by Cheryl Davis
“Well, Anna sensed my presence nearby and started calling for me. Patrick responded and they argued. Patrick ended up giving me a message for you sir,” Dominic said, interest and confusion in his voice.
“What was that message?” Thomas asked, interested.
“First, he told Anna that he didn’t know what he’d been thinking letting her talk him into pretending to be her mate so she could get out from under her parents’ roof and then he told me to tell you he’s ready to talk,” Dominic informed them.
“And you believe that?” Angelica asked, leaning forward.
“Yes ma’am,” Dominic nodded. “Other than that, I have nothing to say to excuse my actions, other than I am sorry for being such a fool.”
“We will discuss this and talk to you again tomorrow. I expect a full write-up of everything that was said down there on my desk first thing in the morning. Even if you think the detail is inconsequential, I want to know it. Understood?” Thomas said in a stern voice. The look on his face told Dominic all he needed to know about just how serious his actions had been.
“Yes sir,” Dominic said before being waved out of the room. Now he was really worried.
Chapter Thirty-Three
After Dominic’s departure, Thomas, Angelica and Sage sat there for a few minutes, each mulling over this latest development. Sage knew if Dominic wasn’t Viola’s mate, the consequences for daring to disobey orders would be severe. He only hoped that being Viola’s mate would be enough to spare him. As he thought about it, he started to think that they could use this to their advantage.
“Sir, what if we use this to try to get more information from Anna? I could go with Dominic to visit her and try to get a read on her emotional grid to see if she’s telling him the truth. If anything, I’ll get a read on Patrick as to whether or not he’s ready to tell us what we need to know,” Sage suggested, hesitating a bit because he wasn’t sure how Thomas would react to his suggestion.
“After everything we did to get him away from Anna, you want us to send him back in? We almost lost Viola on that mission,” Thomas said, furious.
“I realize that, but how long can we keep Anna on this property before she manages to get loose? We’ve got both of the twins right here within her reach if that happens. Once we get the information we need, we can put them on trial for their actions and end this,” Sage argued in response.
“Sage is right. We have to end their part in this. Then we need to figure out what my mother is up to because she is far worse than Anna could ever hope to be,” Angelica said with clear worry radiating from her.
“You know Viola will object to this. We would be asking him to put himself in direct danger,” Thomas responded. “I gave my word to not keep them in the dark any longer.”
Angelica and Sage looked at each other with wide eyes, shocked that he had made that statement.
“First thing in the morning, when Dominic hands in his report, we will sit down with the girls and fill them in on the situation. We will decide this as a group,” Thomas said with a nod of his head.
“I’m not sure alerting them to Anna’s presence on the property is the best course of action sir. They need to feel safe here and I doubt they will if they know both of them are here too, even if the two are locked up,” Sage argued.
“It is too late for that now. I made a promise that I intend to keep to my daughters. If it comes down to it, we’ll either change locations or the girls will adapt, but they will be included in the decision,” Thomas said, closing the subject with his tone of voice.
Angelica watched their discussion, silently agreeing with Sage, but proud her husband was taking his promise to Cora and Viola with such commitment. She was torn between protecting the girls and her mate’s promise.
“Yes, sir,” Sage said as he stood. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to turn in for the night?”
“No, there’s nothing else. Go get some rest. I will let everyone else know about the meeting at breakfast. We may have to postpone their training for at least one more day while we handle this situation,” Thomas said, shaking his head in frustration.
“Sir, may I ask what Dominic’s punishment will be for disobeying orders?” Sage asked, careful not to overstep his boundaries.
“I have not decided just yet,” Thomas said in a tone that allowed no further questions.
Sage nodded and wished them both a good night, before leaving the study and heading to his room. He didn’t know how all of this was going to play out, but his mind was working through all contingencies.
*****
Dominic sat in his room, laptop open but fingers still on the keyboard. He had to keep reminding himself that he’d done the right thing by confessing what he’d done to Thomas and Angelica, before they found out some other way.
Fear of what would happen to him for disobeying orders kept him from focusing on the task of writing the report about what had occurred down in the prisons with Anna and Patrick. He was terrified he would be sent away and not allowed to mate with Viola because of his actions.
Shaking his head, he set the laptop on the bed next to him, stood and walked over to the window, gazing out over the property. He allowed his mind to wander for a bit before reining it in to focus on his report. He refused to make the situation worse by disobeying another direct order from Thomas.
As the memories came back, he began to type what happened. He hadn’t been there long so there wasn’t much to put into the report, but he relayed everything he could remember. Every word Anna and Patrick had spoken, the feelings he’d felt from each of them, how they’d responded to each other and their guess that he’d been there, he included in his report. There was no detail that crossed his mind that he didn’t include.
Once he was finished typing, he went over the report several times, adding, reordering and fixing details as they became clearer. After he finished, he saved the report and sent it via email to Thomas and closed down the laptop.
He still couldn’t rest so he changed into his workout gear and headed into the training center to run some laps.
