The Baby Protector (Wolf Shifters 0f Wakerlin Book 3)

by Alicia Banks

  Just then the door opened, and Taylor walked in. “The fire is under control. Thankfully the lightning stopped, and the rain helped us put it out,” he told the elder, who nodded and resumed mixing more herbs.

  “Hey. Isabella. I heard what you did for him,” Taylor said and then bowed. “I admit I was wrong. I am sorry for what I said earlier. You are more loyal than half of these bastards.”

  Isabella nodded a thank you and looked up at Dominque. He lay on the bed, battered, his breathing laborious. Worry burrowed into her stomach as she looked at him. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t imagine a world without him. Her heart twisted in pain at the thought that he might not pull through.

  “Elder Lawson, will you come and tend to George and Lucius as well?” Taylor asked.

  “I do not wish to do so, but it is against my oath as a healer. I must. I will go with you,” the elder said and they both left.

  Isabella walked over and sat next to Dominque. “Please, Dominque. Please. Come back to me,” she found herself whispering. He lay motionless, and she could hear how weak his heartbeat was. She didn’t understand why her heart ached to see him like that.

  I wish I could take all your pain away. Please come back.

  She sat by his side all night, only getting up to check on the pup.

  The sun was already up and Isabella still sat next to him. Suddenly Dominque groaned and started squirming restlessly. Isabella immediately caressed his chest, his face, and then she grabbed his hand in both of hers. It seemed to calm him down.

  “Dominque, come back to me,” she whispered as she stared at him. “Please.”

  ***

  Back in the town, the council sat once again. Mayor Bradford looked even more tired than before. “Did you contact the wolves? Did you send the hawk?” he asked.

  “We did. They haven’t responded yet. We can wait a bit longer, but if they don’t respond, we will not have any choice but to attack them,” Captain Luther replied.

  “No. There will be too much bloodshed. We have a treaty. We will follow as best as we can,” the mayor replied.

  “I mean no disrespect when I say this, sir, but you might as well say goodbye to your son,” Captain Luther replied. “Please try and understand, any delay can be dangerous.”

  “It’s my son! I understand that! But if we go against them, there will be severe bloodshed on both sides. We will lose so many people, so many lives! Wait a few more days. If they still don’t respond…” The mayor trailed off. It was no secret that Mayor Bradford detested all kinds of fighting and war.

  “As you say, sir. You should still get the army ready, just in case we do need to attack. Any more delay can be detrimental to your son’s wellbeing,” Captain Luther replied, bowing.

  “I must say, Bradford, I agree with Luther. They have taken one of our own. They deserve what is coming to them,” one of the council members said.

  “Yes. I must say I agree. We must strike while the iron is hot,” another member joined in.

  The mayor sighed, remembering his wife, who had fainted that morning from the trauma and pain. “Alright, prepare the army. Give them two more days to respond. If they don’t, we will attack,” he finally said.

  “Yes, sir. I will see to all the arrangements myself,” Captain Luther replied.

  “I must say, we are lucky to have you, Luther. You have always been willing to lay down your life for your town,” one of the council men said.

  Captain Luther smiled and then bowed. “It is a pleasure.” He then turned towards the mayor and bowed again. “I will get your son back. I promise.”

  Chapter 11

  Dominque

  Dominque walked down a dark corridor, trying to find his way out. He couldn’t remember how he had gotten there or what had happened before. He tried to find a way out, but it was pitch dark. He started to walk, not knowing where to go. There was a sudden breeze, and Dominque heard a voice.

  “Dominque,” the voice whispered.

  He turned around, but there seemed to be no one there.

  “Dominque,” the voice whispered again.

  “Who is there?” Dominque asked. The breeze picked up again, and the wind blew through Dominque’s hair. Dominque squinted, trying to make out any path in the darkness, and then he noticed the outline of a tall tree. He started to make his way towards it.

