Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) Read online

  “I hope you’re both right. I should go for a walk and calm down though. I’m really sorry I snapped at you like that Cora.” Viola said, looking over at her sister.

  “Don’t worry about it. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably have reacted the same way,” Cora said with a shrug, dismissing Viola’s apology. She wasn’t mad at her sister, worried was more like it.

  “We’ll get this all straightened out Little Sis,” Sage said with a squeeze of her shoulders. She looked up at him with an odd expression on her face at the nickname, completely forgetting about wanting to go for a walk to cool down.

  Cora saw it and laughed. “Just go with it. He’s not gonna change it. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

  They all laughed at that and got down to trying to figure out how to screw Dominic’s head back on straight.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Viola, Cora and Sage plotted their mission to get Dominic to realize he deserved to be with Viola for well over an hour before Liam walked up with Dominic at his side.

  “So this is where you guys disappeared to. We were getting worried,” Liam said as he came over and took a seat on the bench next to Cora, pulling her close.

  “We were just talking and must have lost track of time. It’s so pretty out here,” Cora said, laying her head on his shoulder and melting into his side.

  “I love this place,” Viola said with a sigh and deliberately avoided any acknowledgement that Dominic was there too. Part of their plan to get Dominic to wake up was for Viola to ignore his presence, and make him long to be with her.

  Sage put his arm around Viola’s shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. “It’s a great spot to think,” he said with a wink.

  “Yeah it is. I could hang out here all of the time,” Viola said, inhaling the scent of the roses growing around the gazebo in deep.

  Dominic stood off to the side, shifting from foot to foot feeling awkward and wanting to rip Sage’s arm out of its socket for putting it across Viola’s shoulders. He did his best to hide the glare he was aiming at Sage, but couldn’t quite do it. He knew they all had seen it before he’d turned his head away.

  “We should get back. I know we’re supposed to get tomorrow off before we have to begin training,” Cora said with a sigh.

  “So, what shall we do tomorrow?” Sage asked Viola with a wink and a smile.

  “Can you show me around? I’ve been dying to explore the property,” Viola said looking up at Sage with a smile on her face.

  “There are some beautiful spots. I know Liam took me to one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to for a picnic,” Cora said, looking up at Liam with adoration.

  “That is my favorite place in the world. Maybe we should go have another picnic tomorrow there?” Liam asked Cora.

  “I would love that!” Cora said with enthusiasm.

  Liam smiled and nodded his head, “If that is what your heart desires my love, then that is what we will do.”

  Cora beamed at him. Dominic watched the interaction between the two and glanced over at Viola to find she was still not paying him any attention. He couldn’t blame her after how he’d acted at dinner. Sage still had his arm around Viola, which was making him angrier and angrier the longer it stayed there.

  “I can take you on a tour Vi,” Sage said. “It would be my honor to show you around.”

  “Sounds like a date,” Viola said with a huge smile. “Want to meet at breakfast and go from there?”

  “I can walk you down to breakfast if you’d like,” Sage offered.

  “That sounds wonderful,” Viola grinned, fighting her urge to glance over and see Dominic’s reaction to her and Sage flirting with each other. She couldn’t though, not if their plan was going to work.

  “Great. We’d better head in and get some rest, otherwise we’ll be sleepwalking through the tour and there are some things that I really want to show you,” Sage said and helped Viola stand up. He offered her his arm and she took it with a grateful smile.

  “Yeah, I’m still pretty tired after the last few days. Sleep sounds fantastic,” she said and covered her mouth as she let out a huge yawn that wasn’t at all fake.

  “Yeah, we’re going to head to bed too,” Liam said, helping Cora to her feet and wrapping his arm around her waist. “Good night. See you at breakfast.”

  “Night guys,” Cora said before they headed off. As the couple passed Dominic, Cora looked over and shot him a look, warning him that if he didn’t wise up, he was going to lose Viola.

  Viola and Sage followed Cora and Liam out of the gazebo without even acknowledging that Dominic was standing there, watching them. They said their good nights to Cora and Liam as they followed them into the mansion, leaving him behind.

  He stood there for a while feeling like his heart had been ripped from his chest. He’d known at dinner he’d hurt Viola, but he’d done it to protect her from who he was. The rest of them had no idea about the things he’d done in the past. They didn’t understand just how undeserving of Viola he was, almost losing her had reminded him she deserved better than him as her mate. If he had been the mate she truly deserved, he would have been there to protect her and keep what had happened with Anna from occurring in the first place.

  He walked over and sat down where Viola had been sitting on the bench and closed his eyes. He pretended he was Sage sitting there flirting with her and making plans to walk around the property the following day. He pretended he was the one she’d been smiling up at as they talked.

  His heart ached thinking he’d never be able to be the mate Viola deserved. He wanted to be so much that it hurt, but he couldn’t be. She deserved someone much better than him.

  He was so lost in thought he didn’t hear Angelica and Thomas approach him and enter the gazebo.

