AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I was within feet of the door, but this time, Dom put himself in my way, blocking the door with his body.
“Move!” I snarled.
“No.” Dom’s eyes glowed amber. “You need to stop and focus. We have no idea where the fuck they are, and we have no way to find them. We need to be here for Violet right now.”
My wolf snapped and snarled inside me. He was halfway to taking control of me already. Outside the cabin, I sensed the presence of my strongest wolves pacing around, waiting for my orders, standing by just as I wanted them to. Their agitation fed mine. “Do not speak to me about my mother, Dom,” I snapped. “You can stay. I’ll take a team and track them myself!”
“Fuck you, Night!” His fangs were sharpening, too. His voice was growling almost as much as mine. “You think you can reliably track anything in this state? And even if you were able to, do you think you would be of any use to them? Fucking think, Night! You’re not the only one who cares about them!”
I took a step toward my beta. “Don’t make me hurt you, Dom.”
He didn’t back down. “Going in half-cocked will put the girls at greater risk, Night, and I’m not prepared to fuck around with their safety. I want to get out there just as fucking badly as you, but the only way you’re getting through this door is if you use your Alpha voice on me. Are you that far gone, Night?”
I was tempted to do it, to make Dom bend to my power, but I’d sworn to him that I would never do that. To me, it defeated the purpose of having a beta if I could just exert my will over him whenever I wanted. It was the path of a tyrant, not a leader.
No, I wasn’t that far gone.
With a loud snarl, I punched a hole through the wall next to the door. When I pulled my hand back, there was blood and sawdust on my knuckles, but the wounds were already healing. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. I tried to soothe my wolf and my heartbeat. Dom was right; as desperately as I wanted to go out and do something, I didn’t want to put Tavi and Bryn’s safety at further risk.
After a few tense moments, Dom stepped away from the door and put his hand on my shoulder, where the shirt was torn.
The scene struck me as familiar. In the days following the raid that had taken the lives of Dom’s parents, almost twelve years ago now, Dom had often wandered off alone. He hadn’t wanted to speak to anyone or eat or drink anything. I had found him standing against a tree in the forest by himself with tears streaking down his face. Back then, Dom had been scrawny, almost gangly, and he was quick to argue and deflect rather than talk about his emotions. That was something I understood.
I’d seen others try and fail to connect with him, so instead of talking, I had simply leaned against the tree next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. We stood in silence for a long time, until Dom finally broke down in tears. I said nothing while he cried, and I never moved from that spot. I let Dom have that moment and offered my presence as comfort.
And now, over a decade later, Dom was doing the same for me.
I took another deep breath and nodded. “Alright. I’m calmer.”
Dom let his hand fall. “I’m sorry, Night. I wish we could go out to find them.”
So did I. I opened my eyes and cracked my knuckles. “Send out anyone we’ve got—hunters, sentinels, anyone not on duty—and tell them to fan out to find Tavi and Bryn. They can’t have gone too far.”
Dom nodded. I caught relief in his smile. “I can do that. I’ll let you know the moment they have any leads.”
I nodded again, and Dom left to carry out my orders. After the door closed, I dug my hands into my hair. I knew he was right; I knew that I needed to be smart, or I would end up burying the women I loved. But that didn’t make it any easier to deal with.
Tavi was a great fighter. Both Dom and I had made sure of that after Troy and his men killed her family. I knew that Tavi would defend Bryn to her last breath, but I didn’t want her to be in that position. I would never forgive myself for tasking her with taking care of Bryn if Tavi got hurt in the process, or worse, died.
Bryn, for her part, was intelligent, clever, and resourceful—she’d proven as much when she had been hell-bent on trying to escape from me. She was a shifter now, too, which meant she was much stronger than she’d been when I first took her. But she was still coming into her power. There was so much she still needed to learn before she would really be able to fight in her wolf form.
With the girls together, their chances were much better than if either of them had been alone. But that was cold comfort to me and my wolf.
On cue, he howled so loud and so long that I felt it trembling through my bones.
Hey, I soothed. We’ll get her back. I promise.
His answering whine was filled with doubt and sorrow.
Come on, buddy. We need to be united right now. I need you on my side for Bryn, alright?
He whined again, but rather than arguing, he quieted down, resting his head on his paws. I knew he was cooperating with me, but it was a lot to ask of him. I would take any level of camaraderie I could get from him right now.
I steeled myself and jogged back up the stairs. The door hung open, and the knob I’d ruined lay on the floor nearby. I sighed, knowing I’d need to find the time to fix that, and walked into the room.
“Sorry about that, Doc,” I said. “I let myself lose control.”
“No apologies necessary, Alpha Night.” He gave me a slight smile. “Given the circumstances, I can hardly blame you for your reaction.”
