomps across the threshold toward me. He grabs me by the forearms and shakes me hard enough to make my teeth rattle.
“You have a smart mouth and a bad attitude. Clearly Alpha Cross didn’t know how to keep someone like you in hand. No one speaks to me like that on pack land.”
“Take your hands off of me,” I bite out from clenched teeth.
He lets go of my arms, then stares at me strangely like he’s not sure why he did it.
“I was perfectly agreeable for Callum. Not because he ‘kept me in hand’ but because I respect him as a man and an Alpha. Neither of which you’ve proven to deserve in the brief time we’ve spent together. Now, do you mind telling me what the hell that was back there? Because as far as I’m concerned, you should be happy to rid yourself of me.”
He works his jaw. “You’ll stay here until the rogue problem is dealt with.”
“What? No.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion.” He shifts uncomfortably and rubs a hand over his short hair. “You’re not a rogue, and I’m sure your Alpha wouldn’t want you running with them. You’ll stay here until you can be safely returned.”
“No.” What the actual fuck is he thinking?
“Add more words to your vocabulary.” He has the nerve to roll his eyes at me.
The whiplash he’s giving me makes my head spin. He’s mad I’m here, but he’s also saying I have to stay indefinitely on his whim? There’s no way I would agree to that. Especially when I’m not so sure I want to return to Callum. Not when it means facing what I’ve done. How I’ve failed my sister and the pack.
