“I’m glad you’ve all came so I can keep you up to date on what has been happening.”
When Atticus’ voice cut through the chatter of the other men, they quieted instantly to listen to his words.
“As you all know, these attacks have been getting more gruesome as they have gone on and there have been many rumors about what exactly is going on. Well, I’ve got it in great confidence that we now know who is behind them and how they take place.”
Dominic stood by a window in the living room, in perfect position to catch a glimpse of his own cabin and make sure that no one was anywhere near Olivia.
“I had a visitor— a survivor of one of the packs. He was badly hurt, almost didn’t make it through, but as soon as he regained his strength he made it a mission to warn other packs in the hopes of sparing lives. He came to me last night and has already begun traveling again.”
It was so silent in the cabin that Dominic could have heard a mouse crawl as the shifters held their breath and waited to hear what he was going to say next.
“We were right in our assumptions. The attacks are being done by poachers, but it’s not just one group. It seems there is an underground competition happening, the group of poachers get the biggest catch by causing the most destruction to a pack. Each group has one chance to attack a pack. As it goes on, the poaching groups get better at attacking, devising more elaborate plans to strike each time. No group has been able to kill the Alpha family but apparently that is worth a great deal in the competition. They come in the night and pillage the packs. They stop at absolutely nothing.”
Dominic could feel a shiver run through his body. Capturing not only the Alpha but the family was the goal, so Atticus had been right; Olivia was in great danger.
“At no time are any of us to let our guard down until we find a way to put an end to this. Is that clear?”
Atticus’ voice was stern and each of the men mumbled that they were clear on the direction. Even for a pack that consisted solely of the biggest and strongest men in the kingdom, they were all feeling unsure and nervous over what was happening.
“This is our pack and I have no intention of losing it to disgusting humans who are using our deaths as a sport. If and when there is an attack made on us, we are to stop at nothing to keep ourselves safe.”
He looked at each of the men one by one, stopping a second longer on Dominic than the rest of them. Shifters held a very strict rule to never kill a human, but Atticus was telling them that rule was off. They were to do whatever they had to in order to keep them safe.
“The pack comes first, all of us. Am I making myself clear to everyone?”
Again, each of the men agreed with the Alpha’s words.
“Good. Make sure that at night fall you are all in your cabins and are ready to fight at a moment’s notice.”
The pack took turns asking whatever questions came to mind, but Dominic wasn’t listening too much. He was feeling sick to his stomach and wanted to make sure that Olivia was alright. He’d deal with his inner wolf pacing and find a way to keep himself in check if it meant he could keep her safe.
“If there’s no other questions then I suggest you all get home to your cabins. The sun is setting, and I wanted everyone inside by the time the moon is up. Talk to your families, make sure they know to stay inside as well.”
Once again Atticus looked at Dominic, he knew that meant he was well aware of Olivia’s attempts at escaping. Just as he vowed earlier in the day to not let himself fall deeper for her, he also vowed to not let her out of his sight again.
Chapter Twelve
Olivia
From underneath the side window of her father’s cabin, Olivia was able to stay bent low and listen to every word that her father had told the pack. Chills went through her body when she listened to just how serious everything was. Up until then, she’d heard of the attacks but didn’t really believe they were as serious as her father was making them seem. He tended to worry too much, especially when it came to his only daughter. But after what she’d heard him tell the men of the pack, the situation was serious.
What would Olivia do if there was an attack? Being unable to shift and fight made her more or less a sitting duck for those poachers and as her father had said, they were dying to get the pack Alpha’s and their families. That meant her. And just like her mother, she’d have no chance at a fight.
When she heard the shifting around of the pack inside, she knew they’d be leaving the cabin and didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping. Quietly she crept away from the window and quickened her pace to get back to Dominic’s cabin before he saw that she’d ever left.
Back inside she found herself chewing the nail of her thumb and pacing her small living room of his cabin. She found herself nervous at what may happen and that was not a feeling that Olivia was used to. In fact, she was always calm and collected, braver than most, which she knew she got from her father. But being unable to defend herself from such extreme and disgusting attacks had her shaken up. So much so that when the front door opened, she jumped at the sound.
Dominic stood in the doorway way and arched a brow.
“You ok?” His voice came out low and strong and for a fleeting moment she wanted to run into his arms. Suddenly the mere presence of him gave her some bit of comfort.
“Yea, I just…”
“Were you listening outside of your father’s house?” he asked.
She felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment that he had read her so easily.
“Well, I certainly didn’t figure that you would tell me the truth so I thought I should find out for myself.”
A small flicker of a smile curled at his lips. “Are you always this much of a pain?” he asked her.
“Who says I’m a pain?” she fired back.
He chuckled a little. “No one would have to say anything. It’s pretty obvious that you’re a stubborn pain in the butt. How Atticus has kept you safe all these years is beyond me.”
His words struck a nerve that she was sure he hadn’t realized he’d hit. But there was no way she was going to let him see that part of her. She’d been vulnerable enough the night before and look where that had gotten her. Shut downed and left just as fast as she’d gotten him. There was no way she could leave herself open to that type of feeling again.
