CHAPTER 05

Dom had sat in the diner with me nearly three hours. I ignored him. The sun had dipped over the horizon, but I had only one dim bulb on in the diner so no one would come in thinking we were open. I was at one of the tables, while he sat at the counter.

I had my head down, deep in thought all this time, but I looked up at Dom now. The way he just sat there. He sat with his back to the counter and just watched people go by outside. He was as handsome, if not more so than the last time I saw him. I was getting consumed by stress and depression and needed someone to talk to. He was as good a choice as any other. Also, he did look somewhat pitiful just sitting there. He was an alpha yet here he was, waiting for me. It was kinda cute. No! Nothing about Dom was cute! Such thoughts were not welcome.

“Dom?” I called him.

“I was just enjoying the sound of our hearts beating in perfect synch,” he spoke without even looking at me. “The mate bond is a crazy thing, but I doubt the spirits could have chosen a better mate for me.”

“You hungry?” I asked.

Dom looked at me now. He had a small smile on his face.

“You saved me and you’ve just been sitting there so I felt you could use a bite.”

He nodded his understanding. “I’m okay, Moans. What I want is far from food.”

I guess he had other things on his mind.

“Thank you, Dom,” I told him. I hadn’t thanked him since he brought me back from the edge of death.

“It’s my duty to protect my pack, Moans. I owe it to you.”

Was he not going to accept anything I had to give?

“Can we just talk, Dom? Like have a normal conversation?”

He was silent, just kept watching people through the window. I guess he didn’t want to talk to me. I wasn’t gonna try anymore.

“Well?” he asked suddenly.

“Well what” I asked back.

“I’m waiting for you to bring a topic, silly.” His small smile returned, but his eyes returned outside.

“Topic. Topic. Topic.,” I repeated. “Well how’s your mom and dad?”

“They are doing just fine back in the old country,” he replied. “Mom said to say hi to you while dad said to leave you alone cos you had probably moved on. Mom believed you would wait. I guess dad was right after all.”

I felt guilty. His smile never waivered though. Why was I feeling guilty though? He was the one who left. Only he hadn’t left, had he? He’d been taken.

“I waited so long,” I whispered.

“I know you did, Moans,” he replied. I didn’t even think he’d heard me. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt.”

“It was horrible because I thought of everything. I felt you’d run off to be with someone else, maybe your parents didn’t want us together, maybe you’d gotten someone pregnant and didn’t want me to know. I thought everything and I mean everything.”

“I’d have done the exact same thing, Moans.” His smile grew.

“I don’t doubt that.” I smiled too.

“I need to get my folks’ old house renovated,” he spoke now.

“Yeah that place was becoming something of an eyesore,” I joked.

Dom sighed deeply then shut his eyes and turned his face to the ceiling.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

“I’m thinking gray outside, white in the public spaces and deep green in the master bedroom.”

I burst into laughter. The whole dramatic move had been because he wanted to imagine colors for his house.

“You are still that low-key drama queen, Dom.”

“That’s drama Alpha to you, Moans,” he corrected jokingly and I laughed harder.

After my laugher passed, the diner was quiet. Dom lowered his head and looked straight at me now. I felt a bit uncomfortable under his stare.

“You think the pack will like me?” He wasn’t smiling. This was a serious question. Why was he asking me though? I had no authority in the pack. Allen had been my little Nepo-baby friend, but he’d taken that away by seizing the alpha position from Alex so I was just a simple pack member again.

“I don’t know, Dom. The pack really loved Alex and you broke his arm to take his position.”

“He knew he was thoroughly outclassed, but he wouldn’t stop coming. I dislocated his arm to stop him from hurting himself any further.”

“Well that’s not how the pack sees it, but you are the alpha and your spirit will dominate the rest of ours so in a few weeks at most, we’ll all be subjects.”

“Is that how you feel around me?” he asked. “Like a subject?”

“Don’t use how I feel to compare with others because our stuff is different, but I don’t know how the rest of the pack will take. I do know though that eventually, your spirit will dominate them all.”

“That’s not how I wanna lead, Moans.”

“Showing up in the middle of the night and busting your predecessor’s arm says otherwise, Dom.”

He looked out at the street again. He was silent once more.

“Dom?”

He rose to his feet now. “I need to get back to my motel,”

I wanted to stop him. I don’t even know why I felt that way, but his sadness was seeping into me, though his face didn’t show it.

“Dom, I’m glad you’re back, but……” My phone rang.

“It’s him, isn’t it?” Dom asked.

If by ‘HIM’ he meant Marcus, then yeah, he was right. Before I could look up from my phone, I heard the door shut as he left the diner. I watched him walk down the street through the window. He didn’t look sad or hurt, but our mated hearts were in synch so I could feel his pain. It was light, but it was there.

“Damn,” I murmured under my breath then picked Marc’s call.

“Hello, babe?”