Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
The countdown had officially begun.
Dominic’s chest tightened and his jaw clenched as he paced the library, every step echoing the urgency pounding in his veins. Goddess, he was actually hoping the bastard who had bought Sammy all those years ago had taken possession of him right away.
It was a sick wish, but in this twisted game, it bought them time, and they would need every second of it.
Even with his magic and an elite team behind him, it had taken them months of sifting through empty leads and dead ends before tracking down the vampire coven in Savannah. The week spent searching for Sammy’s mother was nothing by comparison, but it still ate at him.
This time, they had even less to go on, and every day without progress felt like another crack in an already fractured plan.
On his next turn, he slammed his fist against the bookshelf and growled. Where the hell had the female gone? They hadn’t found her in Chicago, nor did they know where she had gone from there, leaving them chasing shadows and clawing for scraps of information.
Frustration festered, sharp and stinging beneath his skin, while the pangs of inadequacy burned in his gut. He’d pressed every boundary, worked every angle, but he continuously came up empty-handed.
Short of using Sammy’s pain as a shortcut by turning him into a magical GPS—a line he refused to cross—he had explored every option. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he should be doing more, no matter what logic whispered.
If their timeline held, they had less than forty-eight hours. Find Valerie, secure the relique, free Sammy—every minute counted. The stakes glared down at them, impossible to ignore. Failure wasn’t just a threat. It hovered, suffocating, nearly inevitable.
Dominic flexed his shoulders, feeling the strain in every muscle. When it came to Sammy, failure was not an option.
A low creak from the hallway broke the quiet, and Dominic turned mid-stride to find Thierry standing beyond the threshold.
“Figured I’d find you here,” he said, eyes flitting over the chaos Dominic’s pacing had left behind.
“Did you find something?” asked in lieu of a greeting.
Thierry’s nostrils flared as he stepped deeper into the room. He shrugged, brusque. “No. Nothing. Not a damn whisper.”
Dominic bit back a curse, knuckles whitening as he gripped the edge of a shelf. The contents trembled slightly. “She didn’t fall off the face of the fucking planet.”
Thierry snorted, a rough sound that cut through the stale air. “Yeah, well, I agree it’s damn odd we’ve got nothing.”
Dominic didn’t miss the edge in the wolf’s tone, and his gaze sharpened as he asked, “What are you implying, T?”
Thierry’s jaw tightened as he jerked his chin toward the hallway.
“It’s been nearly two weeks, and we’re still spinning our wheels.
I mean, doesn’t it seem a little off to you that her son shows up out of the blue, needs your help, and only you?
” His words were hard, clipped, echoing the suspicion in his eyes.
“Now we’re all caught up in this…whatever the hell it is. ”
The words hung between them, cold and brittle.
Dominic understood why the male thought that, and frankly, he had expected the confrontation sooner. Thierry had good reason to be distrustful, but this wasn’t the same thing, and frankly, he didn’t appreciate the insinuation.
“This isn’t like before.”
“You’re right. It’s worse. At least last time you didn’t know better.” Thierry barked a bitter laugh, a growl rumbling beneath it. “That changeling’s turned you inside out, and you—”
“Sammy,” he said, his voice calm but steely. “His name is Sammy.”
Thierry’s laughter melted into a sigh, and he shook his head, disappointment etching the lines of his face. “See? You’re not listening. Not to me, not to reason.”
Dominic straightened, shoulders squared, alpha presence filling the room. “Then spell it out for me, T. What are you really saying?”
“It’s too tidy. Too damn neat.” Thierry exhaled sharply and raked a hand through his hair. “How do you know he’s not lying? Or in on it with his mother? This could be a trap, Dom, or a setup, and you’re walking right into it.”
Dominic didn’t even have to think about it, and when he spoke, his answer was quiet and unwavering. “I trust him.”
Thierry bristled, eyes narrowed and jaw locked. “I don’t.”
That was his right, of course. As a leader, Dominic had to accept it. That didn’t, however, mean he had to like it.
“Look, if he was just a warm hole to sink your dick into, I wouldn’t say anything, but he doesn’t belong here.” He cast the words like stones, each aimed for maximum impact.
A growl rumbled up from Dominic’s chest, raw and threatening. “Choose your next words carefully.” He bit out every syllable, his voice shaking with barely contained rage. “And be careful how you speak about my mate.”
