Chapter 23

Amber left the kitchen and made her way to Valaria’s office, she placed a tray down on the oak desk and gently brushed the black hair out of Valaria’s face, she had fallen asleep at her desk, a sight that was becoming more and more frequent, Valaria was struggling to find her father who fled from the sates to Europe, in the preternatural world he was now considered a war criminal, she wanted to find him, and bring justice to those who died under his orders.

“C’mon boss, I brought you coffee and flapjack,”

Valaria stirred and smiled up at her faithful Beta, “You are too good to me Amber, is Dom awake?”

“Yeah, he has had breakfast and told me to let you sleep, but…”

“But I need to go to town today, thank you.”

Amber bowed her head, “I’ll be waiting in the foyer when you are ready,” she moved from the room leaving her Alpha to feast.

Dominic pushed a hand through his dark brown hair as he stepped into the armory, Stacy had made this her new home, she spent nearly all of her free time here since Mal was taken, it wasn’t that she was worried of another attack, she just liked it, she took in the scent of gun oil and cordite, she loved the feel of stamped steel and polished brass, it made her feel closer to Tyrone who helped develop most of the weapons in the modern world, to her it was peaceful.

Dominic found her sat at the center table with a stripped down L85A2 in front of her, she was cleaning the bolt carrier assembly when she spoke.

“Hey Dom, I’m sorry I haven’t been… present lately, I…”

“You have had a lot to deal with, but Stace, it’s been two years, there has been no sign of Lucifer, or William or Mal, and I think it’s time we got back to normal.” Dominic sat beside her, his voice was low and sympathetic but still had that slight roughness that Stacy loved to hear.

“And just what is normal? You want me to train up new Enforcers? Or perhaps you want me to go out and find a Mate?” the veins in her forehead began to pulse and her eyes flashed with flames for a second before her Icelandic blue orbs returned.

“No, that is all trivial, I want you to do this,” he gestured at the weapons around them, “I am launching a new division at Predtech, well, I’m relaunching.”

“Non-lethal weapons?” Stacy queried.

“Exactly, Tyrone used to run the department, he taught you everything he knew, and you have made modifications to our weapons that I think could do some good out there.” Dominic placed a hand over hers comfortingly.

“I will do it on one condition… Chloe comes with me.”

“I thought you and her broke it off.” 

“We kind of did, but we have been seeing each other again.” Stacy smiled at the thought of the Eagle shifter that she met in England.

“Well I have to admit, it’s good to see you smiling again, and if I remember rightly, she had military experience?” Dominic did love to see Stacy smile, he still remembers when he first met Stacy, she was naked and bound in the Nevada desert, she challenged her Alpha and the Alpha didn’t want to risk losing her position to a 16 year old girl, she was so strong, so headstrong, it’s why Dominic took her in.

“Yeah, she worked for the Ministry of Defense in their R and D department, until they found out what she is, but she knows most of these weapons better than I do, she would be a great asset.”

“As long as she doesn’t become just a good ass. Then I’m ok with it.” Dominic chuckled and lifted her hand to his lips, he laid a soft kiss on her knuckles before standing and walking towards the door, “You start tomorrow, 8am at the new Predtech building in town.”

“Sure thing boss, just don’t be hovering over my shoulder,”

“Oh I won’t need to, Valor will be the buildings head of security, and he’ll keep an eye on you.”

Valor was Dominic’s oldest friend, they have known each other for around 80 years, Valor is a Vampire and a member of the All Kinds Pack, and he has worked with Predtech since its founding, he was quite literally Dominic’s eyes and ears within the company, that didn’t bother Stacy any, she got to leave the compound and work, she hadn’t worked since she left her job at the dog pound at 17, she had just been drifting, even with her appointment as Beta, she didn’t feel like she was contributing to anything other than the Pack, at least now she could contribute to more.

Dominic continued his rounds, a routine he had gotten into since the attack, he would visit, his Beta, then he would meet with Amber his Mate’s Beta, then to the medical wing and so on until lunch, when he would relax with Valaria, his Mate, His!

He knocked on the kitchen doorway, more out of respect than politeness, when Amber turned to see who it was Dominic smiled.

“How is my Mate’s Beta today?” he asked while taking a seat at the breakfast bar,

Amber puffed out her cheeks and blew out a hard sigh, she then poured an extra cup of coffee for her Alpha and sat opposite him.

“Well, all is well in my neck of the woods, I take it you have seen Stacy today, is she ok?” Amber was as sympathetic as ever, she always was the more emotional of the Betas.

“You see her every morning too, surely you would know as well as I do.” Dominic sipped at his coffee and breathed a relaxing sigh.

“She always has her guard up around the Enforcers, like she is trying to hold back her emotions, I can never get a read on her, not since…” Amber’s words trailed off but Dominic knew exactly what she was going to say.

“Since Mal, she hasn’t dealt with her grief, she has hidden it away, which coupled with what her own body has gone through, and her Wolf, I am truly surprised she hasn’t had a severe mental breakdown.” 

“And that’s just it, I think her Wolf and his Demon are holding her together, like they are keeping her sane somehow, she bonded with Mal, her Wolf should have gone rogue long before now and the Demon should have blown a hole through the universe, but because they are together, they are stable,” Amber blurted out her theory as Dominic listened intently.

“As stable as they can be at least, I have put her to work, as of tomorrow she will join Chloe at Predtech, maybe it will calm her, even allow her to run with the Pack again.” Dominic smiled at the thought of Stacy rejoining the weekly run.

“Do you think that the Pack could accept her? She is a Hellhound, well that is what she calls herself.”

“She is a Wolf, with a Demon soul, and we are a Pack that accepts any creature, regardless of origin, the Pack will accept her,”

“I hope so, she is beautiful, in every way, but sometimes, just sometimes, when she shifts and that Wolf is close by, she projects so much pain, I worry that a young member might interpret that as anger and attack.”

“Your worries are noted, I will see you at lunch, thanks for the coffee.” Dominic stood and left, his head was low, he knew that what Amber had said may very well be true, some young pup or kit may mistake Stacy’s pain for anger and challenge her, Stacy being as strong headed as she is would instantly attack, and the Hellhound was quite possibly the strongest Preternatural creature that Dominic had ever encountered, that worried him, not the power that she possessed, but what that power might do