Chapter 634
“Your Highness, it’s tough to find a doctor at this time with the storm. Jeniva is an omega. Maybe she’s in heat and passed out from the strain,” Evan’s voice crackled over the phone.
Dominick rubbed the top of his left eyebrow, his gaze fixed on the swirling snow outside the window. “I never heard of that, passing out like this,” he whispered, his voice laced with skepticism.
“She must be a submissive omega,” Evan added. “I shouldn’t be suggesting this, but you can share your slight warmth with her. I mean, your pheromones. That’s the only way to help her recover quickly. Else, if you want to wait, then please do till the evening. I’ll be there with a doctor by then p>
Dominick furrowed his brows and hummed in a nonchalant tone before hanging up. He hated the idea. To him, sharing pheromones was an intimate, soul-binding act, something he had vowed never to do again after the wreckage of his past. Yet, looking at her pale, still face, he couldn’t play the stone-hearted man.
He walked back to the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. With a heavy sigh, he lifted her head and settled it gently onto his lap. His hand hovered over hers for a long second before he finally gripped it.
’Fuck! This was the last thing I wanted to do with her,’ he thought. ’But let’s just keep it professional. She needs to recover p>
Closing his eyes, he forced his inner walls down just enough. He let his pheromonal scent flow out of his body. As the scent filled the space between them, Jeniva’s breathing began to hitch, her body instinctively reacting to the powerful presence of her mate.
Slowly and steadily, the color returned to Jeniva’s cheeks and the warmth began to seep back into her hands. Dominick watched intently as her eyeballs moved beneath her lids, indicating she was finally resurfacing. He began to slowly withdraw his hand, but before he could pull away, Jeniva’s fingers suddenly curled around his, catching him.
“Please, don’t let me go,” she whispered. However, her eyes remained closed. She was still drifting in that hazy borderland of consciousness, unaware that it was the Prince she was pleading with.
Dominick went still. He didn’t pull away this time; instead, he kept his hand firmly in hers and used his free hand to check her forehead. The alarming heat had dissipated, replaced by a normal temperature that brought a relief to his chest.
“Your Highness… Is this you?” Jeniva asked softly. Her lashes fluttered and her eyes finally opened, focusing slowly on the man sitting beside her.
Dominick met her gaze and let out a short, dry chuckle, trying to mask the awkwardness of the intimacy. “Of course. There’s no one else in the residence except us,” he replied, his voice returning to its usual guarded tone.
Jeniva looked down at their joined hands and then up at him, a flicker of realization, and perhaps embarrassment, crossing her features as she realized he had been holding her.
The moment of tenderness shattered instantly. As soon as reality set in, Jeniva yanked her hand away with alarming speed, scrambling to the far side of the bed to put distance between them. In her panicked haste, the top of her head collided sharply with Dominick’s chin.
“Ahhh!” He let out a pained shout, his head snapping back from the force of the blow.
“I’m so sorry! Your Highness, I didn’t mean to—please, let me see,” Jeniva cried out, her eyes wide with horror. She scrambled back toward him, her hands joined in a frantic gesture of apology as she reached out to check the damage.
Dominick immediately threw his hand up. He winced, rubbing his sore jaw with his other hand, his expression darkening as he leaned away from her touch. The gesture was clear: he didn’t want her help, and he certainly didn’t want her close.
“Stay back,” he muttered through gritted teeth, his voice vibrating with irritation. “You’ve done quite enough for one morning p>
The room, which moments ago had been filled with the warm, healing scent of his pheromones, was now filled with suffocating tension. Jeniva froze, her hands hovering in mid-air, looking small and devastated against the headboard of the bed.
“I didn’t mean to,” she stammered, her face flushing as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You were holding my hand… It-it shocked me, seeing you this close p>
“You were unconscious! Do you even realize that?” Dominick snapped, his anger flaring as a defense mechanism against the lingering intimacy. “And you’re a submissive omega! Why didn’t you tell me this before p>
Jeniva bristled, her own defensive walls going up. “Why should I have to tell you that? It’s my private business p>
“Whom are you working for?” Dominick arched an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t I know the traits and vulnerabilities of those working directly under me in this place? Your condition could have been a security risk p>
“Yes, I am an omega,” Jeniva murmured, looking down at the quilt. “I felt strange last night… restless. I couldn’t sit still or focus on anything. After I had a drink, I think it just became worse. But She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “Why did you have to hold my hand? And your pheromones… I could feel them. They were everywhere p>
Dominick stiffened, realizing she had been aware of the scent even in her daze. “It was a necessity, nothing more,” he stated, standing up to regain his sense of authority. “Evan said it was the only way to stabilize you without a doctor present. Don’t read anything more into it p>
Jeniva bit her lip, the lingering warmth of his scent still making her head spin despite his cold words. But still, she couldn’t make why it happened. Maybe because he was an alpha.
“Thank you for helping me,” Jeniva said softly, her voice carrying a genuine note of gratitude.
“Never mind,” Dominick answered shortly, his back already turned to her. He walked to the door and pulled it open. He paused at the threshold, his hand gripping the frame. “The snowstorm has started outside. We can’t go out to work today. If you’re hungry, cook something for yourself p>
He glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes cold and distant. “Also, don’t come near me p>
He stepped out, and the door closed with a loud, echoed thud that vibrated through the floorboards. Jeniva jolted in her place, her heart leaping into her throat at the sudden loud sound. She sat in the silence of the room for a long moment, the fading scent of his pheromones still teasing her senses, clashing with the harshness of his departure.
“What’s wrong with him?” she muttered to the empty room, pulling the quilt tighter around her shoulders. “Maybe he didn’t wish to help me at all… Maybe it was just a burden p>
She looked toward the window, where the white-out conditions made it impossible to see the garden. She was trapped in the residence with a man who looked at her with nothing but loathing.
“But I never did anything wrong to him. Why is he so irritated with me?” she murmured, letting out a sigh.