CHAPTER 53.>>>>>>WHO'S IN THERE WITH YOU?

“Came last night, and you were nowhere to be found around the pack house,” Brevin said, approaching the chair. Once he got closer, he dragged it out, lifted his left foot, and climbed the chair steps before forcing himself to tumble and settle in comfortably.

“Why were you looking for me?” Prince Domininus turned to him.

Brevin's eyes slightly went wide, his lashes blinking up and down in surprise that his brother hadn't heard about the feral beast coming out yesterday.

“You didn't hear what happened last night?”

He stretched his hand, grabbed a goblet, and quickly poured himself some wine. “Come on! Don't tell me you were somewhere fucking some whore when the whole thing went down!”

Prince Domininus stared at his brother, surprised. Last night, he had been in his room and didn't heard anything until he went to the pond for a run with his wolf. Even when he returned with Akira, he hadn’t heard anything about the problems at the pack house.

Brevin sipped noisily, letting the rich liquid roll over his tongue before smacking his lips together in pure satisfaction. Then he leaned back in his chair, tilting his head and savoring the last traces of flavor remaining on his tongue.

“Mmmmmm… Shit. Where the hell did you get this from? It's so good!” he exclaimed, dragging his thumbs along the rim of the goblet before taking another long, noisy sip of the liquid.

Domininus stared at him, a mix of disgust and curiosity brewing over what he wanted to say about last night since he hadn’t heard anything. He couldn’t wait for Brevin to finish the wine.

“Please tell me you have a lot of this wine in store because I will be needing some,” Brevin muttered. “This is one of the finest wines I have ever drank in my life since they birthed me in this shithole of a pack!”

Prince Domininus's brow furrowed deeper, his gaze sharpening at Brevin. He couldn’t wait for him to speak.

“Why were you here last night?” he finally asked, his patience already wearing thin.

Brevin dropped his goblet. “Nothing serious. I was rushing to hide my small self somewhere under your bed, but it seems like my dear brother was out fucking one of the slaves.”

“Hide?” Dominus sat up. “Why did you want to hide? What happened that warrants you to hide?”

Brevin gave a small chuckle, more mocking than amused, then took another sip and deliberately smacked his tongue again. “Well, while you were out there fucking some of your whores, the feral beast came out last night. The news is all over the place right now.” He explained, “Uncle Ragnar went to see his brother, and I think the beast attacked him before going back in. Uncle Ragnar is in his room getting treatment.”

Dominus leaned forward, blinking rapidly. “Father came out? When? Where is he right now?”

“Who?” Brevin raised his gaze, his face hardening. “The feral beast or Uncle Ragnar?”

With that, he set his goblet down with a hard clink on the table, his smirk fading into a thin line of seriousness. “It's high time you make peace with the fact that he is now a feral beast and no longer ‘Father.’ After he came out yesterday, it's a miracle that no one's corpse was dragged out this morning—only injured Uncle Ragnar.”

“Was he injured that badly?” Dominus asked.

Brevin exhaled deeply. “I'm not sure. But from his voice this morning, when I went around his room, he was screaming. So I guess the injuries must be that bad.”

“Then I think I need to go see him immediately and ask what happened.” Dominus moved to stand up, but Brevin stopped him.

“I just came from there now, and they're still attending to his injuries. Come on… have some wine and let him rest before rushing to see him.”

With that, Dominus slowly sank back into his seat, his mind reeling with different thoughts. He kept hearing about his father attacking different people, but he didn't believe any of the fairy tales they told him. He wanted to see it himself. The idea of disposing of his father as the Grand Alpha didn't sit well with him.

He slowly grabbed his goblet and aggressively downed a gulp of wine before smacking it back.

Moments later, while the two of them were still drinking in silence, a sharp crash shattered the stillness.

Both Brevin and Dominus snapped their heads toward the other room where the noise had come from.

Dominus swallowed hard, knowing it was Nia. He had almost forgotten she was still sleeping in his bed. His eyes darted around; he didn't want Brevin to know she was there with him.

“So, anyone in your room?” Brevin turned to him, but he ignored it, pretending not to hear.

Brevin smirked, lazily setting his goblet down. “So the rumors are true… you had some of the slaves in here?”

“Who told you that?”

“I heard some of the slaves who came to clean up my room talking about it.”

Another sound grabbed their attention, and they both narrowed their eyes in that direction.

Brevin quickly saw feet from the side of the door. Straining his eyes, he noticed they were female feet.

It was Akira. She shuffled her feet nervously, thinking about what to do next and how to come out; she was late for her morning shift with the girls to wash the dishes before going on to clean Rex's room.

She looked down at her feet, her hands tightly holding the sheets she used to cover her body. Akira's toes curled up against the cold floor of Prince Dominus's room. Her heart raced—how could she walk out naked with the two brothers out there?

*Oh shit, what do I do?* she thought, swallowing hard.

She shuffled her feet closer together, pressing her knees inward to make herself smaller and less noticeable. The sheets dragged awkwardly behind her as she bent low, trying to keep them from falling.

