The Luna's Escape

Chapter 8 - A Fragile Hope

Jasmine

An Alpha’s aura held no influence on those without a wolf, but that didn’t mean its effect went unnoticed. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled, standing on end with the electrical charge to the air, like a lightning storm before the almighty clap.

Dominic was home, and his characteristic door slam when he was irritated confirmed it.

I was still panicking over Conan and whether he would keep my secret. The guy had an avalanche of truth dumped on his head that had turned him and the perspective of his life upside down. I knew from personal experience that the pill of a perfect image shattered was a bitter one to swallow. Unfortunately, the young Gamma’s personal existential crisis was not the crisis most prominent on my mind. I had mere seconds to explain why my eyes were red from tears and why Conan had taken longer than he should have to pick up the tablet on the coffee table – the only reason I could see as to why he was here in the first place.

“Jasmine?” Dominic called, aware I would be home because my guards updated him every five minutes.

Knowing I had seconds before he followed my scent, I shoved Conan aside to grab the thick sherpa fleece blanket and turned to snatch up the book I had left out on the side this morning. There was a sad part of the story midway through that would provide a plausible cover as to why I was crying. The man, locked in a frozen concoction of wide-eyed panic and mouth open catching flies, would have to decide for himself what he was about to do. Sell me out, sealing me here forever, or help me and my unborn son out of this prison.

The blanket had just landed across my lap and the book’s pages broken open when Dominic’s boots thundered at the living room door.

“So you are still here.” Dominic’s irritated stare fell on Conan.

“Uh—”

Great defence, wolf boy. I resisted rolling my eyes. Relying on the Gamma to take any initiative at present was not going to be the best idea.

“Jasmine?” Dominic shifted his focus from his Gamma to me, rushing to my side and taking my face in his hands. “Have you been crying?”

Here it came. The performance. Although it was true that he didn’t want me crying, it was a lie that his concern was about my welfare. A tearful Luna didn’t fit the image he wanted to portray of a happy and solid Alpha family.

“Oh, I was just doing a little reading after I came home, that’s all.” I blinked away the tightness settling from the dried tears staining my eyelids red.

“I don’t like you making yourself upset, angel.”

“It’s only a small sad part of the story, and my pregnancy hormones are going all haywire,” I chuckled it away and clasped the book tight to my chest, disliking how he crowded me into the bay window. I fought the urge to squirm away out of fear that the wrong groan of wood creaking under my backside would give my secret away.

“Still.” He peeled the book away, not needing to use much of his strength against me. “I don’t think you should be reading this.”

“But…” I reached for it because I genuinely loved this book and was regretting using it as the reason for my tears.

Dominic snatched my wrist, squeezing tight as a warning. It was only when I winced that he let his grip loosen, conscious that we weren’t alone.

“Not if it’s gonna upset you like this, angel. It can’t be healthy for you or my pup, and Dr. Knox says your blood pressure is still too high.” He turned to the wolf standing in silence behind him, giving me some much-needed breathing room. “I mind-linked you repeatedly. Why are you still here?”

I peered over Dominic’s shoulder at Conan, who was too busy frowning with his line of sight trained on an invisible fist around my wrist.

“That’s my fault,” I piped up before the Gamma caught any heat. “I’m really sorry, Dominic. I kept him talking longer than I should have.”

“I was just congratulating her on the pup and talking about how the prep’s going,” Conan found his voice, and I hoped from what he’d seen so far with his new perspective that I wasn’t lying.

“Yeah, I started on my plans for the nursery. Guess I couldn’t stop talking and held him up,” I chuckled trying to be as natural in my tone as possible and swallow my afternoon morning sickness and nerves over what I was about to pressure a person into. “Actually, I wanted to ask you something. Conan thinks it’s a terrible idea, but I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Oh?” Dominic spun his gaze between us.

Conan’s eyes doubled in size, and it was fortunate for him that his Alpha’s stare lingered on me. I didn’t like that I was about to force the guy’s hand, but I was done with being ‘nice’. The time for ‘nice’ had come and gone; it was desperation and gall’s time to reign.

“I haven’t been able to find the perfect furniture for the nursery, and I wanted to go to Bethel to see if they have anything—”

“That’s hours outside our borders,” he cut me off as I knew he would. “Conan is right; it’s a terrible idea, and I can’t allow it.”

