Chapter 145

The Pack

The gentlemen knew that his spells had been broken. He was almost impressed.

It did not worry him, this destruction and invasion of his property. He had the utmost faith in his servant, Dr. Whitestone, who would do the right thing.

The doctor would go down with the ship.

There were other facilities, other operations, other ways in which he was shaping the future with his money and his sorcery and his burning desire to create and control a population of gods on Earth.

Pity, of course, to let Dominic and Mira slip away. Collateral damage, the loss of those two perfectly Fated Mates. If only the damn doctor hadn’t fallen in love with her, things might have gone according to plan.

But, no matter.

There would be a new plan, a new opportunity to take down those who might stop or expose him.

And so the gentleman would have to slink back into his lair, lay low and bide his time.

But he would be back.

Mira

Dominic’s face was hard as steel as he strutted across the front courtyard.

He was covered in blood.

I ran to him, immediately searching for injuries. But when I tried to touch him, he pulled himself away from me so quickly it nearly threw me off balance.

“Do not touch me,” he said, his voice dark and full of contempt.

“I’m sorry, I wanted to make sure you’re alright–”

“And since when do you care if I am alright?”

Things were escalating quickly, and I had no idea what catalyst had caused this change in him.

“Dominic, what just happened in there?”

I lowered my voice, knowing that the members of our caravan were most likely watching us from their seats inside the vans. My husband just stared at me, his lips twitching slightly from the tension in his jaw. It looked like he was fighting not to tear something apart with his teeth.

“Dominic–”

“He’s dead, don’t worry,” he said forcefully. “I cleaned up your mess.”

“My mess?” I didn’t understand why he was throwing accusations at me. “What are you even talking about? I’ve been here for weeks, longer, trying to plan a way out of here.”

He was no longer looking at me, like the sight of my face was too painful. I moved to stand in his line of sight, but he would not comply.

“Dominic, please,” I said, trying to soothe, “do you really believe I came here to play house? Do you think this was some sort of vacation for me?”

“I think you came here to escape your mistakes,” he said, “and your little boyfriend was happy to help you do so.”

“My little– what?”

“Lucian.”

I hesitated.

“Lucian? What the hell does he have to do with this?”

“Is it his?”

“Dominic, you’re not making sense,” I said, trying to grab his arm and hold him in place. He swatted me away like I weighed nothing at all. “Is what his?”

“The baby.”

I felt the color drain from my face. Without thinking my hands went to my stomach. In all the commotion of the last hour, I had completely forgotten the news I’d received at dinner.

“Is it true?”

Dominic’s voice pulled me back to the present. He was finally looking at me, and his eyes revealed a deep pain that was threatening to pull him under. It made my heart ache to see it, and know that somehow he thought I was the cause.

“Yes,” I told him, not sure if I was going to smile or cry. “I’m pregnant.”

He nodded, slowly, holding eye contact with me.

“I’m sorry you had to find out like this,” I said, shrugging and feeling like an idiot.

“I’m sure you are.”

“What does that mean?”

“Perhaps you thought you could hide out here,” he said, the anger coming back, “but the truth always reveals itself.”

“Can you please just say what you mean?”

Now I was getting angry, digging my heels into the dirt.

“You’re carrying Lucian’s baby.”

The words hit me like a truck, and I am not proud of how I responded in the heat of that moment.

Because I started laughing.

It felt so absurd, so unbelievable, and my exhausted soul could not hold back the burst of sound and breath that came out of me. And it only made Dominc more angry.

“So,” he said, his voice getting louder, “you cuckold me and then laugh in my face? I had thought you were more respectable than that. But maybe I’ve never really known you.”

He brushed past me, not caring that his larger body almost knocked me over. But I would not let him end this like that.

“Are you really accusing me of infidelity, when you were running around with your ex-fiancée, letting her live under our roof?”

“Don’t bring her into this, Celeste has done nothing wrong.”

“Oh, really? Showing up at our wedding unannounced, trying to undermine my medical reputation, kissing you any chance she gets?”

Dominic was squirming, which meant he knew I had a point and it irritated him.

“Celeste is dealing with her trauma, and I am being a friend to help her along the way,” he said, defensive. “As the Alpha of my Pack–”

“Oh shut up!” I threw my hands up in the air. “The Alpha could provide her with a place to live, but you wanted her nearer to you. Admit it!”

“That is not true,” he said, “and it has nothing to do with this.”

“Oh, I think it has everything to do with this,” I said, hurling it at him. “You feel guilty for your own behavior, and want to bring me down with you. But I won’t let you.”

I didn’t wait for his response, but started walking towards the van. Wyatt was standing outside, pretending not to judge though it was clear he’d been listening to every word.

“Mira, do not walk away from me!”

Dominic’s voice boomed into the courtyard. His hands were tight fists, the knuckles turning white.

“I thought that’s what I do,” I said, turning his rhetoric on him. “I run away from my problems, right?”

He had no rebuttal, and his face was turning red. He started to come towards me, and thankfully Wyatt stepped in.

“Sir,” he said, holding a hand in front of his chest, “I advise you to take a breath, and to consider the consequences.”

Dominic huffed loudly, but his shoulders relaxed a bit.

“We should get going,” Wyatt said, looking over his shoulder at me briefly. “I think we have overstayed our welcome already.”

I climbed into the van, whispering to Lucas quickly before taking my seat. His eyebrows went up, but he said nothing and nodded gravely.

The ride was excruciating and nearly silent. Julian fell asleep fast in the back seat with his head in Beatrice’s lap. The witch had her eyes closed, and her breathing told me she was meditating.

I could feel Dominic staring at me from time to time, but I refused to look anywhere but out my window. It seemed we would be driving forever through the midnight hours, but eventually we turned off the main road.

“What route are you taking?”

Dominic leaned forward to speak to his Beta.

“Detour,” Lucas said without looking back.

The van pulled into a vacant lot next to a copse of tall trees.

“Why are we stopping?” Dominic asked, growing agitated in his seat. “There’s nothing here.”

“Beatrice?”

I looked back at her, and she nodded to me. The trees melted into the air, revealing the house that Beatrice’s magic kept hidden.

We were back at the safehouse of the travelling medical team.

I opened the door, and Dominic grabbed my arm to stop me.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I looked at him, my expression cold in spite of the heat broiling inside my chest.

“I’m not going back to the Pack,” I told him. “I’m staying here.”