Chapter 43: Puppy Love
1493 Words
He didn’t let me go.
So I didn’t ask him to.
Instead, I tugged gently at him until he sat, and without thinking—without caring who was watching—I climbed onto his lap. I needed to be close. Needed to feel him solid beneath me, real and present, like if I let go I might disappear again.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face against his shoulder, holding on as if he were the only thing anchoring me to this moment.
If it looked childish, I didn’t care.
Dominic didn’t hesitate. He didn’t stiffen or question me. He simply accepted me, arms coming around my waist, pulling me closer as if this was exactly where I belonged.
A low, instinctive purr vibrated from his chest—soft, steady, comforting.
The warmth of him wrapped around me, easing into my bones, like lying in the sun after years of cold. For the first time since everything started unraveling, my body stopped bracing for impact.
I expected judgment.
Awkwardness.
Silence.
Instead, Allessa’s voice broke through gently.
“Thumper,” she said softly, and I felt Dominic’s grip tighten just a little, protective. “When I found out what I had unknowingly helped with… I couldn’t live with myself.”
I lifted my head slightly, listening.
“I started changing the medication the moment I realized what they were doing to you,” she continued. “Replacing it. Undoing what I could. I pushed back in every way I was able to without raising suspicion.”
My throat tightened.
“And when I learned what happened to your unborn pup…” Her voice faltered, just for a second. “I couldn’t let them erase that truth. I took the little one to Dominic. We had a DNA test done.”
I felt Dominic’s breath hitch beneath me.
“The pup was yours,” she said quietly. “And Dominic’s. I refused to let them destroy the body. That choice never belonged to Mario. It belongs to you both.”
Her words were gentle, but they cut deep.
I didn’t know if I was ready to see what she meant. To read it in the tombstone. To let it become real in my mind instead of a hollow ache in my chest.
I buried my face back into Dominic’s shoulder, breathing him in.
Losing a baby—
A baby I never even knew I carried—
Was something my body was still grieving, even if my mind had been kept in the dark.
The pain made sense now.
The exhaustion.
The heaviness in my lower body.
The way going to the bathroom still hurt.
The constant feeling that something was missing, like an echo inside me that wouldn’t quiet.
My body had known the truth long before I did.
And now, wrapped in Dominic’s arms, I finally allowed myself to feel it.
The loss.
The anger.
The grief.
And for the first time, I wasn’t carrying it alone.
I couldn’t cry.
Not because the pain wasn’t there—
it was because the tears refused to come.
It felt like the pain wasn’t finished with me yet, like it was waiting, watching, deciding how else it could hurt me. I was so tired of being wounded for no reason other than trying to be good. Trying to be kind. Trying to survive.
My chest felt heavy, but dry. Hollow.
“I think for now we can all agree that Sir Ariott will attempt to contact you,” Allessa said, her voice cautious. “He’s likely realizing by now that you’ve left.”
Her words made my stomach tighten.
Before I could say anything, her mate leaned forward sharply.
“Why do you say that, Alle?”
She lifted her phone and showed him the screen.
The second he read it, his body stiffened—then he growled, raw and furious, the sound tearing through the room.
“He’s demanding you return to finish a working time period?” he shouted. “Is he insane? Absolutely not. There is no way in hell you’re going back to him!”
The volume of his voice startled me.
My body reacted before my mind did.
I clutched Dominic tighter, a small whimper slipping out of me before I could stop it.
The moment I did, something shifted.
Dominic’s aura surged outward—strong, commanding, silencing. The air itself seemed to still. Everyone went quiet instantly, all except his mother, Allessa… and me.
I felt Dominic’s arm tighten around my waist, grounding me, steady.
“I agree,” Dominic said calmly, though there was steel beneath his tone. “You will not return to that man or his offer of employment. However, I do believe Allessa should remain assisting my mate in her recovery. I’ll have a formal contract prepared by tonight’s meeting for you to sign.”
The man nodded, standing immediately.
“Thumper and I won’t be returning,” she added firmly. “I’ll go to the office and apply to work directly from your estate. I live next to the pack house—it makes sense.”
As they spoke, something in me stirred.
A question.
A realization.
How… how did Mario not fear Dominic?
Dominic wasn’t just a man.
He was a werewolf.
And even though I didn’t fully understand what that meant yet—didn’t understand the pack, the contracts, the auras—I knew one thing clearly.
Up until now, I didn’t feel unsafe with Dominic.
Not once.
And after everything Allessa had said… after everything I had learned…
Dominic wasn’t controlling me.
He was protecting me.
Maybe—just maybe—
this was the right choice.
And for the first time in a long time, the thought didn’t terrify me.
“Then it’s settled for now,” Kelly said gently. “I think you two need time alone. But before that—do you think it would be better for Thumper to learn with all of us, or alone with you Alpha, about who we are? Who Mario truly is?”
Her questions hung in the air.
I looked at Dominic.
For a moment, I could tell what he wanted—to wrap me up, to shield me with affection, to give me comfort instead of truth. His eyes softened in that way that made my chest ache, like he’d rather drown me in warmth than shatter what little peace I had left.
But reality didn’t bend for love.
It was a lot. Too much, really. And I knew if I didn’t pace myself, I would break.
“If it’s okay with you, Dom,” I said quietly, choosing my words with care, “can we talk? Just us. I won’t push myself—it’s been… a lot. I want to stay positive, but I need to take this slowly.”
He didn’t hesitate.
Dominic leaned in and kissed my forehead, the touch lingering just long enough to steady me. When he smiled, it wasn’t playful or teasing—it was soft, reassuring, real.
“We can,” he said gently. “And please—keep talking to me like this. I need to explain things, and I don’t want to hurt you. We’ll eat something, we’ll rest, and we’ll talk while you’re safe. I never want to hurt you the way I did before—even by accident.”
Something in the way he said that—so careful, so aware—made my heart race.
Not from fear.
From the quiet certainty that, this time, I wasn’t alone.
Kelly clapped her hands softly, the sound meant to lighten the moment.
I flinched.
The noise cracked through me like glass, and suddenly I wasn’t in the living room anymore—I was staring at a plate shattering against the floor from the table, feeling the shock explode through my hand all over again.
My body froze.
My breath caught.
I didn’t even realize I’d stopped moving until Dominic reacted.
He wrapped his arms around me instantly.
One arm wrapped around me, firm and grounding, his other hand coming up to shield me without thinking—like his body had decided before his mind ever could. A low sound rumbled in his chest, not a growl, not anger, but something protective and raw.
“Hey,” he murmured close to my ear. “You’re safe. I’ve got you. It’s over.”
His scent, his warmth, the steady rise and fall of his chest—those were what pulled me back. Not the room. Not the people. Just him.
Dominic looked down then, his gaze sharp but controlled, and Kelly’s smile faded into understanding.
“I’m sorry,” she said immediately, her voice gentle. “I didn’t mean to startle you, sweetheart.”
I nodded, though my fingers were still curled tight in Dominic’s shirt.
The past had reached for me.
But this time, it hadn’t taken me with it.
- Writer
