Isla screamed, barely conscious of the fact that her mate had just pulled her to himself. She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face against Dominic's chest while she trembled with terror.
"It's okay. It's over now," Dominic whispered and she slowly opened her eyes, now aware of the sound of his racing heart.
Slowly, she pulled away from him to search for the source of the earlier gunshots. The shooter was lying on the floor out cold with a bleeding injury on his head. Standing behind him was a familiar male. Dominic's Beta. He looked pissed.
"When did he get here?" Isla breathed, utterly stunned.
She was certain that they had been alone a few seconds ago.
"A few minutes ago," Dominic responded to her question as he pulled away from her to take off his coat.
"Are you alright, Dom?" His Beta asked and her eyes widened.
They must be close, she thought.
"I'm fine," came Dominic's reply.
"Get moving, ma'am," his beta said to her and she quietly followed them to the car.
They'd just settled down in the back seat of the car when Dominic started to unbutton his shirt. His beta who was sitting on the driver's seat kept glancing at them through the mirror.
"What are you doing?" Isla asked her mate and he shot her a dry smile before proceeding to slide his shirt off his broad shoulders.
A gasp tumbled out of her lips at the sight of the twin bullet holes on his back.
"You....got shot?" She choked out, nausea sweeping through her.
"Calm down, it's nothing," he replied, a tender look in his eyes.
Her frown deepened as she watched the bullets fall out of his body, his skin instantly mending itself.
Even for a werewolf, he'd healed pretty fast. This had to mean that he had a powerful wolf.
They returned to his massive mansion and she made her way to her appointed room, plopping down on her bed as her exhaustion made itself known.
Her phone vibrated in her grip and she lazily brought the screen to her line of vision. She had an incoming call from an unknown number.
Puzzled, Isla answered the call and brought her phone to her ear.
"Isla," a baritone voice said and she sat up in bed, her brows furrowed.
"Who is this?"
"Listen to me carefully, You can't trust Dominic Argento. He's not who you think he is," the voice continued and she narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I care about you. That's why," he replied.
This has to be some sort of sick joke, she thought.
"If you want to know more meet me at the Golden Sun Cafe by 8am tomorrow morning. Can you do that?" He said and she stiffened.
"I don't even know who you are," Isla hissed.
"It's a matter of life and death. I want to save your life. Time is running out."
The line went dead and she stared at her phone, confused.
She couldn't help but wonder if she was cursed.
Most of the men in her life were all walking red flags. Yet again, she'd just gotten involved with another stranger who might just be a stalker.
Speaking of red flags, it was strange how Mikael hadn't tried to reach out to her. Was there a probability that he was afraid of Dominic?
While she thought about this, she lay down in bed and soon drifted off to sleep.
...
The next morning,
Isla bounced her knee as she repeatedly peered at her wristwatch. She'd snuck out of the house by seven earlier in the morning. She'd tried to ignore the call she'd received the previous night but she just couldn't help her curiousity. And that was why she was sitting in the Golden Sun Cafe, awaiting a person she didn't even know.
At the sound of a sudden vibration that came from her phone, Isla was greeted by the sight of a new message from an unknown number. It said:
'I'm here.'
"Isla?"
She looked up with a start, at the sound of the familiar voice she'd just heard.
A green eyed man stood in front of her, a smile tugging at his lips. He slowly lowered himself onto the seat in front of her.
"I must've startled you. I apologize for that," he said and she blinked, still dazed.
He was such a good looking young man.
"You called me last night...?" She said and he nodded slowly.
"My name is Archer," he stated and she eyed him with scepticism.
She hadn't heard that name in a long time.
It was the name of her first love. The same one who used to be her best friend. It was strange how merely hearing that name brought back an intense feeling of nostalgia.
"It is in fact my real name," he said and she leaned back on her seat, watching him closely.
"How do you know me?" She asked and he cleared his throat, refusing to make eye contact with her.
"I'm going to be real quick about this. Dominic wants something from you. Something dark and dangerous," he began and she folded her arms across her chest.
There was something off about him. But she couldn't figure out what it was.
"You still haven't told me who you are," Isla pointed out.
"I'm a member of New York City's Werewolf Council. We've been on the lookout for a certain fugitive and we have suspicions about Dominic Argento. We have every reason to believe that he's the person we've been looking for," he said and she frowned.
"I don't believe you," she stressed and he handed her a vial.
"It's a truth serum," he said to her and turned away to gesture at one of the workers at the cafe.
Still on guard, she watched as he asked for a cup of coffee.
When it was brought to him, he gestured at the vial.
"You're free to use it on me if you would like," he said.
"What do you really want from me?" She asked and he sighed.
"I just want you to believe me. You can use the serum on Dominic and ask him who he really is. He won't be able to lie to you," he responded.
For a few seconds, her gaze lingered on him.
Then she uncapped the vial and spiked his coffee with the truth serum. Without hesitating, he drank it all and lowered his cup.
"What do you want to know?" He asked, his heated gaze meeting hers.
"Have you been lying to me about everything you just said?" She inquired and he swallowed hard, his unwavering gaze still fixed on her. Slowly, his green eyes turned white and he parted his lips to give her a response.
...
Letting out a sigh, Isla examined the breakfast she'd just finished preparing. Then she fished out the vial Archer had given to her from her pocket. She'd returned to the house a little past nine a.m. Thankfully, Dominic was still asleep.
She stared at the vial in her hand pensively. Was it really okay to trust Archer? The vial might actually be poison.
"No, wait...why am I even concerned about Dominic getting poisoned?" she muttered.
She needed answers and she wouldn't be able to get them if she sat back and did nothing.
Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she uncapped the vial and added it to the orange juice she'd prepared alongside Dominic's breakfast.
She'd just tucked the vial away in the pocket of the apron when she sensed his presence.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around and waited for him to step into the dining room.
As if on cue, he did.
He was shirtless and he had a pair of black sweatpants on. His dark hair was unusually messy but it was at the same time, weirdly attractive.
He strolled in like a cat on a prowl, his gaze fleeting from her face to her exposed legs and back up again.
"What are you doing?" He asked, raising a brow. Flashing him a seductive smile, Isla gestured at the meal she'd prepared.
"Isn't it obvious? I made us breakfast," she said and he moved towards her.
With every step Dominic took towards her, her heart pounded a little faster.
She had never laced anyone's meal before, she couldn't help but feel nervous. There were a lot of things that could go wrong in this moment and it worried her to no end.
Halting in front of her, his fiery gaze locked with hers and she gulped, worried that he would hear the pounding of her heart.
Bringing a hand to cup the side of her face, he squinted those intense grey eyes at her, stealing her breath away.
It had to be an effect of the mating bond. There was no other explanation for how much effect he had over her. It's what she wanted to believe.
"The food is going to get cold," Isla breathed and he arched a perfect dark brow at her.
She felt her entire face heat up, a lump forming in her throat.
"You know.... you're such a terrible actress, Isla," he suddenly stated and she froze, momentarily forgetting how to breathe. Did he catch on already?