Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
I swallow and bite back my next question. I already know what the response will be, so I save myself the trouble by not verbalizing it. “What’s the plan?” I ask instead.
“Dr. Russo and I will be in the room with King Malachi, just in case something happens and Dominic escapes his restraints. He shouldn’t,” he adds, glancing down at a worried Haven, “but if he does, I’ll be prepared to restrain him with King Malachi so Dr. Russo can sedate him.”
“Let’s get on with it then,” Reid says, putting his arm around me and walking us closer to the window.
We stand in the center, Haven and Nolan on my right and Sebastian on Reid’s left. Sebastian presses a button near the glass that turns on the speakers in the room, and I glance at Haven. She moves closer to me, smiling and linking her arm through mine, releasing some of her bubbly, friendly, starlight aura and wrapping it over me like a blanket.
“Where’s Taryn?” Dominic says as soon as the door closes.
“She didn’t want to speak to you,” Wesley says, crossing his arms and standing up taller. “And honestly, I don’t blame her.”
Dominic’s nostrils flare and his fists clench. His focus shifts from Wes to the king, and his lip curls. “I won’t answer any questions unless you let me speak to Taryn first.”
Wesley laughs and King Malachi breathes in, drawing himself up to his full height and displaying his strength and dominance. We can’t feel it through the wall of the hospital cell, but Dominic flinches against the power of the king’s aura, almost cowering in the bed. “Yes. You will,” King Malachi says, the alpha command clear in his voice.
Dominic grits his teeth but bares his neck, submitting to the only male who is of a higher rank than him. My lips twitch, and my wolf preens with vindication as I watch him, forced to submit against his will, forced to bare his neck and present himself as lower, powerless against the commands and aura of the alpha king.
It’s what he deserves. To know how it feels, to receive a taste of his own medicine, to have his abuse of power used against him to uncover the truth of his nefarious actions.
“Name,” Malachi says, staring straight at him.
“Dominic Sterling Rivers,” he says.
“Rank?”
“Alpha of Silver Ridge.”
“How long have you been alpha?”
“Almost ten years. I took over when my father died.”
“Where were you on Saturday evening?” Malachi asks, his alpha command still flowing through his words and aura.
As Dominic answers, he turns his head straight to the mirror, dead in the center. He can’t see me, but my breath catches in my throat as his eyes land right where I’m standing and lock onto me, unblinking. “At Alpha Wesley and Luna Haven’s wedding with Taryn, my future luna.”
Wesley scoffs and shakes his head, and Reid growls, his hand squeezing into my hip and his arm drawing me closer into his side. I turn my head and kiss his upper arm. “I’m yours,” I remind him, resting my cheek against his shoulder and inhaling his scent. “He can’t take me from you.”
He nods but continues holding me tighter, kissing the top of my head.
“Did you alpha command Taryn to leave the wedding with you, and did you alpha command your beta, Dawson Chambers, and his date, Blake Hawkins, to not tell anyone about it?”
“I did,” Dominic says, shrugging. “I was ready to leave with my date, and she was acting a fool, ditching me for some lowly, man-whore beta who wanted to use her. She wouldn’t see reason, so I had to be the reasonable one.”
Reid stiffens and releases another short growl. Wesley shakes his head and his jaw clenches, but he says nothing, leaving the questioning to King Malachi.
“Was she in danger?” he asks.
Dominic’s gaze snaps away from the glass and he frowns. “What?”
“Was she in danger? Was her life at stake? Or was there some other threat at Crescent Lake that required you to explicitly alpha command her to leave the premises with you?”
“No.”
King Malachi hums and crosses his arms, glancing at Wesley. “And did you attempt to alpha command her to be your chosen luna while you were on your way back to your pack that night?”
Dominic swallows, and his eyes narrow on the king before shifting back to the window—to me. My heart races as his eyes lock on me again, my body urging me to step away from the window and leave the room.
“He can’t see you,” Reid says, rubbing my hip. “He’s trying to get under our skin—or the skin of whoever’s in here. He doesn’t know for sure that you are here,” he adds.
King Malachi growls when Dominic doesn’t answer, but Dominic doesn’t shift his gaze. “Did you or didn’t you?!” Malachi roars.
“I did,” Dominic says, his lips twitching into a cocky half smile. “And I still intend on having her as my luna. One way or another, she will be mine.”
Reid tenses like he’s preparing for an attack, but Sebastian laughs and claps his hand on Reid’s shoulder. “How adorable,” Sebastian mutters.
“There are several reasons why that won’t be happening,” Wesley says, his voice a low growl.
“Like what?”
“I’m asking the questions, not you,” Malachi says, glaring at Wesley, who ducks his head in submission. “Now. Did you have your entire pack dosed with the separatum amoris nexum potion that blocks the mate bond from being felt by either mate?”
Dominic blinks and looks at Wesley and then at King Malachi. “No. I’ve never even heard of that potion.”
My brows furrow, and I glance at Reid, who wears a matching expression of confusion. Wesley and Malachi also exchange glances, then Malachi cocks his head to the side. “Did you unlock your pack’s bunker for the rogues and collaborate with them to organize the attack on your pack?”
“I would never work with rogues,” Dominic says, his expression darkening. “And I would never leave my pack vulnerable like that.”
“They destroyed the bunker from the inside,” King Malachi presses. “Someone had to unlock it, and only you and your beta had the code. I already questioned Dawson to make sure he didn’t unlock it. That leaves you.”
“I didn’t do it.”
“Are you sure no one else has the code, then?”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?