Rising Alpha

20

"I'm afraid we might have to rebreak it again."

That isn't a pleasant thought. I remember how bad it hurt her just a few hours ago. "Maybe it won't come to that."

"Let's hope not." He steps onto the porch and it creaks and loosens under his weight. "Well, we found the first thing I need to fix."

"How long has it been since you've been here?" The inside doesn't look horrible, but the outside seems to have not been taken care of. It's still structurally sound, but barely.

"It's been a little over a month." He opens the door and motions for me to enter. "But the outside hasn't been worked on in years." A sadness reflects in his eyes that seems to haunt him.

"Thank God you guys are okay." Alison enters the room with her handgun pointed downward. At least his scolding taught her a lesson or two. "They are potential allies. Supposedly." "Hey, I won't be opposed to that." Abigail joins us in the room followed by Charlotte.

"Yeah, let me look at Abigail’s arm and then I'll give John a call to make sure their story holds up." Dom sits on the couch and motions Alison over.

As Abigail sits next to him, she glances at her daughter. "Charlotte, why don't you...." "No, I'm not leaving you this time." Charlotte shakes her head and crosses her arms.

I mash my lips together attempting to hold in my snicker. So, the girl does have some spunk after all. I was beginning to wonder.

Dom reaches out and tenderly takes Abigail’s arm in his hands. "Does this hurt?"

A wince crosses her face, and she takes a deep breath. "A little, but not like it did the first time."

"All right." He begins moving it from side to side in slow motion. "Tell me if it begins hurting."

It's amazing how gentle he's being with her. This man exudes power, but he's treating her with such kindness and empathy. If I hadn’t been attracted to him before, this would be my undoing. As of now, it’s taking every ounce of self-control not to show him my own appreciation.

"Charlotte, I think they have this." Alison takes her by the arm and tugs her to one of the bedrooms. "Let's get the rooms set up so we can go to bed soon. I'm exhausted."

"Uh..." Charlotte glances at her mom and then back at Alison. After a moment, she begins following Alison. "All right, but you guys holler if you need me."

I'm glad Alison got her to leave, it can't be fun watching your mother writhe in pain. "You still doing okay?"

She nods and holds her breath.

"Don't forget to take a breath." Dom grins at her and then leans over her, placing her arm on the end of the couch. "We don't need you passing out on top of everything else."

“It isn’t so bad when you’re the one fixing me.” Abigail bats her lashes and tilts her head; her curly black hair cascading around her face.

My wolf snarls, and I want to punch her in the face. Somehow, someway, I restrain myself. Her only saving grace is that I care for her on a personal level.

A smile spreads across Dom’s face while he lifts an eyebrow. “If you get hurt again, I’m not sure if I can fix you.” He takes a few steps away right into my side. He leans his mouth near my ear and speaks so low that Abigail can’t hear. “You have nothing to worry about. You’re all I see.” His breathe tickles my ear.

My breathing increases, but it's from something altogether different. My body warms, and I turn my head which makes our mouths inches apart. My wolf sighs in contentment.

His eyes flicker to my lips and he's so close his breath warms them. "Damn, you're gorgeous." "Am I interrupting something here?" Abigail pouts for a second before giving me a kind smile.

My wolf surges forward, not wanting me to move from the spot I'm in, but I can't ignore her. That's rude. "No, of course not." I better leave before I make a decision that I'll regret. I still don't know much about him.

His chocolate eyes are gold because of his wolf. "This isn't over. It's just beginning." His words are a promise that almost unglues me.

A bang in the bathroom snaps me out of whatever this is. "It sounds like they might need help cleaning. Maybe I should go see what's going on."

"We need to get food cooking as well. It's late and we all need some rest." Dom heads toward the kitchen and pulls out his phone. "Let me go rinse everything off and get the stove ready."

"Actually, you should go with him." Abigail heads toward the bathroom and winks at me. "I can't do much cooking with one hand, but I can dust."

If she thinks I'm going to argue, she's got another thing coming. With that gooey look a few minutes ago toward him, I don't know if I could stand her hitting on him. "Okay, let me know if you need anything."

"Oh, I'm sure we can handle it." She giggles and glances at Dom who's rinsing a large pot. "But can you?"

"Yeah, why couldn't I handle cooking?" What the hell is her problem? Has the pain gone to her head? She's acting strange all of a sudden.

"Just..." She shakes her head and laughs. "Never mind. Go help him cook. He'd rather it be you than me."

Not wanting to deal with this weird conversation any longer, I head straight into the kitchen. Even drying off a pot, this man is sexy as hell. What is wrong with me? "Whatcha planning on cooking?"

He carries the pot to the stove and sets it on a burner. "I thought we'd do something easy since it's so late and we haven't been to a*****e. I've got five cans of chunky potato soup and some frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the freezer." He slips his phone back into his pocket.

My stomach rumbles loud. Right now, anything would sound amazing.

"Alrighty then." He chuckles and opens up the freezer laying out all twelve sandwiches on the table. "They should be thawed by the time the soups ready."

"Sounds like a plan." The kitchen table is several feet away with dust settled all over it. "I'll clean the table off while you warm up the soup."

"There's some cleaning wipes in the pantry." He disappears into the small walk-in pantry. "I'll grab them for you while I get the cans."

I've never experienced any man being this nice to me. They may be nice for a short while, but by now, when they have me at a disadvantage, their true colors would show. Maybe he is different. Do I dare to hope? But I'm not convinced completely... yet. A chill wracks my body.

"Hey, are you okay?" He frowns when he reappears with five cans and a large bottle of wipes.