2. Dominic

Chapter 2

Dominic

M y One was here. I was just shy of three centuries. I had given up ever meeting my perfect match. I knew it simply didn’t happen for some, and I had come to terms with the fact that I was going to be one of those that never found that someone. I’d had a few long-term relationships along the way, and had even considered adopting a child at one point, but then realized that I lived in a coven that I certainly did not wish to bring a child into and quickly shut down those thoughts.

Life had gone on for a time, and then everything had gone to shit with Master Conti. Like most in the coven, I knew he wasn’t a good guy. But when the level of his depravity emerged, I thought for certain the entire coven was going to go down with him. Several had, more would, and the fact that the council had enforcers here to ask us some follow-up questions only proved that point.

But why did one of those enforcers have to be my One? I could tell immediately that he wasn’t overjoyed to have found me. In fact, he’d seemed disappointed. There was nothing I could do about the fact that I’d been born into Conti’s coven. It was what it was. Just as I could not deny the fact that Frederick Ainsworth was my One. My body had responded in more than one way that was telling.

“You all right?”

I glanced over at Elio and nodded. “Just peachy,” I told him. “I’m going to go follow that enforcer and answer any questions he might have. I figure it’s better to get that all out of the way as quickly as possible.” Elio just grinned, but he wasn’t looking at me. When I followed his line of sight, I sighed. “She’s under age, Elio.” Even I knew that. Why would he put himself in that type of position?

He glanced up at me, a look of horror on his face. “How under age?”

Did he truly not know? I found that difficult to believe.

“Fifteen,” Cornelius added as he turned around. “Stay away from her,” he warned. “Her dad is a warlock here, and her mom is a shifter from a pack not far away.” Cornelius stood and I watched as he walked over to the table and pointed. The young lady stood up and left, her entire demeanor changing immediately while Elio’s shoulder slumped.

“Maybe don’t try to sleep with every female here if you want to remain welcome,” Matthew said before he stood. I winced as he hurried to catch up with Cornelius who was quickly leaving the dining hall. Ten minutes ago, I would have been quite worried about myself remaining welcome in the coven if Elio continued on his current ways. It wouldn’t take much for Master Arthur to decide we were all too much of a risk and tell us to be on our ways. He hadn’t needed to accept us, and with the way things had been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were all asked to leave.

That was before my body reacted to the gorgeous enforcer. Frederick. He worked for the council. That meant he lived wherever the council happened to be stationed. Because he was my One, if and when we claimed one another, I would need to relocate to wherever it was that he lived. That just made the most sense. I did not have anything going on in my life that tied me to Amherst. I was more than happy to make a life with my One wherever he happened to be.

Determined to answer the questions that Frederick had for us, and then see if he was willing to discuss things of a more private matter, I left the dining hall and turned the direction of Fenwick’s office. It hadn’t been my intention to overhear what I was certain was supposed to be a private conversation, but as I approached Master Arthur’s office, the door was open and I could hear the conversation clearly.

“I cannot be involved with questioning Dominic,” I heard Frederick say. “Furthermore, the thought of him being my One, is not only disappointing, but insulting. I cannot in good conscious, continue as lead on this assignment. Not while remaining unbiased.”

I took a step back, then another but stopped at the sound of Master Arthur’s voice. “Do you wish to pursue Dominic once the questioning is complete and things are sorted?”

“No. I want nothing to do with him. I guess I will be one to test just how long a warlock can now go without claiming their One once they’ve met them.”

What? Just like that, he wasn’t even going to discuss things with me? Sure, they had questions, but it was questions. I thought about that a moment. Unless there was more to it than just some follow-up details they needed to discuss. I leaned against the wall for a moment with my eyes closed before I turned and quickly backtracked the way I’d come. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for the person who was supposed to be perfect for me. Tell me to my face that I wasn’t worthy of him. Sure, I had been born into a less than honest coven. That did not mean that I myself was unethical. In fact, I had strived most of my life to be completely honest.

I made it to the main foyer and then found myself at a loss as to where to go. I knew if I went for a walk outside on the ground, that could be seen as trying to avoid the questioning. I had no desire to return to the dining hall, that meant I was left with either going to the atrium and listening to any, all children screaming, and playing heading back to my room and simply waiting to be called for.

I decided that was by far better than standing around and having to face Frederick when he eventually emerged from Master Arthur’s office. Everyone knew where they would be able to locate me, so I decided to take matters into my own hand, as well as a little bit of control of the situation. If they wanted to ask me questions, fine. But they would have to come find me first and that meant I was going to go to my quarters. It would give me a little bit of time to compose myself, and if nothing else I would be able to simply ignore the fact that Frederick had quite publicly rejected me in front of Master Arthur.

