Chapter Five
Dominic
It could have been considered a form of torture, having Olivia wrapped so tightly around him for the duration of the journey, but it was a torture that felt almost pleasant. Like eating far too much at a delicious dinner, it’s painful and uncomfortable yet you wouldn’t have changed it if you could have.
In the beginning of their trip he’d half contemplated simply walking back home in order to be able to talk to her more, even though her incessant questions were quite annoying. But the moment she’d started to pry about his past and the things he’d seen, that was something he couldn’t take. He didn’t want to think about the memories or see the flashbacks in his mind. Without much thought his body had broken out into a run, trying hard to escape the images of his brother, bloodied on the ground.
Of course, there was no way that she could have known what he’d done, the way he’d let his animal rage inside of him without even thinking about it, it was something he never wanted to let loose again.
By the time he had finished his running he felt as if he’d almost been able to outrun his thoughts. He was back at his new home, delivering Atticus’ daughter safely, and he was ready to eat a large dinner and crash right into his bed. It had felt fantastic to stretch his legs and run as far and as fast as he could, pushing just a little harder and faster on the way home in an odd hope of impressing Olivia, but he was definitely exhausted.
When the cabins came into view it had felt strange to suddenly feel at home amongst the trees. Dominic had been living in that cabin for a couple of months and it had yet to feel like home. He had felt instead like a puzzle piece that wasn’t quite fitting right. But suddenly, with his little town in sight, he felt as if that puzzle piece had been turned in another direction and was fitting into the picture.
Suddenly he felt more like himself than he had since he’d been kicked from the kingdom. There was a new air in his lungs and he could even feel his old personality and sense of humor coming back to him. He hadn’t laughed or felt lifted in months but he found himself teasing Olivia and pushing her buttons playfully. When was the last time he had felt playful?
He shouldn’t have asked himself that question as the answer came screaming back to him. It had been her—Cherise—that was the last time he had been playful, had flirted, and had any sense of fun. And had it been worth it to take revenge and steal his brother’s girl? That was a question that he didn’t want to answer. He had already run from those memories once that day, he wasn’t going to go back there.
Luckily his stomach took that exact moment to grumble loudly, reminding him of how far he’d run and that he hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. There wasn’t much food inside his house as he hated shopping and was never sure if he was going to be feeding as a wolf or a man for the day, but he rummaged through his cupboard anyway, far too drained to get to the store to buy anything.
A knock sounded at his door just as it had the night before.
“Come in,” he called out, still opening and closing his cupboards.
He turned to see Atticus open the front door and step inside his home, his second house call in two nights, but he wasn’t alone. Olivia was standing beside him, her face more of scowl than it had been when Dominic had picked her up from school.
“Dominic, I need to ask another favor of you,” Atticus stated. There was no question in his tone, it was another demand from his Alpha, one that he wasn’t going to be allowed to ignore.
It was the price he had to pay for being a banished prince.
“Anything you need, Atticus,” he answered.
Dominic was used to hearing his own servants say such things to him and then following through with any of his demands. But it was still difficult to get used to being the one that fell below someone.
“I don’t trust that Olivia is safe in my cabin. I’d much prefer if she stayed with you.”
Surely Dominic hadn’t heard that right. It was not possible that his Alpha was commanding that his daughter— as unique, beautiful, and annoying as she was, was to stay in his own cabin.
“Is that really such a good idea?” Dominic asked, looking for any way to get out of this order. “I mean, I feel like I should be outside patrolling the premises and keeping an eye on everything.”
“Atticus, I’d really just rather stay in my own room. You dragged me all the way home, it’s the least I should get.”
It was obvious that the two of them had already been fighting over this arrangement that Atticus was trying to make. She didn’t want to be there, her eyes not even able to meet Dominic’s, and Dominic knew from past experience that messing with any woman in a pack could mean nothing but bloodshed and tears.
“It’s not safe for you in the cabin. I can’t protect you the way that Dominic can.”
“Who says I need protecting? How do you know you’re not just overreacting?” she pushed.
“Maybe she’s right sir. Maybe it’s best if she’s with you,” Dominic agreed.
“Silence!” the Alpha roared.
Both Dominic and Olivia froze in their spots. Atticus may have been getting on in age and afraid he couldn’t keep his daughter safe, but he still had complete command of his pack.
“She will stay with you. There is no discussion about it. She takes the bedroom, you Dominic, stay on the couch.”
Atticus raised a brow in the exact same way Olivia had— like father like daughter. Dominic immediately knew what he was implying with the look he was giving and given the banished prince’s reputation, he wasn’t going to argue the fact. Not to mention that having Olivia in such close quarters was already going to be hard enough. Just a mere step inside of his small cabin and the wolf inside was already stirring again.
“Your priority is to protect her at all costs. Is that understood?”
“Yes sir,” Dominic answered reluctantly.
The Alpha turned to his daughter. “And you will listen to what Dominic tells you. Do you understand that?”
Olivia hesitated before answering, throwing her dad a look that only a daughter could throw, before reluctantly agreeing with the Alpha herself.
“Fine,” she said stubbornly.
“I’ll check in on you both in the morning.”
With that Atticus pushed his daughter further into Dominic’s home and closed the door behind them both.
His wolf stirred more and Dominic started to feel as if he was almost too exhausted to stop it. What was it that this girl had that made him feel as if he could barely keep control of his wolf? In all his life he’d never had the problem where he couldn’t control his wolf. Even from a young age he’d been able to handle it far better than those of his same age group, even better than his twin brother. But there was something about Olivia, something that made him forget how to keep calm, and something that made him almost forget how to be human.
But it wasn’t in a bad way, not necessarily. It was in a strange way. The emotion was intense inside of him but it wasn’t aggression or anger, which would be the normal feelings that would make his wolf stir without his consent. The emotion inside of him was something else entirely, something he hadn’t felt before. He felt restless yet completely at ease.
What the hell was happening to him?
“Well,” Olivia began, “you heard my dad. You get the couch.” She breezed past him, brushing against his shoulder ever so slightly, and moved to the back of the house where his bedroom was. There was a new resolve to her, one he sensed she was faking, but he let it be and didn’t pick on her for it.
“Yeah, well, it’s cold back there anyway!” he called out to her.
She came back out from the bedroom, having placed her bag somewhere inside. “Then I expect you’ll bring me another blanket,” she said with far more attitude than he’d heard from her before. Her cool blue eyes met his and he almost gave into her before he remembered exactly who he was.
“Listen, Princess, I don’t know if you’ve forgotten but you’re not the one who makes the rules around here. I don’t know if you’ve forgotten who I am?”
She put her hand on her hip again and Dominic was sure this was her usual stance when she wanted to get her way.
“And perhaps you’ve forgotten who I am?”
It was hard to ignore how cute she was when she got riled up so Dominic decided to push her a bit more and ignored her question completely.
“I am the Alpha’s daughter, so that does entitle me to some demands around here.”
She gestured around his dingy little cabin.
“And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m the prince of this kingdom and that entitles me to tell you to find your own blanket.”
“Yea but you’re not in the castle anymore, you’re in our pack now.”
“That may be so, but then why are you still going to get your own blanket?” he asked, knowing that he wasn’t about to budge.
A frustrated squeal came out of her and she whirled back around and marched back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.