39

Dominic’s POV
Our relentless pace slowed as we neared the secluded house nestled deep within the woods. Its location was ideal for a hideout-isolated, far from any pack’s territory, and distant enough from the nearest town to avoid raising suspicion. We shifted back into our human forms and quickly slipped into the sweatpants we’d carried.
“What are your orders, Alpha?” one of the trackers asked, his voice steady, though the anticipation in the group was palpable. All eyes were on me.
I fixed my gaze on the house, now only twenty feet away. “Eliminate every one of them. If you see Oliver, capture him. I want him alive,” I commanded, projecting an image of Oliver that I had pulled from Katarina’s memories into their minds through our pack link.
As if on cue, a large man stepped out onto the porch. Without hesitation, I sprang from the underbrush, crossing the yard in a heartbeat. My claws extended as I drove them into the man’s eye sockets. His scream was a sickening mix of terror and pain, but I had no patience for his suffering.
“Where is she?” I snarled, twisting my claws deeper.
“In-inside!” he sputtered, his voice barely a gurgle as blood filled his throat.
I slashed his neck in a single, decisive motion, tossing his lifeless body aside. Katarina’s face was vivid in my mind, fueling my resolve.
The house was swarming with more than a dozen men, but I wasn’t surprised-they had known we were coming. The element of surprise was gone, but I didn’t care. I tore through the front door, immediately engaging the closest human as the rest of my wolves followed suit.
This was my element. The air thickened with the scent of blood, sweat, and death. Screams of agony echoed through the space, punctuated by the occasional gunshot. But the pathetic hunters were no match for us. I could feel the feral joy coursing through Hunter, my wolf, as we tore through our enemies. Each kill brought us closer to Katarina.
Lost in the carnage, I became a force of nature, my vision tinged red with fury. I was relentless, my mind a whirlwind of primal instinct and singular focus.
A hand on my shoulder snapped me back to reality. I turned, claws raised, ready to strike.
“Alpha, they’re all dead,” the tracker said quietly, his voice breaking through the haze of my rage.
I took in the scene around me-blood splattered across the walls, bodies strewn across the floor. It was a massacre, but I felt no satisfaction.
“Did you find Oliver? Is Katarina here?” I demanded, my voice laced with urgency.
“Oliver’s gone, likely fled before we arrived. But there’s a locked door upstairs, and her scent is all over it,” he responded.
At his words, I bolted up the stairs, driven by the scent of my mate. I knew I had found the right door when her scent intensified, wrapping around me like a lifeline.
Without hesitation, I kicked the door in, my heart hammering in my chest. I couldn’t bear the thought of her not being here, of this search ending in failure. They wouldn’t have been foolish enough to kill her and leave me alive, would they?
The door crashed to the ground, and my eyes scanned the room frantically. Relief washed over me as I met Katarina’s ocean-blue eyes.
In that moment, the tension that had gripped me for so long melted away. The stress, agony, and rage I had been carrying vanished at the sight of her. But as I looked closer, fury surged within me again. She was alive, but she looked exhausted, her hair tangled and wild, her body weakened by the ordeal. Yet, even in this state, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.
Her blue eyes widened in shock, and I felt a rush of warmth as her cheeks flushed pink.
“Dominic?” My name on her lips was like music, soothing the fear that had gnawed at me for days. I had never known fear like this, the fear of losing my mate.
I moved without thinking, closing the distance between us in an instant. I swept her into my arms, feeling her wrap her legs around my waist. The familiar sparks danced across my skin, grounding me in the reality that she was here, alive, with me.
I buried my face in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply. It was intoxicating, filling me with a sense of peace I hadn’t felt since she was taken. I held her tightly as she trembled in my arms, our bond amplifying the flood of emotions between us-fear, relief, love, and anger.
“I love you, Dominic,” she whispered into my neck, her voice fragile yet fierce. Hunter, my wolf, nearly shattered my control at her words.
She pulled back just enough to capture my lips in a desperate kiss, and I let myself drown in her touch, in the feel of her soft lips against mine.
“You’re never leaving my side again,” I growled, the words a vow as I held her even closer. I wasn’t about to let her go, not now, not ever. I had a week of torment to make up for, and I wasn’t planning on wasting a second.
In my intense focus on her, I had almost forgotten about the others. The men who had followed me up the stairs were standing nearby, their eyes on us.
Katarina’s soft giggle broke through the haze of emotions, and I looked at her, utterly captivated. “I was thinking the same thing,” she whispered.
But then her expression darkened, and her voice turned cold. “Did you find him? Did you find Oliver?” she asked, her tone hardening with determination. “I want to be the one to kill him, Dominic.”
I could feel the anger radiating off her, but I didn’t want her to worry. “Shhh,” I soothed, rubbing circles on her back. “I’ll find him, Katarina. I won’t rest until I do.”
With her still in my arms, I carried her out of the house and into one of the hunters’ SUVs. I had one of the men check the vehicles for trackers before we set off. The rest of the pack piled into other vehicles, and we drove away from the scene of our battle.
I held Katarina close the entire ride, her body warm against mine. She was exhausted, drifting in and out of sleep, her head resting on my shoulder.
As she stirred, her sleepy voice murmured against my neck, “Dominic…”
“Yes, my little mate?” I responded, my voice filled with relief and love. Hearing her say my name felt like a balm to my wounded heart.
“He has a sister, Dominic,” she whispered, her words barely audible.
I frowned, concern creeping in. “Shh, just sleep, baby,” I murmured against her hair, hoping to soothe her. I held her tighter, trying to absorb every bit of her presence.
But if I could go back to that moment, I would have listened more carefully to what she said. I would have realized the importance of her words. Because if I had, things might have turned out very differently.