  “I am very disappointed in you, son,” Thomas said in a gruff voice.

  Dominic’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with surprise as he looked at Viola’s parents.

  “Why?” he asked, not really surprised. He’d been disappointing people his whole life.

  “Our daughter loves you and you are breaking her heart. You are her mate whether you feel you deserve her or not,” Angelica said, a hard edge to her voice. “I thought you got my point when we talked in her room in the medical facility, but I guess you did not.”

  “Destiny has chosen for the two of you to be together, do not fight it. If you continue to do so, you will be the cause of the twins not fulfilling their destiny. Viola cannot do this without her mate,” Thomas informed him.

  “I suggest you stop wallowing in this self-pity you have immersed yourself in and do what it takes to do your part. This is about more than just you,” Angelica said, her eyes boring into him.

  Dominic opened his mouth to speak, but didn’t say a word when Thomas held his hand up to silence him.

  “Unless you’re getting ready to tell us you are going to make things right with our daughter, I suggest you save your words. We know your past and have accepted you regardless. Viola has her own past and doesn’t care about yours. Wise up young man,” Thomas said with a stern look on his face.

  Without saying anything else, Angelica and Thomas turned and left the gazebo without having let him speak another word. He stared after them stunned, even after they’d disappeared from his line of sight.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Viola sat on her bed in her room, with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, crying.

  It had been so hard to pretend to be flirting with Sage right in front of Dominic. She’d wanted to reach out to him and try to talk some sense into him, but so far that hadn’t worked for any of them. His stubbornness was driving her insane.

  She remembered how it had felt to kiss him. How tender and gentle he’d been with her. She thought of how it had felt waking up in medical with him lying across her chest, being so careful not to put too much weight on her so he wouldn’t hurt he
r.

  She thought of how his head had felt in her lap when he was unconscious from the tranq Sage had shot him with, to fake his death and free him from Anna’s clutches. All she wanted to do was to be able to hold him in her arms in that moment and never let him go.

  All she could do was to put faith in the plan they’d come up with, because if they all failed, she had no idea what she would do. She now understood, with absolute clarity, how Cora had become consumed by Liam while she’d been kidnapped, and so torn apart by the distance between them when she’d gone on the mission without him to rescue her from Anna.

  After everything with Dominic, Viola now knew the terror Cora had felt when Liam had been taken and tortured by Anna.

  With a huge sigh, she decided she owed Cora an apology like she’d never owed her before. It might even take more than that to show her sister how much she regretted tearing into her the way she had when she’d found out it had been Liam that distracted her from coming to her aid.

  More than anything, she was happy for her sister. To find happiness with such a great guy, who loved her with everything he was, was a great gift. She knew her sister was in the best hands and didn’t worry about her at all.

  She knew Cora, Liam and Sage were all deeply worried about her, considering the situation with Dominic as it was. Heck, she was terrified he would choose to walk away from her, leaving her with nothing but a gaping hole in her heart that nobody else in the world could fill but him.

  It was funny that she didn’t know crap about the little things like his favorite color, hobby or anything else, but she knew what was in his heart without even trying. Despite what he thought, he had a kind and loving heart. He was passionate about what he believed to be right and wrong. He had the kind of strength that allowed him to become a mole inside of Anna’s operation so their race would not be decimated if her side won. She just wished he could see all of those things about himself.

  She went back to thinking about the plan they’d come up with and already put into effect with the scene in the gazebo.

  They were going to use the instincts of mates against him, by introducing the possibility of Viola moving on with Sage. Their flirting and scheduled “date” for the next day were just the beginning. She just prayed they didn’t have to go as far as kissing in front of Dominic, because she wasn’t sure she could handle that. In her mind and heart Sage was family through Liam and Cora, an older brother.

  It was funny how her life had gone from Cora and her against the world to the two of them being surrounded by people who seemed to love and adore them. There were only two missing from the complete family picture, Dominic and whoever was destined to be Sage’s mate. She prayed he’d find happiness with a mate of his own very soon. He was too great of a guy not to find happiness with someone special.

  There were too many thoughts swirling around in her mind to get any kind of quality rest so she got up, slipped on her robe and slippers over her pajamas and headed out of the room towards the kitchen. She figured maybe some chocolate chip cookies or ice cream, whichever she could find, would help, since she hadn’t been able to stomach finishing dinner because of the wall between herself and Dominic.

  She walked into the kitchen and looked around to see if there were any cookies. Those were what she really wanted. Ice cream was the next best thing. As she hunted through the cupboards, she noticed several of her favorite snacks were stocked. She smiled realizing Angelica had been paying close attention and made sure stuff like that had been bought just for them. She was curious as to whether their parents enjoyed some of the same snacks too as she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the bag of soft baked chocolate chip cookies and closed the cabinet door. Then she went over and got a glass for some milk.