As his feet pounded on the floor, the rhythm of his pace and elevated heartbeat, helped to ease his mind enough to where he thought he might be able to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a long day with Viola and Cora’s training beginning. He was also sure Thomas would hand down his punishment at some point the next day as well.
Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he headed back to his room, took a quick shower and climbed into bed. It took a long time, but he was finally able to drift off into a restless sleep.
*****
The next morning, Viola woke up to her entire body aching and stiff from the rigorous workout Sage had put them through the previous evening. She groaned as she rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom, turning the knobs on the shower to as hot as she could get the water and climbing in. She prayed the heat from the water would ease her muscles enough to help her get through the day today.
She stayed in the shower until the water began turning cold before turning off the water and getting ready for a long, hard day in the training center. Glad the heat from the shower had helped, she pulled on yoga pants and a tank top, yanked a brush through her long hair before securing it up into a pony tail and heading down to breakfast.
She was eager to see Dominic and begin their day. The sooner she could learn how to use her powers to defend and protect, the less she would have to worry about being a ticking time bomb like she was at the moment. Even she could feel that element in herself right now and hated the feeling.
She could tell something was wrong when she entered the dining room, it was like a cloud was hanging over everyone already in attendance for the meal. She went over and took her seat with Dominic, who was being his normal attentive self, pulling out her seat for her before returning to his own.
“Okay, what is going on?” Viola asked as she reached for her coffee.
“We will fill you in on everything afte
r breakfast in my study,” Thomas said, his voice much like his posture, stiff as a board.
Whatever it was, it didn’t sound good and made a knot form in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t press the issue and wasn’t surprised when nobody else did either. It was a silent meal, the first of its kind since she’d moved in with her parents. It was more unnerving than anything she’d ever felt before in her life.
When everyone was finished eating, Thomas stood and lead everyone out of the dining room and into his study, for the meeting that would change everything for her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
After everyone was settled down in the study, Thomas cleared his throat. Viola looked around and noticed that Dominic almost looked afraid, Sage looked worried, Cora was just as confused as she was and Angelica and Liam were each apprehensive about what was about to happen.
“I made you girls a promise that we wouldn’t hide things from you anymore. There is something we need to discuss with you right now,” Thomas said, making the hairs on the back of Viola’s neck stand up in warning. Whatever it was, she knew it wouldn’t be good.
“What is it?” Cora asked, apprehension in her voice.
“Please don’t be angry with us. You are in no danger. We felt certain circumstances warranted us telling you this so you both could have a say in what happens next,” Angelica said, worry in her voice.
Dominic looked down at the floor and that told Viola something was very wrong. Sage looked like he wanted to shut her parents up somehow, but stayed quiet against his wishes. When no one else said anything for a few minutes, she spoke up.
“Would someone please tell us what is going on here?” she demanded and threw her hands up in frustration.
“Anna and Patrick are being kept in the prison below the house. They are both under maximum security and under constant watch so you don’t have to worry about them,” Thomas told them and his revelation knocked the breath from Viola’s lungs.
“What?!” both Cora and Viola screamed.
“Why weren’t we told about this before now?” Viola demanded.
“Because we wanted you to feel safe here. They can’t harm you from where they are,” Angelica spoke, trying to calm their girls flying emotions.
“Look, we told you for a reason. Dominic, please tell everyone what you came here and told Angelica, Sage and I last night,” Thomas said, putting Viola’s mate on the spot.
Dominic’s eyes shot up and looked at Thomas with shock. He’d known this meeting was happening because of his actions, but he’d never imagined he’d have to confess to everyone else what he’d done. However, he knew better than to argue. This was not a battle he was going to win.
As he filled Liam, Cora and Viola in on what he’d done, he could see the horror filling his mate’s face. He knew he’d messed up big time by the time he’d finished speaking.
“What we need to decide on now is where to go from here. We have an opportunity to use Dominic to gain information from Anna, but both of you need to agree to this plan. He will have Sage there as backup in case Anna tries any of her tricks,” Thomas told the girls, who sat there stunned and trying to absorb all of the information that had just been dropped into their laps.
“No way, absolutely not. We just got him away from her. You cannot be seriously considering this as an option. No way am I going to be okay with Dominic’s life being put in danger like this,” Viola declared, disbelief and anger in her voice.
“Viola think about it. Dominic won’t be in danger because he’ll have backup. I wouldn’t let anything happen to him at all.” Sage told her. “This is an opportunity we need to take advantage of.”
“Are you kidding me? You were supposed to be his backup the last time too and ended up shooting him with a tranq and then getting yourself cornered by Anna. Then Cora and I had to come and save your butt. Forgive me if I have a hard time believing he wouldn’t be in danger,” Viola scoffed, feeling bad she was stooping so low, but not seeing any other choice at the moment. Her instincts demanded she do her best to protect her mate.
“That was uncalled for Viola,” Liam said, irritated with her.
