Chapter 53

Dominic

Him again.

My wolf was loud and angry in my mind, raring for a fight. The sight and smell of Ward, in my home, was an assault on my Alpha senses.

He was the last wolf I wanted to see.

And Mira, almost cowering in front of him. This man who had claimed to love her and see her as family was standing in her doorway berating her.

She didn’t look frightened, but like she was trying to prevent his words from entering her ears. Her knuckles were turning white from how tightly they were pressed against the sides of her head.

With a flick of Alpha aura, they both sensed my presence at the same time.

Mira’s face went slack, then slightly ashamed, then angry again at Ward.

The Beta from the Brooks Pack had that smug and fiendish look on his face that I was coming to loath. A slimy bloodsucker, always trying to cheat the system then playing dumb when he was caught.

“Dominic, we were just—“

Mira took a step away from him. Her hands reached towards me for a moment, then fell back by her sides.

“I was just leaving, don’t worry,” Ward said, deliberately throwing Mira off balance as he walked by her to the door. “Good luck with your wolfless bride.”

He was gone, and the room was still.

“Are you alright?”

She looked down, her hands coming together.

“Yes,” she said without conviction, “I’m fine. Sometimes he can be such a child.”

“And he expects to be treated like a man,” I said, closing the door Ward left open. “I am still not convinced he wasn’t involved in Tessa’s scheme.”

“So it’s true?” Mira asked, looking up to me. “She really tried to take all that money?”

“My step-sister, or former step-sister,” I corrected myself, a bitter taste in my mouth, “she was never the most thorough in her planning. I almost pity her for it.”

“Sure,” Mira said. “And Lucian? Was he involved too?”

“It appears he was not,” the bitterness was spreading down my throat. “Though I don’t totally believe he didn’t know anything about his family members' motives. I just need proof.”

“Or maybe he really didn’t know anything, and you can trust him to stand by the Pack.”

I stared at her for a moment, not thrilled that she hadn’t given up her affinity for Lucian. I brushed off my intrusive thoughts.

“Maybe,” I said, enough of an agreement for now. “But, back to Ward— why did he call you a ‘wolfless bride?’”

Mira shrunk in front of me. She brought her hands to her face, as if trying to wipe away an accusation written on her face.

“Mira, please,” I said, taking her hands and attention. “you can trust me.”

She reciprocated holding my hand, sighing out loud. With a look into my eyes, she turned and led me over to sit on the edge of the bed.

I let her settle herself, knowing she needed to tell me this story in her own time.

“Technically, what Ward said was true,” she said carefully. “I am wolfless.”

She held her breath as she braced herself for my reaction. I could see the tension in her jaw as she clenched her teeth.

“Wolfless,” I said, keeping my face calm to hide the thoughts racing in my mind.

A wolfless Luna was certainly unexpected.

“Were you born like this?”

“No, no” Mira jumped in. “it was…taken from me.”

“Taken? How?”

“I don’t really know,” she said, shaking her head. “I was young, and the memories are blurry, and mostly bad so I think I have blocked a lot of it out.”

“I’m sorry to make you go through it again,” I said, taking her hand again. “If it is too painful, please stop.”

“I can go on,” she said, trying to smile to reassure me. “I think you should know the truth.”

“Whatever you want me to know about your past,” I vowed, “I welcome you with an open mind.”

Her smile grew, and she tilted her head as she looked at me.

There she is.

I titled my head to mirror her.

“I was young, barely a teenager,” Mira explained. “It was during a particularly heightened conflict with Rogues, and I had just lost both my parents in a raid.”

I felt the rumble of a deep growl within me as I listened to her.

“So many people were injured and killed, so much damage,” her eyes had a faraway look as she relived the past. “And when they had gone through our whole compound, they had gathered a few younger wolves. Five were taken from the Pack, and I was one of them.”

My breath hitched in my throat and my jaw tightened.

“They took us… I don’t know where,” Mira continued, “some facility, almost a hospital but not a place for healing. It was for testing.”

“Testing?”

“I know, Dominic,” she said, leaning into me. “I think it could be like what happened to you, only with very different results. I didn’t come out stronger— I came out wolfless. They took it from me.”

“Mira,” I said, bringing a hand to hold her face. “I am so sorry.”

I didn’t know what else I could say.

“I can understand if this means I can’t be Luna, or your Mate,” Mira said, taking my hand away. “The Pack needs strong leadership, not a fraud like me.”

“You are not a fraud,” I told her sharply. “You are one of the most authentic people I have ever met, and a better member to this Pack than most full-blooded wolves I know.”

She smiled at my compliments, but her eyes still looked sad. I realized I would’ve moved Heaven and Earth to keep her from being sad ever again.

“Besides,” I went on, “if you had a wolf once, maybe it’s possible to bring it back.”

“Our of dormancy,” Mira added, nodding, “I’ve been thinking that too. I’ve been doing research alongside my medical work, just to see what’s out there.”

“If the Rogues are doing it, then it must be possible.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said dejectedly.

“In the meantime,” I said, pulling her focus back, “we focus on building our future. And maybe the future just got her faster than we had planned.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I mean, with Irene gone, and you becoming our next Luna,” I told her, “we might as well not wait much longer to make things official.”

“Official?”

“Our Mate Ceremony.”

“Oh.”

“It will secure us a unit, and your hold on the Luna position will be even stronger as you go through the final trial.”

“That could be true,” she said tentatively.

“And,” I added, “I will be better able to protect you as my wife. Our legal bond will be that much stronger.”

“Our bond, legally, of course,” Mira repeated, seeming a bit dazed by them. “What if I’m not ready?”

“Well, we don’t have to do anything immediately,” I said, “and the ceremony is rather simple, traditional.”

“Not that,” she said, a bit more energized. “I meant, ready for…after?”

My brow furrowed as I tried to figure out what she meant.

Then I realized. Mira was thinking about the wedding night, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity.

I couldn’t help the smirk at the corner of my mouth.

“That part,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “will be just between us.”