Running with Wolves Ch. 23

Dominic turned his attention back to his friend. "What did he do?"

He sneered as he took another swig of beer. "He told me to try an' get to Augustine. To "pull her back to the surface", or some shit. So there I am, doing what he said too, staying behind the wall, talking through the door, and she's still growling away on the other side of the gym. So I try something different, which was working by the way." He snapped his finger accusingly at the big wolf.

Storm gave him a stern look in return. "You disobeyed a direct order, broke the perimeter, and went into a confined space with a feral werewolf. You are lucky she did not attack you."

"She was responding to me!" Ben rose to his feet, the hurricane breaking through the glass bottle again. "I went in there, I talked to her, and she calmed down! She was coming through to me!"

"That does not matter!" Thunder clenched his fist, pulling back from his outburst. "No one knows the absolute perfect ways of handling something like this, but what we do know is that we cannot second guess our superiors once a decision is made. It only causes chaos, as you saw. By entering that room, you destabilized an already volatile balance. You have no concept of what a feral wolf can be like, how unstable they are. Yes, she was calm for a moment, but that changed, did it not?"

Ben shook his head. "She was coming to me. She was only reacting to the others in the room. I heard Hale order you to push forward, and that's when she attacked."

"Because he saw her behavior, Ben. You were unable to recognize it because you do not know Were behavior." Storm slowly approached Ben, placing one hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort. "She was stalking you, Ben. If we had not defended you as we had, the damage would have been far worse. You just need to trust in our leaders, and the decisions they make."

Ben shook his head, but did not fight with the twins any longer. Accepting his resignation, Storm returned to his place next to Samantha, who was feeding Penny her mid morning meal. "This situation is not like what happened with Lark. During that time, Augustine was still joined to her wolf, just pulled back. Now, her human mind and wolf instincts are completely disassociated from one another, and thus her wolf has no humanity to give her higher thinking or logic. It is going to take time for the two to merge once more."

Dominic felt for his best friend. It was obvious Ben was still upset about Augustine, and that he was fighting to keep his emotion from boiling over again. His adrenaline was draining, leaving him looking tired.

Samantha picked up on it too. "Hey, Ben? Can you help me real quick?" She had just finished feeding Penny, and was using Thunder to push herself off the couch. Ben was confused but pushed off the wall anyway and took Penny from her. "Burp her while I grab her some clothes."

Ben shrugged. "Yeah, okay." With a practiced motion he laid her on his shoulder and began patting her back firmly. Watching him, they could see him take deep calming breaths against her head, taking in the smell of baby. He talked to her about how big she had gotten; how proud he was of her big burp. When Samantha came back with a cute black onesie and bright pink tutu, he took it without a word and dressed her himself, unwilling to end his baby time. Samantha only smiled in triumph, going back to her spot between the twins.

It was only a few minutes later that Thunder and Storm both tensed slightly, before rising to their feet. Dominic watched them questioningly until he felt his wolf flutter in the back of his mind, causing a shiver to run down his spine. They headed for the door, opening it before anyone even knocked. Sol was there, accompanied by Hale and Fog.

"Madam Alpha. Hale." Storm opened the door wide and stepped back in invitation. Misty and Flint rose as well to great the group. Noticing this, Dominic got to his feet and encouraged the others to follow suit.

Sol nodded her appreciation for the invitation and came in, followed only by Hale. They came in and Sol sat on the couch, but her son stood tall with arms crossed. It looked like he was taking this "Alpha in training" business very seriously. Everyone sat as she did, getting comfortable again in their previous spots.

"Dominic, it is good to see you up and about. How have you been?"

Dominic shrugged his shoulders. "I am adjusting."

She nodded. "I am glad. As I'm sure you have guessed, we came to speak with you about-"

Hale interrupted. "Mother, if I may."

Her face stayed neutral, save one lifted brow, but she lifted her hand for him to continue. When he turned to address everyone, Dominic could see a bit of a smirk on her lips.

Hale took a step forward and spoke directly to Dominic, something he was not prepared for. Next to him, Misty tensed. "Alpha Dominic, your pack member, Ben's, Destined Mate Augustine had disassociated from her wolf. I would like your permission to question his concerning the events directly leading up to her devolution."

Dominic raised his own eyebrow. "If you want to ask Ben some questions, then you'll have to talk to him about it, but from what I heard it was an accident."

Hale gave Ben a sideways look as he bounced Penny in the kitchen. "We are just being thorough."

Dominic felt his hair stand on end. Something smelt funny about this. "On second thought, I don't think Ben needs to be talking to you. If you have any questions you can talk to me."

Hale visibly bristled. His eyes glowed around the pupil as he glared Dominic down. "There may be details you do not know. I need to get the whole story." That uncomfortable feeling grew stronger.

"You can talk to me." Dominic was on his feet, a surge of adrenaline making his heart beat race and nails sting. Hale growled under his breath, the glow in his eyes brightening slightly.

"One of our most promising wolves has fallen. She was favored to become the next Second to the Madam Alpha, and I will find out the reason a flourishing young Were completely lost control of herself and has gone rogue."