It didn't take long to arrive back in my quarters, and once inside the area that had become a sanctuary to me in the last few weeks, I suddenly felt a surge of anger course through me. It wasn’t that I was feeling emotions from Frederick because we hadn’t yet claimed one another, and neither of us would feel with the other until we had done so. No, the emotions I was currently feeling were completely my own. Frustration with life, frustration at my one, frustration at the unfairness of it all.

There was little to nothing that I could do if Frederick truly wanted nothing to do with me. At the moment, I didn’t know if what he had said was him speaking his true feelings or if he was simply uninterested in having me as his life partner. Either way, I knew that I deserve better and I would not stand for being treated like that by someone who was supposed to be all about making me happy while I did the same for him.

I had just made it to the living area when there was a knock on the door. They had to come for me, obviously quicker than I expected. I use a little bit of magic to grab my tablet that I had brought with me from Italy, and then went to answer the door. I wasn’t sure if they would need the tablet again or not but I wasn’t going to take any chances and not have it when I needed it. There was little to nothing on it and really I wasn’t sure what, if anything, they were able to retrieve from my personal computer that I never received back. I had nothing on it, because I had absolutely nothing to hide.

I answered the door, not sure who I expected, but when I found not Frederick but the Hellhound that had been at the council since we had, I had to wonder if they thought I was some sort of threat. I looked at Dante and raised an eyebrow in question. He smirked and shrugged at me, giving nothing away. I should have known from previous communications with him. He had always been polite every time I had ever had any kind of meeting with him.

“Do you know what this is all about?" I asked as I stepped into the hallway with Dante.

Dante side before shaking his head. “I do. And I think it is all completely ridiculous, but the council is making sure things are exactly as they are supposed to be because Arthur has requested it.”

I looked at the Hellhound completely confused. Did what he just said to me make sense? Somewhat. “What is it that Master Arthur is requesting?”

“It is not a secret that Patrick is pregnant. As any mate would be, he is overly protective of his pregnant one. This means that Master Arthur is being overly cautious. There were some questions that were brought to the council attention, and it is my understanding that Frederick Team is here to get to the bottom of everything. The more cooperative that you are, the smoother this will go.”

I had absolutely nothing to hide, so I did not see this as being too painfully difficult. “I have nothing to hide. I never have.” I thought about what I had heard just a little while ago outside of Master Arthur’s office and wondered if that would be the only thing I ever ended up hiding throughout my life. As Frederick had mentioned, at least I would not have to go through life painfully. Sure, the vibrations as my aura reacted to Fredericks would always be there when we were in close proximity, but I was certain he was going to make sure that was never an issue.

“Well then, if you have nothing to hide, then I do not see as this being any sort of issue.” Dante offered me a smile, but I had to wonder if there was a certain meaning behind it. His aura did not present as someone who wasn’t being genuine, so I took it as it appeared to be: him simply being positive.

When we walked past Master Arthur’s office, it was closed this time. I could sense auras inside, and had to assume they were discussing something, or perhaps it was just Master Arthur and is own One, Patrick. No matter who was inside, it wasn’t my concern.

“We’re going to be in here,” Dante said as he gestured to the office at the end of the hallway. I nodded, then entered in front of him. There was a warlock sitting on the desk that I’d not met before, and I couldn’t help but wonder who he was. Another enforcer perhaps?

“Come on in and have a seat,” he said, his accent much like Master Arthur and Patrick’s. I quickly moved to the chair he’d indicated with an outstretched arm while Dante walked and leaned against the far wall. “I’m Carrington, by the way. I’ll be helping out with the investigation.”

“I thought Frederick was going to be asking the questions?” I asked.

“He will be.” Carrington tilted his head from side to side. “I’m here helping as well. The council has decided that things would go quicker if there were more of us working on this.”

I nodded slowly, thinking about what he had just said. He was a warlock, as was I, but there was something more about him that I didn’t have. Much like Frederick, or even Master Arthur. Not quite to the level of Master Arthur, but close. He didn’t appear to be lying in anyway, so apparently the council had somehow quite quickly decided that Frederick would have additional help. Either that or the warlock sitting in front of me was somehow able to control his aura when he was being not quite truthful.

“Sounds good to me. What is it that you would like to ask me specifically?”

Carrington smiled slowly and yeah, I hadn’t just met my fated One, I most likely would be interested in someone like the warlock here to ask questions. “Specifically,” he said has his smile grew, “I need to ask you how long you’ve owned Specter Logistics.”

I stared at Carrington in confusion. I glanced over at Dante, who looked to be bored as he leaned against the wall.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean,” I told him. “I don’t own a company named Specter Logistics. I don’t own any companies actually, and I’ve not ever heard of Specter Logistics.”

Carrington stared intently at me a moment before he turned to look at Dante. “He’s telling the truth. He’s never heard of it before. Which means the information we were fed is false.”

I looked back and forth between the two, even more confused now then I was just moments ago. “What are the two of you talking about?”

