Chapter 9
Chapter nine
The full moon celebrations had lasted until sunrise, but by the following evening, life at La Madriguera had settled back into its natural, quiet rhythm.
A little too quiet for Sammy’s liking, and he didn’t trust it.
Alone in the media room, he tucked his feet under him on the coffee-colored leather sofa and burrowed deeper into the fleece blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The intention had been to stream a favorite movie and lose himself in the comfort of familiarity for a couple of hours.
Instead, he sat staring at the screen without really seeing it, his mind a jumble of possibilities, each one more concerning than the last. He had no delusions that his mother would lose interest and move on, leaving him free to live his life.
Yet, she had been in possession of the locket for at least a week now, and so far, nothing had happened. She hadn’t contacted him. He hadn’t been summoned.
According to Dominic, the original contract had a ten-year term attached to it. With Chandler dead, that meant no one could use the relique to control him until it expired.
In theory.
Nothing with his mother was ever that cut and dry.
“There you are.”
Stiffening at the sound of the deep baritone, Sammy shifted his gaze from the television to the figure standing in the doorway.
Dressed in a pair of baggy black sweats and a matching tank, Dominic leaned against the wide, arching frame with a relaxed posture.
His hair hung loosely around his face—strands damp from a recent shower—and the subtle scent of soap floated from him, carried on the warm air that blew from the vents.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“A while.” Pushing off the doorframe with a grin, Dominic crossed the room to join him on the sofa. “What are you doing in here?”
“Watching a movie.” His face flushed with heat, and he lifted his thumb to his mouth to gnaw at the nail.
While technically true, he knew that hadn’t been what the wolf was asking.
Long fingers encircled his wrist, and gentle pressure guided his hand away from his mouth. “Is something wrong?”
Unable to look his mate in the eye, he stared blankly at the television and shook his head.
Still cradling his wrist, Dominic reached out with his other hand and placed the tip of his index finger between Sammy’s eyebrows. “What’s on your mind?”
When he didn’t receive an answer, he drew his finger down the ridge of his nose and tapped the end. “Talk to me.”
Sighing, he shifted around on the cushions and forced himself to meet Dominic’s gaze. He’d never been very good at hiding his thoughts or emotions. Of course the wolf could see the stress written in the lines of his face. He could probably smell it on him too.
“Are there no updates on my mom?”
The corners of Dominic’s eyes tightened, a nearly imperceptible change that belied his calm exterior. “Not yet.”
“Could she still be in Chicago?” he asked, more out of desperation than any real hope.
“I have people searching the city, but it’s unlikely that she’s still there.” He gathered both of Sammy’s hands in his own and stroked his thumbs across the knuckles. “We have time. We’ll find her.”
“Are you sure about that?” He didn’t doubt the pack’s abilities, but he was quite literally running out of time. “She wrote the contract. Can’t she change it now? What if she decides—”
“Whoa,” Dominic interrupted, his voice ringing throughout the room. “Easy. That’s not going to happen.”
“But—”
Dominic cupped his cheek and slanted their mouths together.
It was surprisingly effective.
The thoughts roaring inside his head quieted to a gentle whisper. His muscles unknotted, and tension drained from his shoulders. Even breathing felt a little easier, and he exhaled on a breathy sigh as he leaned into the kiss.
Dominic kept the contact chaste and brief, but when he broke away, he didn’t go far. With his hand pressed to Sammy’s face, he leaned back enough to look into his eyes.
“That’s not going to happen,” he repeated. “Valerie can’t alter a binding magical contract. Not without agreement from the other person.”
Who happened to be dead. No chance of him being bribed or manipulated into changing his mind.
“You’re right.” Sammy relaxed back into the couch cushions with another sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just…”
He trailed off, not sure how to finish that statement.
“Scared,” Dominic supplied. “You’re right to be, but you’re not alone this time.” Linking their fingers, he brought Sammy’s hand to his lips. “I won’t let her win, colibrí.”
Hummingbird?
It wasn’t a traditional endearment, or even a common one. He liked that. Not only was it special, but coming from Dominic, it made him feel all warm and floaty inside.