  As he drew closer to it, the tree began to get brighter and brighter. He soon noticed a woman standing over there, her body covered with a long robe. The only thing visible was her hand, old and wrinkled, holding on to a staff.

  “You know who I am, don’t you?” the woman asked in her ethereal voice.

  Dominque had heard of the legend. A woman, called the Seer, one of the disciples of the moon spirit. She appeared in dreams of wolves and often helped them out during their difficult times. Dominque had heard so many stories of her. Even Elder Lawson claimed that she had visited him too.

  “You are the Seer,” Dominque replied.

  “Great danger awaits the pack, Dominque. You have to be very careful,” the Seer said, her ethereal voice resonating.

  “Yes. I know. There are many who want to take over the pack,” Dominque replied.

  “No. There is a great danger from outside the pack. You must stop it. At all costs,” the Seer said.

  “How? Who is the danger from?” Dominque asked, frowning.

  “Your mate will help you. Hold her close, Dominque.” The Seer’s voice started to fade away.

  “Mate? I don’t have a mate?” Dominque said, confused.

  “Yes, you do, young leader. Isabella,” the Seer whispered. Everything was starting to blur, and the deer was fading away.

  “No! Wait! If she was my mate, the ritual would have shown it!” he shouted.

  “There is great danger, Dominque, leader of the wolves, Son of Alexander. Isabella is your only hope! Never let her go!” The Seer’s voice resounded and suddenly there was a huge flash. Dominque woke up, gasping.

  He looked around and realized that he was on a bed in Elder Lawson’s cabin. Isabella sat next to him, cradling the pup, both of them asleep. He took a deep breath as he realized that it was a dream. He turned to look at Isabella, her beautiful hair framing her small, delicate face.

  Is she really my mate? What if everything Seer said was true?

  Dominique was already drawn to Isabella from the past few weeks. He always felt some spark in his body when she was around, and she had ignited desires in him. On top of that he realized she had a heart of gold.

  “Whether she is my mate or not, I want her. I want her by my side,” Dominique thought. “How would it feel to embrace her in my arms, caress her soft cheeks, and kiss her plump lips?” He smiled at his thoughts and tried to shrug these thoughts away. He tried to sit up, but pain shot in his body. He was healing, but the wounds were deep. He knew it would take some more time to get fully recovered.

  He saw Isabella stirring and her beautiful eyes opened. For a minute she looked at him, her lips slightly parted, and then she suddenly got up. She ran to him, still holding the pup.

  “Dominque. Oh, thank the moon spirit! You are awake! Oh, I thought I was going to lose you forever,” she said, her eyes filling up with tears. Dominque felt his senses entranced by her, and he slowly reached over to cup her cheek.

  “I saw what you did for me, Isabella. I am sorry that I ever thought of you as a traitor,” he whispered.

  Isabella shook her head and said, “Dominque, I was so worried. The pup had such a high fever! It was barely breathing and wasn’t even moving. I was so scared!”

  Dominque felt worry wash over him. “What happened? Is the pup fine?” he asked.

  “Yes. Elder Lawson tended to him. Apparently human pups don’t do well in cold weather and harsh rain,” Isabella said, smiling. She placed her hand on top of Dominque’s, which was still resting on her cheek.

  “Then there was a forest fire, by the way. It was spreading pretty fast. Thank God, the rain final
ly put it out,” she told him and Dominque clicked his tongue.

  “A pretty eventful last night,” he quipped and Isabella laughed. The door opened, and Taylor and Elder Lawson walked in.

  “Ah, good. Dominque, you are awake,” The elder said, smiling.

  “Dominque. What the fuck happened?” Taylor asked, coming to sit next to him.

  “George cornered me on the way back. He challenged me for the title to be the leader of the pack, but he had Lucius waiting. He attacked me and almost killed me. Thankfully, Isabella came and she managed to fight him off,” Dominque stated. “What happened to those two?”

  “Well. Lucius ran away when the forest fire spread, dragging George with him. The elder just tended to them. We are gonna have to do something about them,” Taylor said.

