THE SORTING

THE ALARM

I wake to a dark room. I turned my head and squinted to look at the clock next to the bed. 4:09 am. I didn't get to bed until 1 am. Well, we didn't get to bed until 1 am. I turned my head to the left and I was met with Dom, who was sleeping peacefully. His face was darkened by the room, but I could still make out his beautiful characteristics. His nose, which was smaller but not too small. His full eyebrows that I was secretly jealous of. His lips. Soft, and full. I would never get tired of looking at his face. His hair was longer than when we first met. The length where you want to tuck it behind your ears, but it keeps falling forward. He looked younger with longer hair, more boyish, less intimidating. I liked it. I returned to my original position on my back, staring at the ceiling, thinking. I thought about last night. How Dom and I talked all night. About the small stuff and the big stuff. Life goals, favorite pizza toppings and everything in between. I felt the ends of my mouth lift. In the two months I had been here, with him, I had grown as a person. I had been louder, more assertive, less skittish. I held my head higher than I ever thought I could. Which was strange. I didn't belong here, in this world. I had yet to actually see any of the people around me turn into what they really were. Wolves. They seemed to be more comfortable being in human form. Maybe it was easier with other humans around in the capital. I wouldn't know. I also hadn't spent much time with anyone other than Dom. I would love to see his wolf. I wonder what it looked like. If it was big or small. If it had it's own name. If it would like me. I decided I would ask Dom when he woke up that I wanted to see his wolf. I hoped that was okay with him.

Last night was unexpected but so welcomed. Dom and I had both been equally busy, with him being a guard and me finally finding my placement. I had been put to work with Hunter. She was really the only person I was comfortable with, other than Dom, so it was nice when the Alpha took that into consideration when choosing where I would be. I hadn't felt like the Capital was my home yet, but I hoped that that would change with time. Just not sure how much time. My job was great though. I didn't really help Hunter with procedures, or anything needing expertise, mostly because I had none. I mainly organized and stocked supplies, helped keep her schedule at the medical facilities in order, stuff like that. It was nice to feel like I had a purpose, like I was needed. Dom, on the other hand, had been spending a lot of time with the Alpha. There had been some whispers about a possible threat to the Capital that the Alpha was trying to get a handle on but it was only a rumor. Probably. Hopefully. I never engaged in the gossip. I didn't want to get in the middle of anything, being a human in the world of wolves. I was already an outsider here, and Sarah didn't help that. She was constantly spreading lies about me to the others, saying that I had stolen Dom from her, that I could have something to do with the threat everyone was worried about. I could see their questioning gazes, trying to decide if there was any truth to what she was saying. There wasn't. I felt under scrutiny at all times. I hadn't bothered to tell Dom about it, and I was sure he had no idea. No one was stupid enough to tell the Royal Guard rude things about his mate. That was a death wish apparently. Hunter helped me to ignore them, reminding me that the only reason Sarah was trying to bring me down was because she was already beneath me. And it also helped that Hunter stood up to Sarah every time we were around her, extinguishing most of the rumors before they got too far. I had no idea how these two didn't kill each other at home. They really were the exact opposite with the same temper.

I took a deep breath and felt a stir next to me. Dominic had rolled onto his back, his arm stretched towards me slightly. I wanted to grab his hand. I wanted to lay my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat, feel his body rise and fall steadily. But I didn't know if we were there yet, relationship-wise. I mean, this was the first time we had slept in the same bed together. I don't even think we meant to. Sure, we'd hugged and kissed on occasion, but I didn't know how he would react. I was definitely at a stage, now, where I had wanted more. He had been everything I had ever imagined and then some. I had no idea how to portray that to him though, without feeling awkward. I'd never touched a man before. Would he be mad if I did? My breathing sped up as I got anxious just thinking about it. My body moved before my brain decided what it wanted to do. My arm slowly ran over the sheets, towards him. I closed my eyes so that, if he awoke, I could pretend I was asleep to avoid embarrassment. Without my sight, my sense of touch heightened. I could feel how soft the black sheets were, almost like silk. I could feel the heat radiating off of Dom as I got closer, only making him more inviting. My hand continued hesitantly, sweating now that my head had deciphered what was about to happen. And just as I was about to intertwine our fingers, an alarm blared.

Dominic shot out of bed. He had been completely dressed in a black shirt and pants before I even stood up. He was running around like a madman, checking the windows, the hallway.

"What's happening?" I asked, my body filling with fright, but it was like he couldn't hear me, his eyes darting around for only a second before I tried again. "DOM!" I yelled. He turned to me, panicked, his eyes determined and hardened. Another emotion flashed through them as our eyes met that I had never seen before. Fear.

"I need you to get under the bed. Now."

"What are you talking about? What is going on?" I continued. Dom walked up to me and grabbed my arms, pushing me to the floor towards the bed.

"There's been a breach. I need you to stay here and do not move unless I tell you. Is that clear?" Dom stated forcefully. My eyes brimmed with tears and I nodded my head. I crawled under the bed as fast as I could. I thought Dom would have ran out of the room towards the Alpha after I did but he halted for a moment. I saw his feet turn around and then he spoke softly in my direction. "Vivienne, I lo-." I waited for him to continue but he didn't, my eyes staying on his feet. Dom then quickly stormed out of the room. I had no idea what was happening, but I knew it was bad.