“I know.” He went readily when Dominic urged him closer, nestling against his side. “I just feel like I should be doing more.” Reaching out, he brushed his fingertips over his mate’s forearm, tracing the lines of the tattoos there. “I want to help, but I don’t know how.”
“If you have something that belonged to your mom,” Dominic suggested. “That would help me track her.”
Sammy started shaking his head before the wolf had even finished speaking, a frustrated grunt puffing from his lips. “No, nothing. Not unless…”
“Unless?”
He sprang upright and twisted around to face his mate. “What about me? Could you use me to find her?”
Her blood ran through his veins. It really didn’t get more personal than that.
But Dominic shut him down quickly. “I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. The connection is too muddied.”
Since he didn’t know how locator spells worked, the explanation sounded reasonable. It also told him that it could be done, but with unreliable results.
Which gave him another idea.
“What about the relique? It was made with my blood. Can you track that through me?”
Though his expression didn’t change, Dominic’s tone held a finality when he spoke. “That’s not a good idea.”
“But you could do it, right?”
“No.”
“No, you can’t?” Sammy pressed. “Or no, you won’t?”
Dominic growled, his frustration bleeding through his composed veneer. “I won’t.”
“Why? I’m willing. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
“No,” Dominic growled again. “You think you can handle it, but you can’t.”
While he couldn’t be certain, he thought his mate had just called him weak.
Which…fair.
He didn’t have claws or fangs or magic. He didn’t know how to fight, not even to defend himself. His entire strategy for conflict resolution involved avoiding confrontations completely, especially violent ones.
This was different, though. The idea of sitting around and waiting to be either sold or rescued rankled. If he could do something, anything, he wanted to try.
At the same time, while he wouldn’t consider Dominic reckless, the alpha had also never given the impression of being overly cautious. If he felt strongly about the magic, there must be a good reason.
“What would happen?”
“I’m not—”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Not exactly,” Dominic answered through gritted teeth.
Okay, so he probably wouldn’t die. Good to know.
“Does it hurt?”
“Yes.” Still said through a clenched jaw and with a slight growl this time.
“A lot?”
“Yes.”
Sammy bit his lip while he considered the information.
Apart from a few bumps, scrapes, and burns, he had never experienced a major injury. He didn’t enjoy pain, nor did he relish the idea of testing his tolerance, but he wouldn’t even be considering it if the alternative wasn’t so much worse.
“It’s just a cut,” he reasoned. “I’ll heal.” Maybe not as quickly as Dominic, but faster than a human, and likely without medical intervention.
But his mate looked genuinely confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I have to bleed on a map or something, right?”
Dominic’s expression vacillated between incredulity and pity before settling somewhere around resignation. “You watch too many movies.”
A part of him wanted to be offended, but honestly, he couldn’t deny it. Despite having a witch for a mother, he knew little about magic outside of what he’d seen in fiction.
“We’re not looking for a lost shoe,” Dominic pressed on. “We’re talking about a talisman created from blood magic that is intrinsically connected to you. It would feel like being pulled in opposite directions.”
He tilted his head, a frown tugging at his mouth. It wouldn’t be pleasant, but it didn’t sound as dramatic as his mate had made it out to be.
“That doesn’t seem so bad.”
“By a freight train.”
“Oh.” His lips remained puckered as his voice died away, and a shiver ran through him when he imagined that kind of pain. “I wouldn’t actually be ripped in half, though, would I?”
While clearly unimpressed by the line of questioning—eyes narrowed, nostrils flared—Dominic shook his head.
“No, you wouldn’t be physically pulled apart, but the spell does take a toll on the body.
” Then, likely realizing where the conversation was headed, he quickly added, “And there’s no guarantee it will even work. ”
“Because of the muddiness?”
“Because you have to be conscious the whole time,” Dominic deadpanned.
They had moved so far beyond his point of reference he felt like they were speaking entirely different languages. Yet, despite the threat of pain and bodily harm, he hadn’t entirely abandoned the idea.
“How does it work?”
“Sammy.”
“I’m not trying to be difficult.” Though he could see why it felt that way. “I’m trying to understand.”
Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose, his entire being radiating exasperation. “Forget everything you think you know about magic.”
“I don’t know anything about magic.”
“Clearly,” the wolf muttered under his breath.
Sammy ducked his head to mask his grin. He supposed he deserved that.
