Page 10 of Handcuffs & Honey

“Is anyone going to look at Deputy Lowry’s wound? The wolf latched onto his upper arm.”

“I’m fine,” Lowry said from behind them. “Tell Sheriff Harper what happened.”

Julian’s hand shook as he carded it through his hair. “I went to my room to get a change of clothes for a shower, and I thought I heard someone walking on the floorboards.” He told Dominic and Lowry everything. “I just don’t understand how that wolf dragged me from under my bed by both ankles.”

The ambulance arrived, and the medics treated his arm before insisting he needed to go to the hospital.

“What about Deputy Lowry?” Julian asked, firmer this time. Now that he glanced at the guy’s arm, the man didn’t look fine. Blood coated his sleeve, and there were rips in his uniform.

“Deputy Davis will take him to the hospital,” Dominic said. “I’ll be riding in the ambulance with you, Julian.”

Julian wasn’t going to argue. After being attacked by a crazy wolf, he didn’t want Dominic to leave his side.

Chapter Three

“It was a feral shifter,” Deputy Cannon Lowry said at the hospital. He’d put on a new uniform shirt and winced as he moved, but Dominic knew he would be all right once he shifted and healed. “I told him to stay down, but he must have been lost to his animal.”

Dominic was cursing himself for not going inside when he’d dropped Julian off. If the attack had happened that fast, the shifter must have already been inside. Dominic had let his mate walk into danger, but he hadn’t smelled any shifters when he was on Julian’s porch. That meant the wolf had gotten in through the back door or a back window.

“The back door had been forced open,” Lowry said. “The wood was splintered. I just don’t understand why he targeted that waiter.”

“Julian,” Dominic said. “His name is Julian.”

The lion shifter nodded. “Julian. Okay. The wolf couldn’t have been in his right state of mind.”

“Julian said that he was dragged from under the bed by both ankles,” Dominic reminded the deputy. “So the shifter was in human form then shifted after he pulled Julian out.”

“That’s doesn’t make any sense,” Lowry said. “A feral shifter wouldn’t be able to return to his human form, so there has to be another reason he attacked Julian.” He shook his head. “At least Julian is okay.”

Okay? His fucking mate had deep gouges in his arm from the wolf’s sharp teeth. Dominic wanted to bring that wolf back to life and kill him with his bare hands. The look of terror in Julian’s bluish-gray eyes was still haunting him. He never wanted to see his mate that frightened again. “We need to find out who he was.”

“Hard to do when we can’t get his prints.”

Because the shifter had died as a wolf, he would never shift back to a human. There was no chance of getting prints. Dominic cursed again.

“We’ll keep investigating,” Lowry said. “Hopefully we come up with some answers.”

“Right now I want you to go home and heal,” Dominic said. “You won’t do any of us any good if you pass out from blood loss.”

Midnight Falls was a quiet, peaceful town most of the time. They had their fair share of problems, but Dominic hadn’t dealt with a wolf shifter attacking anyone in their home. This one was new, and he wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Dominic stayed by Julian’s side after he was permitted to go to the back. Julian had been given some pain medication, and it made him somewhat loopy, but he was still able to tell Dominic what happened again. Dominic listened carefully, making mental notes of everything Julian said, including the part where he thought he heard the floorboards creaking before the attack.

After Julian was cleared to leave the hospital, he leaned heavily on Dominic. “I don’t want to go back to my house. I’m scared it’ll happen again.”

“Come stay with me,” Dominic said without hesitation. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Julian looked up at Dominic, eyes wide and full of gratitude. “Thank you.”

And that was how Julian ended up sleeping in Dominic’s spare room. Dominic didn’t mind the company. In fact, he was grateful to have Julian close so he could make sure nothing else happened to his mate.

The next few days, Dominic took time off work to stay with Julian and make sure he was okay. Thankfully Roman had given Julian time off to heal. Roman had readily agreed, especially after Dominic told the snow leopard that Julian was his mate.

Which made Dominic feel like shit since he hadn’t told Julian yet.

Over the past three nights, Julian had nightmares and woke up screaming, and each time, Dominic rushed into his room to comfort him. It was heartbreaking to see his mate so scared and vulnerable.

On the fourth day, Dominic was preparing breakfast when Julian walked into the kitchen. Julian’s hair was ruffled from sleep, and he was wearing a loose-fitting shirt that fell off one shoulder. Dominic couldn’t help but appreciate the view.

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