Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Dominic

I stand at the top of the stairs, my heart slamming against my chest while Chloe— my Chloe—stands below me, her rumpled pink hair framing fear-filled eyes.

Over the last eight years, she's only become more beautiful, and all the yearning and desire I had buried with contempt comes flooding back, bringing with it a healthy dose of shame.

"What are you doing here?" My voice sounds hoarse even to my own ears as I stumble down the steps.

Why is she in my home? Is it possible she's responsible for the shift in our bond that pulled me from sleep?

On the ground floor, I stride toward her, the hardwood cold beneath my bare feet.

But I freeze when she stumbles back, fear twisting the sweet lips that had always smiled for me until peer pressure and my mother's demands destroyed my fragile backbone.

I'd been afraid of my family and friends turning against me, too. So when I had the chance to do the right thing and stick by Chloe's side, I chose to join the masses and reject her.

She takes another step back, clutching her trembling fingers in front of her breasts. "Stay away from me, Dom."

"Chloe, I—" My throat closes, strangled by the intensity of the emotions coursing through me.

I want to apologize, to tell her how sorry I am for everything, but the words won't come. Instead, a purr escapes, my Alpha instincts flaring up at the sight of her fear, seeking to comfort her.

The air between us pulses with an electric current, humming with the unspoken desires and temptations we toyed with as teenagers. As adults, the magnetic pull toward her has only grown, instilling in me a primal need to protect her.

Her hands lift to cover her ears, and she shakes her head. "Stop doing that!"

Tears well in her eyes, and my heart aches, my hand reaching for her. "I never wanted to hurt you. But I was weak, afraid of what everyone would think. I let fear control me back then, but I'm not the same person."

She flinches away from my touch. "I don't believe you!"

The words sting, though I have no right to expect anything different. Not after everything that happened between us.

Tension crackles in the air as Holden's focus flits from Chloe to me with suspicion. "How do you two know each other?"

"We grew up together," I say, heart in my throat.

"We were friends in high school." Chloe trembles like a leaf. "Things changed."

Holden's face, normally so open and accepting, hardens with accusation. He steps in front of Chloe, protective and fierce, using his body as a shield. "Back off, Dominic."

I stare at him in shock, taken aback by my bondmate's sudden fierceness, and from the corner of my eye, I catch Blake and Nathaniel sharing a startled glance. We had been brutally honest with one another when we formed our pack, exposing our histories and vulnerabilities. We hid nothing from each other — until this week.

How is Chloe here ? I don't understand how this happened.

Her choked sob pierces the tense silence. "I'm sorry. I can't do this."

Tears running down her cheeks, she bolts, disappearing down the hallway.

Instinct takes hold, and I turn to follow her trail of lily and lilac, wondering how I hadn't recognized it in my home the second I stepped inside the house.

Then Holden steps into my path and shoves me back, a warning in his voice. "Leave her alone!"

I stumble, my feet tangling, and Blake catches me before I fall, his strong arms gripping my shoulders. Chloe's pheromones cling to him, and jealousy surges through me like wildfire.

A possessive growl rips from my throat. "Why are her pheromones all over you?"

Nathaniel's lip curls into a snarl, barely concealed anger flashing across his face. "Because Blake fucked her."

At his crude remark, Blake's face contorts, and he releases me to lunge for Nathaniel, his hands balled. "Don't you dare talk about her like that!"

Fury sweeps over me, and before I can think, my fist connects with Blake's jaw.

Pain blazes through my hand, and I worry that I broke it, but the shocked expression on Blake's face as he reels back is worth it.

Then Blake snarls and dives toward me, fists raised that can break my ribs.

Nathaniel catches Blake and yanks him back, his nostrils flared and lips pressed into a thin line. "What the hell is going on?"

Chests heaving, we glare at each other, the scent of anger and betrayal acidic in the air.

"Did you sleep with Chloe?" Holden's voice breaks the silence, devastation in the stare he levels on Blake. "Is that why our bond shifted?"

Uncertainty flickers across Blake's face, and he runs a hand through his long brown hair. "I didn't plan to. It just… happened."

Holden's face contorts with a mix of pain and hurt. "It's even worse that you put no thought into it."

"Our entire pack is at risk because Blake was only thinking with his dick. This is why I said that messing around with her was a bad idea." Nathaniel gestures at me as if in proof, and I stiffen.

Red creeps up Blake's cheeks. "Why are you even upset, Dominic? You didn't know about any of this until tonight."

I open my mouth to respond, but the words refuse to come, choked off by the rage clawing at my insides.

The truth is, I have no right to be so furious. Chloe isn't mine, has never been mine. But seeing her here, in my home, smelling like my bondmate, unleashed a torrent of long-buried emotions from deep within me.

When I stay silent, Holden jumps in, accusation sharpening his tone as he yells at Blake. "If you'd spent any time getting to know Chloe instead of just angling to get in her pants, you'd know Dominic bullied her in high school."

Pain lances through me at the reminder of my past cruelty, the memories threatening to drown me in regret.

I turn toward Holden, who had forgiven the childish me who couldn't stand up to others. That was before he met my victim, though.

Holden refuses to look at me, his focus still on Blake, disappointment etched into every line of his freckled face.

Blake's head drops, his shoulders hunching.

