Sugar

Thirteen

Long, long chapter for you guys! Just because I love you!

Chapter Thirteen

C A R A

Dominic had been in a private meeting with Andrew for hours now. It wasn't a normal meeting because usually, they involved other officials. But it was just the two of them, which meant something personal. Alfie wasn't answering my texts and I was really starting to get bored. My laptop was in the office, so I couldn't even play games. I'd normally watch TV, but Dominic requested I not because they needed silence and complete privacy.

I decided on kicking around a soccer ball in the front yard, kicking it against the side of Dominic's garage and chasing after it. But after fifteen minutes, even that bored me. So I just slumped onto the grass with a groan.

It was probably another half hour before Dominic and Andrew shuffled from the house. I rolled to my feet, going to meet them. When they saw me, both of them froze. A flash of guilt appeared on Dominic's face, while Andrew just looked tense and a little uncomfortable.

"Is everything okay?" I quizzed.

"Yes. Go inside, Caroline."

I frowned. "You only call me that when something is up. What's going on?" I looked over to Andrew, who was avoiding my gaze. "Is it Alfie? He hasn't been answering my texts. Is he okay?"

"He's fine. He's just busy," Andrew snapped suddenly, making me flinch with how upset he was. "He... he's just fine." Andrew stalked off to his car, ripping the door open and climbing inside.

I gazed up at Dominic, who put a hand on my waist. "Let's have a talk, sugar."

Now I was pulled into his office. Only we sat next to each other on the couch. "I didn't mean to upset Andrew. I just-"

"You didn't. I mean... he isn't upset with you. There are some changes that are happening soon that are stressing him out, that's all."

Stressful changes? Like what? I hadn't heard of anything crazy going on. It's been a quiet, uneventful time for us. "Is everything okay between him and Alfie? Don't tell me they aren't getting along. Or if Andrew is mistreating Alfie, I'll rip his balls off and-"

Dominic slapped his hand over my mouth, rolling his eyes. "They are disgustingly in love. Happily, safely, healthy in love. Will you please shut up? You're just making this worse for me."

His hand slowly left my face, but not before his thumb brushed over my lips. "You're scaring me, Dominic," I confessed. "What's happening?"

"You know how I may be the Alpha of our country, but there's Alphas of other regions?" he quizzed, to which I nodded. "And you know that some Alpha's are born and bred that way, the alpha tendencies and powers can be passed down through genes. But not all Alphas are that way."

"You can fight for the position, right? Or like a beta might take the position if his alpha can't continue?" I clarified.

Dominic smiled softly. "Yes, sugar. Exactly right. Andrew is my beta. But he wasn't supposed to be in that position this long. Only for a few years, until he got some training and experience under his belt."

"So he's a born alpha then?" Dominic nodded slowly, examining my face. "So is he battling you for the title...?"

Dominic rubbed his face with both hands, groaning. "God, this is hard." I raised one eyebrow expectantly. He must be over-exaggerating or something.

"Are you playing a joke on me? Because it isn't funny."

"No, Caroline. Of course not."

I snorted. "Just tell me! You're making this worse by just avoiding it. You must be making a bigger deal out of it than-"

"Andrew and Alfie are moving away."

My brain circuitry malfunctioned. I just stared at him blankly. Those words refused to register in my mind. "So they need a bigger house? Why don't you let them move in here? There's plenty of space-"

"Gorgeous, no. Andrew was offered a position as Alpha in Maine."

I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth. "No. Dom, this isn't funny."

He reached for me, eyes full of pity and remorse. "I'm sorry, Cara. But he took the offer and-"

"No!" I cried, pushing him away. "Tell me he's pulling a douche move and leaving Alfie."

Dominic grimaced. "They're mates now, sugar. They can't leave each other."

Tears prickled the back of my eyelids as my fists clenched. No. No. This wasn't happening. "You're lying. Alfie wouldn't do that to me."

