Chapter 82: A score to settle

After Dorian tucked Alyssa into bed, he stayed beside her for a moment to make sure she wouldn’t awaken.

He watched her peaceful, sleeping face, his gaze locked on her full lips and rosy cheeks, his heart picking up pace as he remembered her confession from the previous night.

I love you, Dorian.

The memory made Shadow purr with satisfaction, but when he remembered the rogue attack that had followed right after, his expression hardened into stone.

He moved away from the bed, padding softly toward the door before stepping silently into the hallway. He stationed two Lycan guards directly in front of the room, then headed straight to his study where Jake, Alec, and Anthony were already waiting.

Anthony shot to his feet the moment Dorian stepped inside, his eyes wild with concern.

"Dorian, we heard what happened in Ashgard," he said, the grave worry for his best friend clear in his voice. "How is Alyssa? Is she okay?"

"She’s fine," Dorian muttered, slipping into the leather chair behind his desk. "She’s sleeping now." After a brief pause, he asked, "Where is Pandora?"

"She stepped out a moment ago. She should be on her way back."

A tense silence filled the study, broken only by the steady ticking of the clock on the wall. Then Jake broke it, asking the question all three of them were dying to ask.

"How did rogues cross the ocean borders into Ashgard, Alpha?" he asked. "That has never happened in years."

"It’s almost like they were being drawn by an invisible force," Alec muttered. "Rogues don’t attack a pack like that without a reason."

Dorian remained silent while they speculated, his mind racing with a thousand thoughts. He waited until they grew quiet, then slowly sat forward in his seat.

"I think the rogues were after Alyssa," he said.

Jake and Alec exchanged confused glances, but Anthony kept his eyes locked on Dorian, searching his expression.

"What really happened? Tell us, Dorian. Please," he said.

After another heavy beat of silence, Dorian calmly explained everything that had occurred in Ashgard. From the nightmare Alyssa had, to the shattered glass, to the incident at Cole’s estate, and finally the night everything fell apart.

When he finished, Anthony and the other two were stunned into silence. Dorian stood up and began to pace around the study, restless and unable to keep still.

Once the initial shock wore off, Anthony cleared his throat. "You know what this means, right?"

Dorian whirled on him instantly. "Alyssa is not an Onyx! These are just coincidences."

"You were the same person who once thought she was one," Anthony argued. "What if you were right? What if she really is one?"

"I’m not having this conversation with you, Anthony," Dorian muttered coldly. "I’m more concerned about keeping the North safe from shapeshifters. Jake, any news on Pilate?"

"None yet, Alpha," Jake shook his head. "The trackers haven’t caught a whiff of his scent around the borders and the territory."

"Have them extend the search to the outer borders," Dorian instructed. "If he manages to slip into the North, there will be no way to detect his presence."

​"If only we had a witch or a sorceress we could get our hands on," Alec suggested. "They can easily detect a shapeshifter’s presence from a mile away."

"For now, there are no witches. So triple the guard rotations on every entrance and exit into the North."

"Yes, Alpha," Jake and Alec nodded in unison.

"Also, hold off on the tutor meant to teach Alyssa the history of Wintercrest. I can’t trust anyone right now until Pilate has been caught."

"I’ll send word to her immediately, Alpha," Jake nodded. "Our men still have the Luna’s home in the South surrounded. There hasn’t been any suspicious movement. But the daughter and her mate, your cousin Fabian, had Ingrid buried. She’s currently in mourning."

"Bring her in for questioning!" Dorian ordered tightly. "She must know something about Alyssa that we don’t, something her mother kept hidden."

"I will send word to the Southern pack," Alec agreed with a nod.

"And one more thing, Alpha," Jake chimed in. "We received reports of an abduction two days ago. A group of girls were kidnapped near the border between the South and the North. We traced the route back to the perpetrators. It was Gerald Frazier."

Dorian had forgotten all about that monster. The bastard Alyssa had been sold to, the one who had hunted her through the woods until she collapsed inside his pack.

"How many days until the Moon Ceremony?" he demanded gruffly.

"Three days, Alpha."

Dorian thought for a moment, his jaw clenching and releasing, his fingers twitching against the edge of the desk.

Then he lowered back into the chair and pinned Jake under an icy glare. "We leave for the South tomorrow at dawn. You and Alec will go after the abducted girls. I have a score to settle with Gerald."

After finalizing their strategy, Jake and Alec bowed and stepped out of the study, leaving Dorian and Anthony alone.

Dorian completely ignored him, pulling his laptop closer to go through the files Jake had sent over, reviewing the welfare and security of Wintercrest during the week he had been away.

Anthony didn’t say a word either. He just sat there, ankles crossed, waiting for Dorian to give up whatever he was pretending to do. The silence stretched longer.

When Dorian couldn’t stand it any longer, he slammed the laptop shut and glared across the desk. "What?"

Anthony raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean, ’what’?"

"I don’t have time for your games, Anthony. You’re sitting there with a whole lot on your mind, so spit it out."

Anthony chuckled softly and shook his head. "I didn’t say a word. I let you work, didn’t I?"

"Cut the crap!" Dorian growled. "I know you better than I know myself. You’ll sit there and let the silence stretch out, knowing I won’t be able to concentrate. If this is about Alyssa being an Onyx, forget it."

"It’s not that," Anthony murmured quietly. "I know when to back off from something you don’t want to talk about."

"Then what’s the problem?"

Anthony remained silent for several long seconds, his eyes searching Dorian’s face.

"Something changed between you and Alyssa, didn’t it?" he said finally. "You’re more worked up than usual."

"I’m just stressed."

"Bullshit," Anthony scoffed. "The Dorian I know never gets worked up over stress. You’re always so calm and composed that even a nuclear war couldn’t shake you. The only thing strong enough to rattle you like this is Alyssa."

Dorian shut his eyes and let out a long sigh, softly massaging his temples. Sometimes, he swore Anthony was a bloody mind reader.

"She told me she loved me," he confessed quietly.

Anthony’s eyes widened into saucers. "Okay," he said slowly. "I did not expect that. What... what did you say in return?"

"Nothing."

Anthony looked appalled. "Nothing? What kind of married man says nothing when his wife tells him she loves him?"

"She fell asleep!" Dorian snapped in frustration. "She fell asleep right after she said it. I don’t even think she remembers saying it."

Anthony nodded slowly, a subtle shift of understanding on his face. "So... you’re scared of a woman’s confession?"

Dorian shot him a lethal glare. "You’re the worst person to talk to."

"Hey, I’m doing my best here," Anthony laughed softly. "I haven’t found my mate yet, so I’m hardly an expert in these matters."

Dorian shook his head, the corner of his lip twitching before his face hardened into stone once again.

​"That’s not really why you’re bothered, is it?" Anthony continued, his tone turning serious. "It’s something else. And it has to do with Elvira."

Dorian flinched at the sound of his dead mate’s name. He closed his eyes as memories surfaced, painful, jagged memories he didn’t want to dwell on.

"I’m terrified that I can’t love Alyssa the way she deserves," he murmured, his voice sounding hollow and dejected. "I know I’m falling for her, but my heart may never be truly hers. And I don’t want to hurt her."

Anthony said nothing. He didn’t need to. He understood the dark weight of it, because when a Lycan bonded with their mate, it was for life.

And Dorian was terrified he would never be able to fully love another woman again.