Chapter Four
C A R O L I N E
As Alfie talked about Andrew, I felt myself getting a little sad. This meant he was leaving me soon. This weekend, maybe. My best friend who had sat through me when I was at my best, and at my worst. The first time my heart was broken, the first days I was brought into the pack.
We sat and drank and talked for hours, like we usually did when we came here. I think the both of us knew that this could be the last time we'd do this together. If he left this weekend, I'd be on my own, and the endless hours of sitting at our special table would just be old memories.
The owner loved us, so after we paid for our original coffees, she refilled them countless time for no extra charge. Which meant we took several bathroom breaks, and were extremely high on caffeine by the end of the night.
My phone started ringing, so I picked it up without bothering to check the caller ID, as I was too distracted by Alfie making kissy faces at a religious woman. A woman who was currently shaking her cross at him and praying furiously under her breath.
"This is Cara-"
"Where the hell are you?" Dominic hissed. I dropped the phone onto the table in fear, hanging up immediately.
Alfie frowned skeptically, not needing to ask who called. "You said you weren't grounded."
"I'm not! He didn't say I wasn't allowed to leave, just that I had to be at dinner. I can't go back there, Alf. He's being psycho. Surely he's going to hurt me this time. You'll have to go back without me."
"Yeah, and get my butt kicked? No way. He won't hurt you. He likes you. Just bat those little eyes at him or flash your cleavage."
"That's dumb."
"Not as dumb as dropping something in front of a guy or causing trouble to get him to protect you," he claimed.
I snorted. "You're dumb."
"Watch out. If my man hears about that, you might be in trouble," Alfie teased me. "Let's get you back to your man, so he loses the knot in his panties."
// Later \\
I hid behind Alfie as we walked towards the house, where the King and his beta waiting for us. Dominic's growl rumbled towards us, making me shrink behind my friend further. I could hear Andrew snicker quietly, before telling Alfie to come over to him. Soon Dominic was dragging me out from behind my friend, my shield.
"We need to talk, princess."
"You have no reason to be mad at me, you know. You only said I had to be at dinner, nothing else!" I stated, crossing my arms over my chest, but refusing to look at him. I knew that once I did, my strength would die away.
Andrew smiled at Alfie and said something quietly, to which he blushed and nodded, and the two of them went inside to give us privacy.
Dominic's rigid face softened a little bit as he looked me up and down. "You look nice, sugar."
"Stop calling me that."
"I'll stop calling you that when you start following my rules," he claimed, pulling me around and pinning me against the side of the house, one of his hands resting beside my head as our chests nearly touched.
"What're you doing?" I whispered. But I knew in this position, I didn't have the confidence to stand up to him.
"I've spoken to your Alpha. I've decided it isn't right that you act so disrespectful to those who've taken you in. So I want to take you with me and teach you properly," he explained darkly. "I've been looking for a little maid to keep around. Help me with my chores, entertain me..."
I gritted my teeth, squirming to try and get out from under him. He chuckled and leaned closer to me, his nose softly brushing against mine. "Where did you go with Alfie?"
"To a cafe."
"For four hours?"
I nodded. "It's our little hang out. You didn't say I wasn't allowed to leave. You cannot be angry with me-"
"I'm allowed to be angry with you if I want. I'm the King."
"Not my King. You have no control over me," I grumbled.
A slow, wicked grin came onto his face and I immediately regretted my last words. "Don't I, sugar? Wanna test that little theory of yours?"
"No."
"I bet I could get you on your knees using one word," he cooed. "Would be an easy task to get you into my bed. It was easy last night."
I gagged theatrically, but on the inside I was terrified. My knees were shaking. He was right, of course. I was just as much influenced by his power as any of these other fools. "I'll see you at dinner, princess. I'll save you a seat next to me." His lips touched my forehead before he slowly backed away from me, and sauntered into the house. "Behave."
Behave? What was I, three? I was currently cursing out Dominic with every vocabulary word I knew as I fixed the dress I was forced to wear in Alfie's room, who was watching me with an amused grin.
"He won't be able to keep his hands off of you in that dress." The dress was a simple black, long-sleeved dress that fell halfway up my thighs. It was form-fitting, but wasn't too flashy. Which is why I picked it.
I cursed myself. In that case, I needed to change. "Come with me to my room and help me pick something uglier out!" I gushed, grasping his hand and dragging him out of the door.
Andrew intercepted Alfie and I, giving my best friend a very subtle wink after checking him out. "Dominic is waiting for us. Let's go."
"Excuse me, sir, is there any way I could get out of this? As much as I'd hate to miss this dinner, I'm really not feeling so well. It must've been the food I ate last night plus that nasty crap I had to drink as punishment and-"
Andrew laughed, looking at me kindly. "I understand you're scared. You shouldn't be, but as a mortal, I can see where the fear comes from. As long as you just do as he says and act like the pretty little trophy you are, no harm will come to you," he said. "Alf, you alright to sit with me?"
Alfie nodded vigorously, almost submissively. I gaped at him. "Alfie," I gasped in betrayal.
He looked at me and shrugged helplessly. "I'm sorry!"
Andrew stopped, and I bumped into a hard chest, not realizing he wasn't moving anymore.
