Page 92 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate
"As many as needed." With a challenge in her dark blue eyes, she raised her chin a little.
A howl from a pack scout stationed outside their perimeter cut through the atmosphere before he could react. Suddenly, the wail stopped, and there was an unnatural silence that made Dominic's arms stand on end.
“They're here," he said.
Luna nodded firmly, though her eyes widened a little. "Where do you want me?"
Every instinct shouted at him to send her to the bunkers, to keep her as far from danger as possible. He was aware of her power, though. And she was right—they needed her magic.
"Stay with me," he decided. "We'll coordinate from the central position."
Relief flashed across her face before she composed herself. "I'll get my grimoire."
Dominic turned his attention back to the perimeter as she walked away, his wolf surging close to the surface. He could smell them now—the acrid stench of the demons.
"All units in position," Marcus confirmed through the communication device clipped to Dominic's ear.
He acknowledged with a short tap to the transmitter, then strode to the elevated platform they'd constructed between two ancient pines. From here, he had clear sight lines to all defensive positions. Luna joined him moments later, her breathing slightly elevated from her quick trip to the pack house.
"I reinforced the barriers around the bunkers," she said, taking her place beside him. "No matter what happens out here, the children will be safe."
The certainty in her voice steadied him; the pack's future was protected.
He noticed movement near the forest's edge. From among the woods came figures, dozens at first, then more, dispersing in a well-organized assault formation. At their center walked a familiar silhouette that made Dominic's blood run cold.
Xavier moved with inhuman grace, his midnight-black hair gleaming in the morning light. He wore the organization’s black tactical pants and a fitted jacket that couldn't quite disguise the unnatural power contained within his form.
But it was his eyes that betrayed him most—once merely dark, they now appeared as bottomless pits, devoid of white or iris.
Those eyes never seemed human, even when I thought he was.
Flanking Xavier were hunters Dominic recognized—men and women he'd trained with, fought beside. Their movements were stiff, their expressions blank, puppets dancing on demonic strings. The sight twisted in his gut like a knife.
"Hold positions," Dominic ordered. "No one engages without my command."
Xavier stepped forward, separating himself from his forces. His voice, when it came, carried unnaturally across the distance between them.
He yelled, "Dominic Blackwood," the well-known voice a hideous caricature emanating from what Dominic now realized was a demonic force. "I've come for what's mine."
Dominic moved to the platform's edge, where he could be seen. Luna moved to follow, but he subtly motioned her to stay back. No need to give Xavier a clear target.
"Nothing here belongs to you, Xavier," he responded, his voice carrying the full weight of his alpha authority. "Or should I call you by your true name?"
Demon.
A smile stretched across Xavier's face—too wide, too sharp. "You always were my favorite, Dominic. Such potential. Such darkness waiting to be nurtured."
The line of tainted hunters behind him stood motionless, their glassy eyes staring straight ahead. Dominic recognized faces among them: Thomas, who had a wife and infant boy waiting for him someplace; Sarah, whose tracking abilities were on par with Kieran's; and Elijah, who had once saved his life during a mission gone awry.
Dominic said, "You've been feeding us lies for years," loud enough for everyone to hear. "The Hunter Organization was founded to protect humanity, not to serve demons."
The sound of Xavier's laughter reverberated like shattered glass around the area. "The idea of protection is so arbitrary. Humanity needs protection from itself more than anything."
His bottomless eyes fixed on Dominic. "But I don’t need to explain humanity to you. You've seen how they fear what they don't understand. How they persecute those with power."
"And your solution is possession?" he challenged. "Corruption? Taking witches' powers for your own use?"
"Evolution," Xavier corrected smoothly. "The strong consuming the weak. Isn't that the law of nature your kind claims to revere?"
