Chapter Twenty

June

"June," Dom moaned into my neck. I inhaled his scent, my fingers digging into his back. I looked into his yellow eyes as his fangs grew, and he bit down hard on that tender spot where my throat and shoulder met. The pleasure that shot from my neck to my very core made me scream into his chest.

"Ah!" I shot up in bed, a cold sweat on my forehead as I gasped for air.

I looked around the green bedroom. I threw off the covers and put a hand over my panties. Damp. Again.

Groaning, I closed my eyes. This was getting ridiculous. For the second night in a row, I was having dreams about Dom. I guess I could chalk it up to Dom being good-looking and honest with me, but that would be pathetic. Was I really that easy? Was I so touch-starved I'd jump on the first guy who laid a finger on my neck? Was that all it took to get me wet now?

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and went to my backpack to pull out my shower things and a new outfit. I was frustrated in more ways than one as I made my way into the bathroom and cranked the shower as hot as it would go. The moment it was remotely warm, I climbed in.

What exactly do you think is going to happen between you and Dom, huh, June? Crushing on some dude who dragged you to Canada.

I furiously scrubbed my body and washed my hair. Teeth brushed, face washed, dried off, I left the bathroom feeling a lot better.

I rolled my shoulders back. Lift the chin, relax the muscles. Let the tension melt off. I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. There, now maybe I could do something with my morning.

But as I went down the hall to the green-painted door that signaled my room, I heard sounds coming from the yellow one. Carmine's room. I tossed my old clothes onto my bed and hurried to the yellow door.

"Carmine?" I called.

The door swung open and she was the most disheveled I'd ever seen her. Auburn hair was everywhere. Bags under her eyes. A giant smile on her face.

"Morning, June," she said.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." I grinned. "Is your mating with Jerod going well, then?" I was still uneasy about the whole mating thing, but after the conversation with Dom was finding it easier to be happy for two people who'd at least consented to it.

Her smile dropped a little. "Actually, there's a bit of a problem with that. Let's talk outside."

She ducked back into her room. It was just as yellow on the inside as the green one was green. Carmine had a suitcase on the bed and was putting her things into it.

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

" Non . I'm packing to live in the cabin with Jerod while we're here in Moonpeak," she said.

"With Dom and the others?"

"They're moving into the village. The cabin will be for myself, Jerod, and Amelia."

"Amelia?" I asked.

She shut her suitcase and zipped it with a sigh. " C'est tout. Walk me to the cabin?"

"Sure," I said.

"Morning, girls. Breakfast?" Linda called from the kitchen.

"No, thank you," Carmine said.

"No thanks," I echoed. "I'm helping Carmine move her things and then today's the day I'm visiting Doc."

"Right! I nearly forgot you're going to start helping Doc. Have fun," was our answer from the kitchen. My nose twitched as we neared the front door. That spicy, earthy candle was burning again.

"What is it?" Carmine asked.

I frowned at the candle for a moment, then tipped it to drip wax on the shelf where it burned. I blew on it until it was dry, peeled up the disc of wax, and put it in my pocket. Carmine raised an eyebrow in question, but we left the house and went several yards before she asked about it.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"I've got a weird feeling about these candles. I've seen them around the village but they aren't sitting right with me. I was thinking maybe someone with more experience in this supernatural stuff who wasn't from the village might know if there's something off about it."

"That's not a bad idea, my Jerod is brilliant, perhaps he can take a look," Carmine offered. "But I have a more important question than that."

"You do?" I asked.

"Spill. Why do you smell like a wolf in heat?" Carmine grinned.

"I do?" I asked, panicked. "I . . . had . . . oh my god." My face turned bright red.

"Did our little June have a naughty dream, perhaps?"

I covered my face with my hands and nodded slowly, which only spurred more laughter from Carmine.

"It's okay, June," Carmine said. "Many wolves get revved up before their change. Think of it as a kind of puberty. There is a lot going on in your body, and wolves are openly sexual beings. It's part of nature, there is nothing to be embarrassed about."

I groaned. "Second puberty sounds awful. How do you wolves go through it?"

Carmine shrugged. "We don't. Our puberty happens at one time, around our mid to late teen years. We begin to feel the first signs of a wolf in us, and then one full moon we just . . . shift."

I frowned. "That's not fair."

Carmine laughed. "C'est la vie."

"I'm going to have to learn French if I ever come to visit you, aren't I?" I asked.

"I will translate." Carmine winked. "My brothers would love you."

"You have brothers?" I asked.

"Four of them, and I'm smack in the middle," she said.

I made a face, holding back a smirk. "How are they going to receive the news about your warlock mate?"

"With congratulations or with a fist, there will be no mild reactions to him." Carmine beamed, flashing her fangs. "He is wonderfully spicy. I love it."

"He's spicy?" I asked.