“The council has been given some new information revolving around your old coven. Beyond that, I am not exactly comfortable with sharing more.”

“Well, isn’t that just convenient for everyone except me.” I looked between the two once more before shaking my head. “I don’t suppose that either of you are willing to tell me what exactly it is that Specter logistics does.”

“At the moment, no,” Carrington told me. “Are you certain you’ve never heard of it before?”

I shook my head once more. “There are a lot of logistics companies that our coven owned as well as even more that they dealt with on a regular basis. I was in marketing though, and I don’t ever remember hearing anything about Specter Logistics.”

“He’s still telling the truth. His scent is one of confusion and complete calm. His heartrate hasn’t spiked; which would be expected if he had anything to hide.”

Carrington nodded. “Agreed.” He slid off of the desk and smiled at me. This time, it reached his eyes and they crinkled in the corners. “You’re free to go, Dominic. I thank you for your time. I do apologize that I cannot give you more information at the moment, but the council appreciates your cooperation.”

That was it? That’s all they were going to say about the matter? I stood, nodded to both of them and then walked out the door. My thoughts were reeling, wondering about this company I supposedly owned as well as why it was that my One had rejected me without even getting to know me first.

Master Arthur’s office door opened as I approached. I saw Frederick standing just inside with another person I’d not ever seen before. I nodded to them, but never paused my stride. I had a destination, and that was my quarters. I needed to collect my thoughts regarding everything that had just transpired.

It took only moments before I was finally in the sanctuary of my own little suite of rooms. I collapsed down onto the sofa, desperately wanting nothing more than to research Specter Logistics, but I knew that was probably the worst thing I could do at the moment. I had no doubt that the council knew exactly what each and every one of us from my birth coven did on any of our electronic devices. I was thankful that at least my room was free from any sort of camera or listening device.

Sure, there were cameras in the hallways and the main areas, just as an extra precaution because the town of Amherst wasn’t all that far away and was filled with humans that could become too curious about the manor and its occupants. But that was the extent of them. All of our suites and rooms were private, and that was reassuring.

No matter how much I thought about the past several years, I could not recall ever seeing anything regarding Specter Logistics. It wasn’t impossible that it was a legitimate company. Most likely it was. But I wasn’t the owner of it, and the fact that the council had been led to believe I was, told me I was in trouble. I was being set up for something, and I didn’t know what, nor did I know how to figure out who or why. I was…stuck.

I stared out the window at the dull gray sky, trying to decide what to do. Overall, it had been a pretty terrible day. It should have been amazing. I should be here talking to Frederick, getting to know him better, but he didn’t want me. It didn’t get past me that most likely he wasn’t interested in having a relationship with me because of what was happening with this faux company. Well, my company that technically wasn’t mine. At least, I didn’t think so.

I had a thought. Maybe I actually did own the place and just didn’t realize. Wouldn’t that be something? I wouldn’t put it past my birth coven to do something like that. I knew I needed to figure out how to find out more about this company. In this day in age anything was possible. But I didn't have access to a computer without it being subject to search. That changed the dynamic of being able to discover what I needed to know. One thing I didn’t know for certain, though, was that I no longer truly felt welcome in this coven. As soon as I was able, I knew I was going to set out in search of somewhere else to settle down. I didn’t need to be with others like me, and in fact, I figured I would be overall happier if I simply disappeared amongst humans.

The knock on my door not completely unexpected, but I had assumed I had already answered all of the questions that Carrington had for me. I tossed the pillow I had been holding on my lap assign and went to answer the door. The absolute last person I expected to see on the other side when I opened it was Frederick. Immediately several things went through my mind, but my mouth didn’t seem to want to express them out loud.

“Hello,” he said finally. “I was wondering if we could possibly talk?”

How dare he! This man, not long ago had very vocally rejected me in front of who I thought was going to be my next coven master. Now he wanted to talk? The logical and mature thing to do would be invite him in and discuss what I had inadvertently overheard him, say in Arthur’s office. Mature me didn’t appear to be present though. I simply narrowed my eyes before I took a step back and shut the door. For emphasis, and a little bit of spite, I loudly turned the lock, and then simply walked away from the door.

I have no idea if Frederick was still standing on the other side of the door or not. At the moment, I had nothing to say to him, and possibly never would. I may not be the best catch, nor from any sort of dignified family line, but I had my pride. And at the moment, it was still quite shattered at what Frederick had said to Master Arthur. There was another knock at my door, but I truly wasn't in the mood to hear what Frederick had to say to me. Perhaps tomorrow, but right now I simply wasn't ready. For now, I was going to remain in my quarters and try to figure out what my next move was going to be. Was that what was best for me? I had no way of knowing, but I knew for a fact that in putting myself first for a change, I was doing what I could in order to help with the ache in my chest that had been there since I had overheard Frederick talking with Master Arthur.