Dominic
"Reject her! Or watch her die!" said the stranger, a cruel smile on his face and red eyes glowing as he placed one clawed hand on Dominic's shoulder, a touch that burned cold through Dominic's shirt.
Dominic's wolf howled beneath his skin, hackles rising and urging him to rip out the throat of the male daring to threaten what was his. But something in the stranger's scent paralyzed Dominic: an ancient aura smelling of old blood and something that did not quite belong in the natural world.
"Who the hell are you?" Dominic growled, shrugging the stranger's hand off as he fought to remain human. The forest was silent, not even crickets daring to make a sound. There was no border patrol at this corner of Silver Moon territory, and their absence struck him as strange.
The stranger smiled, revealing teeth too sharp to be human. "I'm disappointed, young Alpha. Your father would have known me." He stepped into moonlight filtering through pines, silver-white hair shining unnaturally. He looked like a man in his middle years, but his eyes claimed to be decades older. "Marcus Bloodclaw. I have a feeling your grandfather talked about me in his stories... you know, the ones intended to scare pups into obedience."
Dominic felt blood drain from his face. Marcus Bloodclaw was supposed to be a myth, a cautionary tale of power gone wrong. A great Alpha who discovered forbidden magics ages ago and increased his life by draining power from other wolves.
"But you are dead," Dominic said flatly, even though the wolf in him whined in warning.
"Clearly not." Elegant arms ending in claws opened wide to gesture to himself. "I've been watching you, Dominic Silvercloud. And in particular, I've been watching your little healer."
Sierra. Dominic held steady outwardly, but his heart rate jumped. "Whatever you are playing at, leave my pack members out of it."
"Playing?" Marcus laughed, an otherworldly sound that sent birds flying from trees around them. "This is not a game. This is the inevitable restructuring of our kind. And Sierra Greywood is more than just a pack member. She has old blood, the rarest lineage in the world, and tomorrow, you're going to declare her as your mate."
Dominic fought to keep his expression neutral. The fact that this stranger, this living myth, was aware of their arrangements confirmed Dominic's greatest fear: a pack member had betrayed him.
"What Sierra and I do is not your business," Dominic said, letting his voice drop to a dangerous level.
"On the contrary." Marcus began circling Dominic, a predatory creature assessing another predator. "A lost lineage is very much my concern. Did you know her grandmother has hidden the truth about their history? The Greywoods are more than healers, they are descendants of the original Moon Wolves. Sierra's eyes aren't a genetic anomaly; their bloodline is returning."
Dominic's mind raced. Sierra's silvery blue eyes had always stood out and drawn his attention. Was there truth to what this creature was saying?
"And you care because...?" Dominic prompted, using the conversation to explore his options. They were still three miles from the main compound and his phone had mysteriously lost service the moment Marcus Bloodclaw had confronted him.
Marcus ceased his pacing. His unnatural eyes fixed on Dominic. "Because I'm centuries deep in rare werewolf bloodlines, abilities and magics. Sierra Greywood is the last piece of a very old puzzle. And I will have her, willing or not."
"Over my dead body," Dominic snarled, fangs partially descending, as his control slipped.
"That can be arranged," Marcus replied, unaffected, "but it would be messy. I'm giving you a choice Alpha. At the ceremony tomorrow, reject her in front of everyone. Break her heart so badly, she runs screaming from Silver Moon territory. By then she'll be vulnerable and an easier prize for me to take."
Dominic's fingers curled into claws. "And what if I don't?"
"Then I'll take her anyway, after I have killed half of your pack as a demonstration." Marcus's pleasant tone made the threat even more terrifying. "Starting with that delightful grandmother of hers."
"You can't get through our defenses," Dominic replied although uncertainty began to gnaw at him. If Marcus had infiltrated them enough to know about the ceremony...
"Can't I?" Marcus grinned. "How do you think I found you here tonight? You have a traitor among you, Dominic. Someone very close to you has been whispering in my ear for months now."
The words fell like a punch to his kidneys. Dominic's inner circle was small; his Beta Victor, his brother Liam, his advisers, Elias and Mara, and a few top enforcers. To think that any of the people he loved would betray him and the pack was almost as awful as the choice being presented to him.
