The heat continued to ravage my body for the rest of the night. Dominic tended to my needs each time the inferno inside me flared up. He was reluctant to leave my side for any moment of time, even to use the washroom. But when I pass out, my energy spent from the love-making, he would disappear and return just before I could wake with food from Leah’s café. The pack thankfully continued training Forest Paw in our absence, Dominic checking in with Christian when the inferno reduced to small embers.
Blue understood why we were away from Forest Paw; the scent of my heat would drive all the males crazy, and the females themselves would have their heat triggered if near me. He assured Christian that they were fine waiting for Dominic and me to return when the heat subsided. Our stay in the bed and breakfast was extended another two days, the excuse to the owner being that we decided to enjoy a small vacation of our own. A suitcase filled with clothes for Dominic and I lay unopened at the foot of the bed, courtesy of Serena and Axel, who came to make sure we were okay.
After four days of dealing with my heat and being locked in the Bed and Breakfast with Dominic, I found myself curling in the bed, my body too exhausted to do anything.
“Sleep, Amberle. I think your heat is over.” Dominic whispers, pushing my hair away from my sweaty face and pulling my body into his warm embrace, where I let myself drift into a comfortable sleep, the inferno inside me finally dying out completely.
◆◆◆
Warm fingers draw slow circles along my skin, waking me from a deep slumber that I haven’t had in weeks. My body is sore in places I never thought possible as the circles continue. My neck throbs and the memories of the past few days fill my mind. I open my eyes and am met with the ice-blue gaze of Dominic.
“Good morning.” He whispers, placing a kiss on my forehead.
“Morning,” I mumble sleepily, a yawn following my words as I snuggle closer to my mate. My body wants to sleep, needing more rest than I ever thought possible, and I am willing to oblige to this need for sleep. But my stomach chooses this time to protest its need for food. I sigh, glaring at my stomach for ruining my moment of getting to sleep in away from our pack mates and the duty to train Forest Paw.
“I guess we should head back.” Dominic sighs, nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck where his mark is placed. A slight throbbing from the sore wound is felt when he kisses the still-healing mark, causing me to wince, which hurts more of my sore muscles that makes me wince again when I move.
“How about a soak in the tub first to help ease our muscles, then we can leave for Forest paw in an hour or so.” I suggest, knowing full well I couldn’t walk into their pack house while too sore to move. Dominic chuckles again, climbing out of the bed in all his naked glory and heading towards the bathroom where the sound of running water informs me that he has agreed to my idea. He returns soon after, gently scooping my body into his arms and carries me into the adjoining room.
My sore body is lowered into the steaming water that smells like lavender - the tell-tale sign of Epsom salts placed inside - and the effects of the bath additive starts to help relieve some soreness. The water is turned off by my mate, Dominic climbing into the bath behind me where his hands slowly massage my neck and shoulders.
“How long have we been away from everyone?’ I ask, relaxing into Dominic’s skilled hands as he works the knots from my muscles.
“About five days. Blue and Christian have called to give us updates. They agreed to lying to Leo and saying we are on a scouting mission with leads about the Soulless.” I chuckle with the knowledge that Leo has no clue the mate bond broke, and that I am now with someone who deserves my love. I had a feeling the Goddess paired Leo and I because we were best friends as pups, but it’s clear he doesn’t deserve me with how quickly he turned on me after the death of my parents.
Dominic is the man that I needed in my life. As a rogue, he accepted my help in saving him, even if he knew I was Fire Foot stealing from his pack. He trusted me, listened to me when I needed to cry, and held me when Leo was messing with another she-wolf, causing me immense pain.
“Well, let’s enjoy the rest of our time here before we have to head back.” I yawn, leaning against Dominic. My mate chuckles, placing a kiss on my cheek. The hot water and the massage I get from Dominic every now and then helps to ease the soreness of my muscles. I just hope that I don’t have to go into heat again for a long time. I yawn again, still exhausted from the last few days and wanting to just go back to sleep. But I have a duty to perform. Once the water turns cool, Dominic and I clean off, glad to have the sticky feeling off of my body. He helps me to carefully climb out of the bathtub, chuckling as I wince.
“You okay?” He asks, wrapping me in a thick fluffy towel.
“Yeah. It was my first time with anyone, and I never thought I would be this sore. Do you think skipping training today is a good idea?” I admit blushing. My body feels ten times worse than the week I started training as a Tracker. At least back then there was no soreness left inside me like there is now. Instead, every part of my body protested each movement, even after soaking in the bathtub for an hour.