Dominic had an odd sense of clarity come over him as he sized Hale up. He could see him preparing for his assault, his muscles bunching and his eyes focused. They were going to fight; that much was clear. Whether or not Dominic had a chance against the beefed up meathead was not the point.

Before either of them could react, though, Misty was on her feet and in between them. Dominic snarled in surprise, but his wolf backed down quickly as he pushed logic to counteract the reaction. She didn't move as she squared off with her brother. "He gave you his answer, Hale. Ben's Alpha has spoken."

Hale did not like that answer, that much was clear by the way his eyes turned completely gold and his own nails grew. "I am surprised, sister. I thought you of all of us would want answers, seeing as how she was your best friend." The way he said "best", condescending and crude, had Misty in his face and ready to brawl. Dominic even wondered how quickly he would have to move in order to stop her, but before it could come to blows Sol stepped in.

"She is right, Hale. I think that is enough for today." He continued to stand off with his sister for another moment, before he took one step back and turning, his back straight and proud. He took measured steps as he left, trying to physically show everyone he was not running in retreat.

Once he left, Misty finally calmed some. She turned to Dominic, a question in her eyes, which he answered with a nod of his head. She had been defending him, but at the core of it she was defending Ben, and that was worth more to him than anything.

"Well," Sol stood from her seat. "Hale will send word soon for when he would like to speak with you."

Thunder and Storm rose once more to escort her to the door. "Thank you for coming Madam Alpha. We will see you tomorrow for the morning meeting."

As Storm opened the door, a surprised woman stood on the other side, hand raised as if posed to knock. "Madam Alpha, I did not realize you would be here." She glanced around the room. "I thought only the twins would be here. I can return later is you wish."

"That is not necessary, Ivy. Do you have news from the city?"

The woman straightened his shoulders. "Yes ma'am. Unfortunately, the wolves watching the human lost track of him after the incident. I am sorry, Madam Alpha. We have not been able to relocate him."

Samantha's face become worried. "You're talking about Jarod." The twins were at her side quickly, trying to reassure her, but the damage was already done. "What happened? Where is he?"

Ivy seemed unsure whether or not to answer. She tried to back out of it, make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, but everyone was already upset, Ben especially. "You told us he would be safe! What happened to him?" He wanted to get more into the fight, but his angry voice was upsetting Penny.

Sol raised her hands in a calming gesture. "Everyone please, stay calm and I will explain." Once she had every one's attention, she continued. "Yesterday when you expressed the desire to retrieve your pack mate, I instructed my people who were watching him to approach him and ask that he return at your desire. He refused, so I ordered Thunder and Storm to have him more closely monitored by our people in the city. A few hours ago, there was a situation. Three men, ones we have yet to be able to identify, approached Jarod and a fight ensued. Our people intervened, but there is only so much an Omega can do without giving away our secrets."

"Why wasn't I told?" Dominic could not help the growl that rumbled in his chest.

Sol gave him her own growl, but of warning, not of anger. He took it and pulled his control back from the wolf. "The phone call informing me of this development was interrupted by Augustine's howls. It was one of the reasons I allowed Hale to take command. The city is too far for me to communicate with my wolves telepathically, so Orion has been in deep meditation all morning. It takes time for him to come out, but we will have clear answers soon."

Dominic could feel fear take his heart. "I need to find him."

"Our wolves will find him. He has been able to avoid us before, but we have always found him again."

Dominic skirted past Misty so he was face to face with the Madam Alpha. He looked her dead in the eye as he asked. "Jarod knows how to hide; we've all learned how to go deep. If he doesn't want to be found, then you won't find him. Allow me to borrow one of your vehicles and go to the city to find him. Please, Madam Alpha Sol. He's my responsibility."

Sol sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Dominic. I understand your impulse to help your pack member, but you are a newly turned wolf; one that just found balance between his wolf and his humanity after two months of being controlled by your instincts. You are unstable, and it would be incredibly irresponsible for me to allow you to run loose in the city. I cannot let you leave."

Dominic wanted to argue, but she shushed him. "I will not be swayed on this. Let us do our job and bring your pack member back to you. For now, just rest, and be with your pack here."

Sol gave him one final squeeze before saying good bye to her children. As she left, she asked both her Betas to accompany her. They agreed, giving Samantha a kiss each before following her out. They left Dominic standing stunned and unmoving in the middle of the living room. His mind was running through the sudden influx of information, and trying to sort out all of the possibilities at once.

"Dom?" Samantha voice was quiet and scared. He turned to meet her eye, which held even more emotion than her voice. "What's going to happen to Jarod? Why would people be attacking him?"

Dominic shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm not going to just sit here while he's in danger and on his own."

"There is nothing you can do." Misty said. "My mother has given you her decision. There is nothing we can do."

With a deep breath, Dominic focused his thoughts. Freaking out wouldn't help him figure this out. "Sol isn't my alpha. I'm going to do what is necessary to bring my friend back." He began addressing the others. "We need to find a way to get out of here without being detected-"

"I cannot be a part of this." Misty stormed over to the door. Before she left, she made one last plea. "Please don't do this, Dominic. Going against an Alpha has severe consequences."

Dominic didn't turn around as he answered. "I won't abandon him."

He could hear her take a breath, as if preparing to argue, but the only sound was the click of the door shutting.