Chapter 227: Chapter 227
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]
How could I tell her that she wasn’t included in the plan to go back to the Wolf Tomb?
I stared down at my wife, and all that worry and fear on her face only brought heartbreak in me. The only wish I had as I tucked her hair behind her ears was for her to be happy again. Not to be worried about things like this—for her to live safely with Devon and Diana and just be comfortable and out of harm’s way as long as she and the children lived.
And that meant I had to stay strong and alive to make it happen. I would do anything—sacrifice anything I had just to keep that promise. Nothing else matters when it comes to her and my twins. They are my life. My world. They will always be my top priorities.
I wanted to tell her she wouldn’t go with me this time.
Only I didn’t know how.
Of course, knowing Samantha, she wouldn’t let me go alone back in the Wolf Tomb after we all almost died in there when Olivia and her giant shadow werewolves attacked us. I didn’t know what to expect either if I went there. And knowing that it was a dangerous place, I would never bring Samantha back there even if it meant I had to lie to her.
I never want to. But I had to.
After she saw how severely the curse had spread on my body, I couldn’t help but worry as well. I never wanted to terrify her about the grave situation I was in. Yes, the pain caused by the curse, as it damaged me from the inside, was agonizing. But nothing was more painful than watching the hope in her eyes slowly fade while her heart shattered into pieces, fearing that she was losing me bit by bit.
I couldn’t look at her when I saw that kind of terror in her eyes.
After I told her that I needed some time alone, I really had no idea where to go, so I decided to go to the garden instead and breathe some fresh air.
The sky was clear and I wished it wasn’t. I wish it were dark with the heavy rain pouring down, similar to how my tears poured down my face as I stared outside with my chest feeling so heavy and my mind full of chaos and fears. What would happen next if I decided to leave Samantha here with the twins? Could I make it alive? Could I survive it? Would I be able to destroy the source of the curse?
-
Would I be able to come home to them?
“Can’t sleep?”
I turned around and frowned when I saw the unexpectedly familiar face of a man strolling towards me with an annoying grin. I straightened my back and breathed deep as I gave him a stoic look, waiting for him to approach me.
“The last time I saw you, you were dying like a starfish leaning against a rock.” I raised an eyebrow at him and answered him with a cold look on my face.
He sighed heavily with a taunting smile and then clicked his tongue before he spoke, “Well, I guess I am too tough to be killed like that. Like you, Dominic, it isn’t my time yet.”
“Yeah,” I answered, along with a heavy breath, as I looked away from him and stared at the bright moon shining down at my territory.
For months, since I decided to come back to Samantha’s life, I didn’t know who I was anymore—and I meant I didn’t know what to be first—if I should be the Alpha of the Silver Crescent pack first, or I should be the husband to Samantha and father to my twins.
I never imagined such roles could be this difficult to balance, as we all figured out how to destroy the enemies that wanted me and my family dead, while the pack slowly crumbled under my leadership. That’s when I started to question my ability to rule this land anymore. Was I still worthy? Could I still do this?
“I went there.” Killian broke the uncomfortable silence between us after clearing his throat and standing beside me, still wary of my presence. I didn’t understand why he was too cautious about me when he knew that I wasn’t strong enough to fight the curse anymore and that my body had started deteriorating, which meant that my position as an Alpha was in danger.
“What have you seen? What’s in there?” I asked as I swallowed hard, anticipating that there were more dangerous traps waiting for me if I got there. “What happened, Killian? What happened while you were facing Olivia?”
That grin on his face disappeared. He didn’t look at me as he told me everything that happened, but I could see the terror on his suddenly pale face.
“You think she’s gone?” I asked as we both scanned the whole garden with anxious eyes. “Like completely gone?”
“Maybe. No one can tell, really, Dominic. All I know is that I saw her disappear. Like the miasma had swallowed her whole.” Killian answered skeptically as he bit his lower lip hard, as if that scene of seeing Olivia succumb to death was a horrifying thing to watch, even for him, who had been the horror of wars before.
