Chapter Two
Dominik stepped out of the truck and shut the door softly behind him.
The woman was a few metres ahead now, the child still holding her hand, his short legs struggling to keep pace. Dominik followed at a distance, conscious of every step, every breath.
Fuck. Rian wasn’t wrong about her ass.
The thought came unbidden, instinctive. Dominik shook his head sharply, forcing it away.
Focus.
Then he saw a thin strip of paper fluttering near the curb, caught in a weak breeze.
Perfect.
He scooped it up and quickened his pace.
“Uh...excuse me, miss?”
She spun around instantly, and his breath caught.
One arm came out in front of the child, pulling him behind her, her body angling protectively as her free hand clenched around the grocery bag. Her striking blue eyes were sharp, assessing, already braced for flight or fight.
Gods. She’s beautiful.
Dominik noted her reaction automatically. Good. Don’t trust strangers.
“I think you dropped your receipt,” he said calmly, holding it out.
She took a step back instead of forward, gaze flicking down to the paper, then snapping back up to his face.
“No, I didn’t,” she said, already retreating, feet moving backward.
Dominik raised both hands slowly, palms open. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She snorted, sharp and humorless. “Said every bad guy ever.”
She tightened her grip on the child’s hand. “Come on, Emmett. We don’t talk to strangers.”
They turned and walked away.
Dominik hesitated, then followed, keeping his distance.
She noticed immediately. She whirled around again, fear flashing hot and bright across her face. “I will call the cops if you don’t stop following us.”
“I’m not following you,” he said evenly. “I just happen to be walking in the same direction.”
Her eyebrow lifted slowly.
“Really?” she said. “Because I happen to know there’s nothing past this road.” She tilted her head slightly. “So where, exactly, could you possibly be going?”
Dominik swallowed. Fuck.
Before he could answer, the low rumble of the truck pulled alongside the curb.
She froze. Then her gaze snapped from Dominik to the vehicle, betrayal and fear crashing across her features in equal measure.
“I thought you said you weren’t going to hurt us,” she said, voice tight. “What is this? Are you kidnapping us?”
“No! Gods, no,” Dominik said quickly, stepping back, hands lifting again. “Those are... They are like my brothers. They probably saw me and thought I needed a ride. That’s all.”
Her eyes didn’t leave the truck.
Suspicion sharpened her stance, her body angling again in front of the child, fingers digging into the fabric of his sleeve as if she could shield him from anything with sheer will alone.
Dominik felt it then. A sudden, unmistakable pull in his chest. Not sharp. Not violent. Just… there.
He inhaled deeply, and the scent of Ambrosia apples and Gardenias filled his senses. So sweet, so delicate, that it made him feel intoxicated.
Fuck.
His demon rose forward, Home. Claim. Protect. and it took all Dom had to hold him back. Wait. You’ll scare her.
He held his breath, trying to get it under control. For the first time since he stepped out of the vehicle, he forced himself to go blank. Because Rian hadn’t been wrong at all. She was their mate.
Before he could do or say anything, a low sound rolled out of the truck. Not loud. Not at first.
It vibrated through metal and bone alike, a guttural, animal growl that didn’t belong anywhere near a quiet street with chalkboard menus and a child clutching a toy car.
Her head snapped toward the vehicle. The colour drained from her face so fast it was almost shocking.
“What was that?” she whispered.
Dominik felt it instantly, the sharp spike of panic through the bond, the sudden flare of her pulse like a beacon.
He stepped forward instinctively. “Wait,” he said. “Please wait. I'd like to talk to—”
The growl deepened. It wasn’t controlled anymore.
Her breath hitched. The grip she had on the grocery bags loosened, cans clattering against each other as she took a step back. Then another. Her eyes never left the truck.
“No,” she said hoarsely. “No, no...”
The back door shuddered as something slammed against it from the inside.
She didn’t wait to see what came next.
The bags fully slipped from her fingers, groceries spilling across the pavement: apples rolling, a carton cracking open.
She scooped the child up in one smooth, desperate motion, his small arms wrapping around her neck as he let out a frightened cry.
“It’s okay,” she gasped, already running. “It’s okay, Emmett...hold on.”
Her shoes slapped hard against the asphalt as she bolted down the street, the child sobbing against her shoulder, his face buried in her hair.
She was running away. Away from them. He thought.
“Fuck,” Dominik snarled. He spun toward the truck just as the door burst open.
Rian exploded out of the vehicle. Barely human anymore.
Dark and light grey fur tore through fabric, bones snapping and reforming with brutal speed. The wolf hit the ground running, massive and lethal, eyes locked on the fleeing figures.
“Rian, NO!”
Dominik moved without thinking and he caught him mid-lunge.
Hands slammed into thick fur and muscle, fingers locking hard at the base of Rian’s nape as Dominik hauled him sideways with everything he had. The wolf snarled, snapping blindly, claws gouging the pavement as Dominik forced him back.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Dominik roared, teeth bared, fury ripping through him. “Have you lost your goddamn mind?”
The wolf thrashed, muscles corded and trembling beneath Dominik’s grip, a sound tearing from his chest that was half rage, half agony.
Joshua was out of the truck in an instant. Cameron followed, both of them flanking fast.
“Rian!” Joshua shouted. “Get a hold of yourself, you can’t shift in a human town!”
Rian fought harder. Not toward Dominik, but toward the empty space where she’d been. Toward the stench of her fear.
“She’s scared,” Cameron snapped, grabbing Rian’s flank, trying to anchor him. “You’re making it worse!”
Dominik slammed Rian back against the side of the truck, pinning him there, forearm pressed hard into his throat.
“She is running because of you,” Dominik hissed, eyes burning. “Because you couldn’t hold it together for ten fucking seconds.”
The wolf froze. Just for a heartbeat. His breathing came fast and ragged, eyes wild...but something in Dominik’s voice cut through the haze. The snarl faded into a low, broken whine.
“She smelled like home,” Rian rasped as the shift shuddered back, bones reforming again with sickening pops. He sagged forward, human once more, shaking violently. “I couldn’t...I couldn’t stop him.”
Dominik didn’t release him immediately.
“Look at the street,” he said coldly. “Look at what you just did.”
Groceries lay scattered across the pavement like debris after an accident. A broken carton. A crushed loaf of bread. No woman. No child. Just the fading echo of footsteps and the stench of her fear.
Joshua dragged a hand down his face. “We’ve lost her.”
“No,” Dominik said flatly. His chest still burned where the pull had ignited, stronger now, undeniable. Not gone. Not broken. Just… scared. “She’s alive. She’s terrified. And she thinks we’re monsters.”
Rian swallowed hard, shame crashing down on him. “Dom I...”
Dominik finally let him go.
“If you ever shift like that again without my order,” he said quietly, dangerously, “I will put you down myself before you hurt her.”
Silence swallowed the group.
Dominik closed his eyes for half a second, steadying himself. Then he looked up.
“Get back in the truck,” he ordered. “Now.”