CHAPTER 53

MIA POV.

The next morning, I sat composed, sipping my coffee, eyes fixed on the doorway. The morning light streamed through the windows that cast an eerie normalcy over the room. As if yesterday's events had never happened. My heart skipped a beat when Dominic finally entered the dining room. His calm and composed demeanor belied the controlling man I'd faced in the basement yesterday. His gaze swept the room, and I smirked when I noticed that he deliberately pretended that I wasn’t there.

"Good morning, Mike," he greeted his Beta, his voice smooth. Mike stood up from the table and nodded towards his alpha in respect and sat back down when Dominic sat down in his place at the head of the table. "Good morning, Alpha.” Mike said and sat patiently waiting for his alpha to address him while Dominic filled his cup with coffee. “Any new information?” Dominic asked as he looked from his coffee to Mike. The Beta shook his head. “Unfortunately not, but we've received word from the pack to the North that they are willing to meet to discuss the other matter that you wanted to know about." Mike said. I rolled my eyes as their conversation went on about pack politics and strategic alliances.

Irritation filled me while Dominic continued to ignore me. Was he trying to unsettle me by ignoring me? I wondered, but I refused to take it from him. I remained neutral, a mask of indifference in place, but inside, I was silently seething. What happened yesterday was gone and done with, but he did make me a promise to take me back to the pack’s school? I knew he hadn’t forgotten it but I had an idea he was deliberately neglecting his promise as a new form of punishment.

“Excuse me, Dominic?” I called across the table. Mike stopped speaking to look at me and give me the opportunity to speak out of respect, but when Dominic proceeded to carry on with the conversation with Mike. I saw the beta’s eyes widen as he suddenly picked up on something between me and his alpha. "What's the plan for the pack gathering, Mike?" Dominic asked a little more forceful with a warning edge to his voice. Mike gaped like a fish for a moment before he cleared his throat to answer his alpha.

"We… we'll be attending, that is if it is alright with you?” Mike said, his eyes darted to me again. I could see the confusion in his eyes and a silent apology towards me. “That’s fine.” Dominic said, and took a sip of his coffee before addressing his beta again. “Secure the alliance, that way we will grow strength in numbers to remain strong." Dominic said, his gaze never wavered from his coffee.

A flare of anger in my chest had me push back from the table, my chair scraping against the floor. "Dominic, I will not be ignored!” I said angrily and Mike’s mouth dropped open in shock. Whatever he was about to say was lost to deaf ears as Dominic’s head slowly turned to finally face my gaze from across the table. I could see Dominic’s nose flare in anger, but he remained in control. His eyes were cold as they held mine and for a moment I wondered if I had gone too far, but it was too late to back down now. “What is it, Mia?” He asked cuttingly.

“I thought we had agreed that I would start at the pack school today." I said, my voice firm but controlled. Dominic's gaze never wavered from mine, but he did narrow his eyes. "I don't recall making any promises, Mia." Anger simmered under my skin, but I kept cool about it. "You said you would take me to the school so that I can start fulfilling my role…" I spoke but he cut me off. "No, I said I would consider it." Dominic stated, his voice dripping with arrogance. "Not that I would indulge your whims."

Was he actually for real right now? I wondered. My hands clenched into fists on top of the breakfast table. Mike was still looking up and down between us in silence. "This isn't a whim, and If I remember correctly, it was your idea!" I reminded him, but his eyes remained unmoving. “We’ll see what things look like tomorrow.” He said and turned back to Mike to pick up his conversation from before. Frustration bubbled up once more. I took a deep breath, fighting to maintain my composure. "That's not acceptable." I shot back and Dominic's gaze narrowed in warning towards me. "You're not in a position to dictate terms, Mia. You either wait till tomorrow or I will have the guards physically escort you to your room." He threatened.

“This was going nowhere, I realized and stepped back from the table before turning my back on both of them and storming out of the dining room. I headed to my room, still seething from anger, and I continued to pace the length of my room even afterwards.

My thoughts went to Vivienne. I really missed her and her absence was starting to weigh heavily on me. Was she safe? I wondered, trying not to think of worst-case scenarios that she could be finding herself in. Her guidance had been what kept me safe so far, but now that she was gone, I was forced to stand on my own against Dominic. Her voice popped up into my mind. Her warnings and subtle hints about resisting Dominic's control, whispering in my ear, but I was still split into two about whose side should I take? I huffed in annoyance at an empty room as I finally came to a standstill in the center of the room. I refused to be controlled by Dominic, but I also didn’t want to be manipulated by my father.

Suddenly feeling trapped, I slipped out of my room to explore the huge house. I have been living here for a while and I haven’t seen the full extent of what this place has to offer. And since I knew what was in the basement, I wondered what the attic had in store.

I climbed the stairs, my footsteps quiet on the creaky steps. I knew not many people came to the attic because the more I climbed the stairs towards the attic door, the dustier it became. Finally reaching the attic door, I grasped the rusty handle and turned. But it refused to budge. Locked. Disappointed, I turned and made my way back down the stairs.

I made my way through the house and I found it mostly quiet since the majority of the pack was already on patrol, at their jobs or at training. I continued before I suddenly realized that I had my hand on the basement door knob. I didn’t even realize where I was going. It was as though my legs were on autopilot. I briefly looked around and saw that I was alone. I opened the door and started to descend the stairs, closing the door behind me. I was enveloped in darkness before my eyes adjusted to the dim lights that ran down the walls.

The air was thick, just as I remembered it but still, I continued down until I reached the first floor. I walked door to door, finding them all empty, until I reached a room that looked more like a storage office than a torture room. This room had more videotapes aligning the wall along with what looked like filing cabinets. This must be the archive room, I assumed. A thrill coursed through me, replacing the fear that once hovered over me. I pushed open the door and started reading different kinds of labels as I moved through the room: "Pack member Records, Alliance Agreements." I read out a few as my finger trailed over the files until one particular box caught my eye. “Dominic.” I read on the side of the box and I immediately flipped off the lid as my curiosity got the better of me.

The first item was a worn leather album. The pages yellowed with age as I flipped it open to see a photo of a young boy staring up at me. The youthful eyes of Dominic beamed up at me, it was such a stark contrast to the domineering and cold Dominic that I knew today. As I continued to flip through the pages, Dominic grew up and with it his eyes seemed to lose that happiness that he had as a young boy. The next page had me still over the photo of three faces looking up at me. This must have been taken on his wedding day as he stood tall and arrogant as always in a perfectly tailored tux, but it was the elder woman that captivated my attention. This must be Dominic's mother? I surmised. She was beautiful. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes, it held a quiet sorrow.

And then, there was the bride. Clare. But instead of a happy bride, I could also see that her smile did not reach her eyes. This photo made it clear that this was not a happy or a willing union. The subtle melancholy lingered in her eyes, as if she'd surrendered to a fate she couldn't escape from her arranged marriage.

I felt an inexplicable pang, studying Clare’s face. Had she come to love him in her short life after the wedding, or was she, too, a pawn in the family's game like I was? I wondered as I flipped yet another page in Dominic’s past life.