Lucas didn't know what Dominic meant.
His words repeated again in his head, 'Julius, the team, the orphans, and Ayla.'
In just a mere few seconds, that felt like an eternity, it felt like it repeated fifty times, but in reality, it was only a handful.
"What do you mean we need to talk about Julius, the team, the orphans, and Ayla. If that needs to happen, then let's go. What are you waiting for?"
Dominic put his serious face on, "I have to know that I can trust you. That you aren't here to spy for the pack, or worse, the witches. So, how do I do that?"
"That's a good question. Isn't it? I tried to kill you. You survived, and I'm back. Maybe I'm here to finish the job. Be serious, Dom. You've always been like a father to me, if you ever stopped doting over thing one and thing two long enough to see it. All I've ever tried to do is be good enough for you. With them away is a good time for me to prove it. Head dive into my wolf if you want to at any point. Link with him."
Dominic thought about it.
That was an option, but a dangerous one if he wasn't careful, and he could always trust Lucas until he attacked him, but that was anger that caused that, and he was remorseful.
If anything, his wolf could easily sense the remorse without even trying.
This was Lucas's chance to make it up to him.
Ayla would be mad that he decided without them, but he could use the help.
"I trust you, but don't break my trust. When you attacked me, I understood and never held it against you. You didn't have the full picture of what was developing here. I can tell you what has happened here all from then and since then."
That's exactly what he did, as they watched the monitors for any suspicious activity.
Lucas was hooked on every word, too.
Eating it up just as much as he was, the pineapple concoction that Deva had brought for the old wolf to try.
There was no way in hell it was touching his lips, though, so he was glad that Lucas was eating it for him.
Dominic was nervous about telling him everything, but it felt almost like a relief when he did.
"So, a lot has happened, but you are sort of happy now. Except you lost your son again. I could be your main man for a little while, though. That's what you're telling me."
Dominic knew that even though he listened and took in everything, being needed would be the part he coveted and focused on.
"Yep. You could be my lead wolf while the others are all away on a mission. Maybe even when they return, depending on how things go. You would have to be a ghost, essentially like I am. Since your attack, I have let it spread that you killed me. For now, anyway. One day soon, I will emerge from the dead when it benefits the rest of the group and me."
"Then, I'm not sorry I killed you. Plus, that's a badass scar. You're welcome."
"I could have lived without the scar."
"Well, I don't honestly have anywhere to stay, do you know of anywhere that isn't in a cave for me to sleep. If I'm being real with you, I would love a nice, comfortable bed."
Dominic started laughing, "Have you been staying in the...Never mind. I can set you up with an apartment, but this building is not for anyone but those whom Alexander, Julius, or I let in."
Lucas shrugged his shoulder, "If it means I'm sleeping in a bed, that is in an apartment, I can live with that rule. So where are we going?"
Dominic put his hand out in front of him and guided him to his apartment, "Right here. You'll be staying with me. As far as being my ghost spy. Whenever you feel the urge to go walk around town, pop into the club, or grab a bit to eat, then you just keep an eye or ear out for anything worth reporting back. You will be my most important spy because you know other wolf smells and you know how to spot witches."
"Easiest job ever. Actually, I could use a drink and some mingling time now if you don't mind me starting now."
Dominic shot him a knowing look, "Would that happen to be because you noticed Deva headed to the club while we talked?"
Lucas shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as he headed for the doors.
"How do I get back in when I come back?"
Dominic handed him a key fob, "Here you go, this should get you in when, no problem. If not, I will be awake when you come home."
"Home. I like the sound of that."
Dominic waved him on, "Go, see if you have what it takes to woo her. Good luck, roommate!"
Lucas was nearly sprinting as he went out the door of the building toward the club.
That was a wolf on a mission, and his only goal was to find Deva.
Now that things were situated with Dominic and Lucas, it was time to focus on the other wolves on a mission.
...
The paired-up group of four was now catching up to Alexander and in pursuit of Ayla.
As tired as they were, Alexander didn't want to stop until he found her, but it was starting to look like that wasn't going to happen that night.
They had been running from before the sun came up, and it was nearly sundown.
None of them had eaten, and it was starting to seem like the trail was running cold.
Alexander was slowing down, and the two couples were now on his heels.
Just as they started to realize how long it had been since they had eaten, the scent of a deer hit their nostrils.
All five of them suddenly had their noses in the air, and their wolves perked up.
Wolves loved one thing above all else, and that was the hunt, and now they had one.
If they were lucky, they would have dinner too.
Their first meal as a pack that they hunted together, which would be symbolic for them.
As quickly as the scent hit them, their attention was fully on the fully grown buck that was now their target.
It didn't take long for them to track and trap it.
Within a few minutes, the five wolves were fangs deep, demolishing the well-nourished venison.
They picked the bones clean, as they devoured their meal, and filled their bellies.
Afterwards, they relished in the feeling of submitting to their wolf side for the hunt.
Being fully rewarded for doing so, as they lay around the carcass with blood soaked into their fur around their muzzles and paws.
For the first time in hours, they were content and resting, which is what they desperately needed.
Alexander spoke up after a while, "We can't stay here forever. Who knows how far ahead she is at this point? Ayla is good at being a lone wolf. We don't know if she will stop, eat, or sleep. Should we even be resting?"
