“You’re pretty good at changing the subject, Dominic.”
Dominic swore and hopped off the bed. He snatched his black T-shirt off the chair before quickly pulling it on. “Why do you feel the need to bring up the issue of a mate, or more to the point, my lack of one?”
Dominic knew he sounded like a defensive asshole, but he couldn’t help it. Steven was right. He still hadn’t found his mate, and if he didn’t find her soon, his Amoveo abilities would vanish, leaving him to live the rest of his existence as a human.
That was the fate of any Amoveo who didn’t bond with a life mate by the age of thirty, and it wasn’t one he was interested in participating in. However, with his thirtieth birthday just a year away, he knew the reality of what awaited him.
No shapeshifting, minimal strength, no powers of visualization.
How would he effectively serve as Guardian if he was void of his Amoveo abilities? Dominic shoved the dark thoughts from his mind, refusing to believe that it was actually a possibility. His military training brought him to this place, and he would be damned if some bullshit legend of fated mates would take that away. Mate or no mate, he would stay the course and fulfill his duties.
Even if it meant dying in the process.
“Hey, man.” Steven raised his hands in surrender. “I’m just stating a fact, and it’s only out of concern for you as a healer and a friend.”
Dominic nodded and tucked his dog tags beneath his shirt. Even though he hadn’t been in the human military for four years, it was still a part of who he was, and he’d feel naked without that cool stainless steel pressing against his skin. It was where he learned his combat skills and intense focus, both of which were crucial to his position.
“Have you connected with her at all?” he asked. “Any sign of her in the dream realm?”
“Not exactly,” Dominic bit out, unable to look Steven in the eye.
All Amoveo connected with their mates in the dream realm before the physical plane. It was a crucial part of the mating process and one he hadn’t experienced yet.
“I don’t see her, but sometimes I can feel her there in the shadows and mists. I can sense her energy signature, and just when I think I have it, it slips away. It’s frustrating as hell, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think she was intentionally avoiding me.”
“I see.” Steven went to his desk and connected the tablet to his computer.
“And vanilla.” Dominic crossed his arms over his broad chest and breathed deeply as the memory of the scent filled his head. “Sometimes I catch the scent of vanilla and cherries.”
“Interesting.” Steven shucked his white lab coat and draped it over the back of the desk chair, revealing an Iron Maiden T-shirt and torn jeans. Without his lab coat he looked more like a roadie than a doctor. “I never saw Courtney in the dream realm either, not clearly at least, and if I hadn’t stumbled on her at that blasted Purist compound, I may never have found her. Don’t use us as an example though, our mating has been… unorthodox.”
“How do you mean?”
“Never mind.” Steven waved him off. “As far as your mate avoiding you, that is certainly a possibility, and if you’re concerned, I would suggest having a chat with my boy, Willie.”
“Layla avoided him?” Dominic’s brow knit in confusion. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would our mates avoid us?”
“Dude, are you serious?” Steven smiled and punched a few buttons on his computer before looking back at Dominic. “If she’s a hybrid and has been raised away from our people, God only knows what she knows or doesn’t know about us. If she knows what she is, she may think all Amoveo are like the Purists and want her dead for being a hybrid. Maybe she thinks we’re all a bunch of chauvinistic pigs looking to drag our women into servitude. Hell, she may be a human and not even know that the Amoveo exist.”
Dominic was quiet as Steven’s words settled over him, and he felt like a dope for not thinking of these things sooner. This whole mate business was far more complicated than anyone ever let on.
“Or—” Steven sighed. “She could think you’re butt-ass ugly and be running in the other direction.”
Dominic cracked a smile in spite of himself and ran a hand over his cropped black hair.
“My point is,” Steven said solemnly, “avoiding your mate or ignoring it isn’t doing you any good, my friend. Your mate is out there somewhere, and if you don’t find her soon, then you’ll have to face the music one way or another.”
Dominic clenched his jaw and strapped the leather weapons belt securely around his waist. He pulled the massive hunting knife from its sheath and briefly inspected it. Seeing that shiny blade instantly put his anxious heart at ease, but the reality of what Steven said still weighed heavily.
“I appreciate your concern, but I can assure you that finding, or not finding my mate, will not impact my ability to protect the prince. I would give my life to protect our people from anyone who threatens our existence.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that,” Steven said through a laugh. “Listen, I don’t want to sound like an ungrateful ass. Courtney and I live here too, so your quick actions with those Caedo assassins protected her and the baby. She’s already been through so much and still isn’t fully recovered emotionally. The pregnancy is making it so much worse.”
Steven’s face darkened at the memories. Dominic heard about what some of the women were put through as involuntary participants in the Purist breeding program. He couldn’t imagine the helplessness and rage that Steven must have felt knowing his mate had suffered. Whatever it was, it must’ve been bad, because he never talked about it.
“It’s good to know that you and Eric have our backs.” Steven stuck his hand out, and Dominic promptly accepted. “Thank you.”
Dominic shook his hand quickly and gave him a brief nod of understanding before opening the door.
“Hey,” Steven called. “Catch.”
Dominic turned around and caught a lollipop as it came flying in his direction. He gave Steven a friendly smile as he stuck the lollipop in the pocket of his camo pants and headed out the door.
It’s not that he didn’t appreciate Steven’s gratitude, but it made him uncomfortable to be thanked for doing his job. Hell. He hadn’t even done it that well. One assassin got away, and as far as Dominic was concerned, that was a failure.
However, it was not one that would be repeated.
As Dominic headed up the steps from the medical facility to the main floor of the house, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Steven had said. Perhaps he was right. What if his mate had been avoiding him all along out of fear or ignorance?
Dominic swung the door open at the top of the stairs and instantly sensed familiar energy signatures, the spiritual fingerprints made by all Amoveo. Then an unfamiliar ripple in the air sent his protective instincts on high alert. He detected fear and apprehension flickering through the enormous house, and it was coming from an unknown Amoveo… and a human.
Caedo? That was all he could think. Another Caedo assassin or a Purist had infiltrated the property.
Dominic cut through the grand entry hall and in a blur of speed, he went immediately to the lavish living room to the left of the main hall. The scent of vanilla swamped him as he came to a halt in the doorway, ready for battle with glowing eyes and his knife drawn. The room was empty, but movement to his left captured his attention.
Without thinking, moving only on gut instinct, he spun to the left and grabbed the intruder, throwing them to the ground. In a matter of seconds, he straddled the small body and pinned the stranger easily beneath him. His knees held struggling arms to the floor, one hand curled over a slim shoulder, as the other held his knife poised high in the air, ready to strike.