Trashed & Treasured

7

Dominic

Walking through the familiar corridors of Council Hall, I was amazed at how much the place had changed. They'd livened it up with huge plants to offset the dark undertones of the wood panel walls and added a fountain that sat several feet behind the front desk.

As I approached the older lady sitting behind the marble counter, she pulled back from her keyboard and looked at me with what appeared to be recognition from above the rim of her bright red glasses.

"Hi, I'm here to see—"

"Your father. You look just like him. He's in a meeting at the moment. You can go up and wait if you'd like. Suit 202. Then again, you're more than welcome to sit here and keep me company until he's done." She purred, twirling a lock of her graying red hair around her finger.

I couldn't help but smile internally and shot her a prizing winning grin. Leaning across the counter, I could easily detect the scent of a male embedded in her flesh. She leaned in just as far and shivered from my closeness.

"Is that what you want, Jean?" I quickly glanced down at the plaque on her desk, "For me to keep you company?" Her lips parted as they moved closer to mine and she nodded. "And what would the male keeping your bed warm think of that?"

At that, she looked stunned and I tapped the tip of my nose with my finger. Falling back into her seat, she brushed away the imaginary wrinkles in her skirt and returned to typing.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him, but go on up. I'll inform Harold that you're here." With a quirked brow, I shrugged off what she said, picked up my bag and turned toward the elevators eager to put some distance between me and this old lady before she pounces.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome, hot buns."

I glanced over my shoulder and chuckled as I caught the old bird looking at my ass with a hungry look in her eyes. Of all the things I'd forgotten about this place, it was the amount of unmated cougars on the prowl.

The elevator came to a stop and when the doors swung open I stepped out, once again marveling at the changes made to the building. Each door was now labeled with a gold plate that had the names of each of the council members engraved on them and a painting of them beside their doors. Once I reached room 202, I noticed an empty frame with my name engraved in gold underneath. I guess they were serious about awarding me a seat.

Turning back to my father's door, I knocked first, just in case. When no one answered like I expected, I let myself into the room. Everything about it spoke of my father. From the color scheme to the way the furniture was arranged.

When I was younger, I'd purposely move things just to make him chase me. He never thought of it as amusing and never realized it was my way of breaking the stress in his day. Smiling, I went to sit in the comfortable looking armchair in front of his desk, but before I could, the door opened and an older version of myself walked in. He didn't look happy to see me as he simply stared and his lips formed a perfectly straight line.

"Dad." I stood and bowed my head at him as a sign of respect. I've always looked up to my father and aspired to be the loving mate and father he was. Even though I've been gone for half a decade, I still considered him my biggest inspiration.

"Dominic." He retorted just as calmly before breaking into a smile and pulled me in for a hug. "It's been a long time, son. Too long." His arms tightened around me and for as long as they were, I allowed it and embraced him just the same. Most wolves killed themselves after losing their mate and since no one has heard from me since the day of Alice's funeral, I'm sure they'd expected that of me. "We thought..." his voice faltered and emotion shone through him for a moment. Being an only child I know the way I just took off was hard for my parents. Although it was time I need, I regret doing that to them.