"Caroline, this isn't about you. I'm sorry. I know how much you care about Alfie and your friendship is so strong. But listen, we'll visit him and they will visit us. It isn't so bad," Dominic assured me.

I took a deep, shaky breath, jumping to my feet. "You're letting them go? Just like that?"

Dominic shrugged helplessly. "I tried to talk him out of it, baby. But he really wants it. Andrew deserves it. He's a good leader. It would be cruel and selfish of me to keep them here-"

"Why?" I gushed. "To keep them with their friends and family? To keep this great dynamic you have going? You're just going to let that go?"

Dominic got up after me, trying to hold me. As if his presence would make me feel any better, like it would fix this. "Come here, gorgeous. It's okay to be upset. I don't blame you. I knew you would be, I just hoped to find a way to make it easier for you..."

I shoved him away. "Do you understand what this means for me? Don't you get it?"

"Of course. I know, I know. But I can't do anything-"

"Tell him no!"

His face hardened. "Now, Caroline. You know I can't do that. Please, calm down. Or just don't be angry. I don't know how to deal with that."

My mouth opened to shout something else, but my voice cracked on the first word. I quickly shut up, trying to hold back from crying. "I don't want this to hurt you. The new beta has a mate, I think you might get along. She's-"

I pushed him hard, running out of the office. "Cara, please. Wait a minute," he called. "I am so sorry. I didn't want this."

"Shut up! Yes, you do. You've always wanted this. You want a mate to stay indoors and pop out mutts every nine months and cook and clean. You don't want me. You've never wanted me. With Alfie and Andrew gone, you might as well lock me inside this damned house! God, you must have been ecstatic to hear about Andrew's offer," I snarled.

Dominic grabbed my arm tightly, just before I got out the front door. "Caroline, sugar. That is as far from the truth as you could get. You aren't thinking rationally."

"Get away from me!" I shrieked, clawing at his arm.

"Caroline, look at me."

A new voice piped up from behind me. "Let her go," Andrew grunted. "She needs to cool off."

I spun to glare at him. "I hate you! This was all Dominic's idea, wasn't it? All you've wanted was to make me more miserable. To have me serve this stupid mutt! What does Alfie think of all this? Do you think he wants to leave?"

Andrew folded his arms calmly. "I don't think anything, little brat. Alfie told me he wants to go. Wanna know why he hasn't been answering you? Why he's so busy?" he sneered. "Alfie is packing. We leave tomorrow."

~ ~ ~

Alfie. I had to see Alfie and talk to him myself. I knocked furiously at his door, trying to ignore the open garage with boxes sitting in it.

I heard Alfie curse under his breath before he opened the door. With his lips in a tight line, he stared at me. "Tell me it isn't true, Alf," I squeaked.

"We'll be gone before the sun comes up," he said stiffly.

"Alfie," I croaked. "But what about-"

Alfie's head fell into his hands. "I don't have a choice, Car. It's not like I want to leave you. I didn't want any of this."

    I wiped furiously at my eyes before any tears could fall. "Did he ask you? Did Andrew ask you if you wanted to? If it was okay?" His lack of response was answer enough. "You do have a choice. You just don't want to hang out with me anymore."

    I had only seen Alf angry on a few occasions. And it had never been aimed towards me. "Caroline. This isn't about you! For hell's sake, none of this is about you! Stop acting like the whole world revolves around you and your comfort and happiness," he snarled.

    My arms were held to my chest as if they could protect me from his anger. "Alfie. That's not-"

    "That's exactly it! Our whole friendship, all I've heard about is how much your life sucks and how the world is out to get you. But right now, I don't care. Okay? This is about me and my happiness. Don't you get how lucky you and I are? We both have strong mates-"

    "That bastard isn't my mate!" I shouted. "You can't call him that."

    Alfie tore at his hair. "Do you even hear yourself? Holy hell, how did I ever befriend such an entitled little human? Cara, you are acting like a brat right now. And none of this is even about you. Andrew and I are going to be important. We'll matter. Doesn't that mean anything to you? Aren't you happy for us? For me?"

