Sugar

Twenty Seven

"I don't want to worry you, Caroline. We'll talk about it later, alright?" He muttered, shaking his arm from my hold and smacking my hand from his chest.

I jumped to my feet, running around to block his path. He couldn't say stuff like that and then walk away. That's not allowed. "No. Tell me. Whatever it is, I deserve to know."

Dominic cupped my face, pulling my head up close to his. "I will tell you as soon as I return, I promise, darling." He tried to kiss me, but I wasn't having it. After attempting it a few more times, he sighed. "Only because we are running late. Scott and his father want to fight against our claims that he assaulted you. They want to meet with the Pack Court and have them make a verdict."

I frowned thoughtfully, too distracted by this news to keep him from kissing my mouth several times in a row. "What does that mean?"

"It's just a bit more work and more time consuming. But Scott will get what he deserves, one way or another," Dominic promised fiercely, eyes darkening to the glowing amber of his wolf at the thought. "I will meet you out back, yeah? Please, hurry."

As I dressed, I pieced together what this could mean. This had happened in my old pack before, but I was, of course, never allowed into the meetings or informed of what happened except for the gossip that would ensue. Usually, the top five individuals in the pack, like the Alpha and Beta, hear out both sides of the issue and make a decision. Instead of the alpha just punishing. Unfortunately, since Dominic was so heavily involved in this, I assumed he wouldn't be allowed in the court to decide. But he would get to testify.

It only took my five minutes to feel put-together enough to go downstairs and out the back door, where I was surprised to see many people and (Shifted) wolves waiting around.

Dominic turned to grin at me when I shut the door softly behind me, waving me over to him. All members of the pack went dead silent and pushed their attention onto me. "Morning, sugar," Dominic greeted, pulling me into his side and kissing the top of my head affectionately. Putting on a show for the pack, I'm sure. We had to look like a perfect, happy couple to make them believe we were to complete the mating bond so soon. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," I said softly, feeling a bit self conscious. His compliments were nice, but the public displays of affection were a bit much to me. Especially when I wasn't quite comfortable with private displays of affection either.

He must have picked up on this, because he kept me close by his side as I was guided closer to the trees, where the pack would fully shift and begin the run. "Thank you for this," Dominic whispered in my ear. "I promise it will pay off later."

"They still don't like me," I mumbled, having caught several women giving me the stink eye. Not even women that were eligible to be his mate, the elderly and middle aged too. All this time I thought the belief that Shifters were better had been left behind, but apparently not.

Dominic rolled his eyes and scoffed, nudging my side playfully with his elbow. "They'll get over it."

More and more of his pack began to shift, while others began undressing. This included Dominic. He first shed his shirt and held it out for me to hold, which I did while trying to avoid gawking at his muscular abdomen. I hadn't realized abs like that existed outside of movies and photoshopped magazines.

Even as quick as I was to divert my gaze, Dom still gave me a subtle wink. The mark on my neck burned softly, but instead of hurting me, it sent goosebumps crawling across my skin and made my cheeks heat up.

"I apologize for how long it has been since our last run, but we will make up for lost time by extending it a few miles today. We will circle around the border of our pack a couple times and take a break near Watson's Creek before deciding where to go next," Dom announced to his people while he pushed his shorts down his legs, leaving him in a pair of dark boxers. "Unfortunately, our future Luna is unable to join us, but she wished to see us off. Thank you, Caroline." He paused for a minute or two, the rest of the pack shedding their clothing and waiting for his command. "Alright. Everyone ready?"

"Yes, Alpha!" many responded excitedly.

Dominic tucked his thumbs into his boxers and yanked them down, my face becoming beet red as I jerked my head away from the sight. His gentle yet strong hands cupped my face as he tugged me against his toned body, mine feeling soft and squishy in comparison, to kiss me deeply for all to view. "See you on the other side, sugar."

~ ~ ~

While the pack was on their run, I took a walk around the property. It was a pretty morning, a warmer day. Probably one of the last warm days before the fall and winter set in, which would come fast.

I was hoping that by staying on the property, I wouldn't run into any drama or trouble. It seemed like those always followed me.

For the first time in a long time, I let myself think long and hard about my parents. Unfortunately, their death was so traumatic to me that I had tried to push every memory of them away. In my child mind, you couldn't grieve for someone you don't remember, right?

Had they been here now, what would they think of this? I knew my mother was headstrong and stubborn, much like me. My father was the gentle one, who often calmed my mother down when things got heated. I remembered Mom's strawberry blonde hair and my dad's raven black. There were moments I recall, emotions. But not years and events. Big hugs.

Then there was the night they were mercilessly killed. Stolen from me. They knew what was happening long before they died. I could feel it in the air when our night turned into a family outing into a survival situation. My father tried to get my mom and I to run and hide, but my mom turned back to help him after hiding me in a tree.

Before the memory could get too painful, a strained voice caught my attention.

A familiar female voice was very angrily speaking to someone, and by the lack of a second voice, I assumed she was on the phone.

"Mom, she attacked me! Like a feral, rabid animal!" the girl hissed.

It didn't take me long to recognize who it was. None other than Nina. Thinking back, I didn't recall seeing her preparing for the run. Maybe she opted out to speak to this person. "I don't know what Dominic is thinking. No male in his right mind would se her as a fit companion, let alone the King of all Alphas. Right? A psycho bitch-" she was cut off. "Mom! You're supposed to be on my side. Not hers. She attacked me completely out of the blue while I was trying to befriend her."

I did my best not to scoff. Yeah, calling my best friend the f-word was how you become friends with someone. What a decent girl.

"You just don't get it, ma. Before me, we had all been omegas. You don't know what it's like to see and experience being higher class. This girl... the human is making the Alpha weak. And it is mine and my mate's duty to get rid of the weaklings, to keep our people strong," Nina explained, slowly calming herself back down.

I didn't like where this was going. My stomach was churning and I felt a cold sweat developing on the nape of my neck as I hid myself behind a tree, frozen. What Nina was referring to was betrayal. She would be killed for it.

Nina laughed lightly in response to what her mother said on the other line. "No, mother, we aren't going to kill him."

I relaxed a bit, leaning up against the tree and shutting my eyes. I was paranoid, overthinking this. The Beta and his mate wouldn't dream of throwing Dom from his throne. It was in his blood. They couldn't just-

"Jeff is going to Challenge Dominic for the throne, and beat his ass so hard him and his little brat will run for the hills with their tails between their legs."