Fate Mate

Chapter 35

For the longest moment, my heart stopped beating. Time slowed, and I could no longer hear the wolves barking in the distance, or the sound of Savannah's cries of agony from the kitchen. I was only aware of the blood pounding in my ear and the familiar blue eyes gazing back at me.

I hadn't seen those eyes-- Dominic's eyes-- since the night of Nolan's birthday party. Flashes of the night returned to my mind... The horrible heat slashing through my body in waves of pain. The shadows that consumed every inch of moonlight until I was blind. And Dominic's weight holding me down on the forest floor.

And now, just the sight of him crippled me. I couldn't move. I couldn't even run away from him.

Fear, anger, sadness. Every emotion waged a war in my head, fighting for dominance over one another, and I'd forgotten my surroundings. I'd forgotten the severed, bloody finger that I now clutched in the palm of my hand.

Dominic's wolf froze in place as well. His eyes, locked tightly with mine, swam with all of the thoughts that he couldn't say-- that I didn't want to hear. I'd never seen a wolf cry, but water glazed over the beautiful blue orbs, consumed with guilt and indescribable pain.

He looked thinner than usual, almost as if the memories of that night kept him from eating. I wondered if the memories plagued his every dream, tortured him when the sun fell.

Me too, I wanted to say to him. I wanted to scream to him. I wanted to make him realize what he had done-- to make him suffer the way that I have suffered.

"Charlie!"

Lizzie's shouting woke me from my catatonic state, and I scrambled backwards, back toward the door leading back to the pack house. Dominic whimpered, lowering his head in submission like he had done so long ago when we first met.

"What are you doing? Charlie!" Lizzie yelled again, this time reaching out to grab my hand. "Who is this?"

I shook my head, but never took my eyes off of the black wolf in front of me. My grip around Savannah's sticky finger tightened, and I focused on channeling all of my fear and anger into something else-- courage. "We need to find Nolan."

I didn't know who I spoke to, Lizzie or Dominic, but the massive wolf huffed a quick reply. Dominic jerked his head to the side, and I knew that he wanted Lizzie and I to start running in that direction. I didn't hesitate.

We ran alongside the edge of the house, toward the nearest road that could take us back to the SUV I'd arrived in. Maybe Nolan waited for us there?

I hadn't worn running shoes, so the tips of my feet occasionally scraped across the rocks and gravel that lined the path we ran on. Luckily, Lizzie kept me upright and I returned the favor. Our arms pumped viciously by our sides, an attempt to propel us forward before a Golden Walker warrior caught up. I didn't even know if we were being followed-- didn't want to risk looking backwards.

We reached the corner of the house just as a wolf from behind us let out a long, raspy howl. I couldn't stop myself from skidding to a halt, kicking up dirt and dust in the process, and turning back.

Dominic's black wolf stood in a face-off with three Golden Walker enemies. From where I stood, I could barely make out the golden-tan hues of Alpha Sehan's monstrous form. I knew that not even the rogue Alpha could fight against three warriors by himself.

Dominic threw his head back and another long howl ripped through the air. Was he begging for help? Did he know that his end was near?

My chest tightened as Sehan prowled closer, snapping his jaws at Dominic's feet. He took another step back, but soon he would have nowhere to retreat to. He needed to run, but he wouldn't. He was providing a distraction-- giving me the chance to escape.