Dominic chuckles, pressing a gentle kiss on my lips. With a smile, I follow him into the bedroom, sitting on top of the bed and towel-drying my hair. Dominic pulls out clothing for us from the suitcase. Without a moment to spare, we are dressed and leaving the bed and breakfast, thanking the old lady who owns the place. Dominic takes control of my Mustang and drives back to Forest Paw, letting me rest my eyes.
“And to answer your question from earlier, we can use the excuse of returning from scouting to skip training for you so you can rest today.” Dominic states, finally answering my question. We stop at a Tim Horton’s, deciding that bringing donuts to the pack as compensation for leaving them to deal with Leo and Forest Paw without us would appease them. You can hear the surprise from the teenager manning the drive-through when Dominic orders for all of their available donuts, and right after a normal Double-Double and a Green Tea with two shots of vanilla. The back seat of my Mustang smells like a donut shop by the time we leave the drive-thru and continue on our way. Axel is at the main road with a few other Hunters, waving to us as we pass through Forest Paw pack line with a relieved smile on his face when he sees me sipping on my tea. The drive to the guest cabin is uneventful. I feel relieved to be back with my pack mates until I see many frantically packing their cars with suitcases.
With worried looks between the two of us, Dominic and I exit the car, rushing into the guest cabin as fast as we can. Catching Lease making her way down the stairs, suitcase in hand, I stop her and look around at the hustling wolves.
“What’s going on?” I ask, Dominic checking to make sure there is no sign of attack.
“There’s a blizzard warning coming our way. Blue asked us to move to Forest Paw’s pack house and help get everything ready to bunker down.” I nod at her answer, letting her go about putting her suitcase away as I find Dominic in the kitchen and inform him of the situation. Many wolves are helping other carry luggage down the stairs. Worry begins to plague my mind as I think about what we can bring with us.
“Have Lease help pack up my room. I’ll get a few of our wolves to go through the cabin and pack anything that can be useful at the pack house.” I suggest, already moving towards the pantry to start packing the food products.
“Okay, but I want everyone packed and heading to Forest Paw’s pack house in an hour.” Dominic stops me, giving me a chaste kiss before rushing out of the kitchen. I find Greg, Concra and Christian, happy to hear they are done packing, and have them help me pack up the food in the kitchen. Concra suggests packing the linen and extra blankets, so I give her the okay to take a few other wolves to go room-to-room and grab whatever they could, reminding them to be ready within an hour.
Soon Dominic and Lease come down the stairs, with the luggage from my room and Dominic’s room carried between them, quickly heading out the door to my Mustang as more wolves help Miles and Concra to pack the food and linen into any available cars.
“Some of you are going to have to run to their pack house in wolf form.” I inform my pack, seeing how full all the vehicles are. We would have had more room if it weren’t for the donuts taking up the back seat of my Mustang, but I am also glad we stopped for those treats to bring with us to the pack house for not only my pack to enjoy, but also the pups of Forest Paw. A few of my pack members are already removing their clothes, wolves ranging from jet-black to grey and brown standing before us, stretching their muscles.
“Stay together and link Dominic and I if something happens.” I order, seeing my pack mates nod before they take off towards the pack house. The wind begins to pick up as the sky grows darker, and I know the storm is getting closer. It’ll be here in maybe another two or three hours. I frown, ordering everyone into their cars. We reach the pack house in record time, our cars lining up in the underground garage where Blue greets us.
“Rooms have been set aside for all of you, the underground bunker has also been unlocked for other wolves who live alone to stay in.” Blue states the moment we step out of our vehicles.
“Did you open up the tunnel that leads to the dorm building?” I ask. The dorms were a project for the overflow of single pack members or newly mated pairs to live in before I left, still under construction on my birthday.
“Yes, they are. We moved in a few families there for their own safety, as well as filled up all the other empty rooms that aren’t designated for Blood Moon.” Axel answers, coming with many omegas that Miles starts directing to the extra food, linen and Blankets we brought from the guest house.
“That was smart, bringing those here,” Blue states, pulling me in for a hug. He informs us that the top two floors are dedicated for my pack, leaving us about twenty-eight rooms for us to use.
“Everyone, gather round.” I call for my pack, waiting for everyone to quiet down and listen.
“Someone link the wolves that took off in their fur forms to tell them what’s happening. Forest Paw left us twenty-eight rooms for us to use.” I start off, seeing Miles’ eyes glaze over.