Instead she squared her shoulders and kept her resolve.
“I have kept myself safe just fine.”
“If you can keep yourself safe then why is it that your heart is racing? Nervous?”
She paused and looked at him curiously. “How did you know that?”
Dominic’s eyes shifted and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. “I just…know…I can smell it or something.”
“You can smell my heart racing? That doesn’t even make sense!” she fought back.
He growled and she could tell she was making him angry but why shouldn’t she push his buttons a little? He had obviously not cared enough about her the morning after they had their tryst so why did she matter now?
“It’s just an instinctual thing,” he told her. “A shifter thing.”
It was Olivia’s turn to smirk. Was it possible that she meant more than he was letting on?
“That’s not a shifter trait,” she told him smugly. “Having a strong instinct about someone is a different trait.”
She had always known of fated mates; her parents had been fated mates. She didn’t have many memories of her mom but the ones she had her father was always close by in the snapshot of her memories. And they were always smiling. Even from a young age Olivia knew how in love they were, how perfect they were together.
After she was killed, he would talk about her often. He would tell Olivia that she had practically hung the stars and moon and he would talk about that feeling of being fated to her. How he could feel her feelings, how his wolf went wild inside of him for her. Is that what had happened with Dominic? Is that how he knew? Is that why that night had been so passionate?
&n
bsp; “How would you know?” he spat out. “You’re not a shifter.”
The words hit her like a punch to the stomach. She didn’t need any more reminders that she wasn’t a shifter, she was reminded of that fact every single day. She didn’t need to think about the fact that if Atticus wasn’t her father, she would be a complete throw-away member of the pack, no one would even care about her. But his words, intended to come out cruel and hurtful, did exactly that.
“Every time I think there may be something more to you, you do nothing but let me down.”
Her words came out choked, even to her own ears, and she hated to give him any satisfaction at her tears.
“What is it you want from me?” he asked her.
“I want…I want you to act as if what happened last night mattered! I want to know that I’m not the only one who feels like there’s something more between us! I want to know that I’m not nothing to you!”
Her breath was coming out fast and she couldn’t believe she was throwing her heart on the line. What was coming over her? She barely knew him yet he frustrated her in a way like no other—she wanted him in a way she’d wanted no other. It was visceral and she had no hope in fighting it.
“What makes you think I feel the same way about you?” Dominic shouted back. “You were right this morning, I’m a ‘love them and leave them’ guy and that’s all last night was. I’m sorry your feelings got hurt but that’s the way I am.”
Olivia heard the words but she didn’t believe them. They were hollow to her and there was no part of her that believed he was telling the truth.
“You’re lying,” she told him flatly.
He shrugged and acted indifferent. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
Her gaze narrowed at him, angrier at the fact that he wouldn’t admit he wanted her like she wanted him by the minute.
“You should be sorry, but not because you think you’re hurting me. You should be sorry because when you come looking for a second chance with me, you’re not going to find it. I’m not going to waste my time on someone who doesn’t even have the guts to admit he wants to be with me. You want to pretend that I mean nothing? That’s fine. But just like you can feel my heart racing and feel my nerves, I can feel you’re lying through your teeth.”
They stared at each other a moment longer and Olivia hoped with everything that he was going to say something. That he was going to stop her from walking away from him, but as the seconds passed and he didn’t say anything, she felt the tears spring to her eyes. He may be breaking her heart but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing it.
She turned to leave before he finally spoke up again, just a whisper behind her back.
“You don’t know what could happen. You don’t know what I’d be giving up,” he told her. It was a confession, a hope that she could understand, but it wasn’t enough.
Olivia just shook her head in disappointment.
“I guess you don’t see what you’re giving up now either.”
With her back turned to him she gave him that last chance to say something to her but this time there were no words. All hope left her heart and she suddenly couldn’t stand to be in the same room as him. She walked back to his bedroom and shut the door, content to spend the rest of the night nursing her broken heart alone.
Chapter Thirteen
Dominic
The door flung open and Dominic saw the look on his brother’s face: betrayal, hurt, anger. It was the same look that he was sure had been on his own face when his father had chosen Ronald over himself. His brother flung himself at Dominic, he could still feel the rips and tears in his own wolf as the two fought; years of anger tore through Dominic, letting every bit of betrayal and favoritism that he’d felt through his whole life be unleashed.
While Ronald was only fighting because of his anger of the moment at Dominic in bed with his fiancé, Dominic was fighting for far more than that. Hit after hit, the claws were striking his already disadvantaged brother. Dominic wasn’t even aware how much he was overpowering his brother, his own growls louder than Ronald’s whimpers until his brother lay beneath him, bleeding, the life drained from his wolf.
Dominic woke with a start, shooting upright on the couch, his eyes searching the room, disorientated. But the moment his eyes landed on Olivia it all came back to him.
“Are you ok?” She asked tentatively.
Dominic rubbed his eyes. “Yeah, I just…was having a nightmare.”