“No, she’s right. I knew we should have filled Viola in on the plan the first time and in the end, I was cornered by Anna. She’s right. I underestimated her the last time, I won’t do so again,” Sage said, making eye contact with Viola.
“That’s not good enough for me,” Viola said, upset.
“Beautiful One, you have to trust me. I can do this. Sage is right, we have an opportunity here that we need to seize,” Dominic said, reaching over and taking her hands in his.
“This is not about trust, this is about your safety. I couldn’t handle it if you got hurt or killed. I saw what it did to Cora when Liam was tortured by that evil witch,” Viola pleaded with him.
“I need you to understand that I have to do this. I will take every precaution I can, but I won’t hide from this,” Dominic told her, begging her to understand.
“Fine, then I’m going with you as backup,” Viola stated, being stubborn.
“That’s not a good idea,” Sage and Liam spoke up at the same time.
“That is the only way I am going to agree to this insane plan, so take it or leave it,” Viola said, pulling her hands back from Dominic’s grasp and meeting each of their eyes dead on.
“I am going too. There’s no way she’ll get away or hurt Dominic if we’re both there to back him up,” Cora spoke up for the first time.
“This is a moot discussion. Neither of you are going down there. Liam and Sage will backup Dominic,” Thomas said, putting his foot down.
“Then you can do this without Dominic,” Viola said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
“You are being unreasonable,” Thomas declared, glaring at his daughter.
“I agree with her. I wouldn’t be alright with Liam being put in that situation. In fact, there’s no way that I’m okay with Liam going as backup for Dominic without me being there to help back them up,” Cora said, standing up next to Viola and the two of them made a stand together.
“Girls, please understand why we don’t want you involved in this. Anna has been trying very hard to kill one or both of you to prevent the prophecy from coming true. You both need to be very careful and think before you act,” Angelica told them in a gentle voice.
“Neither one of us are afraid of Anna. Trust me, we’ve been at her mercy. It would be a pleasure to cause her even half of the pain she’s caused us over the years,” Viola said, venom dripping from her words.
“No kidding. We’ve never run from her before, we’re not going to run and hide from her now. She needs to know she can’t defeat us that easily and what she’s done to us will not go unpunished,” Cora declared.
“So, if you insist on proceeding with this mission, you might as well include us in the whole thing,” Viola said, a sarcastic smile on her face.
“Cora, think about what you’re saying here. Neither one of you have the training or control over your emotions to be adequate backup against Anna,” Liam said, stepping in front of his mate and trying to get her to see reason.
“It seems to me that each of us has been up against her once and won both times,” Cora said, not budging.
“Viola’s encounter almost cost her her life,” Dominic stated, standing up and moving in front of Viola so she’d see just how scared that had made him and the thought of it being repeated terrified him.
“Yeah well, both of us have lived and learned from that experience. Well, we can go around and around in circles over this or we can just agree that the two of us will be included as backup for Dominic. Your choice,” Viola said, looking Dominic in the eyes and not backing down.
“You two are stubborn and unreasonable and it’s going to get you both killed if you’re not careful,” Sage said, standing up and walking over to stand beside Thomas. “It’s looking like we don’t have many options here.”
Thomas shook his head and bega
n pacing the floor. It seemed as if they were at a stalemate and he needed a few minutes to decide the right course of action as everyone stood there waiting for his decision.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Everyone in the room waited with impatience for Thomas to make his decision. Viola was furious that the only person on her side in this matter was Cora. How in the world they expected her to be alright with Dominic going into that place and trying to manipulate Anna, was what she didn’t understand. Every one of them, except Sage, had their mates so they should all understand.
Frustration built up inside of her to the point where she started tapping her toe on the carpet to release some of the energy, before she ended up losing her temper and giving them the ammunition needed to keep her from going in as Dominic’s backup.
It seemed like forever before Thomas stopped and looked at the room. He took a deep breath and looked at the twins.
“Although it goes against my better judgment as your father and a leader, Viola and Cora are right. We need them along as backup because so far, they are the only ones to have had any success in defeating Anna. Liam, you will keep a close watch on Cora to make sure she’s alright and Sage, you will do the same with Viola, while all four of you cover Dominic. It will be tricky, but we need this information from her. We also need to know if Patrick’s telling the truth about being Anna’s mate. If he’s not, he can be a valuable tool to use in this war,” Thomas said and put his hand up to halt the arguments coming his way from the males in the room
Viola and Cora smiled from ear to ear with their father’s backing. They knew there were huge risks involved in doing this, especially for them since they had very little training and experience using their powers, but they were risks each of them were willing to take.
“I am not debating this any further. Sage, Dominic, Liam, I know each of you have your concerns about my decision and I assure you, I share them. I also know that if I had told them they couldn’t go and sent Dominic in anyway, they would find a way to get down there anyway and the situation would get out of control, which gives Anna an opportunity to try to escape. This decision was not made lightly,” Thomas said, his voice and face grim. “That said, I am trusting the two of you to follow your orders and not put yourselves in unnecessary danger.”