“There is no map. No blood. No direct line from point A to point B.” He paused, but when Sammy didn’t interrupt with more questions, he continued.
“When I use an object to locate someone, that object is the anchor. But doing it backwards—using a person to find an object—that makes the person the anchor.”
Sammy stared back at him blankly, not really understanding what any of it meant. In fact, it was starting to make his head hurt.
Something of his confusion must have shown on his face because Dominic sighed and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck.
“You know that the locket is a vessel for the blood magic, right?”
This time, Sammy nodded with more confidence. “Without the magic, it’s just a necklace.”
“With a locator spell, the anchor acts the same way as a vessel. It holds the magic.”
“Okay,” he said, dragging the word out as he turned the information over in his mind. “That means, if I become the anchor, I would be the one holding the magic?”
“Exactly.” Dominic’s eyes sparkled with pride, but his expression remained serious as he added, “And there are limits to how much magical force you can exert on a living being.”
Sammy swallowed thickly, finally beginning to grasp the seriousness of what he was contemplating.
“I know you’re scared,” Dominic continued, his voice softening.
“And I know it seems like we’re spinning our wheels, but I promise it’s not as desperate as it feels.
” He gathered both of Sammy’s hands into one of his own and reached out with the other to caress his cheek. “We’ll find her. Just be patient.”
Closing his eyes, Sammy tilted his head, leaning into his mate’s palm and soaking up the offered comfort. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from voicing his fears.
“What if we don’t find her, though? What if she summons me?”
“I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
While he appreciated Dominic’s determination, that didn’t answer his question. “But what if it does?”
“Then I’ll find you, and I’ll be there before your head even stops spinning.”
Somehow, he doubted it would be that easy or that expedient, but he didn’t question it, choosing instead to accept Dominic’s words as the reassurance they were meant to be. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, of course, but having a backup plan made him feel better.
“Can she block you from finding me?”
Dominic tensed, his hand tightening around Sammy’s. “Technically, yes, but not without you being physically present. Even then, it’s not instant like a regular cloaking spell. To hide you from detection, it would take a few minutes at least to weave that kind of magic.”
After considering this for a moment, Sammy dipped his head and pulled free of the wolf’s grip. Loosening the fastenings on one of his bracelets—a strip of brown leather with beads of volcanic ash and moonstone—he slid it off and held it between his fingers.
“Give me your hand.”
In the event of his disappearance, he had an entire room of belongings suitable for a locator spell. That relied heavily on Dominic being close to La Madriguera when it happened, though. Giving him something he could carry with him saved time.
Time Sammy might not have.
He expected another debate, or at the very least, begrudging indulgence. Dominic, however, held his hand out with an approving nod.
“Smart.”
Heat crept into his cheeks at the compliment, but he smiled as he finished securing the bracelet. “Thanks.”
“Everything is going to be okay.” Dominic sounded like he really believed that.
Sammy didn’t feel as confident, but he smiled anyway.
“I’m serious.” Tucking a knuckle under his chin, Dominic urged his face up until their gazes met. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Applying the barest pressure to his chin, Dominic tugged him closer, keeping his face turned upward as he leaned in. His expression softened, his eyes a little glazed as his focus settled on Sammy’s mouth.
Sammy held his breath, even as his heart thrummed wildly inside his chest. He didn’t move, not to resist nor to encourage. Currents of anticipation traveled across his skin, and his stomach knotted with a mix of nerves and excitement.
Dominic didn’t rush, though. Instead, he hovered a few inches away, studying him as he traced his thumb across Sammy’s bottom lip in featherlight strokes. A quiet rumble vibrated from his chest to echo around the room, the sound simultaneously dark and comforting.
He must have found whatever he’d been searching for because he moved closer, crowding him, his mouth hovering so close Sammy could smell the toothpaste on his breath.
They hung there in that moment for what felt like forever, so close yet so far away. There was a charge to the room now, a soft crackle that sizzled the air. It was maddening, but also exhilarating, the anticipation building to a feverish crescendo.
So, it felt like being doused in ice water when Saint rushed into the media room, his footsteps heavy and urgent. Hell, he didn’t even wait to be acknowledged before delivering his news.
“We found the coven.”