Chapter 16

Kyp

Dominic Wolfe was in his study, filling out some paperwork for his law firm when Sam knocked on his door.

“Samuel, Kypson,” he said by way of his typically blunt greeting. Dominic Wolfe was not a man to mince words. Sam nodded and we came fully into the room, sitting in the leather chairs opposite Dominic’s desk. A faint clanking echoed up from downstairs in the kitchen where Mrs. Wolfe and Megan were with Rachel.

Dominic sniffed and raised his head looking at both of us, his eyes darting from me to Sam. Sam nodded nearly imperceptibly, and my skin crawled. They were having some sort of conversation about me using their link. I swallowed.

“I perceive something has happened. Best get it out.” Dominic leaned forward and steepled his hands.

Sam and I explained the events of the morning. When the whole sordid tale was out, Dominic leaned way back in his chair, his hands clasped behind his head, his feet propping themselves on the edge of the mahogany-colored desk.

“Kypson, part of me really wishes you hadn’t done that.” Dominic sighed.

Something akin to shame burned in my gut. I was sorry that this put my joining his pack in jeopardy—sorrier than I could express—but I couldn’t be entirely sorry because my actions had saved Rachel. And I didn’t regret that at all.

“I’m sorry this has complicated things, sir,” I said quietly. My heart still wanted nothing more than to be a part of this man’s pack, but I knew I had Rachel to consider now, too. And so did Dominic. “I know this wasn’t in the plans, but is there any way you’d be willing to accept Rachel into your pack?” She didn’t need to be Rogue with me.

Dominic steepled his hands again and met my eyes. “It’s not quite that simple anymore.” My eyebrows lifted.

“Sir?”

“I’d like having you and Rachel both join the pack. But it’s not so simple,” he repeated.

“Kyp, you smell different,” Sam interjected. I wrinkled my nose. What did that have to do with anything?

“I always smell different. I’ve never smelled properly wolf or human.”

“No, I know that. But your scent is changing. You’re starting to smell all Alpha-y,” Sam explained.

I rocked back in my chair, awareness only starting to dawn on me.

“You made your own pack when you bit Rachel,” Dominic said.

Blood roared through my ears—Wolf’s erratic behavior, the weird sweating and trembling, the glimmer that banished the aloneness—biting Rachel made me her Alpha. That’s why commanding her worked and why she didn’t react to Megan’s wolf. That’s why my body was having these weird reactions. My genes were somehow mutating themselves. Wolf was changing. I was changing. Panic gripped my gut.

“Oh,” was all I could stammer out.

Dominic burst out laughing and a glance at Sam confirmed his lips were quirked upward, too.

“It’s not completely unheard of for an Alpha to surrender their power to another, although it’s extremely rare, but I don’t know if that’s the wisest course of action,” Dominic continued. “Something tells me that you were always meant to be an Alpha. You have to have Alpha somewhere in your bloodline for your wolf to assume the role. A strong one, too, I’d wager, since your mother is human. Also, when it comes to it, as I’m sure it will,” his voice turned grim, “when Victor Atwood comes calling, it wouldn’t be all bad to have three packs up against his one. Even if your pack doesn’t have the numbers, it still carries the weight in the words if we can say we have three allied packs against his one.”

I swallowed thickly. Responsibility sat heavily on my shoulders as I thought about everything this would entail. I knew I’d be responsible for Rachel after biting her, if the bite took. But being her Alpha? That felt so much weightier. I couldn’t deny that part of me soared at the realization that I was my own. Responsible to no one else’s whims. Capable. Accountable. Leader. Petrified. All the words and feelings that went with them swirled in my brain.

“I don’t know what to say,” I stammered.

“No bother. Think on it. Talk to your pack.” Dominic winked. “If the both of you still want to join the Wolfe pack in a few weeks, we’ll revisit the discussion.”

I gulped and nodded, incapable of much else at that moment.

“What are we going to do about Lenny?” Sam asked.

I nodded my agreement. Lenny had to be dealt with. I would not allow him near Rachel again. Wolf puffed his chest out protectively.

Dominic twisted his lip as he considered the situation. “I think Lenny needs to visit the Sheriff’s office. It is not good to have two enemies, and with his sights locked on Rachel, it’s one more distraction we can’t afford. Victor is the bigger threat. We need to deal with the smaller threat and remove it—even if it’s not strictly wolf business. Sam, what do you think?”

“I agree. I think he’s ruined enough lives. And Rachel is one of us now, so that makes it pack business?”

Dominic nodded at him.

“Kypson? She’s your pack.”

“He will not touch her again.” I was surprised at the venom in my words. I hoped this Alpha stuff wasn’t totally going to my head.

Dominic nodded and picked up his phone.

Lenny was in jail by that evening.