Another episode of silence.
“I can’t believe you will go alone and leave Samantha here. Are you sure about that decision? You know that will upset her and make her hate you again, Dominic. You worked hard to make her forgive you, and now you are going to make her question her feelings for you again?”
My brows deepened into a frown because I thought Killian would understand that I never wanted to bring Samantha into another dangerous situation again. “And what do you prefer then? Drag her into a place full of enemies and die? I can’t bring Samantha there, Killian. She nearly lost her life while defending and purifying the Moon Wolf Spring. I never want her to be in a situation where she has to sacrifice her safety for me again.”
“What’s the plan then?” He let out a deep sigh as he turned to face me and looked at the grave expression on my face. “We know that Samantha and the kids have a big role in what is happening right now, Dominic. You can’t protect them always.”
“No one can tell me what I could and couldn’t do, Killian. "Even if it’s you," I snarled at him, glaring at the sympathetic look on his face. This annoyed me even more because I hated that he felt sorry for everything happening to me, my family, and my pack. I didn’t need that kind of thing right now.
Killian raised his hands, looking surprised at that violent reaction on my face, and then grinned. “You know, I am on your side, Dominic. That’s why I did what you asked me. I just can’t understand why you don’t want to tell Samantha about this and not leave her questioning your decision. You know this will only worsen what both of you have.”
“I know. But I already decided, Killian. Do you have it, though?”
Killian gave me a disappointed look for a few seconds before he pulled out a scroll of paper from the blueprint tube he carried across his back and then handed it to me.
It was the map of the Wolf Grave. The whole plan of it, including the underground tunnels and altars underneath the mausoleum. Thinking about it made me wonder if I would see the old man again. He was like a second father to me, helping me and my family to escape that place when our lives were in danger.
"Samantha doesn’t know the sacrifice that the Wolf Tomb requires, right? Do you have no plan to tell her that as well?" Killian asked with a scowl. “You know she deserves more than this, Dominic.”
“I wish I could tell her, but I can’t, Killian. She won’t allow me to do it. And I have to do it because I need to live longer to protect them and the pack. I never want this. You know what I mean. But I have to. For Samantha and the kids.”
Killian nodded several times as he scratched his earlobe with a skeptical look. “I just hope you know what you are doing, Dominic. Brianne told me that this isn’t just a simple kind of sacrifice. Do you think Samantha would still accept you if you lost your wolf nature and became an ordinary human? You will lose everything, Dominic.”
My hands curled into fists so tight that my knuckles turned white. My jaw stiffened, and my eyes were dark and piercing as I glared at the darkness in front of me. “That’s why I need to go alone. Because I know she wouldn’t agree.”
"But what good will it do if you are alive but lose your power?!" I was surprised that Killian was concerned enough for me to talk about this. “I mean, do you realize what you’re going to do? You will become a human, Dominic, which also means you will lose your power and your title as an Alpha. You won’t be able to protect Samantha and the twins because you won’t be able to! What are you even thinking?”
I shook my head slightly. Killian was right. I would become useless if that happened. But what choice do I have? “I will figure things out.”
“You are throwing everything away, Dominic,” Killian said in dismay as he started to step away from me as if heading away. “I suggest you talk to your wife about all this before you make any bad decisions. You can’t lose Silver Crescent Pack. Not when everyone here relies on you.”
I didn’t watch him move away and disappear from the garden. I was too overwhelmed with the emotions I had been trying to suppress since I planned everything about going to Wolf Tomb alone. After Killian explained the sacrifices I was prepared to make, I began to doubt whether I was thinking clearly about the possibility of sacrificing my power to rid myself of the curse. Maybe there could be another way.
What if he was right? What if, once I become mortal, Samantha will never want me anymore? What if I disappoint my children with this decision? Would they still want me?
What’s the most important? To live longer for them or to keep this power and continue to suffer like this?
Confused and filled with despair, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes tight as I swallowed down the lump that formed in my swelling throat.
What could be the right thing to do?