“But others in the pack get to go, and I’ve never seen—”

“Conan?” Dominic interrupted me yet again, and though he addressed his Gamma, his piercing green eyes flickering black pinned themselves to me. “Would you mind waiting outside for me? This is a conversation best had in private with my Luna.”

“Uh… sure. I’ll just grab this” – he picked up the tablet that started it all – “and I’ll meet you in your office.”

Our eyes met, and his step hesitated before he left. Did he see past the superficial charm and care that he was once fooled by? As the front door thudded shut, I wrung my fingers, wondering whether I had grasped a straw too far. I did as my vision showed me, choosing the difficult-to-tread path. This ridiculous plan had to work, and the chance I was taking on Conan had to be the leap of faith… surely?

In front of an Alpha who simmered beneath the surface, the confidence in my vision began to crumble.

I stripped back the blanket across my lap and stood from the window seat, doing so slowly to quieten the squeak of wood. Between Dominic’s silence and his irises rimmed in black, a trembling chill raked its talons down my spine, and I didn’t want to be boxed in.

“Why would you speak to Conan about leaving the pack’s borders and not me?” The Alpha seemed to grow a foot taller, and his aura a shade darker.

My back hit the wall behind me, trading one impasse for another.

“I-I wasn’t asking him for permission. I-it just came up… that’s all. I wanted to ask you, I swear.”

A yelp tore from my throat as his fists landed on either side of my head, caging me into the dead end I had backed myself into. My knees knocked in shivers, my heart surged in my ears and my lip quivered, no matter how hard I fought to stop my fear from showing.

“Why?” His fist unfurled to stroke my cheek, the flesh burning in its memory of what that fist could do. “Why would you want to be so far from me?”

“I don’t.” I restrained the instinct to shy away or allow the bile to rise at what I would need to do to convince him. Raising my palms in front of me, I slid up his chest, rubbing against the hard mounds of his pecs and willing away the palpitations from my digits. “I love you. That’s why I just want to make this perfect for our baby.” I wrapped my arms around his neck, his hands circling my hips to lift me around his waist in belief of each word I spoke with my tongue and my body. “Can I go? Just for the day? I trust you completely to protect me anywhere, and I know you won’t let anyone hurt either of us – me or the baby.”

He sighed, and a burst of hope surged in my chest that it was one of resignation. I had learnt a thing or two about manipulation from him, and while I may have hated it, I was not above using it if it meant I escaped him.

“I’ll think about it, angel.” He nuzzled his nose against mine. “You’re a difficult one to say no to.”

I pressed my luck, hoping this one last push would tip him over, and brushed my lips against his. He took the bait and devoured my very breath, taking my tongue with it.

“If I didn’t have work to do, I’d stay and let you motivate me some more.” He panted against the skin of my jaw, trailing his kisses down the pulse of my neck.

I shuddered with a wave of revulsion that rippled from my toes to my scalp, flipping my stomach with it as though it needed further encouragement. The sensation had been growing, and I wasn’t sure why. My guess was that it was no coincidence my secret green-eyed man sprang through my mind when the shiver began.

Dominic placed me back on my feet, mistaking my flinch for flutters of desire, and kissed the top of my head.

“I’ll speak with Conan, and we’ll see what can be arranged. But it’s only for one day, angel; this one time. That’s all I’ll allow.”

“Really?!” My grin was genuine for the first time in so long that I could cry.

“Providing I can ensure it’s as safe as possible, yes.” He glanced at the old cuckoo clock. “We’ll talk later tonight, and maybe we can finish what you started.”

His harsh fingers grasped my hand, nipping equally harsh kisses on my wrist that would leave marks behind. I nodded without a word, flashing my brightest smile, despite the fact that he was walking out with my favourite book, holding on to his promise that I wasn’t to read it.

As soon as the front door closed once more, I couldn’t keep my pregnancy nausea to myself anymore and hurtled at full speed into the kitchen, throwing up in the sink and heaving until I was sure I pulled a muscle. I flicked the faucet lever to let the water rinse away my stomach contents, cupping handfuls under the stream to clear my mouth and spitting them out.

I rubbed my side, nursing the burn of an overstretched muscle, yet I couldn’t keep the grin from my lips. This was it. It had to be. If only Conan did what I hoped he would.