Chapter 37

Dominic

"Back down,” I snarled getting out of the car. “Before you start another inter-pack dispute.”

I looked over at Tyler and the officers. Tyler went pale with fear and stepped back. The officers shot to attention. “Alpha --”

“Quiet,” I snarled. “Tyler, what the fuck are you doing?”

“S-She attacked—”

“Don’t give me that shit!” I roared. “Your sister couldn’t even get into the university, and it’s clear why you got in on a probationary one.” He flushed. “You and your whole family will be dealt with. Step aside.”

I turned to look at the officers. “In your cars and back to your post. You will report to your captain and submit yourself for interrogation by the end of the day.”

I whirled on Tyler. He flinched but didn’t even look like he was going to breathe too much as I passed him. Footsteps came from behind me but were much too slow, too loud, and too few to be a threat.

“If you even think of following them Tyler, you’re going to have to flee the damn country to get away from me.”

Then, there was the sound of slow clapping came from behind me as the officers sped off and other black cars pulled onto the parking lot. I watched the line of cars and hissed to myself. I recognized them as an exclusively Mountainhowl pack brand. There were only a few people Renee could be with in this case and none of them were good.

“Bravo...” A warm, sultry purr came. I turned slowly, wishing I didn’t recognize the voice.

I was going to punch Tyler and his father in the face. Arielle, Luna Regent of Mountainhowl, dressed in a blouse and pencil skirt, rather than the heels she was always photographed in, was there, standing and watching with amusement on her lips. She was wearing almost flat Oxfords. Sunglasses were perched on her head and she looked like absolute trouble, hair billowing in the wind, malicious glint of light in her eyes and all. She clapped one last time and tilted her head, looking at me with a cocky smirk, cocking her eyebrow.

“Splendid performance.”

I took a deep breath. “Luna Mountainhowl, what a pleasure to receive you in my capital.”

“Come now, Dominic, really?” She leaned back, sitting on the hood of the car, not blocking my view of Renee, but clearly putting herself between us. “Do you need to pretend with me?” I swallowed. She crossed her legs, her leg bobbing as she stared at me. I could see the schemes building in her eyes. She laughed. “How will the great Dominic Brightclaw get himself out of this one, I wonder?”

“Luna Mountainhowl, you can be assured —”

“She’s Mountainhowl blood,” Arielle cut in sharply. “And thus falls under my protection.”

I swallowed, hearing the edge in her voice The Mountainhowls were no one to trifle with, and their young Luna Regent had inherited all the reputation and built her own on top of it. I had no interest in having to fight this woman or anyone of the Mountainhowl.

I wished I had known Renee was that closely related before she had shown any real interest in Tyler to spare myself the headache of this.

“I am aware of what your family means to you.”

“Are you?” The smile was gone, staring at me. “And yet, we’re here.”

“Luna Mountainhowl, this was never meant to happen.”

“And yet it did.” She tsked. “Tell me, if this was your precious little gremlin of a daughter, would be as calm as I’m being right now?”

I set my jaw. “No.

“Then tread very carefully,” she said. “I do not have the temperament of age you have.”

I grimaced at the dig against being quite a bit younger than me, but I took a breath.

“I will deal with my pack as soon as possible.”

“The funny thing is that I believe you believe that, but considering that we’ve made it this far, it does not inspire faith.”

I swallowed. “And what would?”

“Perhaps if you can convince my little princess.”

I blinked, swallowing. It was purposeful, of course. I was on record referring to Vivian as my little princess. Arielle did not have children, and she wasn’t old enough to have a maternal relationship with Renee. Maybe more of an older sister, and that was worse. Arielle had lost her younger sister when she was very young. Every female pack member had become more dear to her than anything.

She’d already put a few men in the hospital this year about them and we were barely a few weeks in.

“Will you grant me a moment to speak with my ward?”

“Rule 1: her happiness is my happiness,” she tilted her head, nodding toward Renee. “Ask her yourself.”

I huffed about to walk to her, but I noticed that the men who had stepped out of the cars were much closer than before. I pulled out my phone and called Renee, not willing to shout across the distance. Renee answered, though she looked confused.

“What were you thinking?” I hissed. “Are you trying to make everything worse for yourself? You got into a fight? Not even a week—”

“I didn’t start the fight.”

“That’s not the point,” I ground out. “You’re supposed to be the bigger person. You’re older. You should know better than to—”

“Older than who?” She cut in flatly. “I’m younger than Tyler and everyone else involved,” she continued, tone tight with anger barely held back. “If anyone should have been the bigger person, it was the woman four years my senior who came to find and attack me because her brother is a cheating scumbag!”

Something unpleasant settled in my chest. I wanted to curse. I wasn’t getting enough sleep or something. I pressed the heel of my palm between my eyes. The blood that had stained the university ground, the scent of her fear, her blood and pain still hanging in the air, mixed and mingled with the shiny, waxed surface of a boat I would never step foot on again.

Hazel.

I had been thinking of Hazel—Vivian’s mother, though I knew well that Hazel would have never even raised her voice against Tyler’s sister, let alone got into a physical altercation against a gang of seven. She’d come from a very traditional pack that adhered to social hierarchy as if the Moon Goddess had decreed it the only means of being.

“Right,” I said. My throat tightened. “You’re right,” I said, forcing the words out. “I’m sorry. That was—out of line and... I was not thinking of you.”

I breathed out, looking up for a moment and blinking away the melding memories.

“It’s fine,” she said softly. “They are your pack.”

I grimaced. “That’s not why—”

She looked up, meeting my gaze across the distance, I focused enough to see the movement of her mouth, even as she spoke into my ear from my phone.

“I don’t need you to pretend with me either, Alpha Brightclaw.”

I blinked, the edge to her voice was set me on edge.

“They’re pack. They will always be more important to you, more believable, more trustworthy.”

It weren’t the words, it was tone behind them that made me think of Vivian’s time-honored retort to when I didn’t let her get what she wanted.

You just like her more than me, you always have!

I almost laughed, but then, she was speaking.

“You’re honor-and duty-bound to fulfill the terms of the placement, but it doesn’t have to be an easy ride.”

I blinked. “You think I what? Sent Tyler after you?”

“Nothing so overt.”

I chuckled. “Renee, I think you know me better than that... I jumped the gun, I can see that, but i have not proven myself to be the kind of person who would condone this.”

She let out a soft breath. “You didn’t have to yell at me.”

Her voice trembled. I could hear her trying to be strong and hold her voice together. Fuck. Was this just my irritation or jealousy? Hadn’t I thought she had been in the car with Neil, having heard that an heir of Blackfang had been witness to the fight?

“No. I didn’t. I’m sorry. Do you think we could start over?”

She sniffled softly. “Yeah.”

“Are you hurt?”

“No,” she said, leaning forward against the car, bowing her head. “Arielle had me taken care of.”

I frowned at that, but nodded. “Good. Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“No.”

“Okay.” I hesitated. “Renee, will you reconsider staying at the Estate?”

“Why would you even ask that?’

“Because you need to lay low.”

Renee

I was about to snap back at Dominic, to tell him how unfair it was for him to keep pushing me down when I was doing my best to hold it all together. But before I could open my mouth, a voice sliced through the tension like a blade.

“Well, this is cute, Dominic, but laying low isn’t going to help anyone.”

I frowned. I could see Dominic turning to look at her too as she handed me her phone and the image on the screen made my blood go cold.

It was me: a photoshopped, nude image of me, my face carefully inserted into a grotesque, altered body. The caption beneath it in bold red letters: whore.