Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Unexpected Protection
Elara
I was still half asleep when I opened the door. I completely forgot about the mark on my face.
Dominic’s eyes went straight to my cheek. His voice turned cold as ice. "Who hit you?"
I blinked, suddenly remembering.
"It’s nothing," I said flatly. "My mom slapped me."
His face got darker. His jaw clenched tight. "Did you put anything on it? Why did she hit you?"
Why did she hit me? I let out a bitter laugh. "Because I told her I wanted to cut ties with her. That made her mad."
"I’m sorry," I added, "but I don’t want her at our mating ceremony."
Then I suddenly remembered something.
Dominic might have only agreed to mate with me because I was Alpha Enzo’s stepdaughter. That connection probably mattered to him.
If I lost that connection, would he still want me as his Luna?
"If you think my pack status isn’t good enough now, I get it. I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to find another Luna. We haven’t done the mating ceremony yet, and we haven’t even taken wedding photos..."
"When did I ever say I cared about that?" Dominic looked like he might lose his patience with me.
But then his eyes got soft when he looked at my cheek. "Did you put anything on it?"
I paused, then shook my head. "No."
"Wait here." He turned and walked away.
I stood against the door, waiting even though I was getting sleepy again.
A few minutes later, Dominic came back with a first aid kit.
He took a deep breath. Then he bent down and picked me up in one smooth move.
The second his hands touched me, my body ignited. My heart hammered against my ribs. My breathing got shallow and quick.
I wasn’t sleepy anymore. "Dominic, what are you doing?" I asked.
He carried me into my bedroom and put me down gently on the bed. "Nothing much. Just putting medicine on that cheek."
I stared at him in surprise.
[Is the Alpha King actually worried about me?]
I watched him look through the kit. His hair fell forward as he focused.
When he looked up, he had a white tube in his hand.
Dominic put some cream on a cotton swab. He leaned in close to put it on my cheek. His warm breath touched my skin. I tried to pull back. His free hand held my waist to keep me still.
His fingers burned through the thin fabric of my shirt. My skin felt hypersensitive, like every nerve was on fire.
"Don’t move," he said. "We have wedding photos this weekend, remember? If you don’t use medicine, this won’t heal in time."
[So that’s it. The photos. Of course.]
I stopped trying to move away. I sat still as his breath mixed with mine.
We were so close. His scent hit me like a physical force.
My mouth went dry while other parts of me got slick with need.
My thighs trembled slightly. I could feel myself clenching around nothing, my body aching for something more.
Every inch of my skin felt alive and desperate for his touch.
That warmth seemed to sink into my skin like fire. It sent tingles through my body and made my face turn even redder.
Dominic’s frown got deeper when he noticed. "Why is your face getting redder?"
He put down the medicine. "Maybe we should go to the pack doctor. I’ll carry you."
"Wait!" I said quickly.
Going to the pack doctor would be embarrassing. The whole pack would talk.
"My cheek is fine," I pointed at the window. "Could you open that a bit? The room’s too warm. I just need some air."
"Are you sure?" Dominic didn’t look convinced.
When I said yes, he finally agreed.
"Why did your mother hit you?" he asked while he packed up the medical stuff.
I gave him a small smile. "Because I didn’t do what she wanted. To her, that’s basically betrayal."
He took a deep breath and stood up. "Get some rest tonight. Don’t think about anything."
Then he said something that surprised me. "If anything like this happens again, use my name. You’re not some lone wolf without a pack. You have an Alpha to protect you."
He walked out of the room, leaving me shocked.
[Someone to protect me? Besides my grandmother, it’s been a long time since anyone stood up for me.
But is Dominic this nice to all his pack members?]
