Delay 63_Mated by contract to the alpha

Chapter 63 

 Dominic’s POV

 63 

 I scrawled my signature across thest document in the stack, my hand stiff from hours of repetitive motion. The letters of my name blurred together–just another Sterling Group acquisition that required my personal approval. Three days of back–to–back meetings had left me with a mountain of paperwork and little sleep. I hadn’t been home to see Reba in all that time, staying instead at my office suite when meetings rante.

 The thought of her made something in my chest tighten. I leaned back in my leather chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. The mate bond had been unusually quiettely–perhaps she was finally settling into our arrangement. Or perhaps she was just as exhausted as I was.

 My phone vibrated against the polished surface of my desk. Reba’s name shed on the screen, and I felt my lips curve upward involuntarily. I swiped to answer, already anticipating the sound of her voice.

 “Little doe,” I said, my voice softer than I intended.

 The reply wasn’t what I expected. Her voice came through weak and trembling. “Dom…Dominic…help me…”

 My body went rigid. Every muscle tensed at once as I heard the fear in her voice.

 In the background, I could hear the sounds of a struggle–objects hitting the floor, a growl that was definitely not human. Then a male voice snarling something I couldn’t quite make out.

 “Reba!” I shot to my feet, knocking my chair backward. “Where are you? What’s happening?”

 The mate bond, dormant just moments before, suddenly red to life with such intensity that it nearly brought me to my knees. Pain–sharp and immediate–radiated through my body, though I knew the injuries weren’t mine. Reba was hurt. My mate was hurt.

 My vision edged with gold as the wolf inside me surged forward. A snarl ripped from my throat as I grabbed my keys and jacket, already moving toward the door. My hand clenched around the phone so tightly the case creaked in

 protest.

 “Silver Collections,” I managed to say into the phone, though I wasn’t sure if Reba could still hear me. The connection had gone silent except for more sounds of struggle. “I’ming.”

 I didn’t bother waiting for the elevator, taking the stairs three at a time down to the parking garage. As I ran, I reached out through the pack bonds, seeking any Beta warriors in the vicinity of Silver Collections. My mental voice carried all the cold authority of my position.

 “Silver Collections. NOW. Someone is attacking my people.” Themand carried all the weight of my Alpha authority, though technically the title wasn’t yet mine. I felt the immediate response of two Betas who

 acknowledged and diverted course, their mental submission immediate and unquestioning.

 Raymond was waiting with the Bentley at the curb, as always. One look at my face told him everything he needed to know. His eyes widened slightly, then he was opening the door before I’d even fully approached.

 “Silver Collections,” I snapped as I slid into the back seat. “Fast.”

 Raymond didn’t waste time with questions. The car pulled away from the curb with a squeal of tires, cutting off a taxi that honked angrily behind us.

 “Three minutes, sir,” Raymond assured me, his eyes meeting mine briefly in the rearview mirror. “Beta Johnson and Beta Rivera should already be there.”

 I nodded, my jaw clenched so tightly it ached. The pain through the bond had dulled to a throb, but I could still feel Reba’s fear, sharp and metallic like blood on my tongue. My fingernails lengthened into ws that dug into the

 leather seat.

 “I haven’t seen her in three days,” I said, staring out the window as buildings blurred past. “Fucking meetings. These goddamn corporate humans and their endless paperwork.” I struck the leather seat beside me with my fist, leaving puncture marks from my partially extended ws. “She’s hurt. I can feel it.”

 Raymond navigated through a yellow light just as it turned red, earning more honks and one creative hand gesture from a pedestrian.

 “The Beta warriors should have already arrived, sir,” Raymond said, his voice calm despite our speed. “We’ll be there

 in a moment.”

 I barely heard him. My mind was filled with images of Reba–her gray–green eyes wide with fear, her soft skin. bruised or worse. The wolf inside me paced and snarled, demanding blood for whoever had dared touch what was mine. My teeth ached with the need to shift, to hunt, to tear into whoever had harmed her.

 When we screeched to a halt in front of Silver Collections, I didn’t wait for Raymond to open my door. I was out of the car and through the front entrance of the store before he’d even put the car in park.

 The scent hit me immediately–blood, fear, and the acrid stench of another wolf’s aggression. My nostrils red as I followed the trail to the back of the store, past startled security guards who wisely stepped out of my way. One guard started to speak, then fell silent at the sight of my eyes, which I knew had shifted to their wolf blue.

 I found them in what appeared to be a manager’s office. Two of my Beta warriors had a half–shifted wolf pinned to the floor. His face was caught between human and wolf, muzzle elongated, teeth bared in a snarl. I recognized him vaguely–Steve, the store manager. My lip curled in disgust at the sight of him, a low growl rumbling from deep in my chest.

 But my attention immediately shifted to the corner of the room, where Reba sat on the floor. A young woman with brown curly hair–another employee by her uniform–had her arms around Reba’s shoulders. Reba’s blouse was torn, exposing her shoulder and part of her bra. Blood trickled from a cut on her lip, and more stained the fabric at her shoulder where w marks had torn through both cloth and skin.

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 63

 Our eyes met across the room, and I felt the mate bond pulse between us. Relief washed over her face, chasing away some of the fear that had been etched there.

 “Dominic…” She reached toward me with a trembling hand.

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Delay 63