Chapter 34

Mira

The sound of the dinner bell got everyone’s attention, and I was able release myself from Dominic’s grasp.

I was so angry with him, not even knowing why I was so angry, and of course I couldn’t show any of this to the people around me.

For a moment I just stared at him, not touching him, my heart pounding in my chest.

He was solid, his dark brow furrowed in frustration. His eyes gave away his concern, but he didn’t move or speak.

His head tilted slightly, a now familiar gesture he made whenever he was trying to figure me out. In order to understand me, he needed to see me from a different perspective.

It was something, I noticed, that he only did with me.

He was so rigid around so many people, that warrior and leader ingrained in him. Dominic remains steady under all pressure.

And yet, with me, sometimes he does that small head tilt. And his eyes flicker for an instant when they meet mine.

I felt my body respond to this moment of tenderness between us, and suddenly remembered where I was.

“We should go to dinner,” I said, not letting him win whatever argument this was. “I’m going to the ladies’ room first.”

I turned and made my way slowly through the crowd, feeling Dominic’s eyes on me as I walked away. I felt my body respond, and was conscious of how my hips swayed as I moved. I wanted him to watch me.

A flood of embarrassment swept through me, and I struggled not to fully blush at the idea of being seductive, especially in this situation.

It wasn’t like me, but it felt so right to me.

“Mira!” a voice said close to me, and an arm was linked with mine.

“Hi Lila,” I said, bringing as much cheer as I could in the moment. She was not exactly who I wanted to see at that moment.

“You look ravishing, darling,” she said, adding a fancy accent like we were both in on the joke.

“Oh, thank you, darling,” I said awkwardly.

“Where’s your Alpha?” Lila said quickly, looking around.

“Out there, somewhere,” I said.

That sounded like he was lost at sea, but maybe he was.

“I’m just heading to the ladies’ room before dinner,” I changed the subject, praying she wouldn’t want to follow me. “I’ll see you at the table?”

“Yes! Maybe I can switch seats to be nearer to both of you,” she said with a wink.

For whatever reason, I did not trust her wink.

“Yup, fingers crossed,” I said, unlinking my arm and getting away.

I made my way to the restroom and was grateful it was mostly empty. I could take a moment to myself and prepare for the Alpha family table.

While washing my hands, I let the cold water splash up my forearms to calm me down. I pressed my wet finger tips to the sides of my face, behind my ears, and on the back of my neck.

My hands caressed around my throat, across my chest, and I paused to feel my heart beat.

I thought of Dominic, how his hands felt on my face and neck when he kissed me.

I thought of how he looked out there, and how he did seem to be sorry about something.

Sometimes it seems we were having the same argument over and over, wondering how we can trust one another when we still don’t really know each other. Not to mention a contract that says we won’t know each other at all, in a deeper sense.

Looking in the mirror, I saw a change in myself as I thought of the circumstances of my arrangement with Dominic. He was contracted not to touch me, and that’s all I wanted him to do.

The woman in the mirror looked like someone else, my reflection showing a truth that I cannot see for myself.

My face is glowing with heat, lips slightly parted. My eyelids are heavy and I have a certain look in my eye as I think of Dominic’s touch.

This was a side I’ve never seen of myself, and I wasn’t afraid of it.

I looked powerful, in control.

I looked hungry.

I looked like a wolf.

Once that word passed through my mind I snapped out of it. I came back to where I was,

in this restroom. The Pack was waiting sitting down to dinner, and they would be waiting for me.

It was time to put on a show.

I made my way to the table, knowing I would be somewhere near the Alpha seat. Dominic’s father saw me and smiled. I was so thankful for him, otherwise I probably would’ve been kicked to the curb long ago.

I walked towards the high back chairs seeing Dominic in a place of honor and next to him, where I should sit, was Lila.

I almost tripped over my own feet, but managed to make it to the table with a smile on my face. These two people were both trying to earn my trust, and yet I still sensed that something wasn’t right.

“Mira, you’re here, I was just keeping your seat warm for you!” Lila said, seeming slightly flustered and gathering herself up.

She made sure to place a hand on Dominic’s arm as she stood up from the chair.

“Enjoy your dinner, dears,” she said to both of us. “I’m just over there on the other side.”

My face was relaxed and my smile was genuine as Lila walked past me. It didn’t take long in this high echelon of society for me to get better at being deceitful.

“Mira, she was,” Dominic began.

“It’s okay,” I said, placing my hand on his arm exactly where Lila had put hers. “We’re all friends here.”

I gave him a playful look and he seemed caught-off-guard, wondering if I was doing a bit.

“Friends, right,” he said, confused and disappointed.

I sat down and noticed two glasses at our seats.

“Thank you for getting champagne,” I said, reaching for the glass.

Something seemed weird when I looked closer at the two glasses, and it took my brain to register what I was seeing.

One glass of champagne was a different color than the other.

My brain went into overdrive, and all I could think was that someone had drugged the glass in front of Dominic.

“Oh, I didn’t, actually,” Dominic was saying next to me. “Lila was kind enough to bring them over.”

I couldn’t stop myself from turning to look at him when he said that. His eyebrows went up when he saw whatever face I was making.

“Wow,” I said, flustered, “that is kind of her. She really seems to care about you.”

The last thing I could do was accuse Lila of drugging the future Alpha, at least not until I knew what this was.

“I think she cares about both of us,” Dominic said. “She speaks highly of you, Mira, even after all that nonsense earlier. I think she’s really making an effort.”

She wouldn’t want him dead, that I knew for sure. Not only because she would have one of the strongest Packs in the region at her back if she did, but because I truly believe Lila really did love Dominic.

So what would she put in his drink?

Did she want to make him sick, and then be the one to nurse him back to health? Was she trying to kidnap him, or seduce him?

The last thought stuck in my brain, and I knew I couldn’t let the Alpha of the Pack be put through any sort of danger or manipulation while I could stop it.

Just as Dominic was reaching for the glass in front of him— the glass with the champagne that looked slightly darker than it should— I reached out and took it first.

“I thought that one was mine,” he said, tilting his head at me, trying to figure me out.

“Yeah well,” I panicked, “this one just looked bubblier than the other.”

And with that, I drank down the entire glass.