The following day, Nick gathered the pack together. Dan gave Lucy a worried look as she sat down. He had spent the night holding her, not knowing what to say. Lucy had alternated between tears and anger, and all he’d been able to do was be there for her. There was nothing he could say to make her pain any less. He had no experience of what it was like to have your own flesh and blood treat you so cruelly.

At the same time, Dan wanted to tell Lucy how proud he was of her. She had stood in the face of terrible danger and had chosen to shift in order to protect him. As much as he had fought Dominic, Dan had to admit to himself that he probably would have been severely injured from Dominic’s beating, if not fatally. She had stood up to her brother once again, to the point of choosing Dan and the Alliance over her own brother. Even though Lucy truly disliked her brother, Dan knew that she was still hurt deeply by his words. To know that your brother would willingly attack you, should you come near his pack again, must feel like the bottom had dropped out of your world.

“How are we all feeling?” Nick asked, his eyes on Dan.

Dan winced, as he shrugged. Dominic had certainly left his mark. He had needed a couple of ice packs last night. He couldn’t see all that well out of his left eye and his mouth had a pretty bad tear. It would take a few days to heal.

"That good, huh?" Nick asked, with a slight grin. "Well, hopefully, we'll be safe for a while. We've discovered that there are a few things going on in the Northern Wind pack, things they're going to have to sort out themselves before they can even think about launching a fresh attack on us."

“What sort of things?” Dan asked, frowning. He’d been aware that Nick had disappeared for a while last night, once they’d all come back, but didn’t know where he’d gone.

Nick glanced at Tom. “We did a little scouting,” he answered, quietly. “We stayed downwind but managed to pick up enough of their conversation to understand the kind of thing that’s going on.” His eyes darted to Lucy. “It’s not good, I’m afraid.”

Dan saw Lucy visibly tense. Obviously, whatever Nick had heard was to do with Dominic.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice quiet. “What is Dominic doing?”

Pausing for a moment before answering, Nick let out a long breath. “I’m not going to lie to you, Lucy, but it’s pretty bad news. It looks like Dominic is planning a takeover of the pack somehow.”

"A takeover?" Dan repeated, frowning. "But Lucas is the pack leader."

“Yes, we know,” Tom interrupted, gruffly. “But we heard Dominic talking to one of the other pack members, far back from the others. Looks like he wants to lead, not Lucas.”

“And that means there’s going to be a lot more fighting ahead,” Nick continued. “From what I saw of Dominic yesterday, he’s not one to hold back.”

"He likes to fight first and think afterward," Lucy said, softly. "You're right, Nick. This isn't a good thing."

Nick gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Lucy.”

She shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”

Dan watched as Lucy got to her feet and left the shop, walking outside and into the cold air.

“Do you think I should go after her?” he asked, helplessly. “I don’t know what to do.”

Savannah put a calming hand on his arm. “Just leave her for a little while, Dan. Give her some space. She’s been through a lot.”

“She did shift, at least,” Jo added. “That’s got to be a good thing, right?”

Dan didn’t know, choosing not to answer. He wasn’t sure that Lucy planned to shift again, given how awful she felt about the whole thing. Perhaps the fight yesterday had just cemented the idea that all shifters were angry, hate-filled fighters.

“Just give her some time, Dan,” Savannah said, apparently seeing the distress on his face. “You’ll get her back soon.”

 

Lucy walked away from the others, and out into the cold wind, barely feeling it. Dominic was doing what he always did, vying for control. He wanted to be in command, to be the one calling the shots. He'd want to attack and rip this pack to pieces so that he could claim victory. That's all it was to Dominic. It didn't matter what other people thought, Dominic could never be the one in a lesser position. No matter what it took, Lucy knew she and the others wouldn't be safe from him.

What was she going to do? A huge part of her urged her to run away, to leave the pack behind and go and start over somewhere else….but her heart told her she couldn’t. Not after the kindness they’d shown her. They’d taken her in, given her a roof over her head, food to eat and, now, a job she could call her own. And then, there was Dan.

Lucy couldn’t deny she loved him, even with the pain in her heart. He was there for her, right from the start. Right when she needed help to step away from Dominic that night outside the bar, he’d been there trying to help her. Of course, he’d only managed to get a punch that had knocked him to the ground for his trouble, but he’d tried and that had shown her exactly the kind of man he was. He was the kind of man that would stand up for someone he saw being treated unfairly, the kind of man who wouldn’t let her down.

She remembered how she had seen his bear, battered and bloodied but still fighting against Dominic. If she hadn’t managed to stop Dominic, Lucy wasn’t sure what would have happened to Dan. Would he just have kept on trying to fight for her, no matter what happened to him?

Thrusting her head in her hands, Lucy walked towards the woods, not really knowing where she was going. She needed to get away from it all, to think alone.

 

Lucy didn't know how long it was she had been walking for, lost in her thoughts, but she suddenly realized she had no idea where she was. The woods were dark, the tall trees blotting out a lot of the early morning sunshine.

Looking around her, Lucy felt a frisson of fear rush up her spine. What if Lucas or Dominic was looking for her, caught her scent in the wind? She was entirely alone.

Her bear growled, growing wary. The sensible thing to do would be to let her bear out so that she could use her senses to find her way home, but Lucy really didn't want to do that. Tired from forcing her bear back down, from refusing to let it tear out of her skin, Lucy dropped to her knees and began to cry.

“Lucy?”

Looking up, Lucy saw Dan walking towards her, his arms outstretched. He’d followed her. He hadn’t left her alone. Crying even harder, Lucy felt Dan pull her into his arms, sitting down on the forest floor next to her.

“Whatever you’re going through, I’m here,” Dan whispered in her ear, holding her tightly. “You don’t have to go through this alone, Lucy. I’ll always be here for you. I’ll never leave you.”

Lucy sobbed into his chest, her heart breaking and healing at the same time. Dan had proven himself time and again, proving that he would never let her down the way Dominic had. He would always want her, he’d never turn his back on her and leave her to live life alone.

“I’m here, Lucy,” Dan murmured, over and over again. Lucy let herself rest against him, letting out all of the emotions she felt until there was nothing left. And still, Dan held her tightly, reassuring her softly. She had never felt more loved.