Dominic Silvermane's Arc

Chapter 9 of 9

Scarlett's den was ash, but the woods hid her still. Dominic paced the lodge floor, torn two ways. He needed to walk the walls and drill the patrols. He also could not leave his mate's side. She sat by the fire in her soft pink spring dress, one hand resting on the swell of her belly. She was pregnant now. The wolf pendant hung at her throat, pale stone glowing in the firelight. If Scarlett struck, she would strike here. "You can't do both," Luna said. She read his face the way he'd taught her to read a fight. "Guard me and hold the pack. Pick one, Dominic." He knelt in front of her and took her hands. "I won't leave you." "Then trust the one who won't leave me either." She looked past him. Theo stood in the doorway. He was her older brother, and Dominic's new beta, still weeks fresh in the pack. He had proven himself at the cave, but the older wolves still watched him sideways. Trust, among wolves, came slow. The silver chain glinted at his throat. He did not wait to be asked. "Give me the wall," Theo said. "You stay with her." Dominic stood. "The pack barely knows you." "They knew me enough to follow me into Scarlett's fire." Theo crossed his arms. "Let them see me give an order in the open. Not from behind you. From beside you." Dominic weighed it. Half his wolves would obey Theo. Half would test him the moment Dominic's back turned. A cornered beta was worse than a doubted one. So he chose a way to hand over trust in front of everyone. He called the pack to the lodge yard at dusk. Torches burned along the fence. Dominic stood on the step with his mate beside him, her pendant catching the light. He set his own hand on Theo's shoulder before them all. "This is Theo Blackwood," Dominic said. "My beta. When I guard your luna, his word is my word. Refuse him and you refuse me." The wolves shifted. One old scout, gray at the muzzle, stepped forward. He'd served under Scarlett for years. He looked at Theo a long moment. Then he dipped his head. One by one, the others followed. Necks bowed low in the torchlight. Theo turned and began giving orders. He split the patrols and named the weak trails he'd watched since he arrived. His voice held steady. The pack moved to his command without a backward glance at Dominic. Dominic stepped back to his mate. For the first time in months, the wall was covered and his mate was too. He could rule and protect at once, because he no longer stood alone. Then a young wolf ran through the gate, mud on his legs. "Alpha," he gasped. "Scarlett. She's not running anymore. She's at the border. And she's not alone."