Chapter 62

Dominic

I checked my phone again. Mira still had not called me back.

The only word I had from her was this morning, telling me she would be home late. And nothing addressing the fact that she left me to wake up alone after we shared a passionate moment last night.

I can still taste her.

My wolf was unsatisfied and wanted to taste the honey of her lips again. At first I thought I was pushing too far, that I was letting my emotions loose.

But she responded, and she reciprocated. When I helped myself up over her, careful not to crush her, she pulled herself up against me. Our bodies were magnets, and wherever we touched we burned together.

I felt my desire taking over, my body reacting to hers and straining to fully give in. I had never wanted anyone more, and I knew I had to keep myself from tearing her apart with my lust. I ran a hand across my face a I remembered the turmoil I had been in as I explored her mouth with my own.

She kissed along my cheek, and when he teeth nipped by next I almost roared into the night. Against my will my canine fangs came out, and my eyesight was starting to sharpen at the edges.

Let me have her.

My wolf was fighting against my resistance, and I was losing the battle. I lifted Mira’s body easily and pulled her on top of me, her gasp making me twitch in arousal.

Fate stepped in at that perfect moment.

As I swung Mira’s body onto mine, we knocked the bedside table and sent a water glass to the floor. We both stopped suddenly, staring at the puddle seeping into the carpet.

And then we laughed out loud, and the moment passed. Mira slid off me, slightly giddy at the intensity of her own passion. I rose to clean up the spill, taking a moment to splash cool water on my face in the bathroom.

I stared in the mirror, seeing my features fully shift back into their human form. I didn’t know if Mira had noticed the state I was in, but I knew now was not the time to address it.

We eventually made it back into bed, almost shy with each other. We fell asleep apart, but were smiling at each other. A new door to our relationship had opened, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one who was excited about it.

But then, I woke up alone. And then, she texted me saying she would be home late.

The logical side of me will not jump to conclusions. Another part of me was full of doubt.

How could I not take her absence and avoidance as rejection? I had shown my hand, and she had played along to appease me. And then she bolted as soon as she could.

A vice grip tightened in my chest, and humiliation warmed my cheeks. I did not expect to always get my way, but an Alpha did not tolerate being toyed with. I would not let her receive my affections without requiting them.

I had spent most of today spiraling through these thoughts, unable to focus on much else.

“You seem distracted, son,” my father said to me as we finished up a financial meeting with the elder council.

“I’m fine,” I grunted.

“Girl troubles, huh?” he replied with a smile.

I looked up at him, then away from his knowing stare. I wondered how he always managed to guess what I was thinking. While we were close, my father and I had never been connected telepathically.

“Do you want my advice?”

He waited, walking next to me on our way back to the Alpha house.

“Not really,” I responded like a teenager. That may have been the last time I had felt this strongly about a girl, back when I thought I was going to marry my favorite teacher.

“Well, what I will say is this,” he put his hand on my arm to stop me in my tracks. “Don’t be afraid of silence— we fall in love in the silence between words.”

“What genie brought you that wisdom?” I said, scoffing.

“Your mother.”

He patted my back and took off on his walk without waiting for me. I was left alone, staring at the back of the Alpha, feeling like a lost child.

I felt a new tightness in my chest as I watched him walk away. My father still found so much joy in the memory of his first wife. I could only hope that patience would bring me a bond similar to the one they had shared.

When I arrived home I was beat. My wolf had been hovering close to the surface throughout the day, as if responding to my stress levels. I soaked in the tub, a new habit I’d taken from Mira when needing to decompress. Then I started thinking about Mira’s bathing habits, and I had to end the experience with an ice cold shower.

I knew I had time to kill before I could expect Mira to be home, not that I could interpret what “I’ll be home late” really meant.

I called my Betas to me, not an unusual thing to do before ending the night. I gave the pretense of general Alpha business, but couldn’t hide my motives for long.

“Have you heard from Luna Mira today?” I asked with an even-tone.

Lucas and Wyatt looked haltingly at one another, then back at their leader.

“Not recently, sir, no,” said Lucas, terse as ever.

Then there was silence.

“She didn’t ask for anything this morning, or mention where she was going?” I moved closer to them as I spoke, wondering if a man of mine would keep a secret from me. Wyatt looked concerned but not untrustworthy.

“Sir, do you think Luna is in danger?” Lucas cut in again.

“I’m not sure, honestly,” I turned and walked to sit down, gesturing for them to follow suit. “She left early and said she’d be late, but now I cannot get a response. And she revealed nothing about where she was going.”

“We will put out an APB, and call up the other local Packs to see if any scouts have had sightings.”

Lucas was already on his phone. Wyatt kept his eyes down, but I could see her was working out a great problem in his psyche.

“Wyatt?”

He looked up, his pupils dancing and he refocused on my face. I knew these men better than they knew themselves, and they knew me.

“What is it?” I asked him.

Wyatt reached in his pocket and held up his phone. It was a GPS app, with a small dot floating in a sea of green woods one hundred miles away from here.

“I know where she is.”