“Yeah… I could tell.” She was standing near the couch, and it looked like she wanted to reach for him, but Dominic didn’t want her touch. He was still too shaken from his nightmare to get close to anyone.
“I heard you, from the bedroom. You were thrashing around out here and growling. I thought maybe something was outside but when I took a peak I only saw you on the couch. Was it a bad one?”
“I… I dreamt… I killed my brother.”
Olivia’s eyes went wide. “Why would you dream something so awful?”
Still feeling exhausted, Dominic didn’t feel like hiding anymore, just for a moment, he felt himself weaken to her soft eyes. He moved to make space on the couch and Olivia took the subtle hint and sat down next to him.
“I did get into a fight with my twin brother Ronald. He’s always been the favorite of my parents and while I was never a perfect child, I would have been the better leader to take over when my dad is no longer king. But then he chose him.”
The memory was still burning inside of him. Reluctantly he told her the truth.
“He was engaged to a woman that was fit to be queen, maybe he loved her, I never really knew. But I seduced her and made sure he walked in on us in bed together”
Her jaw dropped. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I was sick of his perfect life and I just wanted to ruin it just a bit— just for a little revenge. Nothing was supposed to happen except he was supposed to get pissed off. But instead we ended up in a brutal fight, lost control and nearly kill him. I stopped just in time but it’s why my parents kicked me out of the castle. His fiancé left him after that and I was banished. Nothing good can come from hooking up with a woman in the pack, not when it would piss off someone so badly.”
Suddenly there was a pang of regret in his stomach, that what he had done was childish and wrong. He didn’t exactly regret it, but he didn’t feel good about it anymore either.
“Is that why you’re afraid to be with me?”
Without looking at her, he nodded.
“With Atticus…with my anger…it’s just too dangerous. It’s not that I’m afraid…it’s that I can’t be with you. It’s just not possible.”
He was sure she understood exactly what he was saying and would back away from him and the danger of him and Atticus’ wrath. But instead Dominic felt the warmth of her hand wrap around his, and he felt the tenderness, and something inside of him broke.
“I don’t care about any of that,” she whispered to him. “I only care about being with you.”
Some part of his wolf that he didn’t know existed and before he knew what he was doing, he was kissing her. Deeply. Fiercely. Dragging her body down to the rug where the fire crackled behind him.
The way she’d moved the other night when he’d gone down on her had been the biggest turn on of his life and he was going to show her how wild she made his wolf. Pinning her underneath his body, his hands were all over her, along with his tongue tasting and touching every inch of her that he could. He couldn’t get enough of her.
She pulled at his sweatpants, pulling him free where he was the hardest he’d ever been in his life. His fingers went under the hem of her long shirt and he could feel the heat between her legs, the dampness and he couldn’t wait any longer. By the look in her eyes, she didn’t want to wait either.
Dominic pushed himself inside of her, letting out a long breath of release at how tight and warm she felt. Olivia cried out underneath him in pleasure and he bit her lip, her neck, sucking at th
e sweet taste of her as he thrust harder and faster. The feel of her was incredible and he had no idea how long he could hold out. She clawed at him, scratching at his back and tugging at his hair. He wanted to feel her more, push in deeper.
Pulling back, he lifted her legs and wrapped them around his neck and leaned forward, pushing into her until he felt the both of them would break. Those intense thrusts did finally shatter her and she came all around him, her body pulsing as she screamed in pleasure. The look on her face from the power of Dominic’s body and what he could do to her made his own release hit him hard and fast. He pulled out of her as he spilled on her flat stomach. He was panting, looking down at her, and wondering what in the world had just come over him. How her body had felt so different to him…so… perfect… like no other woman has felt before.
He could easily get used to that feeling, a little too easily. Even though he was sure he shouldn’t fall into anything with her, he laid next to her on the floor by the fire and felt his body drift to sleep, her head weighing heavily on his chest. The smell of her hair, the touch of her fingertips, the easy breathing when she fell into her own sleep, it all puts him at such ease that he forgot for the night that being with Olivia was wrong. He was dangerous, being with her was dangerous, and both of them could easily get hurt or worse. As much as he didn’t want to admit how much he cared about her, he did care about her too much to let her get hurt. And he cared too much about the pack to lose them either.
Chapter Fourteen
Olivia
This time when she woke, Olivia was still wrapped tightly in Dominic’s strong arms and she loved the feel of it. It had been the best wake-up she’d ever had in her life. If she could wake up every day that way then she knew she’d never complain about anything again. Even though the floor was hard and with just one tiny blanket to share it was rather cold, it was the most comfortable she’d ever been.
Their first time together had been passionate, a tenderness had set between them. But their second time had been different, it had been wildly animalistic and raw. Like the walls that they’d both put up were coming down piece by piece with every stroke, every kiss, and every orgasm. It was their second time together and no less remarkable than it had been the first, though completely different. She had to imagine it couldn’t get better than that but if it didn’t she wasn’t ever going to complain. But there was always the wonderful possibility that the more they were together, the better it would get, if that was possible.
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