Alpha Mate at the Gas Station

Chapter 28: Vampires scent

Dominic POV

For hours, I had tried to keep the peace between these two wolves. Tried to temper the fallout of a betrayal that never should have happened in the first place. If my warrior didn’t want the omega anymore, he should have had the spine to tell her—not humiliate her by cheating with another warrior and leaving her to pick up the wreckage alone.

Watching him now—standing there with his chosen mate clinging to him like she’d won some prize—made my growl tear up from my chest.

I didn’t bother hiding it.

“Your Luna,” I said coldly, letting my voice cut through the room, “was rejected in the most degrading way possible by her first chosen mate. She worked herself into the ground trying to survive the shame everyone had put on her. She fainted from exhaustion. And it took a legal settlement—a damn agreement—just for her to believe she deserved peace.”

Their faces paled.

“You truly believe,” I continued, stepping forward, “that I would allow this to pass without consequence simply because you are warriors who chose each other?”

I slammed my fist into the table.

The wood shattered beneath the force of my anger.

“Both of you are now assigned twelve-hour divided shifts. You will no longer live in the same apartment complex.”

I pointed directly at the male warrior, who dared to look offended.

“You are being transferred south. Immediately.”

Then I turned to the female warrior, my voice sharp as steel.

“And you will be stationed north of Wisconsin. We are reclaiming our pack lands, and neither of you will jeopardize the future of this pack with selfish desires again.”

The room shook as I let my alpha aura roll free.

“I have finally found your Luna,” I growled. “My fated mate. And if I refuse to let anyone destroy what I’ve built—including myself—then I will absolutely destroy choices that threaten it.”

They dropped their gazes.

Good.

Then Anna’s voice cut through the link.

‘Alpha… I just saw Luna Thumper leave the estate this morning. She got into a limo. It didn’t feel right. I warned her. She’s calling me now—she says she needs to be picked up by someone she trusts.’

My blood went cold.

I didn’t hesitate.

‘All pack members,’ I roared through the link, ‘your Luna is in danger. Find her. Bring her home. Now.’

I didn’t wait another second.

I stormed out of the apartment, shifted mid-motion, bones snapping as my wolf tore free. The world sharpened. Her scent mixed with that of a vampires blood burned into my senses like a lifeline.

I ran.

Through streets. Through alleys. Calling her name through the link. Following every trace, every whisper of her presence.

I would find her.

And whoever had taken her—

would answer to me.

Knowing what was with her snapped something feral inside my chest.

A vampire.

I didn’t hesitate.

I pushed the command through the link, my voice cutting like a blade through every mind in the pack.

‘There are vampires surrounding your Luna. Kill any vampire in sight. No hesitation. No mercy. Bring her home.’

The response was immediate.

Screams tore through the night—not hers, but theirs.

The sound carried through the link, sharp and final, and I knew my warriors were doing exactly what I had ordered. Bloodsuckers didn’t belong anywhere near my mate. Near my territory. Near anything that was mine.

Whatever that vampire thought he’d taken from me—control, leverage, fear—he had miscalculated.

Taking over my father’s business hadn’t just given me influence.

It had given me reach.

And I would use it to erase every last trace of what that parasite believed he owned.

I crested the hillside, lungs burning, heart slamming, when her scent hit me full force.

Fear.

Adrenaline.

Steel-threaded terror wrapped in defiance.

Thumper.

My wolf surged, then peeled back as I shifted mid-run, skin snapping back into human form. I landed hard, naked and unbothered, already sending another command through the link.

‘Clothes. Now.’

Two warriors were already moving.

Seconds later I was pulling on black pants and a jacket still warm from another body, my hands shaking not from exhaustion—but from restraint.

From the need to kill everything between me and her.

I didn’t slow.

Didn’t think.

Didn’t breathe.

I ran.

Every step was a promise.

Every heartbeat a vow.

I was coming for her.

And anyone who stood in my way would learn exactly why wolves still ruled the night.

Turning the corner, I collided with her.