    My throat was burning. He had never spoken to me like this. I took a small step back, away from the guy I called my best friend not even an hour ago. "Of course it doesn't," he spat. "Because when little miss mundane princess isn't happy, no one else is allowed to be."

    "A-Alfie-"

    "You were right. There is no reason Dominic should have chosen a mundane below him." Then the door slammed in my face.

~ ~ ~

I had no idea where I was. But I didn't care. I was sitting above a tall embankment over a river. It was high enough I could sit on the ledge and dangle my toes comfortable into the rushing water. After Andrew told me the truth, I ran for hours, a sobbing and snotty mess. I was still crying, but it was silent and softer, aside from the case of hiccups I'd acquired.

If I was lucky, Dominic wouldn't find me and I'd die of hypothermia or something of the like. But I wasn't lucky. I was God's cruel joke. I wiped my nose with my sleeve as a couple tear drops fell from my chin and into the water. All I could hear were Alfie's accusations towards me. The names he called me.

    Dominic had been trying to get into my head for a while now, and I could feel when he got closer to me and then farther away. But this time, his presence was becoming stronger and stronger. He must have gotten onto a good portion of my trail.

    I pushed off from the embankment, hoping my feet would find some sort of purchase in the riverbed. It was only a couple feet deep, almost to my hips. Regardless of the fact that I was in a pair of jeans and a tank top, I sunk to my knees in the water. It wasn't moving too fast or strong. The water just surged around me and continued on its path to who knows where.

"Caroline!" Dominic's voice called.

Now I wished the river was deeper and faster. I wish I lost my footing and disappeared. There were too many emotions to deal with right now. The most painful one was loneliness. I had no one now.

Somehow I had reclined under the water. I didn't really feel in control of my body. One moment I was above the surface, the next I was submerged. But it didn't really bother me too much. I was in too much pain to feel the chill of the water.

What would I do now? Who would I call when Dominic plays the asshole role again? Who would watch movies with me and make fun of the stupid characters? Who even cared about me at this point?

A fist wrapped into my shirt and I was very rudely and abruptly hoisted out of the water and against a warm chest. "Don't scare me like that, Caroline," Dominic gushed, hugging me tightly. "Were you trying to drown yourself? Throwing a little kill-yourself fit?"

"Get away from me," I grumbled. "I wasn't trying to kill myself."

He set me on top of the embankment, sitting beside me. "Then what were you trying to do? That water is freezing. You're hardly in appropriate clothing to be outside at all, let alone trying to drown."

I wriggled away from him, climbing to my feet to walk away. "We better get you home, princess. We've had quite the day," Dominic hummed, catching up easily. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"'We' have had quite the day? What does any of today's events have to do with you? How do they affect you in any way?" I tested angrily.

"Caroline, Andrew is my best friend. You aren't the only one who is going to miss them."

I rolled my eyes. "Alfie hates me now. He doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. This is beyond them moving away. This is me having nothing. No one."

"Hey. Don't talk like that. You have me still. I'll always be here. You know how I feel about you."

I shook my head slowly. "No. You just... you don't get it."

This conversation continued all the way back to the house, where Dominic finally crossed the line. "I don't know why you're acting so childish," he said. And then all of it hit me like a thousand pound ball of needles, poking my nerves and emotions in every inch of my being. Everything Andrew and Alfie said about me. All the things the snotty girls in my old pack called me. I let out a wheeze-like sound and felt like collapsing.

Dominic wrapped his arms around me and bounced me into his arms. "Cara? Sugar? What just happened?"

The anger I'd been feeling was gone and replaced with overwhelming sadness. So I just began crying.

He carried me inside the house and up to his bedroom, setting me on the bed. "What did I do?" He murmured, stroking my hair.

"Nobody likes me," I whimpered. "I'm a horrible person."

"No, sweetheart. Don't talk like that. You're just upset." He kissed my forehead, lingering there for a short while. "We need to warm you up. How about a bath, yeah?"

