Chapter 2

 A few days later Dominic was sorting through paperwork of one of his business interests when his phone began to vibrate across his mahogany desk, his warm yellow eyes glanced at the illuminated screen to see the name he had been waiting for 'Valaria.' In almost a panicked rush he scrambled for the phone and swiped across the screen.

“Hello, Dominic Kane speaking.”

“Hello Dominic, It's Valaria, we met the other night, in the bushes.” as if Dominic would forget.

“Ah yes, what's the news?” trying to keep his mind on business and off the memory of her intoxicating scent.

“The council has agreed to your proposal, they have selected two members from the council and two from The Company, plus myself makes five, is that okay?”

“Yes, that's perfect, how’s Wednesday for you?” he was smiling, he didn't smile often but the thought of being able to see the she-panther again had his wolf rather excited.

“Wednesday is fine, Five PM?”

“Excellent, text me any dietary needs and I'll have Amber cook something special.”

“No dietary needs, just nothing from a freezer box and we're all good.” Valaria chuckled as she spoke.

“Right, good.” 'was she serious with the freezer box? What does she think we are? Animals!' “see you Wednesday at five, I'll give your details to Stacy and she'll see you down to us.”

“Who from the pack will be joining us?”

“My Alphas Nick and Diane, Stacy, my second Tyrone and myself, the rest of the pack will be doing their own thing.”

“Okay see you then.”

Without being able to respond the phone went silent, 'Bitch hung up on me.'

As he placed his phone back down, there was a knock at his office door.

“Come!”

“Ah Dominic, glad I caught you, this dinner you have arranged, is it sorted?” the tall dark haired man asked

“Yes Nick, Wednesday at five, How's Diane?”

“Ah perfect, I look forward to it, and she is fine, thank you for asking, she is off visiting her parents today she will be back Wednesday morning,” Nick replied.

“Good, Good, we have preparations to make, we don't want to disappoint our guests.”

“No we don't, call the enforcers together, and Amber, best get Steve as well he was married to a panther for ten years, maybe he can offer some insight?”

“Sure thing boss, lunch then?” Dominic offered.

“Yes, see you then, I'm going to grab a shower.” Nick exited the office as quickly as he entered leaving Dominic with his thoughts of the she-panther, he slumped himself down into his office chair and let out a deep sigh.

“What the fuck are you doing? Pining over a fucking panther.”

Valaria hung up the phone before she said something stupid like 'Hey after the dinner, fancy showing me your bedroom?' she couldn't believe what an affect that gorgeous wolf man was having on her, and her panther, both of them were near climbing the walls waiting to see him again, of course her logical mind kept reminding her that they were only compatible as far as the human bodies, they couldn't mate, not like a true mating, there would only be a small bond, it wouldn't prevent either of them from going rouge and there would be no link like with same species bonding where they would be able to sense the others emotions. It just wouldn't work. Valaria had seen it happen to her friends mother Kacy, she married a wolf and even left her pride, but his pack found out and banished them, she returned home broken emotionally, her panther took years to heal from the breaking of the bond, the wolf? Well Kacy was told that the pack killed him for defending her, such a tragedy because of love, if neither of them were born shifters they would have made the perfect couple, but Mother Nature is a fickle Bitch.

“So, It is done?” The voice seemed to echo inside Valaria's head, bouncing off each side of her skull before landing like a tone weight on her panther.

Valaria turned towards the doorway of her study, the dark figure obscured by the low light, of course she knew exactly who it was, “Yes Father, It is done,” she sighed heavily, “However, I do not think they are a threat.”

William scoffed, “Then it is a good job you are not expected to think!” Valaria dropped her head in submission, “The females of this pride are on this earth to Mate and preserve the species, Nothing more! The fact that I allowed you to be an enforcer until you reached marrying age still has the council on edge.”

“Fuck the council!” Valaria interjected, “You are The King!”

“I Am The King!” her father spat furiously, “These have been our ways for over millennia! Come Samhain you will wed Lucian, You will bear his kits and you will know your place!” Valaria was breathless, the dominant aggressive vibe flooding from her father choking her, tears welled in her eyes washing out the bright Amethyst and leaving a dull grey, her panther was scratching at her mind, desperate to get out and give The King something to fear but William turned leaving the room, Valaria gasped for breath as his dominant vibes released her.

“Fuck The King Too!” she muttered under her breath as she raised a hand to her throat, a natural response to the feeling of being strangled.

Valaria stood by her desk, a few tears ran down her olive toned face leaving a trail of smudged mascara in their wake. It was at this point she decided to make the biggest decision of her life, one that would destroy her pride and everything that she holds dear, what she was about to do is considered treason in her species but could she really allow herself to be sold into a loveless marriage based solely on over a hundred years of tradition?

