Page 62 of Hunted

And it was the same for them.

“Have you noticed that she’s barely spoken to either of us?” Dominic asked Luke.

“Of course I have!” Luke exclaimed. “How could I not notice? She’s never been like this before.”

“I think we both know what this means.” Dominic sat down on a nearby tree stump.

“She can’t choose.” Luke’s voice was almost dull, and so were his eyes. “She can’t choose which of us to spend the rest of her life with. So she’s pulling away from us both.”

Luke’s words reflected what had resounded through Dominic’s mind earlier that day.

Dominic sprang up from the tree stump and started pacing. Luke took his place on the tree stump, and watched him as he walked up and down.

The evening air had grown sweeter and warmer as time passed by.

A slight, warm wind rustled through the leaves of the trees that surrounded the compound on all sides.

As the sun set and the moon grew larger, the light of golden fireflies bloomed across the sky, sending shimmers of light across the compound.

Dominic looked at the wolves that were gathered around the small bonfire that Bert had erected and lit.

Things had never been more perfect.

He only hoped Luke would accept what he was about to propose.

“We need to compromise,” he found himself saying. “We decided to let Abigail take the lead on this, but she clearly isn’t going to do that. So, we need to make the decision easier for her.” Luke was silent, and Dominic took that as a sign to continue. “If she can’t decide between us, if she can’t take the lead on this, maybe she should just have both of us.”

Dominic had been turned away from Luke as he spoke. But now he spun slowly to gauge the other alpha’s reaction.

Luke wasn’t looking at him but was similarly looking at the bonfire that flickered and sparked into the air as it grew higher and higher.

“I came to the same conclusion,” Luke said slowly. “I just did not think you would be on board with it. Do you really think you can do this?”

“This is what she wants.” Dominic’s voice was filled with absolute certainty. “And I don’t mind sharing her, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That is what I’m asking.” There was a smile in the other alpha’s voice.

“I just want her to be happy.” There was enough space on the tree stump, so Dominic motioned for Luke to sit beside him. He sat down next to the wolf.

Now they were both looking toward the cookout.

But instead of looking at the bonfire, they were looking at Abigail.

“If we agree to this,” Luke spoke slowly, “how does this work? We’re the alphas of two different packs. I can’t stay here forever.”

“Maybe not, but if I offer you permanent membership in this pack, you could.” Dominic made the offer almost recklessly.

He didn’t miss the way Luke sucked in air sharply at his words. But before Luke could say anything, they heard a shout, a cry that pierced the peaceful silence that had enveloped the Moonstone pack compound.

Dominic and Luke jumped up in unison and ran toward the bonfire, where Esme and Bert were hurrying the children away from the table.

Abigail had leapt from her seat too, her eyes wide with alarm, as a wolf came sprinting toward them.

The wolf was halfway through the shift from wolf to his human form, and Dominic and Luke met him halfway.

“They’re coming.” The wolf was one of the soldiers who were on permanent patrol around the compound. “We got the signal from the wolves five miles out. We’ve got ten minutes, if that.”

Dominic nodded and shifted his focus from the wolf to Abigail. She was helping Esme and Bert while all around them, wolf shifters were in the process of transforming.

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