A smiled lightly played at her lips at the memory of his tongue licking the wetness between her legs and she knew she’d never experienced anything like that before with a man.
Then again, she’d never been with shifter before. Regular humans lived in town not that far away from her own pack, and that had allowed her to choose plenty of dating options that didn’t consist of shifters. Maybe the intensity that she’d experienced with him was normal when hooking-up with a shifter. Though her body felt spent, her mind was racing on a track too fast for her to be able to keep up.
Through her teens years she’d dated different boys she’d met in her town as well as some in the neighboring towns, but Olivia had always been careful to stay far away from any of the boys that were in the pack. Some girls had found their perfect soft hair, burning eyes, and impossibly muscular bodies to be an insane turn-on, Olivia wanted nothing to do with dating a shifter. Those girls made conquests of dating those boys whereas Olivia had always made it a conquest to find boys that were completely opposite of what she knew.
There was nothing wrong with dating a shifter, but it was already hard enough to live in a pack where she was the only one without the ability. There was also the reality that being unable to shift in a world full of shifters was what had gotten her mother killed and that was a fate that Olivia wanted to stay far away from. It still tore at her at night as she wondered what may have happened to her mother in that fight, had she been able to protect herself. But there was no use letting her mind wander down that path at the moment, she had other things that she needed to figure out.
Like why she had spent her whole dating life staying as far away from shifters as she could, just to jump at the first one she’d had an attraction to. Of course, she’d never known an attraction like she had with Dominic. That felt like something new entirely and Olivia wasn’t sure how to handle it. Stretching some more in the empty bed, she tried to lay her feelings out for herself in an attempt to get them straightened out.
Dominic was attractive. Not just attractive actually, but hot with a clearly raw sexuality that drove Olivia wild. But he also annoyed her completely with his abrasive personality and his rude way he acted as if he was better than her. So what if he was a prince? As if a prince who had been sent away to a small pack to be a guard was anything to be impressed about. She was the daughter of an Alpha, if there was anyone who should be bowing down it should be he who knelt at her feet.
There was another part about him, though, one that she wasn’t sure upset her or made her more intrigued by him. It was something dark, a shadow that lived behind his warm amber eyes that told her he held a past that still chased after him. It was obvious he had done something to get himself sent to her pack, it wasn’t as if princes were sent away from their castles every day, but whatever it was, it still ate at him.
In the midst of her thoughts she heard the heavy front door of the cabin scrape open and then close quietly. She didn’t know where Dominic had gone but she had better get up because he was back. Slipping on a t-shirt and panties, she walked out into the living room where Dominic was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands.
“Hi, you,” she greeted him, her voice soft and relaxed.
“Olivia,” he greeted her more sternly.
She crossed her arms in front of her chest, suddenly feeling a little unsure of herself.
“I’m starving,” she tried again. “Should I make us some breakfast?”
Dominic shook his head.
“I’m not hungry.”
He hadn’t even turned to look at her but she felt suddenly exposed. More exposed than when she had been lying naked underneath the strength of his body.
“Alright, well, the rain seems to have subsided. We could go do something today.” Her voice had lost its soft comfort and had become shakier.
“You’ll be spending the day inside. I’ll be outside, patrolling the grounds. Once it becomes dark I’ll come back and do as Atticus has ordered me to do.”
A flash of anger surged through her, “You’re really planning on just leaving me here today? Alone?”
Dominic stood and turned toward her but wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “The danger hits at night, I’ll be back before then. There’s a meeting at Atticus’ today so I’ll be there for part of the day. As long as you stay put and don’t go wandering around, you’ll be just fine. There will be no reason to be scared.”
“Scared? Is that what you think? That I’m scared of being left alone?” Clearly Dominic didn’t know the first thing about her and the strong-will that she possessed. Being scared was the last thing on her mind. In fact, she felt the whole business about her being baby-sat by a banished prince was ridiculous.
For a flash his eyes met hers before he broke their stare. Her tiny hands bawled into fists as his attitude frustrated her further.
“So, if you’re not scared to be alone, then it shouldn’t be a problem if you stay here.” It wasn’t a question that he was asking but a statement which he planned to bait her with.
“Of course I’m not scared! But you’re just going to leave me here as if nothing happened last night? As if I suddenly mean nothing? Or do you sleep with all the girls and leave them like this?”
Dominic opened his mouth and Olivia waited for his smart remark. If he was going to give her attitude, then she was going to give him a fight.
“Olivia, I’m not going to do this with you. I’m going to leave for the day. I’ll see you tonight.”
He turned and walked toward the front door and Olivia felt her heart race. She didn’t want him to leave her there, she didn’t want him to leave her at all. But it was clear that after all of her thinking about him that morning, she was obviously wrong about him. He wasn’t at all the dark, sexy, interesting prince that she thought he was. Instead he was nothing more than a ‘love them and leave them’ kind of man.