"I don't believe you," Dominic said, but his wolf whined with uncertainty.
"Believe what you want." Marcus casually glanced at the fancy watch on his wrist. "You have until moonrise tomorrow to choose. Reject Sierra Greywood and destroy her heart beyond repair, or I will paint your territory with blood before the sun goes down. And I will take her anyway."
Wind stirred through pines and brought distant howls of Dominic's patrol wolves sensing something wrong, finally on their way. Marcus cocked his head and listened.
"Your guards have finally noticed their Alpha is absent. How... lazy." He stepped back towards the tree line. "Remember this young Alpha: I expect a convincing show. The she-wolf needs to believe with every ounce of her being that you don't want her, that you never wanted her. Your pack's survival lies in your ability to perform."
Dominic lunged forward, but Marcus seemed to melt into shadows between one heartbeat and the next with his voice lingering in the stillness of the night, "Until moon rise, Alpha Silvercloud."
The forest erupted with movement as five of his wolves came rushing into the clearing. Caleb, his head enforcer, shifted back before approaching Dominic warily.
"Alpha? We picked up a strange scent coming across our borders. Are you okay?"
Dominic stared at his pack members, wondering which ones were hiding intent to harm him. If Marcus had told the truth, then someone he trusted was giving information to a monster.
"Improve the rotation timing on patrols," he ordered instead, his mind racing through impossible scenarios. "And locate Victor. I want a meeting in my office in twenty minutes."
While the wolves dispersed to carry out his orders, Dominic stood where he was, the weight of the impossible decision burying him whole. Sierra, his Sierra, even if he'd never publicly own her, was in danger because of their bond. The mate bond which was already forming between them, even though they had yet to declare themselves officially, pulled at his chest like a real chain.
Choosing his heart meant endangering his pack, yet choosing his pack meant he would destroy the one person who made him feel complete.
The walk back to the compound was a blur as he began to go through desperate plans. Could he fake the rejection and then explain to Sierra later in private? No, Marcus would know, and Sierra's genuine heartbreak was necessary to his plans. Could he possibly reinforce their defenses by tomorrow to protect all of them? Impossible in just twenty-four hours.
Victor was sitting in his office when Dominic arrived, Council Member Elias, one of the pack's oldest and most revered leaders, was also there.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Victor said as he looked intently at Dominic's face. "Did the patrols report a disturbance?"
Dominic considered the facts carefully. If there was a traitor, then telling everything he knew could be disastrous. On the other hand, keeping his Beta uninformed about a threat could also lead to dire consequences.
"A neighboring Alpha is giving us a heads-up," Dominic replied carefully, "There is nothing concrete yet."
Something crossed Victor's face far too soon for Dominic to read. "About the ceremony tomorrow?"
Dominic's wolf sat upright. He had never said anything to Victor about the Recognition Ceremony being tomorrow. He had told Victor "soon". Another piece of information that had leaked somehow.
Before he could pursue that lead, Elias cleared his throat. His weathered face grave in the dim light of the office.
"Alpha, a moment alone?" the elder asked, his gaze flicking meaningfully to Victor.
"Give us the room," Dominic said, nodding at his Beta, who hesitated half a moment before leaving the room.
The moment the door closed, Elias moved surprisingly fast for his age, shoving a folded piece of paper into Dominic's hand while he urgently whispered in his ear.
"Someone in your inner circle is a traitor. I found this in communications meant for the Mooncrest Pack, but I suspect this was actually meant for someone much more dangerous."
With dread pooling in his stomach, Dominic unfolded the paper. Written in a hand he didn't recognize were patrol schedules, security codes, and most damning of all, the exact details of tomorrow's Recognition Ceremony with Sierra.
"Trust no one," Elias whispered, his rheumy eyes bright with fear. "Especially those closest to you."
Dominic must make an impossible choice by moonrise, Elias' warning ringing in his ears like a death knell. In less than twenty-four hours, he would break Sierra's heart or sign her death warrant, along with the death warrants of countless members of his pack.
And somewhere in their midst, watching his every move, was a traitor.