A blissful night of sleep

Valencia laid in a cozy king-size bed sprawled across many layers of silken cushions and comforters. She had spent a lot of time tossing and turning in the bed and was tangled in the sheets. She pushed the curtains away and a small light of ray entered the room through the window just above her head. It was well past mid-day and she had been asleep for more than 24 hours. She groggily got up, her head in her hands, and groaned.

It hurt to open her eyes but she glanced across the lavish room surrounded by exquisite furniture. A huge wardrobe was lined across a wall and a dressing table stood at the opposite wall. A coffee table with a lavish settee stood in the other corner. Soft yellow lights glowed in the wall brackets and a huge chandelier hung in the center of the ceiling. She didn’t have to guess where she was. She screamed, “Dominic!!”

A boy appeared near the bed and she had wanted to shout some more. She opened her mouth to scream but saw that it was Gerald who had arrived and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Gerald smiled, “I could ask the same question. I hadn’t expected to find you drooling over Dominic’s bed.”

Valencia was about to open her mouth when little Tom came running towards Gerald, “Dad.” He took his son in his arms and turned around to see not his sister but the Archon Alpha in her true glory. In a matter of seconds, Valencia had changed into a beast, a glorious she-wolf with pristine white hair that made Gerald jump.

She looked at the little boy menacingly, her blue eyes and sharp teeth gleaming in the room, any trace of familiarity wiped out of her face. She was only an animal, willing to hurt and bite and tear the flesh of her nephew. The kids were only days old but owing to their supernatural blood were aging fast. They were already a year old. The werewolf turned her attention to the little boy and Gerald blanched. “Archon Alpha Valencia, he is your nephew, you are scaring him.”

The werewolf stayed where she was though a guttural sound emerged from her throat. Something snapped inside her and in a surprise move, she lunged at the kid. Gerald whisked Tom in his arms and bolted out of the door, he couldn’t attack his alpha much less his cousin's sister when she wasn’t in the best of her mind. Dominic who had been talking to a healer heard the commotion and came running towards the room where Valencia had been sleeping fitfully. He planted his feet in front of the large werewolf and held his hands up, “Valencia, cool down a bit. We are your friends; we mean no harm to you.”

The werewolf focussed her attention on the new entrant and growled once again. It was a miracle that Dominic was standing his ground when everybody else had fled a good fifty meters away. The werewolf sniffed the air, apparently confused by what she was doing there. Dominic tried one more time and bowed low, “Archon Alpha Valencia Raskin, I, Alpha Dominic Castro of the red moon pack have already pledged the loyalty of my pack to you. I beg you to calm yourself.”

He stayed in that awkward position for an excruciating five minutes, his body on high alert knowing that he would be unable to defend himself should the werewolf choose to attack him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the others eyeing him with concern. Gerald had put Tom away and was beginning to come to his aid. However, Dominic very slowly moved his finger to signal him to stop. Any unusual movement or sound could send the she-wolf out of control again. Gerald saw his outstretched hand asking him to pull back and paused. Dominic was thinking of the best possible way to calm her down when he finally heard her voice.

Relief flooded through Dominic making him fall on the floor when he heard Valencia say, “I could have snapped your neck like a rag doll.” He took a few calming breaths to ease his pulsating heart and got up. He hadn’t changed out of his nightclothes and he looked tense. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, “And, I would have let you do it.”

Valencia turned around and went inside the room. Only Dominic followed in while the others waited outside. She stood facing the window not willing to acknowledge how his words made her feel nervous. She focussed on the issues at hand, “How did I get here?”

Dominic walked to the side table where the healer had kept a bottle of herbal drink to clear her head. Dominic poured it in a glass and held it in front of her, “Drink it. You have been unconscious for nearly a day and I think you were having a slight difficulty controlling your werewolf.”

She sank down on the chair opposite him and placed the glass on the table, “I could have killed Tom and Gerald. I could have killed you.” She shuddered at the thought of having attacked her cousin and her heart cried at the thought of hurting little Tom.

She turned to Dominic, "That drink tastes awful, I will clear my head the old fashioned way-by sleeping"

Dominic shrugged, "I cannot agree with you more. I was about to faint by just holding the glass for you, Archon Alpha"

His attempt at light humor didn't go unnoticed, "Please, don't call me that. I tried to hurt my pack, my family. I have lost the right to that title."

Dominic's tone was stubborn when he said, "You will forever be my...all of ours Queen and Archon."

She had a troubled look on her face, and she was frowning. While she looked outside the window, her mind played the scene over and over where she was about to jump on Tom. She couldn’t help herself and punched the windowpane as blood bloomed on her knuckles. Dominic tried nearing her but she replied, "Don't."

As blood began slowly oozing out of her hands, she winced in the pain as her skin began to stitch back.

Dominic went near her but stood at a safe distance, "At least, get the glass out, it would get embedded inside your skin causing the wound to re-open at the slightest struggle."

"Well, I deserve that"

Dominic had had enough and he rushed to her, "Don't be ridiculous. You didn't do it on purpose."

He gently took her hand and removed the fragments of broken glass from her fingers and continued quietly, "Which brings me back to the important question, how did the alpha of the alphas lose control?"

Valencia had been so miserable at herself that she hadn't thought about this. She saw Dominic with his head bent as he ensured not even a single piece of glass would stay buried in her skin, his laser-sharp werewolf eyes catching and removing every last bit. When he was satisfied, he let her hand go and asked again, "Have I stunned you with my charms, or do you have no answer to my question?"

Valencia smiled, "Don't be a dork."

Dom smiled in return, "So, it’s the latter, I presume."