Chapter 44
The day had been calm before Dominic’s return. The kind of calm that spreads over the camp when nothing urgent is wrong.
Morning dew with steaming tea leaves and slow footsteps with soft yawns. Marek had set off early while Jax and I joked together over breakfast.
A heavy silence took place whenever Julien was near but the air lifted in Jax’s presence, steady and easier. The morning passed with ease, only breaking at the shout from beyond the trees.
Marek’s searching took days before he arrived with Dominic limping against his shoulder. The three of us gathered at the sight of him.
A cut that had faded into a deep red scar stretched from Dominic’s ear to his lip. His pants were torn at the knees and he gripped at his ribs. Dirt and blood covered almost every inch of him, making him look feral.
A grimace set deep in his brow, like he was angry at his own rescue. Marek’s own expression seemed to match, making me wonder how they had found each other.
"Why didn’t I know he had been hurt?" I asked Jax, leaning into him.
Over the last days, I clung to his side. He had agreed to help me escape which would’ve been easy without Dominic’s presence, but surviving after I left is what kept me in place.
Julien seemed to be the only one against me, making our secret plotting harder to pull off. Marek was occupied with finding his fearless leader, mapping the forest and searching every inch.
Julien watched in the background, observing every move we all made with a wounded intensity. With his attention fixed on us and three werewolves unaccounted for in the wild, my next move had stalled.
I couldn’t track, couldn’t hunt, and I definitely couldn’t depend on chance with Dominic able to use the bond against me. So I stayed, waiting for time to tell me what to do.
"He was blocking you," Jax answered.
"Can I block him too?" I asked, curiously. There was always so much more to learn.
"If you’re taught how." I gave him a questioning look that made him shrug his shoulders.
"I’ve never been bonded, couldn’t tell you how."
Did that mean Dominic had been bonded before? We watched as they passed by, Dominic scowling as his eyes locked with mine.
Suddenly, I felt small. He looked at me as though I were vile.
My plans were changing with Dominic’s return. The threat of his control taking over me made my skin crawl.
Marek took Dominic to his room. We followed behind watching him struggle as he limped along. Now would be the perfect time, when he was weak and injured.
He would heal fast but I would have a head start in my escape, perhaps using Jax to keep him incapacitated for even longer. It was the smart choice.
The others parted, huddling near the fire for a secret meeting and leaving me alone in his doorway. If I knew what was good for me, I would sneak away right now.
His hand moved from the spot it covered on his ribs, exposing a jagged hole in his skin. A part of me I thought I had squashed resurfaced and compassion for him filled my heart.
I rushed to where he sat on the edge of the bed, kneeling at his waist to inspect the wound.
"What happened?" My voice too kind for what he deserved.
He glowered down at me as if I was the one to pierce him. I didn’t understand his look. The last I saw him, he had little reason to dislike me.
"What’s wrong? I didnt..."
His head leaned back as he exhaled heavily. I was in trouble but couldn’t tell why. His hand reached up, gripping my chin and pulling my lip down with his thumb. The room fell quiet and still.
"Your plans to return to him are constant on your mind, yet even when you know he’s out there, you stay waiting for me."
My mask fell, replaced by indignation. I hadn’t been able to read him but he had been monitoring me this entire time. His upper lip twitched and I couldn’t tell if it was anger or a righteous smirk.
"Why do you hold on to me when you know I don’t truly want you? It isn’t love."
He chuckled at that, "I don’t want love. I want power."
I stood and backed slowly away, the strength behind his words cautioning me.
"Relax, princess. Your vicious hero made sure I can’t chase you."
Blood seeped through his fingers and I reached for fabric to cover the wound. Leaning back down, I pressed it against his ribs and dug my fingers into the skin, making him wince.
Most days I had no idea why the hell I did the things I did, today included. It was like I was being pushed down paths not knowing where they were headed, yet I followed blindly even knowing it was the wrong way.
