Chapter 144

Dominic

Mira sat up on the bed, her dress rumpled around her. She looked like a goddess fallen to Earth. I wanted to worship at her altar.

But there was no time for that.

“How quickly can you pack?”

Her eyes looked around the room.

“Give me five minutes,” she said, vaulting herself upwards and into frenzied activity.

I couldn’t help but pace the floor as I watched her gather the few belongings she had in the room. Without any reservation, she unzipped her dress and it fell in a pile on the floor.

She stood completely naked, and I couldn’t resist.

“Dominic, not now!”

I sank to my knees in front of her. My hands caressed her skin and my lips traced kisses across her torso.

She laughed, the most beautiful sound in the world. Her fingers were twirling around in my hair. When I pressed the side on my face into her stomach, she gasped.

“Dominic,” she said, trying to pull my face up, “there are things I need to tell you—“

“I know,” I said quickly, imagining the long conversation we needed to have. “There is so much— but it will have to wait.”

I stood, pulling out my phone.

“Wyatt,” I said into the receiver, “I have Mira, we’ll be on our way in a moment. We will meet you in the front.”

Mira had barely moved. I walked back to her, taking her face in my hands.

“It’s alright, my love,” I told her, “we are nearly out of this.”

“But, I…”

She closed her eyes, fighting back tears.

“Strength, now.”

Her eyes opened again, meeting mine. She took a deep breath and nodded.

In no time we were on our way to the front of the building. My Betas were waiting with Beatrice and Julian and a few large young men I didn’t know.

“Mira!”

Wyatt dropped all formality of station and swept Mira up into a hug, spinning her around. In spite of the tension of our situation, I couldn’t help but smile.

My family was coming back together again.

“Status update,” I said to Lucas.

“Alarams have been tripped, but this building seems clear,” he told me. He gestured to the strangers among us. “And we have some new recruits.”

They were strong and glassy-eyed, but looked content enough to be with us.

“How did you manage that? No loyalty among thieves?”

Beatrice cleared her throat. “What can I say? Most people find me enchanting.”

She had a wicked smile as she chuckled at her own joke.

“Beatrice?” Mira reached out to her “How did you…”

“Turns out your husband is almost as smart as you,” the witch said. “Sometimes you need a woman’s touch to save the day.”

She placed her palm on Mira’s cheek, then titled her head to look at her.

“Oh, I see,” Beatrice said quietly to Mira.

Mira’s eyes grew wide, begging for something. Beatrice hugged her, whispering something in her ear that no one else could hear.

“Okay,” I said, taking back control of the situation. “Mira, take Wyatt and the others— if there are children or anyone else trapped here, we’re getting them out.”

Lucas turned to one of the men standing nearby.

“Are there other vehicles on the premises?”

The large man nodded. “An underground garage.”

“We’ll need at least two,” Lucas said, already moving. “Bring them towards the gate, we’ll prepare for a swift exit.”

“Yes sir,” the man said, turning and signaling to his comrades

“Jeremiah!” Mira called out to him. “Thank you.”

He bowed his head in respect, then continued on his way.

“Can I keep that one?”

All eyes turned to look at Beatrice.

“What?”

Mira laughed and rolled her eyes, Wyatt was staring at the witch in amusement, and Julian was looking between the adults trying to figure out what he missed.

“If we’re done playing around…” I said to the group, “let’s move out. And if anyone sees the doctor, leave him to me.”

“I’ll find him!”

Julian had barely finished speaking when he transformed into a rat and ran off down the hall.

We followed Mira to the other building where the children were held. Beatrice’s charm worked almost too well at bringing more of Malachi’s Betas onto our side.

When the doors opened, at first no one came outside. Then a young woman with a confidence beyond her years emerged, looking wary.

“It’s okay, Marielle, it’s me,” Mira said gently, walking towards the girl. “We’re getting out of here.”

The girl ran into Mira’s arms, and I had a vision of my wife as a mother. She could make anyone feel safe.

The rest of the children slowly shuffled out and followed upstairs. We weren’t met with any resistance which felt unsettling, but we were grateful anyways.

And still no sign of the doctor.

As we emerged into the cool night, I watched as the five teenagers gulped in fresh air for the first time in weeks. Some held hands as they hurried towards the vans waiting out front.

I felt a presence behind me and whirled around, seeing Julian’s human form remerge from the shadows of the buildings.

“He’s in the office,” he told me, “trying to destroy the evidence.”

I nodded at my informant.

“Lucas, tell the others to start driving,” I said to my Beta. “I won’t be long.”

The doctor was scrambling.

He was shredding documents, sweat on his brow, too distracted to notice my entrance.

“It’s over, Waterstone,” I said, forcing my Alpha aura on him. “I advise you not to struggle, or you will certainly regret it.”

“I have no regrets,” he said, his voice light but confident.

His eyes flicked towards the wall, and I fell for his bait for following his gaze. I heard the papers flutter to the floor, but when I looked back he was gone.

At the window, pecking on the glass, was a hawk.

“You son-of-a-bitch,” I said, feeling sick. “You’re the reason Julian can shift. You made him like you!”

The bird shrieked and tried to fly over my head. My reflexes were quicker, and it wasn’t hard to grab the shapeshifter by the spine. I threw him to the ground, and the human version of Malachi returned.

He had pushed me beyond my limits, and I gave up on the idea of mercy. I slowly unsheathed a hunting knife from a holster on my belt.

“Please, I am only the messenger, I was following orders,” he said, wincing from the pain in his back. “I can fix it, reverse it all, maybe, or—“

His voice cut off when I hit his face with the back of my hand.

“We don’t need you.”

“But she does!” He spat out the words. “Mira needs me!”

The sound of her name was the final straw. I held him by the shoulder as I plunged the knife into his abdomen. My eyes were locked on his as he started to bleed out onto my hands.

“She needs me,” he kept saying, even as the life drained out of him. “She needs me…for, for…”

“For what?”

“For the baby.”