“Mates will share a room, leaving us with about eighteen rooms left. The rest will be bunking with two girls in one room and two boys in another. Pair up and pick a room for you to settle into. We have no idea how long this blizzard will last, so make sure you pick someone you won’t want to kill by the end of this storm.” Instantly, wolves pair off, mates excited to bunker down with each other as they start to get their rooms ready.
“Guess I’ll bunk with Dom, so Lease and Concra can have some sisterly bonding.” Miles suggests, causing Dominic and Bill to growl at him. “You do understand that Bill is Lease’s mate, right, and that Dominic and Amberle are mates now?” Christian asks our idiotic friend, watching everyone’s faces turn to look at Dominic and I in shock.
“Wait, when did this happen!” Lease yells, rushing to give me a hug and tilting my head to the side to show off the still-healing mate mark.
“Five days ago. I ended up getting my heat the same day too, which is why we stayed away.” I confess. Dominic breaks up the many questions that begin to sound from our pack mates, reminding them that now is not the time as we have to be ready for the blizzard. With reluctance, my pack mates begin to unload their cars and Omegas of Forest Paw come to our aid, helping to carry the luggage up the stairs. Of course, Dominic and I chose a room at the end of the hallway, him going to put our clothes away in the drawers as I check the suitcase that holds my Tracker uniform, happy to see everything accounted for.
“Everything is put away. Do you want to go get food?” Dominic asks, wrapping his arms around me from behind and resting his head on my shoulder. Of course, with the news of the blizzard and us having to make our way to our ally’s pack house, the need for food was put on hold. My stomach growls, feeling hollow, and I nod, turning around to kiss my mate before pulling him towards the door. I’m surprised to see how full the dining hall is, as wolves who normally have their meals at home are crammed into the pack house either in the hallways, the large formal room across the dining room or cramming into seats inside the dining hall. Omegas are running about, refilling the buffet station and the hot drinks. But the one person I expected to see here is not. Leo is nowhere to be found while his pack whispers amongst themselves anxiously. Of course, he would neglect everyone with the threat of a storm looming over our heads.
“Go grab us some food and find us a seat. I need to do something.” I tell Dominic, kissing his cheek before finding an empty chair and dragging it to the center of the room. Standing on the chair, I take a deep breath and count to three.
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please!” I yell, wolves nearest to me shushing one another as I wait for silence to settle down. Once everyone is focused on me and parents have their pups under control, I look around the room and smile.
“Due to recent events, I will be postponing training for today. I estimate we have three hours until the blizzard hits, and I would like for preparations to be completed before then. We need to have a few of you go out and purchase more food to last for at least two weeks. Some wolves will have to go out and purchase or gather firewood in case the power goes out, and we need to keep the heat in the pack house by using the fireplace and cook on the wood stoves.” I start, smiling when Serena comes to stand beside me, a clipboard with the tasks I’ve announce written out.
“Who will go to purchase food?” Hands rise into the air as ten people volunteer, with Zack, Greg, and Blue being among them.
“Okay, after you eat please head out immediately. Go two to a car, and each of you choose a different store to go to. Don’t forget toiletries and other essential products. Now, who will go for firewood?” another set of hands rise, about twenty wolves—a mix of Forest Paw and Blood Moon—volunteer. This included Bill, Christian, Dominic, and Axel, as well as Scarlet.
“Okay, I want ten of you to go out and buy some, and the rest in the forest cutting trees and logs. Same thing as the food crew: two to a car, pick different stores to go to, and leave immediately after you eat.” Serena is fast at writing down the names of the volunteers. Lease comes over to list the wolves from Blood Moon who chose to go. Looking at the room full of wolves, I notice the number of pups and teenagers milling about, deciding to give them a task as well.
“For their safety, anyone sixteen and under will stay inside the pack house. Those fourteen to sixteen years old will help with cooking and putting the food and provisions away when the group returns. The elderly will also stay inside. I would prefer if you all stay in the basement, where the game room, pack library and toy room for the pups are held away from the windows. The rest of you will be closing the storm shutters and making sure all the fireplaces are lit. Solar panels are to be protected, and I need a few handy wolves to keep an eye on our backup generator.” I receive a yes ma’am from the crowd, their own faces a mix of relief and determination in having some form of plan and leadership in this situation. Lease and Serena are smiling at me, both now sporting a clipboard each as they decide to stay with me, the designated leader for storm-proofing.