His hand wrapped around mine where I pressed against him and I looked up at him. Why couldn’t I just leave?
His hand traveled up my arm, settling against my shoulder before he drew me into his chest. And I followed even though I knew I shouldn’t.
He eased back into the bed, lowering me with him. I rested my head on his broad chest. One of his arms tightened around me and I pulled a leg up to rest around his waist, his other hand wrapping around my thigh.
I felt the rise and fall of his chest as he drifted into sleep while wondering what the fuck was wrong with me.
Resting on top of him, I listened to his breathing for hours contemplating our connection. He wanted power and I gave it to him, neatly wrapped against his chest.
When he did rouse, the hole had mostly closed into a deep dip that split at the edges. He groaned and buried his nose into the crown of my head.
I squeezed my eyes shut, picturing Grayson as the one beneath me. Dominic’s body went still then and he threw me off of him.
At first, his legs had faltered but then he regained his strength and balance. The blood had dried and was crumbling off his skin as he took a step away.
"What?" I asked simply at his cold change, moving to an upright position.
"I can feel him in your head," he snapped.
"So stop reading me," I pushed back, refusing to apologize for not choosing him.
"You’re mine when your with me. Don’t act like your not."
I rolled my eyes, his possessiveness becoming old.
He closed the space quicker than I could stop him and grabbed me by the throat, lifting me to my feet and pinning me against the wall. My breathing stopped completely with my gasp.
"You had your chance to run. One step, thats all it would’ve taken and no one would have stopped you. But you stayed."
I recoiled at what he said. He pushed his hips into mine, his hand moving from my throat to slide into my hair and gripping tight.
"You want this," he said in a gravely murmur, his face so close the skin of my nose nearly touched him. A flash of hunger crossed his eyes.
With only a week to go before the Binding Rite was complete, the pull for completion would only grow stronger.
I held onto Grayson’s image in my mind, using it as a shield from Dominic’s temptation.
Another hand groped at my breast and I pushed him back as hard as I could. He stumbled slightly, more in suprise than force. I had finally resisted him and he wasn’t happy.
"That’s enough, Rebel. We finish the bond. Now."
My breathing quickened as I fought back, anchoring my thoughts in Grayson’s hold.
He stepped forward again and my eyes lit up.
"You can’t stop this," he declared, reaching for me.
I didn’t know what would happen with my powers, every time I used them it seemed to be something different. I pictured storm clouds forming in the tight space above us, purple lava climbing into a wall between us, or maybe just pushing him into his wolf form to keep him from his attempt at breeding with me.
Amethyst waves danced in the room, a glimmering fog that radiated from my body. His hand raised, parting the haze like fire against paper.
It came down hard and fast, striking me to the ground and stopping my connection.
I looked up at him from where I lay in utter shock. My hand reached for my cheek, and I licked at the sting of a split lip.
He seethed like the storm I had wanted to create. I called for the energy to come back but was only met with a ringing in my ears.
Fear had me react before my mind caught up. I jumped for the door, his arm grabbing my waist to pull me back.
I managed to grab the frame while he pulled and the door broke open slightly at its hinges.
"Marek!" I cried out.
My grasp failed and I fell back into Dominic’s hold. His eyes blazed, branding me with his ferocity.
A cracking noise split the air behind me. Dominic’s gaze shifted towards the space above my head. His grip fell away and his shoulders hunched, rising to challenge the intruder.
I turned to look at him. Marek was frozen in the doorway, waiting my instuction.
I didn’t need to command him, though, or compel him. He was here of his own accord, driven by the same anger that avenged his sister.
He would fight for me with the words that fell from my lips alone.
I said them with a reserved strength, a way to let him know I had fallen but I wasn’t defeated. Knowing what outcome Dominic would face, I tilted my head to Marek.
"He hit me."
Marek turned into a kind of beast I had never seen before. Half giant-half wolf. He leaped for Dominic’s waist, driving him back into the wall as I made my escape.