"He's got a sharp wit and a quick tongue. And he's clever and passionate."

I shrugged. "I didn't get to know him well on our trip here. He was indisposed, I guess you could say."

"Yes, I know," Carmine said. "He told me everything. Believe it or not, we did some talking when I wasn't riding him like a horse."

I put a hand over my face. "Too much information, Carmine."

She flashed her fangs. "Not for a wolf."

I shook my head and looked forward. I had been letting my feet follow where Carmine was walking, but I realized we were already at the trees. The cabin wasn't much farther ahead.

"Carmine," I said softly. "After you left with Jerod, I talked to Dom."

"Oh?" She glanced over at me.

"I told him about our encounter with Evander." My next words were pickier, as I didn't want to reveal that Dom and the others were planning to challenge him. "Dom found it strange, too, and they want to do something about it. He's on our side in this . . . whatever is going on in Moonpeak."

"Hmm." Carmine nodded. "Well, I was going to leave after we untangle the problem between Amelia and Jerod, but if I can help while we're still here, I would be happy to do so."

"Did you find out what happened to them?"

"Jerod and Amelia are connected by the soul. He has a plan to undo it, but for the moment they cannot be separated, and I cannot claim him."

"That sounds complicated and disappointing. I'm so sorry."

Her only answer was a shrug.

"I was thinking, Evander said that something was reported on pack lands and he went to investigate, right?" I asked.

"Right."

"That means someone else has seen it, too, right?" I asked.

"We could ask some of the ones who patrol, since they would be the most likely ones to have found the strange thing and reported it," Carmine said. "Wonderful!"

"Yeah, I was thinking Smokey," I said.

"And I can talk to some of the warriors," Carmine said. "I've got enough in common with them that I could find their training field and casually bring it up while I'm kicking their butts."

"I'd like to see that." I laughed.

Carmine shrugged. "Who knows, you might be warrior material, too, once you shift."

"I'm not much of a fighter," I said. "I'm more of a put you back together kind of person."

"Mm, that is useful too," she said. "But warriors will always be needed to protect the pack from danger."

"I can respect that," I said.

We stopped talking as we neared the cabin. I could hear a commotion outside, but couldn't see it.

Carmine whistled. "Mon amour, I'm back!"

The front door to the cabin opened and Jerod stood there in what must have been a borrowed pair of sweatpants, which were way too big for him, and a pink apron, with no shirt.

"Welcome back." He waved with the spatula he was holding. "I'm making pancakes and mystery meat patties, if you're hungry."

"Great!" Carmine brought her suitcase up the stairs and set it inside the cabin as I followed her. "It smells like elk."

Jerod shrugged. "Aaron brought it back last night and said I could use it, so I did. There's barely anything in the pantry here to work with."

"We'll go into town to the store later," Carmine said. She turned to me and grinned. "Do you want to come with us?"

"Ah, that might be a problem. Amelia, remember?" Jerod said. "We haven't been able to get more than a quarter mile apart, and even that is incredibly uncomfortable."

"Oh, right," Carmine said.

"I'll go," I offered. "Make me a list and send me with some money and I can try to get whatever you guys want."

That perked her back up. "Are you sure?"

"Oui."

She snorted a laugh. "Please, never try to speak French again. Okay, I would love it if you could get a few things. Thank you, June."

"What's this about getting things?" Outside the cabin and coming up the stairs was a shirtless and sweaty Dom, followed by Aaron and Amelia in a similar state.

My face turned hot, thinking about the dream I had just had, and I shifted my eyes to Jerod, suddenly extremely interested in the frilly hem of his pink apron and definitely not the little trail of hair that led from Dom's navel down into his pants.

"June offered to go get us some supplies," Carmine said, tearing a piece of paper from a notepad on the fridge and beginning to write things down. "Mon amour, come add to the list. Oh, June, hand me that wax, I'll give it to him."

I pulled it from my pocket and handed it over, which provided me a moment to walk away from Dom and collect myself.

"I'm taking a shower," Aaron announced and went past us to the bathroom.

Amelia grabbed a piece of meat right out of the pan Jerod was frying it in and ate it. "I'm going for a run."

"Not too far," Jerod said.

"Don't remind me," she hissed, and left through the front door.

"You can probably get most of what you want in the general store here in the village," Dom said.

"Non. We need clothes for Jerod, though I say he doesn't need to wear any at all."

Jerod clicked his tongue. "Darling, I'm going to need to go out of the cabin sometime, and I can't do that naked."

"I suppose I don't want the other females to see you," Carmine said.

I cleared my throat. "Is that the list? Just clothes?"

"No, hold on." Jerod looked over Carmine's list and wrote a few things at the bottom. "I doubt you will find much of this in Newfoundland, but I have a few items that would be nice to have if you can track them down. I'd like to be able to summon my familiar, among other things."

Dom walked over and looked at the list.