With one bondmate cowed, Holden's angry gaze sweeps over me and Nathaniel, making us shrink back like children getting our hands slapped. "Sort your shit out. I'm going to see if Chloe is okay."

Turning on his heel, he storms away, leaving the rest of us staring at each other.

Nathaniel curses under his breath, clenching his fists at his side. "It's been a while since Holden lost his temper. I guess we'll be fending for ourselves for the next week."

An unwilling chuckle escapes as I remember the last time we pissed off our bondmate. "Or he'll cook all of our favorite dishes, but only serve them burnt or ice cold."

The others chuckle, the moment of levity breaking the tension.

Blake shakes his head. "Holden won't leave Chloe to starve, though." His words sober us, and he shoots me a questioning glance. "What just happened?"

My legs weaken, and I sit on the stairs, scrubbing my face with my hands, the memory of Chloe so hurt and betrayed flashing through my mind. "Do you guys remember when I told you about my best friend growing up? How my family had arranged for me to court her when we got older?"

They nod.

I take a shaky breath. "That was Chloe."

"Wait." Nathaniel's brow pinches. "I thought you were supposed to court someone from the Sinclair pack?"

"Yeah, Chloe was born into the Sinclair pack. I didn't realize she'd changed her last name." My heart aches for everything I missed out on over the years, never knowing where she went after graduation. "We grew up together. The Sterlings wanted an alliance with the Sinclairs, and since Chloe and I were close, we were happy to go along with our families' plans. But then some things happened, and Chloe and her mom left their pack."

I don't want to tell them the whole sordid story before speaking to Chloe. The scandal of Vivian Sinclair and her daughter getting kicked out of the Sinclair pack had stirred up so many rumors. At the time, I never questioned them, but later, I started wondering how much was fact and how much was fiction.

The sharp sting of guilt gnaws at my insides, but I force myself to face them. "Without the Sinclair's backing, Chloe became persona non grata among the elite."

My hands clench and unclench, knuckles turning white with tension. "Since she still attended the same school, all the kids from the rich packs made it clear that Chloe was no longer one of them."

My throat dries up, the words sticking like shards of glass. "I was too afraid I'd be ostracized from our friend group, too, so I…went along with the crowd. My mother told me to break all ties with Chloe and forget we had ever been friends."

The confession hangs heavy in the air, like a storm cloud threatening to burst.

Disappointment etches Blake's features. "So you just abandoned her?"

"Sweet mother of mercy, I was so ashamed of what I did. But it wasn't only my pack pressuring me to reject her. It was all the packs." Tears prick my eyes, and I rub them away. "The only way I could force myself to be cruel to Chloe was to harden my heart. After I pretended long enough, I believed the act."

"I remember my father talking about it, but my mom always shushed him when I was around." Understanding and sympathy fill Nathaniel's face.

He comes from a pack like the Sterlings and understands how much easier it is to give in rather than fight against your entire family.

"Which is why you were such an asshole when we met in university," Blake says.

A hollow laugh bubbles up, and I rub my jaw, where I took Blake's fist after mouthing off about his lower pack status one too many times before we became friends. "Yeah, I needed some sense knocked back into me."

"Sounds like you might need another dose." Blake cracks his knuckles in threat. "I don't think I hit you hard enough back then."

"If it will make you feel better, go ahead." I swallow past the lump in my throat. "I deserve worse."

Nathaniel crosses his arms over his chest, his expression unyielding. "Okay, so we understand why our guest is so pissed off at Dominic. That still doesn't explain why she's now staying in a room in the Homestead, or your decision to try to bond with her behind our backs, Blake."

The surge of possessive anger from earlier returns, but along with it comes joy that Chloe is here and bonding with my packmates. There's still a chance at the happiness I lost all those years ago when I turned my back on her.

A guilty expression crosses Blake's face. "About that…" He takes a deep breath, bracing himself. "Cabin One was damaged in the storm last night. I planned to tell you when you were in a better mood today."

The blood drains from Nathaniel's face. "How bad is it?"

Blake rubs the back of his neck, discomfort plain on his face. "Emily and I broke down the tree that fell on it and tarped the roof, but the floor took a pretty big hit."

"Dammit!" Nathaniel stomps away, then paces back. "I knew we shouldn't have installed fake flooring over the original hardwood!"

"It was supposed to be indestructible!" Blake throws up his hands. "And it cost less than real wood. We have a budget to maintain, and the engineered stuff looks just as good!"

As they devolve into an argument that's been repeated over the last year, I tune out their voices and stand, drawn to a familiar scent drifting from the hall. My senses come alive as I catch the soft notes of Chloe's pheromones, but they hold a bitter edge to them, like burnt flowers.

Memories flood my mind, taking me back to the first day Chloe returned to school after being thrown out of the Sinclair pack. She had sought comfort from me, her best friend and confidant, only to be met with cold rejection.

The shame washes over me anew, but with Chloe here now, I have the chance to convince her that I'm sorry. I was such a coward back then, but that I've changed and will never betray her again.

I need her to know it was a mistake, one I've never stopped regretting.

My heart races, anticipation and fear warring inside me. There was a time when she knew we belonged together, a time when our bond sang whenever we were close. Whatever it takes, I'll earn her forgiveness.

I have to believe this rift can be fixed, because now that I've found her again, no other Omega will do.