Unbound (Bound To You sequel)

SEVEN - Meet Dante

"So," I said after I parked in front of the bar Robin had directed me to. "Tell me about Dante."

"Not much to tell," Robin replied, hand on the door handle. "He wanted to join us, was about to, then his mate was killed. He never was quite himself after that."

"Understandable," I said, but there was clearly more. Both he and Owen had done their best to change the topic on the ride down and I'd decided to leave it alone. Now I had to know. "Then what?"

"Nothing."

"You reminding me a whole lot of James right now," I growled. "And that's not a good thing."

"She was killed by a wraith," he explained reluctantly. "Here, in Montreal. Where there were supposed to be no wraiths. Where we'd told him she'd be safe."

He looked pained and it only took me a few seconds to realize why he'd have that mix of sadness and guilt.

"Where you had told him," I realized. "Where you promised she'd be safe."

He nodded. "We have had some contact since. Usually with James around. Dante is a dominant wolf. Almost Alpha. If he'd been made part of the pack possibly he would have challenged me. He'd have been the Beta."

"Really? I thought you were faster and stronger and all around more awesome than the rest of us. That's why you're warriors," I said, frowning, wondering if I'd missed something.

"Strenght isn't everything. And it's we," he said and reached for the door. "You're pack now. The magic, the strength of us bleeds through the pack bonds. That's why Markus and Tommy can hunt with us. Part of wh Dante might have been able to claim the Beta position not to long after joining the pack. Why one day, a few years from now, you will be strong enough to go out and fight wraiths. Why your fangs will be poisonous as mine."

I nodded but didn't tell him they already were; I'd killed a injured wraith just last week, when Trist had decided to go wraith hunting, putting both himself, James and me in danger.

He got out, closing the door. 

Not that I wanted to go out and fight wraiths. The two encounters I'd had with them so far in my life, was enough. Still, it would have been nice to have been told.

Deciding this was not the moment to ponder what me changing into a warrior wolf meant, what James failure to talk to me about it meant and another question that had popped into my mind, if warrior magic could be transferred to none warrior wolves by inducting them into the pack, wouldn't it be to everyone's benefit to increase our pack's size. So there would be more to fight the wraiths, more to reap the benefits of extra strength and longevity?

"Why do we even need Dante?" I asked as I caught up with Robin. "We're here to see the Montreal Alpha, right? Why not just go direct to St. Clare?"

"Dante is St. Clare's brother," Robin said, in a clipped voice. "And out of the two of them, I'd rather deal with Dante any day."

"Wonderful," I said and wondered just what to expect.

"So serious," he said, grinning despite the tense lines around his eyes. "Now come on, it's cold out here."

I hadn't been to a whole lot of bars (more like none) but this one looked like a run down version of an old fashioned diner minus the checkered floor.

The lighting was dim, thankfully no one was smoking and while the place smelt of beer and cheap cleaning supplies it wasn't overpowering.

Not counting the bartender there were four people in there. Two sat alone, the other two together. The two guys that sat together were obviously not Dante. That left a dark-haired man at the bar and a dude with a grey beard in the corner.