The Pack (The Pack 1)

“We healed that wound. I wasn’t sure where else you might be hurt,” Dominic ground out, his eyes flickering everywhere but me.

“They hit me. That’s all,” I told him, my hand reaching for his clenched fist, as his eyes begged it to be true. “I swear. Sam protected me and someone named Dylan.”

His fist relaxed, as he trusted what I told him, and he curled his fingers around mine.

“Your sister is something else,” I said to distract him, garnering a faint smile before it quickly disappeared. “She’s as tough as nails. She also has a plan.”

His head tilted at my words and I tugged my hand from his.

“I need that for one second,” I told him as he tried to take my hand back. I slipped my hand in my shirt as his eyes widened, fishing around in my bra for the slip of paper she’d given me. “Here,” I said with a flourish as I pulled it out. “Your sister sent this for you. And this too,” I added as I leaned across the bed and hugged him tightly.

“Is she…. alright?” He asked after a pause.

“Yeah, she’s you except with boobs.” His chest rumbled under mine as he laughed involuntarily, his arms coming around me to squeeze gently. “I swear she’s okay. I think she’s more worried about you to be honest.”

He scoffed, “Why? She’s the one with those people.”

“Yeah, but those people want to kill you and everyone here. She doesn’t want that to happen,” I informed him, waving the paper she’d sent. “This is your advantage according to her.”

He plucked the paper from my hand, his fingers rubbing it gently.

“She was always the one with a plan,” he said, glancing at the paper. “They weren’t always good plans,” he added ruefully and I chuckled.

“I believe that.” I sat back down on the bed, cross-legged. “But what they may lack in finesse is made up for in sheer willpower.”

“My sister in a nutshell,” he murmured, still staring at the paper.

“Um, can I take a shower? Change clothes?” I asked, wanting to give him some privacy to read whatever she’d written and also to get the grimy feeling off.

“Yeah,” Dominic answered, standing abruptly. “Here,” he grabbed a folded pile of clothes off the nightstand next to the bed. “Anna sent these over. They might be a little small, but anything of mine would swallow you whole.”

I took the clothes and glanced around for the bathroom. He steered me to a door, opening it to reveal an oversized shower and higher than normal sink.

“It was built for me,” he said awkwardly and I smiled.

“It’s perfect,” I answered, and it was perfect for him. Everything about his bathroom was efficient and larger than normal. “You’ll be here?” I asked, stopping him as he was shutting the door. He looked at me questioningly and then his expression eased.

“I’ll be right outside the door,” he replied and my suddenly tight chest relaxed. I nodded and he pulled the door almost closed, leaving a tiny gap so I could decide if I wanted it closed. I left it open.

It took me a few minutes of fiddling to figure out how to operate his shower, and another half hour before I was willing to leave the hot water pulsing down on me. I dried myself off and dragged the only comb I found through my wet hair. I wiggled into the clothes Anna had lent me, key word wiggled since they were at least a size too small. I was thankful Dominic’s mirror was also higher than normal so all I could see was my head. I was afraid to take a deep breath for fear of popping a seam so I could only imagine what the clothes looked like on me. I would have to borrow something of Dominic’s even if it did swallow me whole.

I pulled the door open silently, and had a second to observe Dominic as he sat there staring down at the opened letter in his hand. His usually expressionless face was anything but as he gazed down at what his sister had written. Hope, sorrow, joy, fear, and a bitter anger were all there, but determination superseded all of them.

Whatever she’d told him had inspired the same determination I felt. We would end the Hanleys’ tyranny and protect our pack. I didn’t have time to linger on the idea that I considered the pack mine as Dominic glanced up. His lips parted as his eyes slid over me, and I had a feeling the clothes were more inappropriate than I’d imagined.

I tugged at the hem of the sleep shorts she’d lent me, trying to make them longer. I’d given up on the shirt already, knowing a strip of my bare belly was on display since I filled the top out a little more than Anna.