| [Bonus chapter] New Life

Dominic had lost it the moment Lance started spewing those hateful words at his daughter. The whole thing had hit him too close to home. Dominic's uncle had been a kind and loving man. He had been pretty attentive and protective of his brother - Dominic's dad - until the day of the blood moon. The pack Seer had pulled uncle Brad aside and given him a prophecy. A prophecy that had caused Brad to turn against his brother and fought him to the death. Dominic had fought him too, and he had won, but the pack elders had been too chicken to choose him. His mom had been the one to take the hit more badly. She had even died because of it, her wolf was too timid to live without her mate and first son.

"Get the hell off me!"  Dominic was drawn out of his memory with those words. Lance's face came into focus and Dominic smiled at how flushed the man was looking.

"But I'm comfortable here, " Dominic growled, then narrowed his eyes when he noticed Lance trying to glance around. "No one's going to help you. Unlike you, they know better than to try to get between mates. Says a lot about you as an alpha if no one is willing to offer their life for yours." 

"She's my daughter-" he started but Dominic cut him short.

"And she's my mate. She's mine. No one keeps her from me. No one insults her. And no one – and I mean no one – talks to her the way you just did, understand me?" 

"Just tell me what you want," Lance snarled struggling to talk. "Are you that desperate for a fixer that you'd tie yourself to a Kaged wolf?" 

Tightening his hold on Lance's throat, Dominic smacked his head against the wall. "Didn't I just tell you no one insults my mate? Not very bright, are you?" Dominic gave Natalie a baffled look. "You sure you two are related?" 

She shrugged one shoulder delicately. "I do look a lot like the maintenance guy." Going to stand beside Dominic, she cocked her head at Lance. "I don't know what your problem is, daddy. I thought you'd be pleased that I'm leaving the pack, seeing as it's what you've always wanted. I suggest you quit insulting me if you want my mate to release you anytime soon." 

Lance stared at her with a disbelieving look on his redish-blue face. "You honestly believe he isn't playing some kind of game? He's using you, Natalie. When you realize that for yourself, don't think you'll be welcome back in my pack." 

She gave him a sad smile. "I stopped being welcome the day you realized I wasn't the daughter you desired. But then, you always were an ass, weren't you." 

"Is that what this is? Revenge? You know how badly I want that alliance." 

Dominic snickered. "What, an alliance with me wouldn't mean anything to you?" 

Lance's gaze shot to Dominic. It was obvious he hadn't thought of it that way and she could almost see the wheels turning in his head.

She released an exhausted sigh. "Dominic, just leave him." But Dominic didn't. He seemed to be having too much fun watching her dad struggle to breathe. "Come on, he's a waste of our time - time we should be using etch." 

At Natalie's words, Dominic ever so slowly released him and stepped back. "This is what the situation is, West. Natalie is now my mate, she is now part of my pack, and Mark will not touch her ever again. If he has any kind of issue with that, he is free to come to my territory. I'll be waiting." He held his hand out to Natalie. "Come on, baby." 

Shooting her dad a withering look, Natalie took Dominic's hand and he pulled her against him. His warmth seeped into her body and calmed her wolf even despite the tension. She took one last look at Shirley and Zane. The look of horror and concern marring their features sent a stab of guilt through her. She pushed the feeling aside knowing that it was either this or she'd end yo being Mark's little sex slave!

She mouthed 'bye' to them and allowed Dominic to lead her out of the club. 

*****

After a thirty-five-minute journey, Davina turned their Toyota Highlander into a forest-covered area. Lance's territory was a ranch that spanned seven acres of land on which sat a main house wherein he, his Beta, his bodyguards, and his enforcers lived. Surrounding the main house were several converted barns for the other packmates.

Fire Pack territory was nothing like that.

For a start, it had a perimeter fence with an entry and exit gate.

"We didn't bother having security on the gate until the Shepherds arrived in the area," Dominic explained.

Natalie frowned. "The Shepherds?"

Dominic nodded. "Yes. They are a group of dangerous humans who call us abominations and like to harm us if even the opportunity. So right now, only pack members and guests by invitation are granted access to the compound. The gate is guarded twenty-four hours." Dominic waved to the werewolf on duty. The guy strolled out of his little security shack and approached the Toyota. "You remember this wolf, right?" Dominic asked her. "Ray's one of the pack's enforcers." 

Natalie smiled at the not-very-talkative Ray – or angry, as she had branded him a few days ago – who was eyeing her curiously. He made her think of one of those bio soldiers in sci-fi movies. His movements were a little robotic and he had a real Terminator snarl going on. A guy who wouldn't hesitate to kill if the need arose, she deduced. Still, she didn't feel intimidated. She was determined to see that impassive expression falter.

"Are you miserable by choice?" As she'd hoped, he was so taken aback that his guard dropped for a split second; his dark eyes widened and his lips twitched. "It's fine and all but, I was just curious about whether you were born looking like you were sucking on a lemon or if the whole gloomy attitude is a lifestyle choice." 

When Ray's lips curved the tiniest bit at one corner, Dominic gaped. It seemed like for the mostly mute and anti-social Ray, that had been a gushing reception. "Everything went as planned with the claiming," Dominic finally explained to Ray. "I'll tell you more in the morning at breakfast." Ray nodded and then patted the vehicle before returning to the shack.

After a short drive over a rocky trail, they finally arrived at the mountain – there was no other word for it, was there? She found it amazing that even with light coming from some of the windows it didn't stand out at all. It was one of those things that unless you were looking for it, you'd probably miss it. "Who did all this?" 

"The ancestors of the last pack started it centuries ago. It's been added to and modernized over the years. We did a lot of improvements to it ourselves." 

"There are resorts in places like Toronto that have luxurious cave dwellings just like this," Davina explained as she drove through an opening in the bottom of the mountain which Natalie soon realized was a concealed parking lot.

As she hopped out of the Toyota, she noticed Talon parking her Tucson a few spaces away. His sulky expression as he got out of the car was the same one he had worn when Dominic had ordered him to drive it here for her. "I need to get my bag out of the trunk," she informed Dominic and took a step toward her car. 

"Don't worry, Talon will get it." 

Talon froze mid-step and a muscle ticked in his jaw. He sent Dominic a glare as he retrieved her bag from the trunk and Natalie couldn't help but smirk at his testy behavior. The hulk of a man shook his head when she went to take the bag from him and stormed past her, following behind Dominic and Davina as they strolled out of the opening they had just driven through. Happy gestured for her to go before him and with a nervous smile, Natalie removed her heels and headed into the lion's den. It was time to face her new life head-on.