This was what it must be like to have a big family with lots of siblings. I always wanted brothers and sisters, and now this pack had become that for me. For better or worse.
We all took turns sitting for our little floating red beard tattoo and told stories about Cooper. I learned that he’d been a strict catholic with a video game addiction, and a penchant for Hallmark holiday movies that he would watch with Sophie every Christmas. I smiled as she recalled his soft heart and kind demeanor.
“But he was a damn good fighter too,” Keegan interjected while getting his tattoo. Only Dom was left. He’d been standing there in silence the entire time, a beer in one hand and a gun in the other. Not the best combo.
“He saved me.” Dom’s voice was so rarely used; when he spoke, everyone listened. Even Nadine stopped the buzzing of her tattoo gun to listen to Dom speak of his fallen friend.
Dom stared at his feet and I noticed again that he had so many scars. Some were smooth, like maybe they were made with a knife, but others were jagged and I shivered to think what made those.
“Saved you from what?” Roxy asked, taking one step closer to him. Her long, curly hair hung damp down her back. It was no secret that those two were getting to know each other.
Dom met Logan’s eyes; they shared something, a moment, and then it passed.
“Saved me from hell on earth,” he said cryptically. He tipped his drink to the sky and chugged his beer in one take.
We were all silent. I was about to ask more, because I was dying to know anything about our silent pack member, but then a jingle bell sounded behind me and I turned to see a goat. An honest to God goat was running at me with a bell on its collar and a note tied around it. She was small, the size of a medium dog, white with tan spots near her face.
“Waaaah,” she said, and head-butted my leg.
“Okay, okay.” I pulled the note from her collar and looked at it.
Meet me at the waterfall. Bring your other half, it read.
I raised one eyebrow at Logan. “The druid requests our presence.”
Logan nodded, all business, and shared a look with Keegan. Now that I knew Logan could speak to the pack’s minds without being in dragon form, I wondered what he was saying. He’d definitely just said something to Keegan, because Keegan nodded. Logan slipped his hand in mine and we started our walk. I didn’t know where the waterfall was, but I was hoping it would be easy to find. As we made our way through the thick trees and over to the place we had spoken to Isaac last night, I decided to pry Logan for more information about Dom. He was that mysterious character who had baggage, and after hearing him say that Cooper saved him from hell, I wanted to understand more.
“So Dom … seems like he had a rough life before he met up with you?”
Logan’s hand tightened in mine the slightest bit before relaxing. “Rough time would be putting it mildly.” His voice held so much malice that I stopped walking and he turned to face me.
“What happened?” Now I was heartbroken for Dom. I knew it was bad.
Logan sighed, glancing at his fresh tattoo. “It happened before I knew him. Coop and Keegan used to work for Eva before they learned what I was and I hired them. One day she sent Cooper with one of my scales, to sell it. We didn’t want Eva to be the only one who got them. Otherwise it would seem suspicious. So, every month or so, she would send one of her trusted guys to another state where she knew they had a powerful sorcerer who would pay top dollar. It was also a test to see if they could be trusted with knowledge of a dragon living close by.”
I leaned forward so I wouldn’t miss a single word. “So they didn’t know they were selling your scales?”
Logan shook his head. “Not at first, no. Eva just told them she’d come by it and needed help selling it. They were bred to protect skyborn, but she wanted to be sure before introducing us.”
Whoa. What if one of them had been in the druids’ pockets? Scary.
“We’d never sold to this guy before, but I wasn’t too worried because I’d heard he was obsessed with all things dragon and would pay top dollar for scales, talons, and whatnot.”
Pee. Whatnot was pee. I just nodded, trying hard not to think of my recent experiences with urine.
“So Coop goes in and realizes it’s a pureblood bar. They despise shifters and half-breed witches, but even so, it was a quick deal. The money was wired and he’s out the door, but as he was leaving he heard these sounds. He said it sounded like someone was torturing a cat.”
Bile rose in my throat and I shook my head. “No. Not Dom…” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear this story now.
Logan stepped closer, pinning me with his green eyes. “Yes. Dom. Coop went outside and shifted and was able to sneak down into the basement in his nimble fox form.”
We just stood there looking at each other, Logan waiting for me to ask him to finish the story, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it. After a long pause, I finally whispered, “Tell me.”
Logan sighed. “Coop said Dom looked like a ball of ground meat and fur, barely breathing. They had an underground fighting ring, pitting Dom against bears, mountain lions, and every other animal in a bid to make millions.”
Tears slid down my cheeks. Now I knew why he had all those scars. “Why?” I choked out.
Logan shrugged. “There’s people in the world who don’t see things right. They see others as being below them. They’re sick. It’s a mental illness, and I wish it were easy to change, that Eva could magic it away. But she can’t.”
“How did they get him out?”
Logan grinned. “Coop called Keegan and Eva in. Eva went in as a bidder, got a front row seat to the next fight, and threw a smoke spell, blinding everyone. Keegan and Coop busted through the wall. Got him out.”
My jaw was hanging open. “Well, we should burn that damn place down!” How many other animals were there being tortured right now?
Logan nodded. “Eva said the next day they moved. The sorcerer rents out the spaces and changes locations every month. Keeps it all moving so you can’t track him.”
It infuriated me, and also softened my heart for Dom and Cooper. Guilt welled up inside of me again, fresh and hot. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have run. I—”
“No! Don’t do that. Coop could have died years ago when we ran into hunters that were after me. It just happened. This life is dangerous and we all know it. Any one of us could go.” He reached out for me.
“But...” I tried to argue and he stepped closer, pressing his body into mine.
“No, it’s not your fault. It’s my fault, for talking so much shit about druids that my own mate thought I’d hate her for the blood that ran in her veins.” His hand came up to cup the back of my neck.
Everything else around me blurred; all I could focus on was him, his scent like freshly fallen snow, and trees—his heat running straight into my core. He laced his fingers through my hair, cradling the back of my neck.