Page 4 of Alpha Wolf (Return To Fate Mountain #6)
Dom looked around at the destruction, blood dripping from his chin onto his jacket. This wasn’t what he’d wanted. This wasn’t what Steel Protection stood for.
The wail of sirens filled the air as multiple police units responded. Dom sat on the curb outside the destroyed diner, pressing a bar towel against the gash above his eye while EMTs checked the locals for serious injuries.
A new patrol car pulled up, and an older officer stepped out with the bearing of someone clearly in charge.
The other officers straightened slightly as he approached, surveying the scene with the grim expression of a man who’d seen too much violence for one lifetime.
He took in the six motorcycle riders who sat calmly waiting for him.
“I’m Chief Reynolds,” he said. “I need IDs from everyone involved.”
Dom produced his driver’s license and private security certification without argument. Around him, his crew did the same.
The young woman who’d recorded the fight hurried over to Chief Reynolds. “Chief, I got the whole thing on video. They tried to avoid the fight. The big guy threw the first punch.”
Chief Reynolds accepted the phone and watched the recording with careful attention. Another officer ran their IDs through the police database. “IDs check out, Chief. No warrants, no criminal history.”
Chief Reynolds gestured at the destroyed diner. “This level of destruction is something we take very seriously in Fate Mountain, Mr. Steel. The video showed obvious self-defense, but I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”
The owner stood in the doorway of his destroyed restaurant. “All of you. Never come back here. You’re banned for life.”
Dom stepped forward, blood still staining his shirt. “Sir, Steel Protection will pay for everything.”
“Your money can’t fix this,” the owner shot back, gesturing at the traumatized families still huddled on the sidewalk.
A crowd had gathered outside the diner. Even the witnesses who’d seen everything were shaking their heads, blaming Steel Protection for bringing trouble to Fate Mountain.
Dom led his pack through the same streets they’d traveled an hour earlier with such hope.
They parked outside their building in the same neat formation, but everything felt different.
The community they’d come to protect had rejected them within hours of their arrival.
The mission that had seemed so promising now looked nearly impossible.
Inside his apartment, Dom stripped off his bloodied jacket and assessed the damage in his bathroom mirror. The gash above his eye would heal cleanly, the split lip was already closing, and the bruises would fade in a few days. Shifter healing was one advantage his wolf form provided.
But the damage to Steel Protection’s reputation might never heal.
He sat at his small desk, staring out the window at the town that had turned against them. He’d spent five years moving from one assignment to another, never staying long enough to build the kind of personal connections that made isolation bearable. The mission always came first.
He opened his laptop to research local news coverage of the diner incident, dreading what he might find. The Fate Mountain Gazette’s website loaded slowly, and a banner advertisement flashed across the top of the page.
“Find Your Fated Mate - Mate.com. All species welcome. True fated mates guaranteed!”
The ad showed happy couples, shifters and humans together, all of them looking complete in a way that made Dom’s chest ache. He’d heard other shifters talk about the site, how it had helped them find their fated mates when everything else failed.
Dom stared at the cheerful advertisement, feeling the weight of his isolation like a physical thing. Maybe this was exactly what he needed.
On impulse, he clicked the ad. The mate.com homepage loaded with testimonials from successful couples and promises of finding “your one true mate through advanced compatibility algorithms.” Dom almost closed the browser immediately.
This wasn’t him. He didn’t do online dating or personal ads or any of the vulnerable bullshit that came with admitting you needed someone.
But the loneliness sat in his chest like a weight, and the cheerful faces on the screen looked so damn content. What did he have to lose? His reputation in Fate Mountain was already shot. His mission was hanging by a thread. Maybe it was time to try something outside his comfort zone.
The sign-up process seemed straightforward enough. Just basic information and some personality questions. Nothing too personal or embarrassing. He could always delete it.
He created a profile without much thought, selecting a professional photo that showed his face clearly but didn’t include any motorcycle or military imagery.
The personality questionnaire was longer than expected, but he answered honestly about his protective instincts and desire to serve communities.
His finger hesitated over the submit button. This felt like admitting defeat, like seeking personal comfort when he should be focused on the mission.
But leadership was lonely, and tonight that loneliness felt crushing.
He hit submit.
The screen changed to show a loading animation, the progress bar crawling forward as the algorithm cross-referenced his profile with thousands of others. Dom closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, wondering if he was making another mistake in a day full of them.
A soft chime made him look up. The results page displayed several partial matches from neighboring towns, but at the very top, highlighted in bold, was something that made his breath catch.
“100% MATCH: Rookie Bear”