For half a second my body braced for impact—then her scent hit me, sharp with panic and desperation, and she slammed into my chest like she had been running on nothing but instinct.

She clutched me, fingers digging into my back, shaking so hard it hurt to feel.

“Don’t scare me like that,” she sobbed, voice breaking completely. “Dom… I just want to go home.”

That was all it took.

I wrapped my arms around her, solid, immovable, pulling her against me until her face was buried against my chest. My wolf settled, not gone, just waiting—coiled and lethal.

“You’re safe,” I said quietly, steady enough to anchor her. “I’ve got you.”

She nodded against me, tears soaking through my shirt, and when her breathing slowed just enough I pulled back slightly, keeping one arm locked around her waist.

“I left my phone at the house,” I said, already knowing what I needed to do. “I stepped out to handle something. I’ll deal with it later.”

She didn’t question me.

She just handed me her phone.

I took it, dialed from muscle memory, and Anna answered on the second ring—panic already in her voice.

“Thumper? Where are you? Are you okay?”

“It’s me,” I said. Calm. Controlled. Deadly. “She’s with me. Can you pick us up at the corner of Jake’s?”

There was no hesitation.

“I’m on my way. Stay exactly where you are.”

The line went dead.

I slipped the phone back into Thumper’s hand and pulled her closer again, angling my body so she was shielded behind me. Only then did I let my gaze lift, scanning the street, the shadows, the air itself.

It didn’t take long for the truth to settle into place.

The fear in her.

The limo.

The mansion.

The way she’d run.

Someone had threatened what was mine.

And I was done being patient.

I lowered my head just enough for her to hear me, my voice quiet and absolute.

“You did the right thing,” I told her. “You trusted your instincts. You came back to me.”

Her grip tightened.

And in that moment, I knew one thing with certainty—

Whoever thought they could claim her had just made the worst mistake of their existence.

Anna arrived just in time.

The moment her car stopped, I guided Thumper into the back seat and climbed in after her, pulling her close without asking. She didn’t resist. She folded into me like her body finally understood it was allowed to stop running.

The drive back to the pack house was quiet—but not calm.

Thumper tried to stay still, tried to breathe evenly, but her body betrayed her. Every few minutes a tremor ran through her, sharp and involuntary. Her fingers kept clutching at my shirt like she was afraid I might disappear if she let go.

I held her tighter, one arm firm around her shoulders, the other rubbing slow circles against her back—steady, grounding. My wolf stayed just beneath the surface, alert, furious, restrained only because she needed calm more than blood.

Through the link, my pack moved.

Orders passed silently. Coordinates. Names. Sightings.

Vampires were being handled.

Then reveal came softly, almost like she was ashamed of it.

“His name was Mario,” she murmured, voice thin. “He… he was nice at first. Too nice. Everyone treated me like I mattered.”

My jaw tightened, but I didn’t interrupt.

“He talked about work. Stability. Security,” she continued. “It sounded perfect, Dom. Like something I could finally hold onto.”

Her fingers curled into my shirt again.

“And then I asked how much I’d be paid.”

That was when her voice broke.

“He changed. Not loud at first. Just… cold. Like I’d offended him by asking.” She swallowed hard. “He said I was already ‘taken care of.’ That I shouldn’t worry about numbers.”

My wolf snarled low in my chest.

“He threw things,” she whispered. “A teapot. A plate. He told me to behave. Told me to break things off with you.”

I closed my eyes for a fraction of a second—not in grief, not in hesitation, but to keep myself from tearing the world apart too soon.

“He doesn’t negotiate,” she finished quietly. “That’s what he said.”

That did it.

My arm tightened around her, not enough to hurt—enough to promise.

“He doesn’t get to raise his voice at you,” I said calmly. “He doesn’t get to scare you. And he sure as hell doesn’t get to claim you.”

She let out a shaky breath, her forehead pressing into my chest.

“You’re home,” I told her. “You’re done running.”

Outside the window, the road blurred past us.

And somewhere in this city, Mario was still breathing.

For now.