Chapter 90

Dominic

I waited up for what felt like half the night, but she didn’t come back.

It felt wrong to climb into the bed we were meant to share, so I stayed in the armchair until it was clear I would be spending the night alone. Even after relenting and tossing myself into bed, sleep was still elusive.

In the end, I found a sleeping pill in the bathroom cabinet and forced myself to shut my eyes for at least a few hours. I woke up feeling like a corpse, and my reflection in the bathroom mirror confirmed I looked like one too.

Going back over the events of the night before, I tried to figure out what went wrong. It had been so long since I had felt the rage episode building within me. It seems to be triggered by emotional stress, but with Mira’s presence and medicinal aid I had been stable and level-headed for weeks.

But now, with the return of Celeste and my ascension to Alpha, my nerves were feeling raw. I took myself to our private gym, hoping the endorphins from exercise would ease my mind. When I finally made it to my office it was late in the morning.

Celeste was waiting for me on the small bench in the hallway, two coffee cups in hand. I had deja vu as I thought of Lila showing up in a similar fashion a few weeks ago. That was before I knew she was conspiring with my Irene to take me down. I fought back the idea that Celeste was there to do the same, and tried to put a smile on my face.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” she said, a light-hearted jest.

When my face folded back in on itself, she shifted her own expression to match.

“Sorry,” she slightly embarrassed, “I wasn’t trying to be mean. Everything okay?”

“Not really,” I said honestly, “but nothing of your concern.”

That wasn’t fully true, given Mira’s apparent jealousy of my former Mate, but I didn’t want to validate that concern by bringing it up to Celeste.

“Come on in,” I said, unlocking the door to my office. “How have you been settling in?”

“Oh, I’m okay, adjusting…” she trailed off, her finger tracing a circle on the lid of her cup. “Everything seems just as I left it, but also so entirely different. I’ve changed too, but I feel like I’m recovering my old self again.”

“Time is funny like that,” I agreed.

We sat in a silent moment, both of us lost in some memory of the past. The years had changed us, but she was still as beautiful as she was the day she disappeared. I swallowed hard, pushing away the thoughts of the romance that was wiped away along with her.

“How’s married life?”

Her question surprised me, and she could see it in my face.

“Good, great,” I said, not sounding very convincing. “Also an adjustment, it seems. There’s been a lot happening lately, for both of us. Soon things will settle into a rhythm again.”

She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t recall you ever being ‘settled,’ Dominic, but maybe you’ve changed more than I thought.”

She was right. My life, as a man and as Alpha, would always be slightly chaotic. As the leader of the Pack, I didn’t have many quiet days ahead to look forward to.

“True,” I said honestly. “At least Mira seems well-equipped to keep up with the tumultuous life of the Alpha family.”

“She is something, for sure,” Celeste said. There was something in her tone I couldn’t place— annoyance, disbelief, jealousy? “I heard about the kidnapped girl, and Mira’s rescue mission. The two of you make a good pair.”

A genuine smile widened on my face. “Thank you, I think we do,” I said. “It must be…awkward, having to see us.”

“No, it’s fine—“

“Celeste,” I stopped her, “you don’t have to pretend. We do ourselves a disservice if we print that things are normal.”

“Right,” she said, nodding slowly, “things are pretty weird. But I hope you know, I don’t want to cause any trouble. I hope Mira knows that too.”

I took a breath, taking in the earnest look on her face.

“I know,” I said.

“It’s good to have you back, Celeste, I mean it.”

She smiled, sending a small charge to my heart.

“Anyway,” she said, changing the subject and the energy in the room, “all this talk of the Rogues has me wondering if I can help. My memory is foggy— they used to sedate me whenever we relocated— but since returning some of it is coming back.”

“About the day you were taken?”

“Yes, sort of,” she said, her voice a bit shaky. “I was thinking I would try to retrace my steps, relive that day. It could be a waste of time, but I’m trying to find closure. I need to move on.”

“That sounds like a good idea, if you think it won’t be too difficult for you.”

She bit her lip, eyes open wide.

“I thought, maybe, you could come with me,” she said, a small plea in her voice. “Unless you’re too busy, in which cast I totally understand—“

“I am not,” I said, welcoming the distraction. “Give me a few minutes to clear my schedule for the next few hours.”

We walked slowly on the trail entering the woods. Celeste remembered going out for an early walk before her trials and our Mate ceremony, taking the trail on the northwest side that was closer to her family’s house.

She was quiet, thoughtful, and I showed her respect by doing the same. Occasionally she would stop, looking lost, then close her eyes and inhale deeply. I was worried this might be too much for her, and stayed attentive to any change in her behavior. As one who also suffered from some post-traumatic stress, I knew the signs of a painful flashback.

“It smells just the same,” she said wistfully. “It’s funny how the same types of trees can smell different depending on where they grow.”

“I guess so,” I said, my wolf sense sharpening to smell the greenery around me.

“It smells like childhood, adolescence.”

Then she turned to look at me, mischief in her eyes.

“We used to spend so much time here,” she remembered. “Do you remember when we…?”

I felt the heat in my cheeks as I understood what she meant. Years ago, when we had matured from puppy love to a young adult relationship, we’d decided to pass a milestone together. The image of her naked body fluttered before my eyes, and I had to look away from her.

“Of course,” was all I could say.

She smiled, perhaps getting the reaction she was hoping for, and kept walking. I took a moment to catch up, guilt creeping in as I remembered the woman who was now my wife. I wondered if Mira could tell when my mind was being unfaithful.

“Wait,” she said suddenly, his breath catching in her throat. She spun around, searching for something I couldn’t see. “Something is…I was here…oh gods, Dominic—“

Celeste fell to her knees, her face even paler than usual. She dug her fingers into the earth, and the heaving in her chest told me that she was seconds away from a full panic attack.

“They were here, he was here… they were violent—“

“Celeste, it’s okay, I’m here—“

“It happened so fast, and then—“

I was on the ground with her, holding her shoulder, trying to get her to look in my eyes.

“It’s in the past, they can’t hurt you now,” I was saying, trying to soothe her. “Just breathe, I’m here, you’re safe.”

She met my eyes and her pupils dilated, clearing the memory from her present mind. Her body collapsed into me, and I wrapped my arms around her. I rubbed her back with one hand like I was comforting a child.

When her breathing steadied, I loosed my grip so she could lift her head off my chest. She stared at me, her eyes on my forehead, my cheeks, my mouth.

“Celeste, are you—“

I didn’t have time to think or finish my sentence, because her lips were pressed to mine.