Dominus felt stiff in his chair, his jaw tight. He didn’t move; his eyes looked straight ahead. Once he saw the toes, he knew it was Nia.

Akira squeezed her eyes shut briefly, fighting the urge to bolt. She wished she could disappear. Walking outside naked was not an option for her, even if she didn't remember how she got there in the first place.

Brevin tilted his head, his smirk widening. “Well, well…” he drawled. “Looks like your little secret is too nervous to even walk out properly.”

“Who’s that?” He jumped down from his seat, a little excited. “Who did you bring in this time?”

“Hey!” Dominus awkwardly held him back. “What the hell are you going to do?”

“To… find out which whore you brought in here,” Brevin answered, his eyes catching the movement in the doorway—a pair of delicate, dirt-streaked feet peeking out slowly, even if the owner was trying to hide.

“No, you can't do that, brother,” Dominus said, pulling Brevin back slowly. He could sense Akira's vulnerability; his wolf instincts picked up her scent instantly, but he hesitated to call her out since she was naked.

Brevin stared at his brother for a moment, noticing how Dominus’s shoulders turned stiff, even as he tried to appear unbothered. The sharp inhale he tried to fake didn’t sit well, and Brevin leaned back slowly in his chair, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

He knew Dominus never cared about his whores, but right now, he seemed very nervous about the person inside. It was clear it wasn’t just any whore—he usually didn’t hide them from anyone.

Meanwhile, Akira stood by the side of the door, recognizing Brevin's voice from a mile away. She knew at once it was him. Her head hung low, thumbs pressed together, fidgeting with the fabric in a rhythm that gave away her anxiety.

Brevin grabbed his former goblet and poured more wine to fill it halfway.

He took a gulp before saying, “So why are you hiding this one? You never hide your whores.”

Dominus shot him a warning glare. “She’s not a whore.”

Brevin chuckled under his breath. “Of course, brother, I know she’s not a whore but came over to sleep in your room. I guess she’s a wife then.”

With that, he let out a loud roar of laughter, his voice echoing through the silent room.

Dominus ignored him. He stood slowly, towering over the table, his expression unreadable as Brevin just stared.

Before Dominus could make another move, the door opened softly, and three maids walked in with breakfast.

Once Brevin saw them, he quickly cleared the wine and goblet to accommodate more meals.

Dominus waited until they were done, then one of the head maids quietly turned to him, handing over a folded cloth. Brevin strained his eyes, his curiosity piqued to see what his brother had just collected.

“What is that?” he asked once the room turned empty again. “What did she give you?”

“Nothing!” Dominus replied coldly. “Mind your business.”

“Oh, come on. When did we start keeping secrets?”

With that, Dominus moved to the next room where Akira was hiding. Once she noticed footsteps, she froze. The idea that she was in Prince Dominus's room didn’t sit right with her. And now he was coming to her in her naked state?

Seconds later, Prince Dominus stepped into the other room where she was standing, his tall frame filling the doorway. The moment her eyes caught his, she held the sheets tighter against her chest.

“Don’t come any closer,” she blurted out in a trembling voice.

Dominus paused, his lips twitching just slightly. Everything she was hiding, he had seen last night when he carried her from the pond. Though he never cared to have a clear look, he wasn’t a pervert.

He took another step forward, and she snapped, “I said stay back! D-don’t be deaf.”

Dominus paused, and Akira swallowed hard. His warmth swept over her from head to toe as she covered herself with the sheets. It was quite funny to him that she even thought of that.

“Nobody touched you,” he announced, and her heart gave a wild thump at the gentleness in his tone. She felt a deep relief at his words.

Dominus closed the distance, towering over her now. His hands rose slowly as he handed her some clothes. “Wear this. Come out and have breakfast.”

Before she could protest, Dominus was already out of the room.

As soon as Dominus opened the door, Brevin scurried back to his seat so fast that he wouldn’t be caught eavesdropping. But getting comfortably back into the chair gave him away.

Once he settled, he grabbed his goblet and swirled the wine lazily, as if he had never left his chair in the first place.

Moments later, Dominus turned to Brevin, breaking the silence. “What pack floats on water without drowning?”

Brevin paused his drink, his brows raised. “Why do you ask?”

“Nothing,” Dominus shook his head. “Just curious. It crossed my mind, and I wanted to be sure I still remembered the contents of the books I had read back in the years.”

“Yes, the Eastern packs do that. Mainly the royals. Of recent, I also heard the Beta and Gamma families do the same, but that’s unconfirmed for now. I’m only sure of the royals doing that comfortably… Did you see anyone do that?”

Dominus chuckled. “Of course not. I was just thinking and wanted to be sure I still remembered.”

Brevin nodded and refocused on his drink while Dominus's head spun with different thoughts.

Is she from the East?

A royal from the East?

But how did she turn rogue?

The Easterns don’t banish a normal pack member, let alone a royal. It doesn’t make sense to me. And she has been here for years?

How is that possible?

he thought to himself until the gentle slam of the door grabbed his attention. Turning, he saw Akira.

She dragged her feet slowly to the table while Brevin watched in surprise.

“Nia?” he called out to confirm if it was her.