  Once she’d settled down at the island in the dim lighting from over the stove, she dug into the cookies, dipping them into the milk and moaning with delight as she ate over half of the package. Normally she wouldn’t indulge in so many in one sitting, but this was a special circumstance.

  When she’d gotten her fill, she closed the bag and as she was putting it away when the back door opened and Dominic came into the kitchen, returning from the gazebo. She didn’t need to look to know who it was, she could sense him with every fiber of her being. She closed her eyes as she gathered strength for the confrontation between them, before turning around and walking back to the island to move her empty glass over to the sink and wash it.

  Dominic stood there watching her movements and wondering if she would say anything to him as she moved around the kitchen. He could see the tension in the set of her shoulders and her pride in the upward tilt to her chin. He watched her take great care not to look in his direction, even though he knew she was aware of his presence.

  When there was nothing left for her to do to keep herself busy and avoid him, she slowly turned toward him, nodded her head in acknowledgement and started to walk out of the kitchen without a word to him.

  He saw the anguish she was feeling in her eyes, as she did her best to avoid his on her way out of the room. He felt the same anguish tearing him apart from the inside out, clawing at him with relentless persistence.

  Wishing he could reach out to her and smooth her hair back from her face and dry the silent tears that had been running down her face, he just watched her go without trying to stop her. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done in his life.

  To keep himself from following her, he sank down onto one of the stools at the island and put his head in his hands. He was beginning to understand what he’d always been told about mates being kept apart from each other going insane.

  He reminded himself of all the reasons why he wasn’t good enough for her once again, to help him steel himself to stay his course. A little voice popped up in the back of his mind that told him he could make himself worthy of her somehow. He didn’t know how, but a tiny sliver of hope began to form in his heart.

  He sat there and wondered if it was even possible to make himself worthy of her, but he sure hoped he could. He spent the rest of the night sitting at the island, wracking his brain for how to go about doing just that.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  After tossing and turning all night long, Viola was surprised to find she was actually looking forward to spending the day relaxing in Sage’s company. He was like an older brother to her so he was safe territory, unlike Dominic who just played with her emotions and drove her insane.

  She showered and dressed with a huge smile on her face and used makeup to cover the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep the night before. She brushed her hair out and decided to let it air dry hanging loose. Throwing on some comfy shoes, she opened her bedroom door to find Sage waiting outside of her room with a grin on his face.

  “Are you ready?” Sage asked as he offered her his elbow.

  “Yeah, have you been waiting long?” Viola asked, her brow wrinkled in mild concern.

  “Nah, just got here actually. I was surprised that I didn’t have to wait longer to be honest,” Sage said with a wink. “I mean, didn’t you have to get all dolled up for our big date?”

  “Yup, I had all night to get ready because I didn’t get much sleep with all of the anticipation, you know?” Viola teased him.

  They went back and forth with the banter as they walked down the stairs and entered the dining room together arm in arm. Thomas and Angelica’s eyebrows rose in surprise to see the pair, but didn’t say a word as Sage pulled out a chair next to him for Viola and she sat down with a smile and thank you.

  He’d seated her next to Dominic and taken the chair on the other side of her, which was awkward, but she put her acting skills to good use and ignored her mate, turning all of her attention on Sage and discussing their plans for the day with great animation.

  Liam and Cora joined in on the conversation with smiles and laughter, which lead Viola to believe Cora and/or Sage had filled Liam in on the plan.

  After listening to the chatter
for half of the meal, Angelica turned and gave Dominic a pointed look asking him, “So what are your plans for this beautiful day?”

  Everyone fell silent as they waited for his reply. They all hoped he’d say something that included trying to win Viola back from Sage, but no such luck. “Nothing much, just going down to the training center to get in a good workout and start working on the girls’ training schedule.”

  Viola wanted to strangle the last breath out of that infuriating man. Sage caught her reaction and was able to divert her reaction away from Dominic and onto their plans for the day.

  “Maybe we could get a workout in after our tour Vi? What do you think?” Sage said with a wink of his eye.

  “That sounds great. It has been a few days since I’ve gotten one in. Don’t want to slack off too much with the big battle looming ahead of us now do I?” Viola responded with a laugh. Cora and Liam agreed and decided they’d join them later for a workout as well.

  *****

  As Dominic picked at his food and watched the rest of the group, they talked and laughed as if they’d been together their whole lives. He watched them finish their meals and take off in pairs, his mate leaving with a man that was not him, stabbing a knife deep into his heart and making him want to rip the other man to shreds. Forcing himself to remain passive, he sat back and watched the two leave, reminding himself, once again, that he was not yet worthy of her. Once he was, there would be no way he’d allow Sage to stand between himself and his mate.

  *****

  Laughing, Sage and Viola burst through the front doors and bounced down the stairs to the paved walkway.

  “Did you see the look on his face as we made our plans?” Sage asked her. “He looked like he wanted to jump over you and murder me all in the same move.”

  “I didn’t look to be honest,” Viola said with a depressed shrug.