Page 54 of Fat Forced Mate

For now, though, I just need to breathe. To center myself. To prepare for whatever comes next.

Three days isn't very long to brace for the rest of your life.

Chapter 20 - Dominic

"Let go of me! I didn't do anything wrong!"

I look up from the patrol schedules I've been trying to revise, and mostly just staring at blankly, to find Thomas dragging a struggling teenager into my office. Liam Bennett—seventeen, gangly, with the perpetually startled expression of a young wolf still growing into his strength. Thomas has him by the scruff of his neck like an errant pup.

"What the hell is this?" I demand, rising from my chair.

Thomas shoves Liam into one of the chairs opposite my desk. "Tell him what you were doing at the eastern perimeter," he growls.

Liam's face drains of color. He stares at his hands, shoulders hunched defensively.

"Thomas," I say with forced calm. "Explain."

"Found him sending signals across the boundary line. Flashlight patterns." Thomas tosses a small tactical flashlight onto my desk. "When I approached, he tried to run."

This doesn't make sense. The Bennetts are a loyal family, have been for generations. Liam himself is one of our most promising young trainees.

"Liam," I keep my voice level despite the alarm bells ringing in my head. "Is this true?"

He doesn't answer, but his rapid breathing and the scent of fear rolling off him in waves tells me enough. Thomas isn't lying.

"Look at me," I command, not using ‘Alpha voice’ yet, but close.

Liam raises his eyes reluctantly. They're red-rimmed and terrified.

"Whatever's happening, we can fix it," I say, a tad gentler. "But I need the truth. Now."

The boy's composure crumbles.

"They have Abby," he chokes out. "They showed me pictures of her in her dorm room. Said they'd kill her if I didn't help them."

Thomas curses under his breath. I understand the sentiment—a fraction less control, and I‘d be cursing myself. Abigail Bennett, Liam's older sister, away at college on a scholarship, one of the few younger pack members we’ve allowed to study outside our territory unaccompanied.

"Who?" I ask, though I already know the answer.

"They didn't say their pack name. But their eyes..." Liam shudders. "They were wrong. Red, but not normal shifter red. And they smelled like something burning."

Cheslem. I exchange a glance with Thomas.

"What did they want you to tell them?" I ask.

"Patrol schedules. Guard rotations." Liam's voice grows smaller with each admission. "The locations of the old ward markers. And...information about her. The witch."

My wolf surges forward at the mention of Luna, a growl building in my chest that I barely suppress. I take a slow breath, forcing rational thought past protective instinct. "When did they first contact you?"

"More than a month ago. Just after she arrived for the lottery." Liam seems to shrink further into the chair. "I was running on the outer trail. They stopped me just insidethe boundary. Showed me a live video of Abby sleeping. Her roommate's stuffed bear was on the bed, the one with the university logo. They knew her name, her major. They knew everything about her."

I nod, processing. This isn't a simple case of betrayal. The boy was cornered, manipulated through his sister. My anger shifts from Liam to the Cheslem wolves who would use a child this way.

"I'm sorry," Liam whispers, a tear tracking down his cheek. "I didn't want to. But Abby—"

"You should have come to me immediately," I say, firm but not harsh.

"They said they were watching. That they'd know if I told anyone." His hands twist in his lap. "I didn't know what to do."

---