  “I will,” Dominque replied, his eyes on Isabella, who had walked away cooing to the pup.

  The elder walked over and started to examine Dominque’s wounds.

  “Elder?” Dominque asked, lowering his voice. “I was visited by the Seer.”

  At this statement, the elder looked up. “I see. What did she say?”

  “That there was a grave danger. From outside. She also said Isabella is my mate,” Dominque confided.

  “I suspected so,” the elder replied, absentmindedly.

  “What? How is that possible? The ritual…” Dominque trailed off. The elder was busy weighing some herbs.

  “The ritual shows your mate in the pack. You never formally accepted her into the pack. So even though she is your mate, technically she isn’t from the pack, and she never stayed with the pack,” the elder said, starting to change Dominque’s dressing. “Also, do you know she has the necklace of the moon spirit?”

  “The necklace? I have heard of it. I thought we lost it decades ago and the humans possessed it?” Dominque asked.

  “Yes. Then how does she have it?” Elder Lawson asked.

  Dominque frowned and thought, “She has it? How does she have it?”

  Chapter 12

  Isabella

  Three days later…

  It was afternoon when Rose came over to help look after the human pup. Isabella knew that by now, the entire pack knew of the pup’s existence and they would soon enough be attacking. She knew the silence was only until they figured out their plan.

  “Dominque?” Isabella said, going to sit next to him. “We have to act fast. They are planning something. They are obviously trying to find a way to overthrow you as well as get rid of the pop. No matter how I look at it, the most obvious way to do this would be to challenge you again when you're down. The presence of the human pup gives them a very strong reason to state you an incompetent leader and challenge you.”

  Dominic sighed. “I know. I've been thinking about what I can do since morning and there's only one way I can think to handle this.”

  Isabella frowned. She had a very good idea what Dominique might be thinking of. “I know what you're thinking. You're going to challenge them before they can challenge you. I understand the logic behind it and had you not been so injured, I would have supported you, but in your condition it's nothing but folly.”

  “When I have a girl like you behind my back, what do I have to worry about?” Dominque said, grinning.

  “This is serious. We need to come up with a plan, and we need to come up with one fast,” Isabella said, upset that he was treating it like a joke.

  Dominque laughed and sat up. “Are you always this serious?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I have had to be serious. That’s how I got so far in life,” Isabella said.

  “Isabella,” he said softly, with a lot of affection in his voice. “Look at me,” he said, putting his finger under her chin and turning her face towards his. “Trust me. I will handle it. I promise.”

  Isabella felt her heartbeat increase and a blush spread through her cheeks. Not knowing how to react, she just nodded.

  “Let’s talk and sit here,” he said, patting the space on the bed next to him.

  “You have never wanted to talk to me before,” Isabella replied, frowning.

  “That’s because I was an ass. I never even bothered getting to know you and now that I do, I must say you are a fascinating woman,” he said, smiling warmly.

  Isabella felt another blush spreading on her cheeks. “You must really want something from me to be flattering me so,” she said.

  “I do. I really want the pleasure of your company, Isabella,” Dominque said, taking her hand in his.

  Isabella narrowed her eyes. She found it very hard to believe what Dominque was saying. All her life she had been shunned and hated and now, when compassion was being offered, she didn’t want to believe it was real. She didn’t want to believe and then be broken again, when it turned out to be some joke.

  “Isabella. I know what you are thinking. I know what you are afraid of. I told you to trust me. Just give me one chance,” Dominque said, squeezing her hand. Isabella felt her heart melt and she nodded, giving him a small smile.

  “What do you want me to talk about?” Isabella asked.

  “Tell me about your childhood. What was your mother like?” Dominque asked.

  Isabella looked down at her hand, still clutched in Dominque’s. She felt a rush of emotions. She felt loved and accepted.

  “My mother. I don’t remember much about her. She passed away giving birth to me. Which was good, I guess. She was spared the pain and worry my father had to go through. What about yours?”

