Healed by the Alpha (Hunted Book Two)

Chapter Eighteen

Dominick

I had Malik looking for Ferdinand as soon as his name was mentioned. It wouldn't be wise to go out to meet him in the middle of nowhere, but it also wouldn't be wise to bring him to my pack directly. I had to play this smart and set a common ground meeting place. I didn't know anywhere that would fit that specific criteria, but Emily did. After dessert, she pointed that out her parents had a summer house not far from the pack and they had confirmed the information and offered it up as neutral ground.

Not very many people knew about it, and that would make it the perfect place to meet Ferdinand and test out if he was who he said he was. I was all too aware of people claiming to be able to do something they couldn't or underestimating the minds around them. With the help of Elena, I'd be able to see in no time if he was really telling the truth. I looked towards Emily, it was a good plan, but she couldn't be there.

"I want you to stay here." I told her, forcing the strength of the Alpha in my voice. She dropped her fork and glared into my eyes, "I beg your pardon?" I cleared my throat, I knew that this was for the best and that her parents would appreciate it, but it was so damn hard to say no to her. "We have no idea what this person is like, we have no idea what they are capable of or what his intentions are." I told her, getting up from my seat at the table.

"I want to keep-" I started to say, but she cut me off. "If you're about to tell me that you want to keep me safe, you can stop right there." I watched as she straightened her shoulders, "I have managed to help you all on more than one occasion. I'm useful." I looked at Mr Russel, he shrugged. "Okay." I told her. She looked up at me in surprise, "okay? You'll let me go?" I shook my head, "you can help me out here until I have to go. When we've assessed that he isn't a danger to any of the pack, we can bring you in for help questioning him."

She pressed her lips together, considering her options. It took her a minute to finally say what was on her mind, "I want to come with you, when you go to find her." I didn't realise straight away what she was talking about, it hit me moments later... She wanted to be with us in the search for the Moon Goddess. Was that jealously I could hear in her voice, or merely curiosity? Before I could protest she lifted herself from the seat and stood next to me. "Don't you dare tell me no Dominick, you want to create a bond with me? You want me to give up part of myself for you and your pack? This is what I want in return."

I tried to reason with her, to explain the dangers but she couldn't see past being helpful. I decided that maybe this wasn't a talk that needed to be had right now. Instead I excused myself and left her to have some quality time with her parents, I needed to take care of business in my office anyway. Looking at the clock in the hall, I realised that I'd left it off all day.

I wanted to be around while she was with her parents. It's not that I didn't trust them, but I was worried about their loyalty to alpha Logan and what their opinion of me would be. I did after all take her away from her own pack. It wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made, but it was the one she needed at the time.

I picked up the pile of letters waiting for me on the table near the door, It was the same usual stuff, bills and letters of request. Here in the Rising Dawn pack, it was rare that anyone needed to ask my permission for most things. I had never wanted to be that kind of alpha, and yet here they were, still sending me building plans and ceremony permission requests. People did it out of respect mostly, but I didn't pay any notice to it.

From what I can remember of my early childhood, my dad had always wanted to know what was going on inside the pack, he was the world's biggest gossip. My mother had been the opposite, she was the Luna and yet she couldn't have been further from the pack. She wasn't in tune with what the pack needed like a Luna should be. She was never made for that position, she never wanted it. Hazel was great for the pack, she wasn't even a wolf and yet she understood so much about what we needed and she always had incredible empathy for the people.

I wanted a Luna like that. Maybe that was the difference between being someone's mate and having an infatuation? My sister was someone's mate. I wondered if she would be like Hazel, if she would lead their pack with as much confidence and care, that was still her pack after all. I also wondered if she'd made any effort to patch things up with Logan, being mated to your best friends ex couldn't be easy. My thoughts turned to Emily as sleep started to fog up and cloud my vision.

Who's mate would she be? Would she ever know? Was there a possibility that she could be mine...? I certainly couldn't get enough of her, especially since having her in my pack grounds. I shook my head and lay it down over my crossed arms. I should really go to bed. But I couldn't move, my head felt heavy and my arms seemed just as comfortable as my pillow right now.
My eyes closed.

~
"Kresnik, Kresnik where are you?"

A voice was calling in the distance.

"I need you Kresnik."

I couldn't open my eyes, but I could hear the sound of a beautiful female voice. She seemed to be looking for something. I tried to wake myself up, to look around but my body was heavy and my eyes were sealed shut.

"Please Kresnik. They're coming for me."

Did I accidentally stumble into someone's dream state? I hadn't been in the dream realm when I fell asleep, but maybe I'd somehow linked to someone? The woman was starting to sound more and more desperate, her pleas turning to sobs.

"You always said you would be here Kresnik, you said you would find me in every life."

She didn't sound happy. The fact that I couldn't see and the fact that I was helpless put me on edge, I didn't know where I was or if this was even a dream. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of here and fast.

I was struggling to hold any singular thought in my head. It was like being submerged in water and I couldn't see the surface, there was no chance of a break through any time soon. All of a sudden, in the deep dark corners of my mind, another voice joined the female's.

"I've found him."

She gasped.

"Are you sure it's him?"

My mind went blank. My body felt as if all gravity had been pulled from the world as I started to float. I had no idea what was happening or where I was, but I didn't like it. Not one bit.
~

I woke up, my body covered in sweat. It was still pitch black outside, it was rare that I ever woke up before dawn. A shiver ran down my spine as I looked around the room. How did I get to bed? And why wasn't this my bed?