"Soy sauce . . . rice . . . pickled pigs' feet?" He looked up at Jerod. "The comb of a rooster and a pound of dried grasshoppers? You aren't going to find all of this in the village."

"And she may not find it all in whatever town can be found anywhere near here," Jerod said as he handed me the list. "But any of it would be very nice. Thank you, June."

"Sure, no problem." I took the list, glancing at it.

Dom stiffened and scowled.

"Company," Carmine muttered, frowning.

Alpha Evander walked casually up the path to the cabin. He wore a polo again today, making me wonder if that was the only kind of shirt he had. As usual, his appearance was very neat and trim for a werewolf.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning, Alpha Evander," Dom said.

"Good morning, Alpha," I said, nodding.

"I hope you two will be comfortable here for the remainder of your stay," he said to Carmine and Jerod.

"Yes, thank you, Alpha Evander," Carmine said. "We will get out of your way as soon as Jerod and I are adjusted to this new situation."

"It's no trouble at all, Carmine." Evander smiled, then narrowed his eyes at Jerod. "So, June, what's the list for? Shopping?"

I glanced down at the paper in my hand. "Oh, yes. I was going to try to get a couple of things in town somewhere that we can't get here."

"Excellent!" Evander beamed. "Settling right in then?"

"Oh," I said. "No, I—"

Behind Evander, Carmine furiously shook her head.

"Yes, I love it here," I said.

"Great," the alpha said as he turned to Dom. "You should take her since you have a car. Do you think you could do that, for the pack?"

Don's jaw tensed. "Yes . . . Alpha."

"Good," Evander said, patting Dom hard on the shoulder. "June, make the trip count. It's not often we get to go out for supplies. And stay safe out there, you're not in Moonpeak territory once you reach the highway."

"Yes, Alpha," I said.

Evander glanced around the room one more time before settling on me again. "Actually, June, you should join me for dinner when you get back."

Dom stiffened. "Dinner?"

"Of course," he said. "Naomi would love the added company, and I can get to know one of the new wolves."

Naomi! I stole a glance at Amelia, who had gone pale and still as death. "I'd love to."

"See you tonight," Evander said as he turned away. "I hope your trip is enlightening."

"I'm going to go change," Dom said. "Let's get you into town."

"You don't mind?"

He looked me up and down in that silent way of his. He clenched and unclenched his jaw. "I don't mind. Wait here."

Then he went into one of the rooms and shut the door. How was I going to spend hours in a small metal box with Dom? After the dreams? After what just happened with Evander? And after I'd agreed to dinner?

"Oh, here, June." Jerod pried Carmine off of him long enough to pull out a wallet and hand me a large bill. "For the shopping."

"No, no, no," Carmine said and pushed it back to him. "That's American money. Here, June."

She handed me money from her wallet. "Use this."

"Thanks," I said. "I'll get your change back to you."

My heart thumped in my chest and my eyes widened as Dom came out of his bedroom. He looked good in a tight black T-shirt and dark-blue jeans. Combined with his short hair and the stubble on his chin, he looked like something out of a magazine. A very specific kind of magazine.

"You coming, New Bite?" Dom asked as he passed me, heading to the front door.

I blushed; I could feel it. My whole face heated up as I shared a look with Carmine. She winked at me and pointed to her nose.

Oh shit, did I smell like . . .

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Coming."

Dom clicked his key fob and the car unlocked, allowing me to slide into the passenger seat. It was surprisingly comfortable when it wasn't filled to capacity. My eyes shifted to the driver's seat. The way Dom held the steering wheel put his biceps on display.

Very scenic. And I don't even have to look out the window.

The engine revved to life. Dom pulled the car around the dirt in front of the cabin, and we left the way we had first come into the territory.

As we drove, I had an entirely new view of the mountains. The fields were still a rocky ride but, eventually, we reached that narrow dirt path that carried us smoothly down and through them.

Dom let his eyes flicker to me and back to the road. "Tell me more about yourself."

"Me?" I asked.

"Yeah. I regret not doing more of this on the trip here. You're a good person, June, so what makes you tick? Let's start with what you like to do. Any hobbies?"

"School," I said.

Dom chuckled. "No, real hobbies. Things you do for fun. You know what fun is, don't you, New Bite?"

"I like music."

"Still not a hobby," Dom said.

I sighed. "I like walking."

By now he was full-on laughing at me.

"That's not a hobby either," he shot back. "Do you know what a hobby is, New Bite? What about that sport we talked about before, what did you do?"

I frowned. "Track. I ran track, okay?"

"There you go," Dom said. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Kind of," I mumbled. "It's a sore spot for me, okay?"

We rounded a curve and the road turned to take us down a slope. Dom paid more attention to what he was doing for a moment before he turned back to our conversation.

"Wanna talk about it?" Dom asked.