As much as she admits she didn’t know much about him, it was clear that he certainly didn’t know her. If Dominic thought that a locked door was going to keep her inside all day and away from the action of what was going on around them, he was sorely mistaken. Maybe she shouldn’t have gotten mixed up with a jerk like him, but he shouldn’t have gotten involved with a determined girl like her.
He left her there in the living room, her t-shirt skimming her bare legs. He had resisted her with no temptation in his face at all. The door clicked with a lock behind him and she stomped her foot on the wooden ground like a child throwing a temper-tantrum. She’d show him that she didn’t need him and that she wasn’t afraid of whatever was going on. Olivia could take care of herself and once she heard what the meeting was all about and learned the details that no one wanted to share with her, she’d show both Atticus and Dominic that she didn’t need a man or wolf to baby-sit her. With that thought, she turned on her heel and went to the bedroom to get cleaned up so she could get on with her plan.
Chapter Eleven
Dominic
It wasn’t necessary to turn and see how unbelievable Olivia looked when she walked out of the bedroom; her smooth bare legs leading teasingly to what her t-shirt was barely covering up. He saw enough out of the corner of his eye that Dominic knew if he turned to look at her fully, there’d be no way he could stop himself from wanting her.
But that was exactly what he was going to have to do. Atticus wasn’t going to release him of his duty of protecting Olivia, and with that soft silky tone in her voice, she wasn’t going to let him off easily either. It was going to be up to Dominic to stop anything more from happening. Just the scent of her in the room was enough to rile his wolf inside. He took deep breaths as he sat on the couch trying to clear his mind and calm his insides.
When that didn’t work and seemed to only make things worse, he had made that excuse about being gone for the day to patrol. He had heard that there was going to be a meeting at Atticus’ but Dominic hadn’t exactly been invited to attend. Instead, he’d heard a couple of men in the pack talking about it that morning on his
way back to his own cabin. It was the perfect way to get out of Olivia’ presence without making it obvious. The bit about needing to patrol the woods had just been to be extra cautious. By the time he came back, he hoped he’d be so exhausted that she would just leave him alone for the night.
But what was he to do tomorrow? And the next day? How was he supposed to continually avoid her when his main job was to protect her?
With his mind made up to leave for the day, Dominic had stood and caught his first full sight of her for the day. Her mussed hair, the little bit of redness on her chin and cheeks from the stubble that had rubbed her raw the night before while they kissed. And as he had suspected from that first glimpse he’d gotten of her, that tiny t-shirt that barely covered her, was a sight that no man or wolf could ignore.
It took every bit of strength to look away from her before they had a repeat performance of the night before.
Before he could escape from her and make it to the door, her words cut through him like a knife. He couldn’t fight her, he couldn’t find the strength in him to lie, but he wasn’t able to tell her the truth either. As much as he wanted to push her away to ensure he doesn’t ruin his last chance of being in a pack, he hated the tone in her voice. The words that came out like venom. She meant nothing to him and he was just going to love her and leave her like the others. That was how it’d been with the others, but it was the hurt in her voice that was killing him. Loving and leaving was the last thing he wanted to do to her. In fact, if he wasn’t risking everything, he’d have loved her right there again in the middle of the living room.
But that wasn’t an option, not unless he wanted to be removed from the pack and sent off to live the rest of his life as a lone wolf. Instead of arguing with her, which would have been completely useless, he left the cabin and let himself shift out in the woods. Being around Olivia was far too much for him to handle and the only way to breathe was to be wolf. The other way to breathe was to be with her, but that was not an option, so he’d have to settle for sending himself out on his own.
Rather like a lone wolf anyway.
Dominic didn’t stray far and kept close to the cabins, he told himself it was in order to see when the other pack members were going to Atticus’, but he knew the real reason was he wanted to make sure that Olivia was alright in the cabin. Though he had told her that the dangers only lurked at night, he couldn’t have been positive about that fact. There was nothing that he wanted less than to have anything happen to Olivia, and not just because Atticus was counting on him.
When he saw the other men going towards Atticus’ cabin, Dominic shifted and dressed from the clothes in his pack and followed them inside. If Atticus was surprised to see Dominic walking into his own cabin instead of glued to Olivia’s side protecting her, he hid it well and didn’t say a word. It was only fair, Dominic figured, that he be kept informed of what was going on if he was part of the protection.
“I’m glad you’ve all came so I can keep you up to date on what has been happening.”
When Atticus’ voice cut through the chatter of the other men, they quieted instantly to listen to his words.
“As you all know, these attacks have been getting more gruesome as they have gone on and there have been many rumors about what exactly is going on. Well, I’ve got it in great confidence that we now know who is behind them and how they take place.”
Dominic stood by a window in the living room, in perfect position to catch a glimpse of his own cabin and make sure that no one was anywhere near Olivia.
“I had a visitor— a survivor of one of the packs. He was badly hurt, almost didn’t make it through, but as soon as he regained his strength he made it a mission to warn other packs in the hopes of sparing lives. He came to me last night and has already begun traveling again.”
It was so silent in the cabin that Dominic could have heard a mouse crawl as the shifters held their breath and waited to hear what he was going to say next.