  “I lost both my parents in the great battle. They both went to fight and they both died fighting,” Dominique said. They were both silent for a while, Isabella enjoying the warm rays of the sun coming through the window and the feel of Dominque’s hand in hers.

  “Isabella,” Dominque whispered, and she turned to look at him. He was looking at her as if in a trance, his eyes seemed to be drinking her in. Isabella swallowed, her heart beating faster as Dominque leaned close. Isabella had never before noticed how seductive he smelled, strong, musky and manly. She was acutely aware of his hand in hers, his thumb tracing circles in her skin.

  “Dominque,” Isabella whispered back, trying to understand her own feelings. She had never noticed how beautiful his eyes looked. They were hazel, but in the sunlight, they shone like sapphire. She found herself leaning forward, her heart racing, her body craving the warmth she had been missing all her life.

  Dominque moved fast and in a blink on an eye, his lips were on hers, tender and loving. He kissed her softly, and Isabella felt herself responding, slowly melting into his arms. Her hands traced his strong muscular chest, and then she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

  Dominque moaned, his hands started to trace her back, sending thrilling shocks through her body. She playfully nibbled on his lip and Dominque groaned, breaking away.

  “Fuck, Isabella. You will be the end of me,” he said, before pulling her in for another kiss. Isabella felt herself melting deeper and deeper into the kiss, her hands moving to his collar to unbutton his shirt. Dominque’s hands were tracing her thighs as he kissed her passionately.

  He broke away gasping and said, “Isabella… listen…”

  “Shush…” Isabella whispered. “Don’t talk. Just feel me.”

  “I would love to…” He was cut off by a kiss from Isabella, but he pulled away again. “Rose is coming,” he gasped.

  “We probably should hide this for now,” Isabella said and Dominque nodded. She reluctantly let him go and it was just in time, because at that minute the door opened, and Rose walked in.

  “The pup and I had a nice walk. Taylor was with me throughout. There is definitely unrest in the pack. If those people had their way, this pup would be dead,” Rose said, putting the sleeping pup down.

  Isabella exchanged a look with Dominque, who softly groaned. Isabella hid a smile and turned to Rose.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “Thank me by helping me collect some food
,” Rose quipped and handed her a basket. Isabella threw Dominque one last look before leaving the cabin with Rose.

  Chapter 13

  Dominque

  Dominque was sitting alone with his thoughts in his cabin when Taylor entered. Despite what Dominque had told Isabella, the situation of the pack worried him. The Seer had warned of some great danger from the outside, but before Dominque could concentrate on that, he needed to see to the matters of the pack first. He needed to reassert his dominance and reunite the pack under one leadership.

  “I assume you have figured out what’s going on?” Taylor asked.

  “I have. Isabella cleared it up a bit more,” Dominque replied.

  “Clever girl. What you gonna do about it?” Taylor asked.

  “There is only one way. I need to prove I am the alpha, that I am the strongest, fastest, and cleverest. That’s the only way they will follow me,” Dominque said.

  “This would not normally be a problem. If you weren’t so injured,” Taylor replied, frowning.

  “I know. There isn’t much else we can do. Listen, when I was unconscious, the Seer visited me,” Dominque said. Taylor snorted in response.

  “The Seer? You believe that shit?” he asked.

  “Elder Lawson has seen her as well, and Dad believed in her, and so do I!” Dominque exclaimed. “Listen, she warned me of a danger. Grave danger, from outside the pack.”

  “She didn’t tell you how to stop it?” Taylor said, laughing, still not taking him seriously.

  “She told me that Isabella can help. I don’t know how… but listen, we need to get the pack under one leadership again. We can’t afford resistance or mutiny at this point,” Dominque said.

  Taylor sighed. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Gather the pack at the clearing with the memorial stone. Make sure everyone is there. The entire council, especially Clinton and Lucius,” Dominque ordered.