Dominic’s POV
I take a long drag on my cigarette, puffing the smoke into the air, and a bit of it stains the window.
My men are hurrying to the cars, filling them up with my suitcases and the other necessary things we’re taking with us.
Watching them increases the sorrow crashing against my heart. I’d be wailing my heart out if I was a man who knew how to cry.
I mean, right now, I badly wanna cry. It’ll be a great way to ease this overwhelming sorrow and stop it from ripping me into pieces. But the tears won’t drop, regardless of the pain scorching my heart. No single tear has dropped. And it’s pretty agonizing.
The door opens and I smell The stench of my Beta, Jake. I don’t bother turning to look at him. He stands beside me in silence. Soon, he stretches a glass of whiskey to me.
I take it, and hand the cigarette to him, watching him drop it on the ashtray. Sipping the drink, I feel the urge to talk. So I end the silence.
“I broke up with her.” I glance at him and add. “Kristine, I ended things with her. I did it with the most cruel words. She cried a lot. I felt fucking miserable walking away instead of consoling her.”
I fight the crack in my voice. It’s as much a display of sentiments as I can do.
“She hates me now, man. She hates me so much she may wish never to see me again. And you don’t know how sickening that feels.”
I gulp the whiskey, and it mixes up with the sting of my heart.
“Did you reject her?” he asks. It’s the most important thing to him.
“Yes, I mean, I made her think I did. But we both know the rejection isn’t real if you don’t say your true identity in it. But I could never tell her that I was a Rogue Alpha.”
“So she thinks the mate bond is broken even if it isn’t?”
“Yes. Mind over matter. She’ll think it’s broken and try to move on. I, on the other hand, know it’s not broken, and I’ll live the rest of my life feeling the pain from an existing bond that I can’t act on.”
There’s no downplaying this. Deep down I know I’ll never feel whole again. Not after losing the only girl I’ve ever learned to love. My fucking kryptonite.
This whole shit is crazily painful. Coming to this pack, all I wanted was to spy on them. It was a Pack that trained Rogue hunters, the best in the region.
As a Rogue Alpha, I faced the agony of watching my people die at the hands of folks who think our mere existence is a sin.
My people and I began planning a besiege against them. But we need to know every inch of the Pack to be able to carry it out perfectly.
I volunteered to come here, fake my identity, and spy on them. Of course, the council kicked against it, as they found it insulting that I had to be the one to do the dirty work. But I didn’t mind. I wanted to do it. So I came here and blended in quite alright.
Never did it cross my mind that I would find anything fascinating. Or anyone. But then I caught sight of Kristine that bonfire night and my world went afloat. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I should have. I should have walked away. Then maybe we wouldn’t have parted so painfully.
But then again, I don’t regret getting close to her. She’s so far the sweetest thing that’s ever happened to me. The one thing I wanted to protect so badly, even beating my urge to protect my Pack.
I was more than willing to elope with her. Take her to a country where there aren’t such things as rogues and pure werewolves. Settle there permanently with her and start a family.
I was more than willing to abandon my Pack for her. That was how crazily in love I was with her.
But then two days ago, a piece of new information hit my desk. Jake had dug into her past and found out her true identity. I got the shock of my life when I opened the file and read about her.
She was Julio’s daughter. Julio Delvin, the strongest rogue hunter I’ve ever dealt with. He killed my parents and had persistently tried to kill me.
One day, we staged a brawl in the green woods of my territory. I had gone completely feral, ripping out his heart and eyes. Leaving his body to be fed on by birds. I gave him a cruel death, in honor of my parents and my people who had died in his hands.
Why the fuck did Kristine have to be his daughter? It was the most shocking news and it left me shut down.
Jake read out to me countless times the need to reject her and leave this Pack. There’s no future in my bond with her. And she’s definitely gonna hate me when she finds out that I killed her father.
It was painful to admit but Jake was right. I had to end our beautiful relationship. Fate already made it impossible for us to be together. We were more star-crossed now than ever. And Kristine will never wanna be with a guy who did her father in.
I have to leave. Return to my territory. And I needed to end things with her before doing that.
So I faked a rejection. I hope it works and she forgets about me. Nah, that’s a lie. I wish she wouldn’t. Oh, Goddess. How can I be so conflicted?!
“You did the right thing,” Jake says optimistically, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Ending it now remains the best choice. It’s better than staying in the relationship longer until she finds out and hates you for what you did. It would hurt more then.”
“Ending it now or later makes no difference. I’m already shattered to bits. I can’t break any further than I already have.”
He stays silent again. I watch the men shut some of the car trunks. There’s a long lineup of cars.
“We leave in ten minutes,” Jake says, walking away.
I continue sulking but my phone beeps, and I reach for it. There are two messages. From Kristine.
My fingers tremble as I click on them.
Kristine: I’m shamelessly and hopefully waiting for your call. For you to tell me that yesterday was just a joke.
Tears cloud my eyes as I shakily click on the next message.
Kristine: You don’t have to call me if you don’t want to. Just a single text will do. I’m waiting.🤞
More messages drop and I click on them.
Kristine: You have ten seconds…
Kristine: nine…eight…
Kristine: seven… six…
I blink back my tears, fighting the urge to send the text. To tell her that I’ll never love another. And that I am a shameless rogue who doesn’t deserve her.
I wanna scream out the truth to her. But the duties binding me as an Alpha keep my fingers from punching on those letters.
Kristen…three…two…
I’m so sorry…
Kristine: one. Time’s up.
Kristine: I’ll never forgive you, Dominic. Never.
Those words bring the tears from my eyes to rolling down my cheeks. Agony rips me apart and I send the glass crashing against the window. A bit of the shards slits my face.
I can’t hold it in anymore so I thought of typing a few words of apology to her. To hell with the consequences!
“Dominic!” Jake screams from outside. “Time to go!”