Back to Blackthorn

By the time they reached the road, the rain had stopped completely.

The clouds were beginning to break apart, allowing thin strips of morning sunlight to reach the fields. It should have felt peaceful after the night they had survived, but Rei couldn't shake the feeling that the quiet was only temporary.

She stood beside the road with her arms wrapped around herself while Dominic examined the damage to the SUV.

"The back window is gone," he said. "One tire is losing air."

"Can it still drive?"

"For a while."

"Then we don't have a while."

Dominic looked at her.

"You're serious about going back."

"Yes."

"You understand what we're walking into."

"I understand that my mother is still being hunted, my stepfather is working with the people who have been watching me, and someone has spent years turning my family into a secret."

She looked toward Blackthorn.

"I'm done waiting for someone else to explain my life to me."

Dominic studied her for several seconds.

Then he nodded.

"All right."

Mara stepped closer.

"No."

Rei turned.

Her mother looked frightened.

"You can't go back there."

"I have to."

"They will use you."

"They've already been using me."

Mara's eyes filled with tears.

"I didn't tell you everything because I wanted you to have a normal life."

Rei's expression softened.

"I know."

"No, you don't."

Mara reached for her daughter's hand.

"Your entire life, I tried to keep you away from what happened to Elara. I thought if you knew nothing, they couldn't use the information against you."

"But they found me anyway."

"Yes."

Mara looked at Dominic.

"And now they have him."

Dominic frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Mara hesitated.

"Your bond has already begun."

Rei immediately stiffened.

"No."

Mara shook her head.

"I'm not talking about mating."

She looked between them.

"I'm talking about the biological connection."

Dominic's expression became serious.

"Explain."

"When an Omega from Elara's bloodline encounters the compatible Alpha, the connection begins before either person understands it."

Rei remembered the strange pull she'd felt toward Dominic from the beginning.

The way his scent affected her.

The way his presence calmed her when nothing else could.

The way her body seemed to recognize him before her mind did.

Mara continued.

"At first, it's only attraction. Then heightened scent recognition. Emotional synchronization. Protective instincts."

Dominic looked at Rei.

"And eventually?"

Mara's voice became quiet.

"Complete bond."

Rei shook her head.

"What happens if we don't complete it?"

Mara looked away.

"Your body will fight the separation."

Rei's stomach tightened.

"How?"

"Pain. Fever. Instability during heat."

Dominic's jaw tightened.

"Can it be stopped?"

"Possibly."

"How?"

Mara didn't answer.

Rei stared at her.

"Mom."

Mara finally spoke.

"There is only one way to permanently stop the bond."

Dominic already seemed to know the answer.

"You have to sever the bloodline."

Rei looked between them.

"What does that mean?"

Mara's eyes filled with tears.

"One of you has to die."

Silence.

The words seemed to drain the air from the morning.

Dominic stepped forward.

"That's not happening."

Mara looked at him.

"You don't understand."

"I understand perfectly."

"If the academy discovers the bond has fully developed, they will try to force it."

Dominic's voice hardened.

"They won't get the chance."

Mara shook her head.

"You don't know what they're capable of."

"I've spent my entire life being trained to deal with people like them."

"Your father trained you because he knew."

Dominic froze.

Mara continued.

"He knew what you would eventually become."

"What?"

"The Alpha who could either control the First Omega or protect her."

Dominic looked at Rei.

"Which one?"

Mara smiled sadly.

"That depends on you."

---

They reached Blackthorn just before noon.

The academy looked completely normal.

Students walked between buildings.

Cars moved through the parking lot.

Professors carried folders toward the administration building.

There was no evidence of the previous night's attack.

No broken windows.

No security officers.

No emergency vehicles.

Nothing.

Rei stared through the windshield.

"They cleaned everything."

Dominic nodded.

"Of course they did."

"They don't want anyone to know."

"They never do."

They parked several buildings away from the main entrance.

Dominic turned toward Rei.

"Stay close."

"I know."

"If anything happens—"

"I know."

He looked at her.

"You don't have to prove you're fearless."

"I'm not."

"Then what are you?"

Rei looked toward the academy.

"Prepared."

They entered through the side entrance.

The moment Rei stepped inside, conversations stopped.

Students turned toward her.

Whispers spread through the hallway.

She heard her name.

Then another word.

Omega.

Her stomach tightened.

Someone had already told them.

Dominic noticed.

"Don't listen."

"I'm not."

But she was.

She heard every whisper.

Every insult.

Every rumor.

She had spent months trying to survive Blackthorn by making herself smaller.

