Chapter 123

She stiffened slightly. Just slightly. Enough that I noticed.

“I mean,” I said quickly, “only if you’re free. I just thought it was fun to have someone to laugh a bit with…”

She gave me a tight smile. “It was.”

I hesitated, then reached for my phone. “Want to exchange numbers? Just for planning—”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she interrupted, quiet but clear.

I blinked. “Oh.”

She rubbed her arm, looking a little sheepish now. “It’s not anything you did. I just... I think we should talk. In private.”

That wasn’t ominous at all.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Do you want to walk somewhere?”

“There’s the café. It's only two blocks down."

Were we that close? I nodded.

“Lead the way.”

We walked in silence, which only made my stomach churn harder. Was she going to tell me she didn’t want to be friends at all? Had I made her uncomfortable somehow?

Maybe she recognized me and was one of Vivian's groupies. Or Tyler's. It would be just my luck, wouldn't it?

We reached the café and settled at a quiet corner table. The place was cozy, dimly lit, and smelled like cinnamon and rising dough. She ordered a tea, and when the waiter came, she insisted on getting me a croissant on the house.

I took it, biting into the flaky, warm pastry as she folded her hands on the table.

“So,” she said, eyes meeting mine, “I figured it was better to tell you myself before it came out.”

My heart dropped. “Tell me what?”

Dominic

The air in the tactical gym was thick with heat, sweat, and the distant rhythm of fists slamming into padded bodies. I stood just inside the arching doorway, the scent of iron and focus mingling with the subtle charge of magic that I was starting to associate with Neil.

I had no idea that he even used Brightclaw's training facilities. I knew students of the university had access, but I didn't think any other sons of alphas bothered to train.

This gym was meant for gammas: soldiers of the pack trained not just in brute force, but in strategy, general law enforcement and combat. This wasn’t where most young men of means would bother to spend their time, but being the Bearer of Wrath probably meant that Neil needed to spend a lot of time just to burn off all the energy.

I got up to the observation deck to watch, scanning the floor for him. It wasn't hard to find him as he tossed a man over his shoulder, not even stopping long enough for the man to hit the ground. He moved like something fluid and wild, his body a blur of muscle and momentum as he dodged the broad swing of another man easily twice his size. Another Blackfang gamma lunged, but Neil anticipated it, ducking low and sweeping the man’s legs out from under him in a smooth, punishing arc. The man hit the mat with a grunt that echoed through the space.

Three men lay on the mats, panting.

"What the fuck is your problem today?... And why aren't you taking it out on them?"

The rest of them laughed.

Neil stepped back, his chest rising and falling evenly, his dark shirt clinging to him, but there was no glow coming from his back. His mother said he hadn't taken the vial, which meant he was just controlling it on his own.

I had to admit. I was impressed.

I folded my arms, watching him while a slow burn of memory lit up the back of my mind. I almost wish I hadn't looked at the history, but I knew that in order to talk to Renee about it. I had to refresh my mind on it.

The Bearer of Wrath was a divine blessing. A mantle passed down by the Goddess herself to those chosen to protect the sacred lines. Vassals. Guardians. Warriors. Defenders.

Once upon a time, Renee would have been my luna, chosen or not, and Neil would have been my chosen protector for her. And given the way everything was turning out now, it seemed a lot like it was going to happen that way again, in a more modern way at least.

The records were pretty clear that though officially, the line of the king and the pack that was now Brightclaw was born between the alpha and his luna, their chosen vassal was as good as a second spouse. There had been times in history where the Luna was left alone because the Alpha had died and the vassal had remained at her side as her alpha consort and no one had blinked at it.

Neil caught sight of me after helping one of his opponents off the mat. His brow lifted slightly in acknowledgment, and he said something to the gamma before striding over to the stairs and taking them three at a time to reach me.

Part of me knew that he only took the stairs to appear normal. He probably could have leapt from the ground floor to the observation deck in one leap. Bearers of Wrath tended to be more powerful than most could comprehend, and him being half witch likely only added to that. Though I wondered if perhaps every Bearer of Wrath had always been half witch. Maybe this was the first time that a Bearer of Wrath was actually half shifter. Let alone from a powerful line like Blackfang.

“Here to work off stress?” he asked, toweling off the back of his neck as he approached. His eyes flicked toward mine, assessing. “Or… here to tell me to stop beating up your gammas?”

“Neither,” I said. “Though I won’t lie. You’re more impressive that I thought. Not a lot of sons of alphas would bother training this way."

He arched a brow. “Careful, Dominic. That sounded dangerously close to a compliment.”

“It was.”

He eyed me, scanning me, narrowing his eyes “You spoke to my mom? That's why you're here."

I hissed. " Something tells me she didn't call to tell you that."

He shook his head and turned. "I suppose this is the point where we talk…"

"Not before you talk to Renee."

He blinked at that. “Okay... I'm not entirely sure where this is going."

“I know Renee saw the mark on your back,” I continued, watching the shift in his expression. “And I know it shook her. She’s worried. More importantly, you're worried. And if I know anything about anything, you being worried is a bigger problem than her being worried. Isn't that why you're here?”

Neil’s lips pressed into a thin line. He didn’t try to deny it. Didn’t even pretend to play it off.

"I've got it under control."

" I know that."

He jerked and looked at me. I nodded downstairs.

"Everybody got up, no one has a broken bone. And they can still joke with you, I'm pretty sure. You've got that part under control. I'm talking about the rest, obviously."

"She was raised in the New Belief… and even without that…"

I nodded. I knew exactly where he was going with it. Though not everybody believed in the New Belief, their teachings were pervasive.

“I don't know if this is going to help you much or not. But we both know that that mark is far more complicated than many know. Hell, more than the Temple knows, and only you are the one who can know how truly complicated it is. " He glanced at me. " You probably know way more than me, and I've been taught about mine since I was a child."

His eyes widened. I could see the question in his eyes. Then his eyes narrowed again. He tilted his head slowly, and I laughed.

"If you figure it out without me having to tell you, I'm going to feel really bad and a little inadequate."

Neil didn’t respond at first. I saw it in his eyes, though—the recognition, the shift of understanding grinding against old fear.

“Do you know what they used to call people like you?” I asked quietly. “Vassals. Champions. Defenders. Protectors. Warriors. You have nothing to fear nor be ashamed of." I smirked. “I’m saying, in another time, we'd be bound together, two parts of three, whether we liked it or not."

He stared at me for a beat. “… do you think Renee is the third?"

"Do you?" His jaw tensed. I nodded. “ Maybe instead of trying to burn off all that extra energy beating up my gammas, why don't you call her? I've talked to her, but I know it'll go a lot farther hearing it from you. Besides, you deserve to stop torturing yourself…”

He looked down at the towel still clenched in his hands. I turned to leave.

“I expect to see you back at work tomorrow, Neil. More importantly, before she drives herself crazy wondering why you’re still avoiding her.”

“Got it, boss.”

He started to turn, then paused.

“Dominic?”

I looked at him.

“Thanks."