"I guess. Sure, why not. It's old news." I shrugged. "I ran track, and I was good at it. Long distance was my favorite, but I did sprints too. Set a few school records. Got a scholarship to university. There was a big competition and I got hurt. Tore my quad about fifty meters out."

"Ouch," Dom said.

"You could say that. Anyway, it ended my track career, my scholarship, and at the time it felt like my whole life had ended. I spent a long time in physical therapy."

"Ah, some things are starting to make sense," Dom said. "Let me guess, you were going to school for some kind of goody-two-shoes thing anyway."

"Teaching," I said.

"Yup, that's about right." Dom chuckled. "Then the accident, your physical therapist was so great you decided to do it too."

"You make it sound cheesy," I said.

Dom glanced over at me. "No. It sounds like you had a plan, and it had to change. You adapted. It's what a wolf would do."

"Yeah, well." I rubbed the back of my neck. "You wanted to know about my hobbies. That's the only real one that stuck. I loved running."

"You never went back to it?" Dom asked.

I sighed through my nose, gritting my teeth. "Nope. Anything else you want to know? My date of birth? Bank account? Social security?"

"Easy there, New Bite," Dom said. "It's a sore spot, I get it. We'll drop it."

"Good." I sighed.

"I grew up in Moonpeak. My mom died before I could remember her. An incident with rogues," Dom said, and I watched his throat bob as he took a moment before continuing. "Not sure what she'd make of my life decisions, but what can you do? Luna Lily became everything I could ask for in a second mom. I was raised in the pack house alongside Amelia and Naomi. They're like sisters to me. Alpha Liam was like an uncle, and Dad was always there too."

I stayed quiet, not willing to break the story. For whatever reason, it was fascinating to hear what kind of childhood Dom had.

"For a while, we were all three sent to the other pack in Newfoundland, Salt Fur. It's bigger and they have an actual school. The older ones go to school with the humans when they know how to hide what they are. I can't say I had any noble hobbies like track, but I was in a band for a short while."

"You were in a band ?" I grinned.

Dom smirked. "We were terrible, and I thought I could play the drums. I very much can't play the drums, I assure you."

"It's hard to picture you trying," I said.

He shrugged. "I don't believe anyone stays the same for that long. There are too many stages to life to expect someone to stay the same for all of it. Teenager Dominic was an obnoxious punk who thought he was invincible. Good riddance."

The only thing I could imagine breaking that version of Dom was the loss of his father. It was just too sad. I wanted to reach out and comfort him, but I had no place to be doing that.

"Anyway, after a very short stint in the band with the human kids, I gave up the drums and came back to Moonpeak. I began training more seriously with the warriors and Smokey. My dad did a lot to push me too," Dom said, then he turned to look at me for a moment as we drew near the highway. "I'd barely started getting my shit together when everything happened."

"Thanks for sharing," I said softly. "I lost my mom early too. Car accident when I was a baby, I can't remember her or Dad."

"That's where the grandparents came in," Dom said.

I nodded. "It is what it is."

"Spoken like a little kid who had to explain her family situation to every stranger she met," Dom added.

"It felt like that sometimes." I laughed. "You learn to put it in as few words as possible and they get uncomfortable enough to change the subject."

"So, where did track come in?" Dom asked.

I smiled. "I was the only girl in my gym class who didn't complain about running one year in middle school. Coach Hall pointed me toward track and field, and I did until I couldn't."

Dom nodded as he mulled over my words. We pulled gently onto the paved road and I let out a sigh of relief. The bumpy dirt had been getting to me, and when the ride turned smooth again I was able to relax some.

"Favorite food," Dom prompted.

"Probably pizza. It definitely accounts for a few of the pounds I gained after I stopped running, anyway. Sausage, extra cheese, and peppers. You?"

"Venison, still warm from the kill," he answered.

"Ew, I don't think I'm ready for that kind of answer yet," I said. "What's your favorite human food?"

Dom hummed in thought for a moment. "Poutine."

"Yeah, I heard Jack say something about that before. Or was it Carson? I don't know what that is," I said.

"Then let's find out," Dom said. "There's a little place that serves a great plate of it where we're going."

"Should I be scared?" I asked.

"Of food?" Dom chuckled. "Not particularly."

"What I mean is that I half expect someone who wants me to eat a food, but won't tell me what the food is, to feed me something gross or wickedly spicy or something," I said.

Dom shrugged. "You either trust me or you don't. You'll find out when you get there."

"I don't know if it's a good idea, but I think I do trust you."

Dom glanced over at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Ten more minutes. And while we're there, do you need anything for yourself?"

I shook my head.

Dom nodded. "All right then. Let's get this done."

And we rode into a small town by the water. My heart was light. I was feeling peaceful despite the stress and mysteries that awaited me back in the village. All I knew right then was that when next to Dom I could handle anything that lay ahead.