Phoenix looked at Raphael, who did the talking, "Bro, we are no good to her if we can't maintain ourselves. We need to feed our bodies and give them rest. If we don't, we can't stay alert to trouble or even keep our energy up to chase after her. You said she is used to being alone. She knows where she is supposed to go and how to take care of herself. We keep our stops to a minimum, and we follow her. We will find her. Trust me. Phoenix and I trained to find her and spent years doing it."
The two men laughed a little at the irony of chasing Ayla yet again, but here they were, yet again chasing the cursed werewolf.
Little did they know, Ayla was being chased by someone else who had spotted her.
The beautiful white wolf was running through the woods.
She could sense it, too, that someone was close to her.
As she ran, she began to use her tail to brush the path to erase her paw marks, as she used to do; she couldn't be followed.
Which is why it was making it impossible for her friends to find her trail, because there wasn't one.
Not in the normal way that wolves would be tracked.
Ayla knew it was another wolf because her wolf had figured out how to sniff them at that point.
If anything, she was a quick learner.
It was the citrus hints that caught her attention, before anything else, then the faint smell of hidden snow in the fur, which was barely there, made its way through.
Whoever was near her was from a pack she hadn't encountered yet, or not that she was aware of.
The smell was warm and inviting and felt like home to her in some ways, but terrified her
more.
All that she knew was that danger lurked in the woods, and it was chasing her, so she found a safe place and shifted.
When she did, it was like a fog had lifted from her, and she realized that something had happened earlier in the day.
It clicked that the witches had to have played a trick on her at the very least, but she had very limited choices at the current moment.
Danger was nipping at her tail.
There was nothing for her to do because she had to be a good way away from the rest of the group, and she was being closed in on by some unknown person.
Maybe it was one of the group members, and they caught up to her.
It was a quick and hopeful thought that zipped into her thoughts.
Alexander, it had to be him, and that's why it smelled like home.
So, with the steps being so close to her, she decided to be brave and stepped out of the shrubbery that she was hiding in so well, and that's when she was grabbed by the large, strong, warm hands.
With a great deal of force, they pushed her hard into the tree behind her.
She didn't have any time to realize what was happening.
His voice was deep, and it did something deep and low in her belly as he spoke.
"Who are you?"
Ayla was stunned, and her words failed to reach her lips.
The strange man's left hand moved from her right arm and found her throat, gripping it firmly, and raised her slightly against the tree.
As he did so, he made sure that she was unable to move from his grasp.
"I won't ask a third time, who are you?"
Struggling to speak due to his grip, she tried to answer, "I could...probably answer...if you...let...go..."
The strange man seemed amused, but he loosened his grip from her throat, placing his hand back on her arm to hold her steady, before pressing himself against her naked body to steady her with his naked body.
"Go on, you should be able to answer now. Although I'm sure saying your name the first time would have taken far less effort than what you said."
"Why do you want to know my name. Seems to me you just want to show your dominance and toy with me. Typical wolf from what I've seen."
She said, pulling a hand up to rub her throat gently for just a second, never losing eye contact, before lowering her hand to her side again.
That appeared to annoy him.
"Do you not know who I am. Probably not. Most she-wolves would throw themselves at me for a chance to have my pup. Where are you from?"
"Cocky aren't we. I would never be with someone like you. How many wolves have you been with? One Hundred. Two Hundred. More? It doesn't matter where I'm from; it only matters that I'm not going where you are."
The muscular man leaned his head to the side slightly, intrigued by her.
"You are judgmental, aren't you. Who says I've slept with any of them? Will you answer any of my questions?"
His nose was now sliding gently up her neck toward her ear, soft enough to just barely graze her.
All he wanted was to get a hint of her scent so he could know where she was from.
He got more than he wanted, because it wasn't her scent he detected.
What he did was send chills over every inch of her skin.
"What question could you possibly ask that I would be interested in answering?"
He squinted his eyes.
"Where are you headed? Are you alone? Why can't I smell you? Are you mated, officially? Of course. Wolves are wolves. Why are you so beautiful? If you are alone, can I help you travel safely? A wolf like you shouldn't be traveling alone. Not with all the big bad wolves out here."
His nose, just the tip of it, was running back down her neck, just as gently, and it was doing strange things to her that she was having a hard time controlling.
A smirk landed on his face when she tried to pull her legs together, but his was between them, blocking her.
He sniffed the air with his eyes closed, and when he opened them, his wolf eyes flashed for a moment.
Ayla definitely had his attention then.
Before she could help herself, her head fell back on the tree, her eyes closed, and a few answers slipped out in almost a whisper.
"Moonlight Shifters, I have to get to Moonlight Shifters. That's where my friends are meeting me. Why did you think I knew who you were?"
"You really don't know who I am. Titan doesn't ring a bell. At all. The famous Beta's son, who survived the curse. The only higher-up pup that wasn't taken. True born pup anyway. Others say they are, but there are whispers that they were stolen when the others were cursed and replaced with those pups. Makes sense, steal babies while other babies are being stolen to save face."
"No, doesn't ring any bells. Sorry, but I have never heard of you," she whispered into his ear.
Now she was hitting his ego, and he wasn't sure what she was doing, but he had her where he wanted her, in the palm of his hand.
"You never told me your name. beautiful."
He leaned toward her cheek and gently placed his lips to them.
When he moved away, he started to look into her eyes again, and her leg came up with immense force and landed with everything she had between his thighs in his precious family jewels.
Just as she successfully landed the blow, his hands released her arms, and he stepped backwards just enough for her to escape his hold.
"My name isn't beautiful, I can promise you that."
The chase was on once again for Titan and the mysterious white wolf.