Dominic’s POV
I felt so refreshed, relaxed, and much calmer than I was before after taking a bath.
“How do you feel?” Jace asked once I was seated in the living room on a couch that was opposite his.
“Hungry and very concerned about the news I received,” I answered honestly.
Did I doubt the ancient witch’s words? No, I didn’t. Did her words shock me and make no sense at one point? Absolutely.
Like, who could believe that there was someone who looked identical to us? Unless he was a twin or a fan who was obsessed with us to the point of seeing a surgeon to look like us. But thinking through everything, it all seemed impossible. Perhaps he looked a little like us, but not exactly.
“You doubt her words, don’t you?” he asked calmly.
“No, I don’t; I just find them hard to accept, not to believe,” I answered simply.
He smiled and then looked at the door as if to make sure there was no one close by or listening to our conversation.
“I hate Glen, and I don’t like you much,” he said seriously.
I was expecting such honesty from him; after all, he was always straightforward with us.
“Glen deems you and Ridge inferior to us in a lot of things, but that doesn’t mean I hate you. I actually think you are okay; the one I don’t like much is Ridge,” I answered.
He kept quiet for a few seconds and then spoke.
“This should be the last time you come here to seek help, cousin or not,” he warned.
I understood him; after all, we weren’t close to begin with.
“Glen and I have always been raised to act cold and in total control over our situation. Even now, I don’t understand why our mother is hard on us. I know you don’t know this much because there was never a time you truly wanted to learn anything about us. But ever since we were young, our mother made sure we had no leisure or time to befriend those who weren’t on our status and level,” I said and then continued.
“There were times we were so happy to meet and talk to other kids our age, but when our mother found out, she was furious and would punish us by making sure we stayed indoors for a week. Not being able to feel the sun on our skin or touch flowers was frustrating, so we chose to behave and do just what she wanted us to do. We cut off ties and acted cold to the very kids who treated us like friends. The only so-called friends we were allowed to visit only boasted about their riches, and they spent their time doing things that were uncomfortable for us,” I said seriously.
He sat upright with a raised brow.
He sat upright with a raised brow.
“We were so angry with ourselves for being weak, and mostly for making our mother upset. Whenever she was very upset with us, she would refrain from talking to or seeing us for a month, and a few times we accidentally stumbled upon her crying. Even now, it’s confusing why she treated us like that, but it was clear that she was doing all that for our sake. So, as we grew up, we became what she wanted us to be. We worked hard and took over once she stepped down, and we made sure to be perfect,” I said, then smiled sadly.
“While I had a sense of guilt whenever Glen did something wrong, he felt nothing. He was the one who completely embraced what we had become. We were self-centered and prideful. Everything mattered less to him if it didn’t involve our mother, and that soon became known to everyone around us. Women lay in our bed to have us sign a deal or build their statues. We had friends we did business with but never had a heart-to-heart conversation. Being mated looked like a pathetic thing, and being nice to family members felt like a nuisance until we met her,” I said, then cleared my throat when my voice broke.
“In just a few weeks, we were totally captivated by her. She was what we thought of every day and looked forward to seeing. While I completely accepted her, Glen was in denial because when we researched her background, we found out that she was an orphan with nothing. A woman like that was going to be rejected by our mother, and there was no way we could go against her. So, to keep himself from losing his reason and completely accepting her, he began mistreating her and staying far away from her,” I said.
“When we found out that she was a dragon, there was hope in our hearts because there was a chance that our mother would accept her. Glen knew that as well, yet he couldn’t just say it out loud. All he could do was blurt out nonsense about how she would be good for our looks and business, and that was a bad move. When she ran away, we both assumed she would be back. That’s why we didn’t panic much, despite looking for her. Our fears came to life when a day turned into days. We couldn’t focus at work or sleep much,” I said, brushing my hand through my hair.
“As we speak, Glen is losing his mind because it’s finally sinking in that we need her by our side. Sophie has been the one handling everything, and I know soon enough our mother will find out. That’s why I decided that I will be the one to find and bring her back rather than let Glen ruin our chances. If being with her means going against our mother, then… I just might do that because it will be what’s best for us. In all our lives, we have never needed something or wanted a woman for ourselves as we do her,” I said seriously.
“And to be honest, there have been a few times when we envied you. You chose your own path to live your life from a young age, and you had to experience the joy of having such a strong she-wolf as your mate. You also have a way of making people serve you willingly, while they only serve us because of how rich we are or when they want something from us,” I said and then stood up.
“I’m sorry, I must have said a lot. I should get going,” I said and then forced a smile on my face.
“How about you stay for dinner and leave tomorrow? Also, I’ll ask Edith if she can make a portal that can lead you to that pack. If she can, then you won’t need to drive there,” he said as I widened my eyes in shock.
“Why?” I asked in disbelief.
Why was he helping us and being very kind?
“Well, you are my cousin, and I think there is still time for us to be good friends,” he answered, then stood up and extended his hand to me.
I knew that being very friendly with him would make Glen grumpy, but then again, having one of the strong Alphas besides Sol as our friend was good.
I moved, shook his hand, and then smiled genuinely.