Thierry had been the unofficial first member of the pack before the pack had even existed. Their history together was carved in battles and debts Dominic would never be able to repay, not in this lifetime or the next. Worse, his fear and distrust of changelings was partly Dominic’s fault.
That didn’t grant him license to be a fucking asshole where it pertained to Sammy.
Thierry stepped forward and snapped his fingers, the sound like a whip-crack in the silence. “Wake up, Dom. Can’t you see he’s using you?”
“You don’t know anything about him,” he snapped back. “He’s not—”
Dominic whipped his attention to the door, sensing movement in the hallway beyond before he saw it. The soft, pained gasp that accompanied the disturbance left no doubt as to who had been eavesdropping.
“Sammy,” he called, his voice tight, strained. “You can come in.”
Dressed all in white, with his hair loose around his shoulders, Sammy emerged from the shadows like a ray of sunlight. He wore a pinched expression, his mouth twisted as if chewing back sour words, but he stood tall with his shoulders back.
Instead of immediately seeking comfort and safety at Dominic’s side, he stopped directly in front of Thierry.
“I don’t know what happened in the past.” His eyes flickered to Dominic briefly, then back. “And I know there is nothing I can say that will change your mind, but I’m not here to hurt anyone.”
Thierry looked surprised at being addressed directly, and he glanced away, his own face showing an odd mixture of guilt and stubborn pride.
“Just so you know,” Sammy continued, his voice quivering—from fear or something else, it wasn’t clear. “Dominic wasn’t my only option. He wasn’t even my first.” His lips twitched into a sad smile. “I didn’t ask for this any more than you asked for what happened to you.”
Thierry stiffened, his eyes flashing with hatred and something far more vulnerable. “You know fuck all about what happened to me.”
Sammy didn’t flinch, and he didn’t retreat. “And you know fuck all about me.”
While a part of Dominic knew he should intervene before things escalated further, he decided to let the altercation play out. He would walk through hell to protect his mate, but it didn’t mean anything unless Sammy was willing to fight for himself and for his place at Dominic’s side.
A muscle in Thierry’s jaw jumped, and the vein that bisected his forehead throbbed madly. His mouth worked, forming and abandoning words, and his fingers curled at his sides.
In the end, he said nothing. Instead, he gave Sammy a look of scathing disgust and stormed out of the room.
Sammy’s entire being seemed to deflate as he stared at the empty doorway. His head drooped, his shoulders rounded, and the air in his lungs rushed out in a whoosh.
“I don’t think he likes me very much.” He spoke barely above a whisper, and the tremor in his voice didn’t match the glibness of his words.
Dominic stepped forward and gathered him into his arms. “I’m proud of you, colibrí.”
“Yeah, well, I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
“That’s the adrenaline.” He chuckled and pressed a kiss to his mate’s temple as he hugged him close. “You did good. Thierry needed to hear it, and I think you needed to say it.”
“I don’t really care what he says about me.” Sammy paused and shook his head. “Okay, that’s a lie.” He twisted around in Dominic’s embrace so he could look up at him, his jade eyes bright with concern. “But I couldn’t let him believe that you would put the pack in danger for me.”
That hadn’t been the point Thierry had been trying to make. His accusations had been more singular, more precise. While he had chosen a poor way to express himself, his concerns hadn’t been entirely without merit.
“He has good reason to think that.”
Sammy’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, and his gaze softened. “Because of what happened last time?”
He tensed as an uncomfortable truth settled in his chest. “How much did you hear?”
“Everything.” Sammy shrugged. “You said this wasn’t like last time. What did you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Dominic hedged. “It happened a long time ago.”
Sammy’s gaze never wavered. “With the changeling you trusted? The one you told me about at the gathering?”
Overcome with a volatile blend of shame, guilt, and anger, he could only nod. He didn’t discuss it. Ever. Only Thierry and Saint knew the truth. Thierry because he’d been there, and Saint because he’d ferreted the story right from his mind.
“I’d like to know what happened,” Sammy said with gentle insistence. “If you’ll tell me.”
Dominic sighed. He had known this day would come. He just hadn’t expected it to arrive so quickly.
“I thought I was helping him out of an abusive situation.” He spoke quietly, and he couldn’t hold Sammy’s gaze for more than a few seconds at a time. “Turns out he had been caught trying to steal from a necromancer. I didn’t know until after everything went down.”
Sammy winced. “What was he trying to steal?”
“A soul stone.”
“Oh.” His brow creased, and his mouth turned down at the corners. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds bad.”
It had definitely been bad.