Page 35 of Handcuffs & Honey

Ezekiel took off, using a zigzag pattern to get away. Cannon fired a few more times, but the wolf disappeared into the denseness of the forest.

“How bad?” Lowry ran over to them.

“The wolf gouged him twice, Deputy Lowry.” The blood had matted Dominic’s fur and was dripping in tiny droplets onto the white snow.

“Call me Cannon. We need to get him home.”

“Don’t you mean a hospital?” Julian frowned. “A vet?”

“No.” Cannon hunkered down, and it looked as if he was checking Dominic’s wounds. “Shifters heal in their natural form. Soon Dominic’ll pass out, and although I’m strong, he’s a big son of a bitch to try and carry.”

How had Julian forgotten about shifters healing in their animal form? Dominic had explained that to him when Cannon had been hurt by Rob.

The walk back was slow, Dominic stumbling a few times, but they eventually made it to the house. His mate collapsed on the living room floor once they were inside.

“How did you know what was going on?” Julian asked, his eyes glued to Dominic.

“A neighbor called and said she saw a wolf on her property. I wasn’t sure if it was Ezekiel, but since Dominic lives close to the neighbor, I wasn’t taking any chances.”

Julian felt himself trembling. “Thanks for not taking any chances.”

Cannon nodded. “The bleeding will soon stop, and his body will repair itself.”

“Really?” Julian furrowed his brows. “Just like that?”

“Yep.” Cannon squeezed his shoulder. “It might take a few hours, but he’ll be fine.”

Things didn’t feel fine. Julian’s world felt as if it was falling apart. His mate was wounded, bleeding on the hardwood floor, and there wasn’t anything Julian could do about it.

“I’ll go back and check the perimeter to make sure Ezekiel is gone. Since Dominic is down, you’re vulnerable to attack.”

Great. News Julian didn’t want to hear. He’d seen the way Ezekiel had fought in his wolf form, and he would kill Julian with no problem if he got inside the house.

“Once I check outside, I’ll stick around,” Cannon said, though Julian was only half listening.

He was too worried about Dominic, even though Cannon said he would be okay.

In that moment, Julian realized he loved his mate. Dominic had been there from the beginning, from the moment Julian had gotten the job at the diner, had pursued him, had mated him, had shown him that not all men were assholes.

And now his mate had just saved his life.

How could anyone not love someone like that? Dominic was the total package, and Julian was lucky to have him. The thought of losing him brought Julian to his knees.

Chapter Ten

Dominic was on the warpath. The only reason the wolf had gotten the better of him was because Dominic’s attention had been split. He’d been fighting Ezekiel while trying to keep an eye on Julian.

And he’d paid a price for not giving Ezekiel his full attention. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. Now Dominic was the one on the hunt. Julian was tucked away at the diner, unhappily on kitchen duty—Deputy Denali Davis was babysitting the diner just in case—while Dominic tried to track Ezekiel down.

This bullshit was going to end. Dominic had tried to be understanding that Ezekiel had just lost his son, had been in mourning, but the bastard had lain in wait, had been lurking in the woods outside Dominic’s home.

Worse, Julian had been there.

Dominic had smelled the wolf’s presence, had tried to get Julian back to the house before the attack, but it hadn’t worked out that way.

Now he, Deputy Cannon Lowry, Deputy Morgan Savani—a polar bear shifter—and Deputy Wyatt Birch were in the woods behind Dominic’s house, trying their best to pick up Ezekiel’s trail. Dominic wasn’t holding out hope since it had been a full day. It had taken longer than he would have liked to heal. Clearly Ezekiel had done extensive damage since Dominic had been down for more than ten hours.

Healing from gouges should have taken only three, maybe four, hours at most. And Dominic’s right arm still tingled a little. Now he wondered if Ezekiel hadn’t used something on his claws, but what? It wasn’t as if the wolf had some secret pouch in his fur to carry poison or anything. If he’d dipped his claws in silver, one, that would have been risky considering he could have been poisoned himself.

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