Chapter 7: As You Wish

Dominique's POV

The next morning, I was startled into consciousness by what sounded like an air raid siren. I had no idea what it meant, but I knew what it didn't mean: that I was going to get any more sleep for the moment. I groaned as the muscle soreness Griffin had warned me about kicked in, and fumbled for my robe. Even the knock at my door sounded somehow ominous.

"Come in," I replied with a sigh, gazing at the darkness outside my window. What was so important that I literally had to get up at the crack of dawn, I wondered.

"Ma'am, it's me," Collins replied, peering from around the door, "There's been a breach in the perimeter. Rogue wolves are coming. We need to get ready. Please meet us in the kitchen area, as quickly as you can."

Rogue wolves. The same ones we had just agreed to help that awful man, Steph, dispatch? I wondered, what were they doing in our packlands?

"I'll be right there," I assured him, trying and failing not to grimace from the burn radiating down my lower back, "I'll just need a moment to change." Damn that man, I thought, somewhat irrationally, making me train that hard right before a real emergency!

"Oh, I almost forgot," Collins said, and tossed me a small bottle, which I caught automatically, "Sir Griffin said to give these to you. Said that you might need them this morning. I'll see you downstairs."

I read the label and smiled in relief. Aspirin. That was kind of him, I thought, feeling guilty for cursing him earlier, even if it was only in my head… I dry swallowed two pills and dressed quickly. Maybe, I thought, once the pain reliever kicked in, I could use what I had learned to help. I found myself feeling surprisingly exhilarated by the idea. Those rogue wolves wouldn't know what hit them!

***

Griffin's POV

Hearing the air raid siren always made my heart pound. I hated that noise. To me, it was the sound of death drawing near. I wasn't going to let those b*stards hurt my people. I would do whatever I had to do to keep them safe.

"Thank you all for responding so quickly," I told the crowd of people gathered in my kitchen, "As you all have probably heard by now, rogue wolves have crossed into our territory. We don't know if they are the same wolves that the Greystone pack has been plagued with, but it doesn't matter. We will dispatch them, one way or another."

As I scanned the faces of those around me, my heart nearly stopped in my chest when I saw Dominique's. She looked as if she had just been roused from sleep, which was probably the case. Her hair was tousled, and somehow her lips were bright red. I wondered, absurdly, if she wore lipstick. I wanted to taste them to find out. I shook my head to clear it. Now was NOT the time to allow my focus to stray for even an instant.

"You will all be assigned tasks," I continued, "Everyone, go get some coffee and breakfast, and then come see me. I'll let you know where you'll be stationed, and what specifically you will be doing. We will go from there."

I headed to the coffee maker myself, readying myself for whatever might lie ahead, when I felt a hand on my arm. It was Dominique, and once again, her touch felt somehow electric. Damn that woman, I thought in irritation, although it was directed more at my own weakness than at her. What was it about her that had me all turned around?

"What is it?" I asked her, more brusquely than I had intended. And then I felt terrible when I saw her flinch, just a little, at my response. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just worried about all of this. I don't know how they got in. I'm supposed to have a state-of-the-art security system in this place. This should never have happened. I…"

"It's ok, I get it," she replied with a small smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I know you have a lot on your mind right now. I was just wondering, how can I help? What would you like me to do?"

I had dragged her out of bed, been rude to her, and she still wanted to help me. I was a cad. I had no idea why she was even talking to me at that point. I sighed in frustration with myself.

"You will remain here, in the kitchen," I told her, more gently than before, "I can't risk having you get hurt. If you don't mind, help me feed the volunteers. Keep the coffee fresh, and if anyone passes you information that seems important, let me know immediately."

"But Griffin, I want to really help," she implored, "We sparred yesterday, remember? You said I was good. I KNOW I was good. I could do something out in the field. Please, let me try." Of course I remembered. I remembered that it was damn near impossible for me to keep my hands off of her, how could I forget? But while she did have some natural talent, there was absolutely no way I was going to let her go out there and risk being injured or worse.

"I appreciate the offer, I truly do," I replied with a sigh, "And yes, you do have talent. But you've only had one lesson. And as your Alpha, I cannot allow you to go out there after only sparring for a single afternoon. That is my order." I didn't like to play the Alpha card, giving orders, unless it seemed absolutely necessary. But I couldn't risk having her ignore my request, and getting killed on my watch.

"And if I disobey you, then what happens?" she asked, eyes flashing in anger, "What, as my Alpha, would you do then?"

I had a sudden thought, unbidden, of handcuffing her to the nearest bed. Of truly mastering her. Of making her c*m so hard and so often that she screamed in ecstasy.

"You have no idea what I would do," I growled, "You don't want to find out, trust me on that. Now go, do as I say, please." I had to get away from her before I lost control entirely.

"As you wish," she replied, furiously, and stomped away from me. I sighed, thinking that it was probably for the best. I didn't have time to reflect upon that point for very long, as we all heard a pounding at the front door, and the scraping of claws across wood. We weren't going to have to search for the rogue wolves, they were coming to us.

"Ready your weapons," I commanded my people, "Everyone. They are coming in through the front door." Fantastic, I thought, feeling a rush of pure adrenaline flow through my veins. So much for my carefully laid plan. This was war, this was now.

I cast a glance at Dominique, who stood at the window. Her sword was raised, her hair was fire in the rising sun behind her… She was a fierce goddess, ready to rain pure destruction upon our enemy. It seemed that once again, I had underestimated her. She smiled, and I nodded my approval. It seemed that she was going to get what she wanted after all. I was about to warn her to stay back when the door split in half, and a dozen rogue wolves entered through the newly torn entryway to my home.

"Attack," I commanded, drew my own sword and advanced on the nearest intruder, "Remember, try not to let them scratch or bite you. Their blood is poisonous!" The rogue wolf, who had half-shifted into a terrible half wolf, half man form, snarled at me and drew closer. Its fangs dripped blood. It let out a piercing, horrible wail that sounded more animal than human. I swung my weapon and took off its head with one, swift blow.

"Griffin! Behind you!" I heard Dominique call out, and turned to face two more of the creatures coming toward me. The larger of the two lunged at my arm, but I was able to avoid its bite and stab it through the heart. The smaller, I realized, had gained ground while I was busy with its "friend". To my horror, I looked up and found it standing so close to me that I could smell the foul stench of its breath. Then, to my surprise, it stopped moving entirely. Dominique had stabbed it in the heart, through its back. It fell hard in front of me, dead before it even hit the ground.

"I got it," she exclaimed in victory, "Did you see? I really got it!" Her beautiful cheekbone was smeared with the beast's blood, her hair was wild. She was savage, incandescent. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I could feel myself grow hard again. It made me want to tame her. I reached out to touch her cheek, just briefly, and she closed her eyes. By the Goddess what she did to me!

"I think we got them all," James announced, and accidentally ended the moment, when he hurried to my side, "That was a pretty feral bunch, wasn't it? I wonder where they came from."

As we sprang apart from each other, guiltily, I wondered why James had such terrible timing, but I couldn't tell him so. He had just helped save my people from a brutal attack.

"I know," I replied, thinking aloud, "We need to find out how they entered the property, and if they are the same group the Greystone pack was talking about." I looked around for Dominique, but she had vanished in the confusion. I sighed. I wondered what she was thinking about all of this. And more to the point, I wondered how much longer it would be before I gave into my own dark impulses. It was probably best that she stayed away from me. I was battling my own beast, and it could not be vanquished with a blade.