His wolf snarled, and Dominic snapped his teeth. The thought of another male’s hands on her made him feel far too dangerous.

Reaching Trey’s office, Dominic rapped his knuckles on the door. The Alpha had summoned him by text, saying there was a “delicate matter” that needed to be discussed, so Dominic wasn’t surprised to find both his Alphas and Betas, the Head Enforcer, and the other four enforcers inside the room.

Both Alphas were tense as bows, and that raised his wolf’s hackles. Something was wrong. The others were exchanging uneasy looks, clearly no wiser than Dominic about why they’d all been summoned.

Sitting on the leather rolling chair behind his desk, Trey gestured for Dominic to close the door behind him. He did so and then stalked farther into the room, his nose twitching at the scents of air freshener, stale coffee, and hot ink from the printer. Except for the whooshing of the ceiling fan, there were only the sounds of birds chirping and trees rustling filtering through the partially open window. The hint of a breeze carried with it the ozone scent of rain.

“What’s happened?” asked Dominic.

Trey ceased tapping his pen on a sheet of paper that rested on his desk. “I received a call from Emmet Pierson twenty minutes ago.”

Dominic’s wolf peeled back his upper lip. “What did he want?”

“Let me guess,” said Roni, her face scrunched up in distaste. “Rosemary went whining to him that her visit here came to nothing.”

“Yes, she did,” said Trey. “But that’s not all. Rosemary tried to kill herself last night.”

Jaime’s mouth fell open. “What?”

Just as stunned, Dominic could only stare at his Alpha.

“She swallowed a bunch of pills.” Trey rubbed at his nape. “She’s in the hospital now. The doctors pumped her stomach. She’s alive, but her father says she’s not responsive—just sitting there, staring at the walls.”

Dominic cursed under his breath. “He blames me, doesn’t he?”

Trey nodded. “The day she left here, she went straight to him; told him that you’re her true mate and that when she made that same claim to you, you laughed at her and sent her away.”

Dominic’s wolf bared his teeth. “She’s not my true mate.”

Trey raised his hands. “I never thought she was.”

“I don’t think she even believes it herself. Not really.”

Perched on the edge of the desk, Taryn tilted her head. “Why do you say that?”

“She didn’t make that bullshit claim until I told her she was wrong about me wanting to be a perpetual bachelor. I think she just blurted out that we were true mates in the hope that it might make a difference to me.” Dominic raked his fingers through his hair. “Fuck.”

“That’s not all.” Trey gripped his pen tightly. “Pierson made a statement to an online anti-shifter paper.”

Sighing, Trick leaned against the tall filing cabinet, careful not to knock the photos and drawings that had been attached to it with magnets. “Lay it on us.”

Trey lifted the sheet of paper from his desk. “To sum it up, he talked of how his daughter is a ‘latent’ wolf, said that having shifter blood ruined her life. He basically blames it for her divorce, since he believes she’d have otherwise conceived children with her ex-husband. Then he mentioned you, Dominic. Said shifters talk about how precious our true mates are, but that’s nothing but a lie. Said that you mated Rosemary, formed the bond, but then turned her away because her animal never surfaced.”

Fisting his hands, Dominic swore viciously. His wolf was pacing madly, lashing out with his claws. “The motherfucking bastard.”

Ryan grunted his agreement at that assessment.

“There’s more,” Trey added, grim. “Pierson said that the rejection ripped out her heart and left her with nothing—that the bond has tied her to you, keeping her a prisoner, and now she’s unable to cope with life. He also claimed he went to our pack for help but that we turned him away.”

“He told us at the restaurant that he doesn’t believe mating bonds are metaphysical things that can’t be broken,” said Dominic.

“And I think he meant it,” said Trey. “I also think he doesn’t really believe she’s your true mate—he’d have said so if he did at the restaurant. No, this article is not a devastated father coming forward with a heart-wrenching story. He’s taking what he thinks are lies about our kind and twisting them to make you come across as a conscienceless bastard.”

Tao, the Head Enforcer, made a sound of disgust. “I get that Pierson’s upset and wants someone to blame, but this is fucking bullshit. It’s also the kind of thing that stirs up the anti-shifter extremists. Granted, they’re not as organized or well funded as they used to be, but they’re still dangerous.”

Tense seconds ticked by as everyone seemed to take a moment to digest everything.

Dominic looked at Trey. “What now?”

The leather chair squeaked as Trey leaned forward. “Now you lie low.”

Both Dominic and his wolf bristled. “I’m not hiding.”

“No, you’re not,” said Trey. “But you do need to keep a low profile for a few days. This article has already been shared on other sites and blogs and forums. You can bet your ass that a crowd of anti-shifter extremists will be standing outside our gates within a matter of hours, holding up ‘die demons’ billboards and making as much of a scene as they can. They’ll be chased off, but they’ll no doubt come back.”

Taryn slid off the desk with a sigh. “He’s right, Dominic. They usually get bored within a few days. Until then, it’s best you avoid your usual hangouts and don’t draw any attention to yourself. It’ll blow over fast. These things always do.”

“In the meantime, we’ll make a statement on the pack blog,” said Trey.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of statement?”

“A video.” Trey clicked his pen on and off as he continued. “We’ll tell the truth of the matter, and although it seems a shitty thing to do to someone who just tried to kill herself, we’ll mention that it’s not something she hasn’t tried before.”

Roni blinked. “Say that again.”

It was Taryn who explained. “Rhett’s unearthed a whole lot of information on Rosemary Pierson. She has a history of stalking, for one thing.”

“Stalking?” echoed Dante, draping an arm around Jaime’s shoulders.

“Yep,” replied Taryn. “An old boyfriend, her ex-husband, and her ex-husband’s new girlfriend all got restraining orders against her. She wrote them threatening letters, harassed them on social media, and turned up at their houses and places of work. She’s also tried to kill herself twice in the past. Once as a teenager, and once after her divorce.”

“I can see now why her father was so desperate to get her what she wanted that he offered me money to mate with her,” said Dominic. “He was worried she’d have a relapse of some kind.”

Trey nodded. “That was my thought. The ex-husband resembles you a little. I’ve got to wonder if that’s why she fixated on you. There are a lot of shifters out there, but she chose you—one who was highly unlikely to give her a commitment. That made no sense to me. But it could be that she was subconsciously drawn to you because you reminded her of what she lost and desperately wants back.”