The Pack (The Pack 1)

“He said that?” Dominic asked. “No one left to save you?”

I nodded in confirmation, the memory of his fanatical laughter as he said it making me shiver. Dominic saw my fear and rubbed his hands over my arms.

“We expected retaliation, but this….”

“Sounds premeditated?” I offered helpfully and he gave me a nod as his jaw worked.

“I need to go talk to the pack elders,” he finally said, removing his hands from my arms. “Would you like to meet them?” He added, almost as an afterthought. The question was innocent enough, but I saw the caution in his eyes. These people were important to Dominic, I was also sure one of them was his father. Part of me wanted to shake my head and go hide somewhere with Anna, but I was curious and since I’d abandoned any pretense of ignorance it seemed like I should face them head on.

“Yes,” I answered, drawing a steading breath. There was a flicker of admiration on his face as he placed his hand on my back to steer me toward one of the houses. I let out a hiss, reflexively pulling away from his touch and he stopped. I saw the confusion on his face and gave him a halfhearted smile. “You were right about feeling the pain the next day.”

Understanding dawned on his face as he grimaced in sympathy. “No one’s licking your back,” he informed me and I let out a choked laugh.

“I wasn’t planning on letting anyone,” I popped back and he gave me a sideways glance.

“I do have pain reliever though.”

“You probably should have started with that,” I told him.

“Noted,” he answered dryly, coming to a stop in front of one of the larger buildings. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a few people outside, casting glances our way. They stayed close to the houses, but there was no doubt they were staring at me.

“You’re definitely going to have to explain why I’m so damn interesting,” I murmured to Dominic, getting a faint grin for my efforts. “And are we supposed to knock?”

Dominic blinked at me in surprise and then his smile widened to reveal straight white teeth, a sight I no longer found so terrifying. “No need,” he answered, right as the door opened behind me. I twisted back around in surprise, and then craned my neck to see the newcomer’s face.

“The girl,” the man stated his expression so intimidating I took a step back right into Dominic’s chest. This was Dominic’s dad, if the expression hadn’t been a giveaway, the eyes were.

“I prefer Jess,” I replied faintly, forcing myself to step forward again and away from the comfort of Dominic. “You must be Hank Navarre.” I stuck out my hand and he stared down at it in bemusement. “I can’t say I’ve heard much about you, but I understand you’ve been trying to keep me safe.” I paused, wondering if I should lower my hand, but I wanted to finish. “Thank you.”

“I like her,” he rumbled, taking my hand and shaking it gently, as if my bones were made of glass. “You’re trouble, but sometimes that’s a good thing,” he informed me and moved aside so we could enter the building.

“Thanks?” I offered, stepping inside and gazing around. The place was bigger than I’d thought from the outside, and looked like a cross between a church and a meeting hall. The room we entered was round and reminded me of an amphitheater, but that wasn’t it’s sole purpose. Part of it had been dug out so that a round table could sit low in the center of the room while rough wooden benches formed seating around it. Everyone sitting would have a clear view of what was happening at the table and be able to hear them clearly.

“Welcome to the Pack, Jess.” I smiled at his emphasis on my name, but my attention focused on the other four people in the room. I was surprised to see a woman among the men, and something about her was familiar.

“Anna’s mom and dad are both pack elders. One day Anna will take their place,” Dominic said under his breath, leading me to a low bench under a window.

“Do we need to tell them?” I asked, concerned.

Dominic tapped his forehead, “Done.”

“That is equal parts creepy and cool,” I replied, my eyes narrowed and he smiled.

“It comes in handy,” he said. When he didn’t say anything else, I gave him an expectant look. “My dad is an elder. Caleb’s father is alpha,” Dominic’s eyes flickered to an older man whose sandy hair had a good amount of gray in it, but reminded me of Caleb. “Anna’s parents. And the last one is our oldest pack member, Gregory.”

There was no mistaking him. When Dominic said, “Oldest pack member,” I think he meant to say, “Oldest person alive.”