Chapter 82: Chapter 82 The Price of Pride
Elara
The stress from the hotel incident had really gotten to me. My skin looked awful after everything that happened.
I’d spent the morning at the beauty salon, returning to the apartment around noon.
Once I got home, Linda had made fresh soup for me.
After eating, I crashed on the couch for a nap I desperately needed.
I don’t know how long I’d been sleeping when lightning woke me up.
Heavy rain hit the windows hard. The sound made me nervous somehow.
When I checked my phone, I saw over a dozen missed calls from Dominic.
I frowned. Wasn’t he supposed to be at the rugby game with Vincent?
I called him back right away, but no one answered.
Maybe it wasn’t that important.
I settled back on the couch and opened a book.
Then the front door crashed open.
Dominic stood there, completely soaked. His polo shirt and jeans clung to his body, wrinkled and wet. His hair was messy, water dripping down his face.
My heart did something weird when I saw him like this.
"You didn’t bring an umbrella?" I asked.
His eyes looked different. Dark and intense in a way I’d never seen before.
But he smiled sharply. "You gave the ticket to Vincent?"
[Oh. So that’s what this was about.]
I looked away from his stare. "Yes, I thought you both liked rugby ."
He stepped closer. I pulled my feet up on the couch.
There was a puddle forming under him.
"I’ll get you a towel," I said, standing up.
His cold, wet hand grabbed my wrist before I could move. His grip was so tight it hurt.
"Dominic, let go!" I said, confused by how he was acting.
"Three things," he said. His voice was low and dangerous. "First, stop trying to set me up with Vincent. I’m not interested in him."
"Second, don’t try to match me with anyone else either."
He moved closer until the cold from his body almost froze me. His voice became a growl. "And third, you love giving me gifts so much?"
"Fine." His other hand grabbed my chin and made me look at him. "Then let me tell you what gift I actually want."
Before I could ask what he meant, his mouth was on mine.
When his lips touched mine, I gasped. I pressed my hands against his wet chest to push him away.
But he was too strong. He kissed me harder.
The kiss was rough, demanding, almost angry. Like he was punishing me.
My lips hurt under his.
When he pushed into my mouth, my mind went blank. His fingers on my jaw went from cold to burning hot.
Something inside me responded to his dominance. It scared me.
I pushed him away with all my strength and slapped his wet face hard.
Dominic looked shocked for a second. But the dark look in his eyes got stronger. He actually smiled and turned his head. "Want to try the other side too?"
I stared at him. "You..."
"No? Then I’ll keep kissing you."
He was serious. The jerk was actually serious.
I don’t know how long he kissed me. I started feeling dizzy from not being able to breathe. Only then did he pull back a little.
Dominic put his forehead against mine. He was breathing hard. His eyes flashed gold for a second.
"Next time, this is the kind of gift I want from you. Got it?" he said quietly.
"You’re such an asshole!" I snapped, trying to catch my breath.
Dominic looked at my swollen lips and laughed softly. "Yes, I am an asshole."
Author
Alpha Enzo frowned at his daughter and sighed deeply. "Just apologize and this whole mess will be over. Selina, why won’t you do it?"
"Do you want to watch our company’s stock price keep crashing?"
Selina’s eyes were red and swollen. "Dad, I won’t apologize to her! How did she marry Dominic Wolfe? There’s no way she did that on her own!"
"She must have tricked him or blackmailed him somehow. A nobody like her doesn’t just marry the Alpha King!"
Alpha Enzo threw up his hands. "I didn’t arrange anything! Selina, don’t you know that I love you?"
He would throw anyone under the bus for business. But he would never hurt his daughter.
"Selina, do you think she’s living some fairy tale with Alpha King? Everyone knows what he’s like. He just wanted a convenient wife to look good at parties and handle social stuff. How could she possibly be better than you?"
Selina knew this was true. But she couldn’t accept it.
"What if Dominic falls for her eventually?" she asked.
Alpha Enzo answered right away. "Impossible!"
But Selina stayed stubborn. "I won’t apologize! You could drag me to her house and I still wouldn’t do it!"
"You..." Alpha Enzo shook with anger. "You spoiled brat!"
"Fine! I am spoiled! Why don’t you just make Elara your perfect daughter instead?" She stormed out and drove off fast.
After they fought, Luna Nadia came out. "Enzo, will Selina be okay?"
"Leave her alone. I spoiled her too much. Now I can’t reason with her!"
Selina drove fast through the rain while crying.
She called Zack. The phone rang several times before he answered.
"Zack..." she said, her voice breaking.
He cut her off right away. "Is the gossip true? About Leo from your orchestra setting up Elara? Leo had no problem with Elara. So why did he target her? Selina, did you plan this whole thing?"
Selina’s heart dropped. She gripped the steering wheel tight. "Zack, I didn’t! It wasn’t me. Leo had gambling debts!"
"Then why did he call you right before getting arrested?"
"Selina, I hate liars."
His words hurt like a slap.
Tears ran down her face. "Zack, let me explain! I was jealous of her. Jealous that you liked her while I was studying at Luna Academy!"
Zack went quiet.
"Zack, you can deny it all you want. But I figured it out! I was thousands of miles away. Didn’t I have the right to be upset?"
"Selina..."
"Zack, you’re everything to me. Can’t you forgive me just this once?"
The rain was getting worse. She was driving too fast and crying too hard to focus. Her wolf was restless, feeding off her emotional chaos and making it harder to concentrate.
Right after she said that, Zack heard tires screeching.
Then a loud crash and a woman’s scream.
His blood went cold. He yelled into the phone, "Selina!"