As Dominic entered the meeting room there as a mix of ambient chatter among those assembled, Stacy greeted him as she did at all meetings with a coffee in a huge Steel cup, without words he nodded his thanks and made his way to the large oak table and took his seat, the others followed suit and he began.

“Right I'm sure by now you all know why we are here today.”

“Yeah, cause the panthers are scared we are gonna hurt them.” Micky chuckled his remark with the usual over confident grin that he wore almost all the time.

Dominic frowned and continued, “They just want to keep their town and their people safe, ask yourselves, would we do any different if the roles were reversed? Now I know they have an odd command structure with councils, a king and this thing they call The Company which lets face it, is a workers union, put their head guys from each will be here on Wednesday.”

“How many?” Interrupted Tyrone as he took a bite of a yum-yum that Amber had baked for the meeting.

“Five, Two from the council, Two from The Company and their head enforcer who you all know from the security tapes.”

“The one that couldn't stop staring at your junk you mean?” Micky remarked.

The group all erupted into soft laughter.

“Yes that's the one.” Dominic added.

“Steve, what can you tell us about them? Their eating habits, any particular customs we should be aware of?” Dominic asked before taking a sip of his coffee.

Steve shrugged his shoulders and offered “not really boss, they are a bit pompous, like rich kids in high school.”

The gathered enforcers chuckled lightly.

“So what your saying is they are up their own ass?”

“No Micky, they are not all like that,” Dominic stated, Micky scoffed at his comment and added,

“So your new girlfriend managed to pull her head out of her own ass,”

Dominic used every ounce of strength not to pounce across the table and beat Micky’s smug face into the wall which his wolf was more than happy to do at this moment.

“That’s Enough!” Bellowed Nick, every wolf in the room bowed their heads, the dominant vibes flooding from him almost landed Micky out cold like punches to the head. "I will not stand for this childish bickering from you Micky, get out of my conference room.”

Micky stood and tried to argue his point but everyone simply turned away from him.

“Get the Fuck Out!” Stacy added as she stepped towards him, she may be the youngest and smallest but her dominant vibes were nearly as strong as Dominic’s and she had the brute strength to back them up. Micky turned in a huff, the same way a scolded teenager might when sent to his room, once he was out of earshot Nick continued.

“Sorry everyone, I want the enforcers to keep the pack busy during the meeting, Dominic, Stacy, Myself and My mate will be attending the dinner, Tyrone, I would like you to be there too, the rest of you, it is your job to keep the peace, understood?”

All as one they nodded their agreement

“Stacy will give each of you your personal assignments, Micky is to be confined to quarters,” Nick gestured for them to stand. “Okay everyone, thank you and see you all later for the pack run.”

As the room slowly emptied Charlie stayed behind, he rested against the doorway his short frame dwarfed by the others, he was short to say the least, five feet tall and about 120lbs but he was a tactical thinker and he happened to be a pretty good medic.

“What can I do for you Charlie?” Dominic asked shuffling papers into a cardboard folder.

“We have been here for nearly six months! Why now?”

“I asked myself the same thing which is why this dinner is taking place, maybe we can get some answers.”

Charlie nodded agreeing “OK boss, I’ll make sure Micky stays in line from now on.”

“See that he does, brother or not if he steps out of line again I’ll beat him to a bloody pulp!”

“And he would deserve everything you gave.”

Both wolves left the room together leaving Amber to tidy up the various coffee cups and side plates.

Stacy’s room, well if you can call it a room, it was more like a suite in a fancy hotel, it had its own living room and bathroom it even had a small kitchenette, most of the room was pretty bare save for a few nicnaks and photos of her old pack. The bedroom is where her personality really came out, the walls were a mix of subtle greens and earthy browns, the bed was a grand four poster made from hand felled maple trees, it was her prized possession as she had made it herself just after joining Nicks pack shortly after its formation, unlike most packs that simply grew moving from alpha to alpha as the progression continued, this pack was different. Nick is what’s called an Absent Wolf, it is one of the rarest know preternatural conditions, when a shifter is born he or she has an animal spirit which binds with their very soul, Nick has no Wolf spirit, he has a wolf side, he can shift but unlike normal shifters he stays in full control.

He started the pack as a way of taking in all wolves who had been rejected by their previous packs, be it because they decided to mate with a different species like with Steve and his former panther wife, or they just didn't fit the pack.

Stacy was kicked out of her pack because she tried to assume command and challenged her alpha, rather than accept the challenge her alpha had her drugged and dumped in the Nevada desert which is where Dominic found her and took her under his paw so to speak.

She still remembers the first words he spoke to her ‘Never trust what you cannot beat, for any chance of loss is a chance of betrayal.’

Since that moment, Stacy has been the definition of loyal to Dominic and the pack he helped create.