with him by pitching forward and swiping out with their claws, ripping his clothes but not drawing blood.
His eyes widened at the sight of Dominic, who fisted Emmet’s shirt, dragged him out of the van, and slung him on the ground. The pallas cats hopped out of the vehicle and surrounded them, growling at the human, but they didn’t pounce on him.
As he stared down at Emmet in utter contempt, Dominic felt a roiling heat low in his stomach. So many people had died tonight. Even more of them were injured, including Mila. Hell, he’d almost died himself from those goddamn stab wounds. And why? Because that bastard on the ground had sicced the extremists on them to do his dirty work.
Mila cocked her head as she spoke to Dominic. “My guess is he stayed in his car, hoping no one would notice him. And when the tide turned against the extremists, he was too scared to move in case one of the shifters saw him and took his ass down.”
Dominic gave a slow nod. “He probably would have tried to drive off at some point if the cats hadn’t gotten to him before he had the chance.”
Eyes flashing with fear, Pierson still managed to look haughty and indignant. He looked at Mila, taking in all the streaks of dried blood on her face, neck, and arms—it was more than obvious she’d been covered in wounds not so long ago. “Are you really even human?”
She smiled, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight. “No, I’m not. Fooled ya, though, didn’t I?”
Dominic took an aggressive step toward Emmet. “You sent them here. The extremists. You told them to go after the club.”
Bracing himself on his elbows, Pierson edged back a little. “It’s a hot spot for shifters—the extremists would have targeted it eventually.”
“And thanks to you, they did it sooner rather than later. But it wasn’t about the club, was it?” Dominic clipped. “It was about taking my mate from me. You found out she was working here, you suspected she’d come back, and you just bided your time. You made sure the extremists were prepared to make their move when you were ready for them to.”
“Rosemary is your mate,” Emmet bit out. “Deny it all you want, but you know it’s true. She’s yours, and you abandoned her. And now she’s in a fucking coma. Did you really think I’d let you go on and live a happy life with another woman? Did you really think I wouldn’t do whatever it took to make you suffer as Rosemary suffered? I warned your Alpha that I’d make a bad enemy.”
“You also make a stupid one. You shouldn’t have come here tonight. If you had any sense, you’d have left this to the extremists. But you just had to be here, didn’t you? Had to listen to the cries of pain and howls of mourning, had to watch the bodies fall.” Sick fuck. He was soon to be a dead sick fuck. Dominic sliced out his claws and advanced on him.
Emmet jumped, his eyes widening. “The police—”
“Can’t save you from me. No one can.” It was ridiculous that he’d think differently.
Emmet edged back fast, still on his elbows. “You’ll never get away with—”
“Yes, I will.”
A pallas cat bit into Pierson’s foot, making him flinch with a sharp cry and—better still—come to a stop.
Swallowing hard, Emmet stared up at Dominic. “You’d really kill an unarmed man?”
“Yes.” Bending over, Dominic thrust his claws into Emmet’s chest, closing them around his heart. “You tried to take my heart from me, so I guess it’s only fitting that I take yours from you.” And Dominic yanked it out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Leaning back against Dominic as they settled in the freestanding tub, Mila sighed. Yes, this was what she needed. She mustn’t have shifted position much as she slept, because she’d woken stiff with some aches here and there.
The minute they’d returned to pack territory the previous night, they’d showered, washed off all the blood, and collapsed into bed—exhausted from the fight and adrenaline crash. She’d woken the next morning just as Dominic’s cock slipped inside her. His thrusts had been slow. Lazy. Gentle. For the first five minutes. Then he’d taken her hard and fast, pounding deep and snarling in her ear.
She hadn’t realized that he’d texted Grace, asking her to bring breakfast to their room, until Mila heard the knock on the door. After they’d eaten in bed, he’d ran them a bath. And so there they were.