Dominic smiled down at me, holding my waist as he issued the standard greeting - a kiss on the throat. Shifters around us went silent. They knew this was uncommon. You didn't greet a human that way. It was shameful, disrespectful to Shifters. At best you give a human a courteous nod.
"Hungry?" He asked me softly.
I nodded stiffly, not really thinking about his question. "What're you doing?"
He motioned to an empty seat beside his, ignoring my question again, and I slowly, unwillingly, sat next to him. "I'm just being nice, is all. Is that not what you wanted? Didn't you want me to stop being so scary?" He murmured, sitting in his seat and leaning towards me.
"You don't scare me."
"Sure, gorgeous."
I glared at the plate in front of me, and Dominic kissed my cheek. I jerked away from him, my jaw dropping. "You can't do that to me. You have to save that for the female Shifters. The ones you are courting," I hissed. He grinned lazily at me, leaning back in his chair and digging into his food. Alfie and Andrew were sitting across me, and Alfie gave me a reassuring smile.
Everyone was talking, mostly to Dominic and each other, like usual. I was left out, but it wasn't mean or rude. It was comfortable for me, normal. I was happy getting lost in my own world.
Until Dominic's hand touched mine gently, curling around my fingers. "What about you, Caroline?" He asked me.
The whole table - which was huge - went silent. Normally I wasn't included in these conversations. I looked down at where our skin was touching, trying to snake my hand away, but he held it tightly. "What was the question?"
He laughed softly in my expense, grinning at me. "Everyone is going around saying what their dream is. So far all we've got is finding mates. I want to know what your dream is. And please, princess, make it interesting."
I glanced at Alfie, who wasn't paying attention. Andrew was saying something to him, and Alf had a bright blush on his face. Of course, the one time I really needed my friend, he was being charmed by the King's first man.
"Um... I don't know. I guess I'd like to live on the coast someday," I mumbled.
"Convenient. My home is less than an hour from the coast," he said. "Won't that be nice?"
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. What was he up to? "Sire, are you saying that your selected mate is the human girl?" A higher ranking father in the pack quizzed. His daughter was sitting beside him. And I recognized her immediately. She was the one flinging herself at him constantly. She was beautiful, strong, the perfect mate.
And she was my ticket to freedom.
"No, of course not," I answered for him, before looking at the girl. "He wouldn't give me a second glance if our places were switched. You're created to be the perfect mate."
"Kara," Dominic said warningly.
I looked at him. "No. You know I'm right. Look at her. I may be human, but I at least know who the best option is. I'm almost eighteen, I've spent ten years here. I know stuff. Not a lot, but enough. I mean, I don't swing that way, but she's perfect."
Dominic's fist slammed onto the table, making me jump and shut up. "You're dismissed, Caroline," he snapped.
I forced back my grin as I pushed away from the table and practically skipped back inside the house, and up to my room.
// Later \\
"What game are you playing?" Dominic grumbled when he came into my room an hour later.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, crossing my ankles in the air as I scrolled through my computer boredly.
He roughly shut the screen in my face. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You were right, Alice is beautiful. But she is not the one I want to select. If she was, she would have been sitting beside me at dinner."
I rolled my eyes. "But you shouldn't pick anyone else."
"Maybe I want you."
I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Then you'd be a fool. You're thinking with your dick, not with your instincts."
My body went rigid when his leg draped over my lower back and he sat on my thighs. I lifted my head in fearful curiousity. "What are you doing?" I whispered for what seemed like the thousandth time this weekend.
"Thinking with my dick."
His warm hands pressed under my shirt, sliding onto my skin and warming my flesh. "I bet you'd be hot in a little maid outfit. You've got gorgeous legs. Can't wait to see them in the skirt."
My shirt was pushed all the way to the wire of my bra, and he lowered his head, his tongue pressed into the small of my back and drew up. I gasped and tried to squirm out from underneath him, but his kisses moved to the back of my neck, collecting my hair in one hand. I hadn't ever gotten attention like this before. And even though I hated him, my body was melting in his hands, under the professional work of his mouth and tongue. He gently nibbled on my skin before releasing me and sitting up a little bit.
"You may not be the best mate choice, but you are undeniably beautiful. I can't resist your fight, your feistiness, nor your sweet little body. I want to take you back to the guest cabin and-"
"Stop it!" I shrieked, putting my hands over my ears.
Dominic chuckled darkly. "You're coming home with me tomorrow. Your Alpha has confirmed my request to teach you the ways of living with our kind and my request to hire you. Better start packing, sugar. You're mine now."
****A/N: Hi, guys! I wasn't planning on updating this so soon. But I am. This story has been picking up reads a little bit, so I could really use some feedback from you silent readers. You know who you are :) This is my first time uploading a story that isn't a fanfiction, so any constructive criticism or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
But what I really wanted to talk about was how thankful I am to be a part of the wattpad community. Every time I see I've got a new comment, I smile so big and go straight to it. Every vote goes noticed and counted by me.
The end of my day was totally a bummer, and no one was available to talk to, but I turned to this safe world of Wattpad to have a happy distraction, and that's what I get!
It might be silly of me to consider myself part of the wattpad community, considering I'm just a little fetus account, but I still feel very connected to some great people.
Thank you for the love and support when I needed it most.****