“We were right in our assumptions. The attacks are being done by poachers, but it’s not just one group. It seems there is an underground competition happening, the group of poachers get the biggest catch by causing the most destruction to a pack. Each group has one chance to attack a pack. As it goes on, the poaching groups get better at attacking, devising more elaborate plans to strike each time. No group has been able to kill the Alpha family but apparently that is worth a great deal in the competition. They come in the night and pillage the packs. They stop at absolutely nothing.”
Dominic could feel a shiver run through his body. Capturing not only the Alpha but the family was the goal, so Atticus had been right; Olivia was in great danger.
“At no time are any of us to let our guard down until we find a way to put an end to this. Is that clear?”
Atticus’ voice was stern and each of the men mumbled that they were clear on the direction. Even for a pack that consisted solely of the biggest and strongest men in the kingdom, they were all feeling unsure and nervous over what was happening.
“This is our pack and I have no intention of losing it to disgusting humans who are using our deaths as a sport. If and when there is an attack made on us, we are to stop at nothing to keep ourselves safe.”
He looked at each of the men one by one, stopping a second longer on Dominic than the rest of them. Shifters held a very strict rule to never kill a human, but Atticus was telling them that rule was off. They were to do whatever they had to in order to keep them safe.
“The pack comes first, all of us. Am I making myself clear to everyone?”
Again, each of the men agreed with the Alpha’s words.
“Good. Make sure that at night fall you are all in your cabins and are ready to fight at a moment’s notice.”
The pack took turns asking whatever questions came to mind, but Dominic wasn’t listening too much. He was feeling sick to his stomach and wanted to make sure that Olivia was alright. He’d deal with his inner wolf pacing and find a way to keep himself in check if it meant he could keep her safe.
“If there’s no other questions then I suggest you all get home to your cabins. The sun is setting, and I wanted everyone inside by the time the moon is up. Talk to your families, make sure they know to stay inside as well.”
Once again Atticus looked at Dominic, he knew that meant he was well aware of Olivia’s attempts at escaping. Just as he vowed earlier in the day to not let himself fall deeper for her, he also vowed to not let her out of his sight again.
Chapter Twelve
Olivia
From underneath the side window of her father’s cabin, Olivia was able to stay bent low and listen to every word that her father had told the pack. Chills went through her body when she listened to just how serious everything was. Up until then, she’d heard of the attacks but didn’t really believe they were as serious as her father was making them seem. He tended to worry too much, especially when it came to his only daughter. But after what she’d heard him tell the men of the pack, the situation was serious.
What would Olivia do if there was an attack? Being unable to shift and fight made her more or less a sitting duck for those poachers and as her father had said, they were dying to get the pack Alpha’s and their families. That meant her. And just like her mother, she’d have no chance at a fight.
When she heard the shifting around of the pack inside, she knew they’d be leaving the cabin and didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping. Quietly she crept away from the window and quickened her pace to get back to Dominic’s cabin before he saw that she’d ever left.
Back inside she found herself chewing the nail of her thumb and pacing her small living room of his cabin. She found herself nervous at what may happen and that was not a feeling that Olivia was used to. In fact, she was always calm and collected, braver than most, which she knew she got from her father. But being unable to defend herself from such extreme and disgusting attacks had her shaken up. So much so that when the front door opened, she jumped at t
he sound.
Dominic stood in the doorway way and arched a brow.
“You ok?” His voice came out low and strong and for a fleeting moment she wanted to run into his arms. Suddenly the mere presence of him gave her some bit of comfort.
“Yea, I just…”
“Were you listening outside of your father’s house?” he asked.
She felt her cheeks flame in embarrassment that he had read her so easily.
“Well, I certainly didn’t figure that you would tell me the truth so I thought I should find out for myself.”
A small flicker of a smile curled at his lips. “Are you always this much of a pain?” he asked her.
“Who says I’m a pain?” she fired back.
He chuckled a little. “No one would have to say anything. It’s pretty obvious that you’re a stubborn pain in the butt. How Atticus has kept you safe all these years is beyond me.”
His words struck a nerve that she was sure he hadn’t realized he’d hit. But there was no way she was going to let him see that part of her. She’d been vulnerable enough the night before and look where that had gotten her. Shut downed and left just as fast as she’d gotten him. There was no way she could leave herself open to that type of feeling again.
Instead she squared her shoulders and kept her resolve.
“I have kept myself safe just fine.”
“If you can keep yourself safe then why is it that your heart is racing? Nervous?”
She paused and looked at him curiously. “How did you know that?”
Dominic’s eyes shifted and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. “I just…know…I can smell it or something.”
“You can smell my heart racing? That doesn’t even make sense!” she fought back.
He growled and she could tell she was making him angry but why shouldn’t she push his buttons a little? He had obviously not cared enough about her the morning after they had their tryst so why did she matter now?
“It’s just an instinctual thing,” he told her. “A shifter thing.”
Tornado_A Paranormal Romance Page 34