Now she refused.

She lifted her head and walked beside Dominic.

The hallway parted for them.

No one spoke.

No one challenged them.

Then Selena appeared.

She stood at the end of the corridor with several girls behind her.

Her arms were crossed.

Her eyes moved from Rei to Dominic.

Then she smiled.

"I was wondering when you'd come back."

Dominic stepped forward.

"What did you do with her suppressants?"

Selena's smile disappeared.

"You shouldn't ask questions you don't want answered."

"Give them back."

"I don't have them."

Rei stared at her.

"You're lying."

Selena looked directly at her.

"You really don't understand what you are, do you?"

Rei took one step closer.

"Then explain it."

Selena laughed.

"You think Dominic is protecting you?"

"He is."

"No."

Selena shook her head.

"He's protecting himself."

Dominic's expression darkened.

"Walk away."

Selena ignored him.

"You know why his father trained him so hard?"

Rei said nothing.

"Because Dominic isn't just the hockey captain."

Selena looked around the hallway.

"He's the key."

A murmur moved through the students.

Rei felt Dominic tense beside her.

Selena continued.

"Blackthorn spent twenty years looking for the right Omega."

She pointed toward Rei.

"They found her."

Then she pointed toward Dominic.

"And they already had him."

Dominic's eyes flashed silver.

"Enough."

Selena smiled.

"You still don't remember, do you?"

Dominic froze.

"Remember what?"

"The night you were brought here."

Rei looked at him.

Dominic's expression changed.

Selena walked closer.

"You were eight years old."

She lowered her voice.

"You weren't brought here for training."

Dominic stared at her.

"You were tested."

A strange pain appeared behind his eyes.

He grabbed the side of his head.

Rei immediately reached for him.

"Dominic?"

Images flashed through his mind.

White walls.

Bright lights.

A metal table.

His father's voice.

A woman screaming.

A little girl crying.

Then a symbol.

The crescent.

Dominic staggered backward.

Rei caught him.

"What did you see?"

He looked at her.

"I don't know."

Selena smiled.

"Yes, you do."

Dominic's breathing became heavier.

"You were there."

"Where?"

Selena whispered the answer.

"With Elara."

Rei's heart stopped.

"What?"

Selena looked at her.

"Your grandmother didn't disappear when you were six."

Rei stared.

Selena's expression became almost cruel.

"She disappeared when Dominic was eight."

Dominic went completely still.

Rei looked at him.

"You were there?"

"I don't remember."

Selena smiled.

"They made sure you didn't."

Then the academy alarm sounded.

Every door in the hallway slammed shut.

Students screamed.

Security shutters dropped over the exits.

Dominic immediately grabbed Rei.

"Stay with me."

The lights went red.

A voice came over the intercom.

"All students remain in place."

Rei looked toward the ceiling.

Then the voice changed.

It was no longer an automated announcement.

It was a man's voice.

Cold.

Familiar.

Her stepfather.

"Rei."

She froze.

Dominic looked at her.

The voice continued.

"Welcome home."

Rei's entire body went cold.

"You've been difficult to find."

A screen at the end of the hallway flickered on.

Her stepfather appeared.

He smiled.

And beside him stood Mara.

Rei's heart stopped.

Her mother was alive.

But she wasn't alone.

A collar had been placed around her neck.

Her stepfather leaned closer to the camera.

"Come to the laboratory."

Rei stared at the screen.

"Let my mother go."

He smiled.

"I will."

"When?"

"When you give us Dominic."

Dominic looked at Rei.

"No."

Her stepfather laughed.

"Don't worry, Dominic."

The screen zoomed in.

"We aren't going to hurt you."

A pause.

"We're going to show you who you really are."

The screen went black.

Rei turned toward Dominic.

He looked shaken.

For the first time since she'd met him, she saw genuine fear in his eyes.

"What do you remember?"

He swallowed.

"I remember a room."

"And?"

"You were there."

Rei's heart pounded.

"But I was six."

"You were."

He looked toward the laboratory doors at the end of the hall.

"And I think I was the one holding your hand."

Rei stared at him.

Neither of them moved.

Because suddenly their entire relationship had taken on a terrifying new meaning.

Maybe their first meeting hadn't been their first meeting at all.

Maybe Dominic had known Rei before she ever knew his name.

Maybe the reason his wolf recognized her wasn't because they had simply found their mates.

Maybe it was because, years ago, in a hidden laboratory beneath Blackthorn, two frightened children had already been chosen for each other.

And someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to make them forget.