Chapter 210Â
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Dominic’s POVÂ
I tended to my duties that day, just as I did any other day. I attended meetings. I went over paperwork. I even joined Marcus on his daily patrol routes, claiming that I figured my presence could be useful for the pack’s morale, even we we both knew that I needed the fresh air.Â
I did everything a good Alpha did, and yet it didn’t feel like enough.Â
My pride was wounded, to say the least. I would admit it.Â
Last night had been an accident. On my behalf, at least; I never intended for my parents to do what they had done, and I never meant to make Ellie feel uncomfortable. Most of all, I never meant to pull her that close in my sleep.Â
But I had.Â
And it felt so damn good.Â
Waking up with her in my arms, for those split seconds before she unceremoniously shoved me off of the bed and basically accused me of assaulting her, had awakened a desire in me that I had been pushing downÂ
for some time.Â
Feeling her curled against me, sleeping soundly, nuzzling into my chest… It was like, for a brief moment, everything between us could be okay. It felt natural, and for the first time in a long time, it soothed my wolf entirely.Â
But moments don’t last long. That’s why they’re moments. Fleeting, impermanent, and in this case, they come with a harsh and painful ending that only serves as a bitter reminder of reality.Â
Before I had even fully come to wakefulness, Ellie had shoved me away, furious with me. Then, she had pointed my shame out with a shaking finger, and I had had to press a pillow to my groin to hide the signs of a basic bodily function like I was some kind of creep.Â
Most husbands and wives didn’t have that problem. Morning wood, at worst, could be something to joke about. At best, it could lead to a morning of passion in the sunlight, still half asleep, lazy and warm and perfect.Â
But it had only been a source of humiliation for me and anger for her.Â
For the weeks leading up to our wedding, I had thought, just for a little while, that she loved me. I thought that the contract might just be a formality, and that we could have something real for once. I wanted to bring her to our wedding suite and show her just how much I cared.Â
But then she changed so quickly after we said our vows. Like the love I swore she had for me was suddenly gone, turned icy like the cold spray of winter’s breath, and now she looked at me like I was a monster when she had been the one to plunge a knife into me on our wedding day.Â
It didn’t make any sense. At first, I thought it was just her trauma making her act out, that maybe she was afraid of the commitment or something and just needed some time to settle in. But it had been a week now, and she still seemed to hate me.Â
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Everything she did was obviously designed to irk me. She acted like a fool in public. She didn’t try to perform any of her duties and she made an ass of both of us at that meeting. She had absolutely no tableÂ
manners.Â
The truth was, I could have looked past the food and the silly outfits and the constant studying. A small part of me almost thought it was kind of cute, seeing her run around the house in sweatpants with her hair all messy and dark circles under her eyes from staying up late reading. If it just meant that she’d gotten comfortable and was focusing on her studies, then I would have been happy with that. I would have even supported it.Â
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