Dominic took my hand and guided me into the bathroom, where he just started stripping me. I didn't bother to fight him or protest to what he was doing to me. But it didn't feel sexual at all. Once I was down to my bra and panties, he started running the bath.

"Climb in," he directed.

I looked up at his face, sniffling as more tears fell down my face. "Why do I mess everything up?"

"Caroline, please. You haven't messed anything up. Come here." I thought he was going to hug me, but instead he lifted me up and set me in the bathtub. It felt kind of funny to be bathing in my underwear, but I don't think I'd be too happy to be naked in front of Dominic.

He got up and left the room, leaving me confused. So I scooted towards the faucet, holding my toes under the water. They were the coldest part of my body at this point, so it felt nice.

Dominic returned later with a little box. "I was hoping to save this for your birthday or some other special occasion, but maybe now is a good time." It was a box full of fancy bath bombs. Something I'd never owned myself. "I heard that some girls like this stuff. Which one do you want?"

I grabbed a purple one from the collection, setting it in the water and shifting away from it, with my knees to my chest. Dominic stroked my hair gently as I watched the ball slowly start to dissolve, the scent of lavender filling the air.

"What did Alfie say to you?" He asked me.

I blinked a few times before meeting his gaze. "You don't know?"

"I wanted to hear it from you."

I wiped my nose with my wrist, shaking my head. "Nothing that wasn't true."

Dominic purses his lips. "I doubt that. You two were both upset and that's never a good combo when it comes to fights. You say things that aren't true, things that are just to make yourself feel better. So tell me what happened, and I will honestly say what is and isn't true."

"You have to promise not to be mad at him or Andrew. It'll only make Alfie hate me more," I told him. "If it's possible."

Dominic kissed my cheek before shaking his head. "He doesn't hate you. You two are best friends." He caught a single tear on his finger and wiped it on his shirt. "And I won't promise you not to be upset with either of them. You are my mate. Mine. I protect my people, my Luna, my mate."

After a few deep breaths, I told him. I started with what Andrew said and how I ran away to find Alfie. I relayed every comment that was made, from my side to Alfie's. I didn't leave anything out, as much as I wanted to. Even when I started to cry even more, I didn't stop. Not until I got to the part where Dominic found me.

By the time I finished, the massive tub had finished filling up and the bath bomb had completely dissolved. "I got all these ball thingies that smell like lavender," Dominic said after a few moments of silence.

I looked up at him in confusion. "You want to know why?" He asked, and I nodded slowly. "That's what you smell like. That's your scent to me. Clean sheets and lavender. Fresh. I am obsessed with the smell now. I have a candle in my office that I light when you aren't around. I have an air freshener in my car. I've asked that lavender plants be planted around the house in the spring." His fingers stroked the mark on my neck slowly, lightly. "I want to be reminded of you every second of every day. I want a piece of you with me at all times. You make me strong, Cara. I need you, I want you. Even when you drive me absolutely nuts, I wouldn't have it any other way. I wouldn't have you any other way."

As much as I hated to admit it, Dominic made me feel much better. Even if I didn't want to be his mate, I didn't mind him saying I was okay. That he liked me.

After the bath, Dominic bundled me up in sweats and a sweater of his. "How about for the rest of the day, we eat junk food and watch The Office?" He asked me. "Chinese or pizza?"

We got both. Even though I was feeling better, it didn't mean my heart didn't hurt for the friend I'd lost. "Are you going to say goodbye to them?" I asked Dominic later.

He nodded slowly. "I have to. It's proper etiquette when you release a pack member to see them off. But, Cara, they-"

"Don't want me there."

He grimaced. "It isn't that they don't want you there... Andrew just doesn't want any drama."

"I get it," I mumbled. "I don't blame them. I wouldn't want me either."

He grabbed my chin, pulling my face to his to kiss me softly. "Stop talking like that. They love you. We love you. I... I think love you-your... Your personality and character."