Chapter 266: I'll Always Believe In You, Dominic. I Love You.
Chapter 266: I'll Always Believe In You, Dominic. I Love You.
Dominic
Ethan nodded grimly. "Understood."
I turned to Ethan, knowing this would be hard for him. "Ethan, I need you to stay behind. Protect Avery, and help her raise my twin children. The future Alpha position will pass to them."
Ethan's face fell. "I want to come with you. I want to fight alongside you."
I used my Alpha King voice, letting the command resonate through the pack bond. "I command you, my Beta, to protect my Luna and twin children. You will not leave the Alpha House."
"Come on, Ethan. I need you to help me, okay?" I added more gently.
Ethan looked toward Lyra lying on the couch, then back at me, still refusing. "I want to go too."
"Your daughter needs you too... Ethan."
Finally, he reluctantly agreed.
This is insane. We're about to investigate something that could potentially wipe out our entire pack without breaking a sweat.
But the alternative—living with an unknown threat beneath our feet—was worse. At least if we investigated, we'd know what we were dealing with.
"When do we leave?" Julian asked.
I looked out the window at the pitch-black environment. This kind of darkness wouldn't be ideal for investigation.
"Tomorrow morning, first light," I said. "That gives us tonight to prepare, gather equipment, and make sure everyone understands the risks."
And in case this goes wrong, I need to say goodbye to Avery properly. I'll probably leave before she wakes up...
The thought sounded morbid, but it was realistic. We were about to enter a domain where something treated Orion like a toy. Some of us might not make it back.
"One more thing," Lyra said, her voice hesitant. "About that cave. When I went in, it didn't feel... natural."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The deep part where the creature came from. It felt like it was man-made, like it was deliberately carved out. And there was something else I can't put my finger on. It seemed like, considering the size of the hill, that space was bigger than it should be."
Man-made. Great. So we're not just dealing with a monster, but a monster living in some kind of artificial lair.
"Well," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "We'll keep that in mind when we explore tomorrow."
If we're lucky, maybe the thing will be sleeping. If we're unlucky...
I didn't finish the thought, but I saw similar concerns reflected on everyone's faces. We were about to embark on what could very well be a suicide mission, but it was necessary.
For the pack. For our safety.
"Meeting's over," I said. "Everyone get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."
Ethan helped Lyra back to her room—I suspected he'd spend the night there, knowing him. Damian, Rachel, and Julian all headed home.
I began climbing the stairs, only to see Avery at the top, looking at me with a complex expression.
"How much did you hear, baby? I wasn't trying to hide it from you, but I just figured you wouldn't support this approach..."
"I agree," Avery said.
"I knew you wouldn't agree!" I started to say, then stopped. "Wait. What did you just say? You agree?"
Avery nodded. "You know this is crazy, right?"
"Yeah," I admitted. "But what other choice is there? Pretend there isn't something extremely dangerous living beneath our territory?"
She sighed and walked over to wrap her arms around me.
"Promise me you'll be careful," she said, her voice muffled against my chest. "I can't lose you. The pack can't lose you. My babies can't lose their daddy..."
Of course, she was right. My first responsibility was to the pack, to keep them safe. But sometimes, keeping them safe meant risking their Alpha's life.
"I promise," I said seriously. "We'll be careful, we'll be smart, and we'll come back. Then I'll marry you... we'll have our wedding..."
I only hoped I could keep that promise.
As we hugged, I looked out through the stairwell window into the darkness, seeing nothing but black. Avery spoke against my chest: "I'll always believe in you, Dominic. I love you."
"I love you too, Avery."
---
The Next Day
Dominic
This was the last chance to turn back.
The thought flashed through my mind as our squad gathered at the cave entrance. In the morning light, the dark opening looked more ominous than it had during our nighttime investigation.
Julian, Ethan (Avery had insisted that after knowing our plan, she didn't need Ethan's protection—she could protect herself, and she was convinced I needed Ethan's protection, so Ethan was still coming), Damian, and I had all brought every weapon we could think of—silver bullets, aconite gas grenades, and even experimental weapons Ethan had gotten from contacts in other wolf packs.
If that thing down there decided to attack us, we'd at least go down fighting.
Though, considering what it had done to Orion, I wasn't sure how effective our weapons would be.
"Everyone clear on the plan?" I asked one last time.