Page 21 of Bound By My Alpha Mate

“Good. Arrange a patrol next. I want two teams of five wolves and one team of five dragons. Our territory has gone unguarded for too long,” said my father without looking up. “She hasn’t eaten yet. Colt, prepare a bottle for the girl. It should be one scoop to every two fluid ounces of water.”

With a nod, Garrett took off again. I carefully poured the boiled water from the thermos into the bottle. It was lukewarm in my hands. “Should it be hot?”

“No, just warm.”

After confirming the instructions on the can, I measured and added the formula, then twisted the cap onto the bottle and shook it until the powder had dissolved into a milky liquid.

“Test the temperature,” said my father.

“How can I tell?”

“Put a few drops on your wrist. It shouldn’t be hot enough to burn you.”

I did as he said. It felt fine to me, but untrusting of my judgment, David stuck out his arm to check, as well. After I squeezed a couple of drops onto his wrist, he wiped them away and reached for the bottle. “It’s fine.”

With surprising tenderness, my father coaxed the baby awake and brought the nipple to her lips. By instinct, she began to suckle.

“You’re good at that,” I pointed out.

My father’s eyes were once more on the infant. “It’s almost as if I’ve done this before.” He spoke as though with humor, but there was nothing in his voice or face to imply lightheartedness. His eyebrows furrowed instead. “Lothair should be the one feeding her.”

But neither of us knew where he was or whether he’d even come back. I couldn’t imagine the new father abandoning his daughter. After all we’d been through to acquire the unicorn, to undergo the Lycan ritual, he wouldn’t just run away, would he? Sibyelle’s death was a hard blow, but there were still many reasons for him to return. He’d be back; I was sure of it. We just didn’t know when.

“Do you still need me here?”

My father stayed silent for a few seconds. “Do you have somewhere else to be?”

“Well, no.” But I was desperate to go back to the Manor and check on Kiara. “I was thinking I could go look for Lothair.”

“The patrols will find him and bring him back, or they’ll report on his location.”

“Then I should go look for Kiara again.”

This time, he frowned. “How exactly did she escape you yesterday?”

“Well, she just…outran me. You know, we fought a bit, and she got away.”

“I have half a mind to suggest you let her get away.”

I sizzled with annoyance even though it could have been true. “Why would I let her get away? We have plans for her.”

“Yes…but in spite of that, she’s still your fated mate.” David’s cutting blue eyes snapped up at me. “The dragons say they smelled her in the trunk of your car.”

My sizzling ceased, and in its place, I felt coldness. “That’s impossible.”

“I don’t think it is.”

The infant suddenly stopped suckling and turned her face away. She began squirming in the blanket, letting loose sharp cries of some kind of discomfort. I had no idea what was wrong with her, and neither did my father. His eyes narrowed with irritation as he assessed the little girl in his arms. Soon, his gaze shifted back to me. “I don’t have the patience for this. Bring Muriel in here.”

Thankful as I was for the distraction, the infant’s shrill cries were not reassuring. Neither was the idea of forcing a dragon baby into the arms of a poisoned unicorn. Nonetheless, I retreated and went back to the chamber where Muriel was being kept. She was curled up against the wall, looking worse for wear. Ever since Sibyelle’s death last night and the immense amount of blood Muriel had been subjected to, the unicorn had looked paler and gaunter, sickened by the gore.

I hovered a few feet away while the dragons guarding her watched us both.

“We need your help with the baby,” I said.

Muriel clutched her arms tightly around herself. “I cannot help,” she whispered without looking up.

“She could die.”

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