"Run your smooth fingers
on the jagged cracks
of my soul, and then tell
me you love me."

~~Daniel Saint

****************

~Dominic~

I'm such a piece of shit., I thought to myself as I sped down the long winding drive and watched my kids fade into the distance. It didn't take long for them and the large house to disappear behind the thick canopy of trees tunneling above the gravel. A lump tried to form in my throat as I left my children for the second time in their lives, hoping to the gods they wouldn't come to hate me again.

I wouldn't blame them if they did because a part of me already hated myself for what I had put them through and for what I was doing now. Nova and Nevada deserved better than what I had given them thus far and I could only pray that one day I would have the chance to make it up to them. But they didn't need me, not right now, and I wasn't leaving them forever or at least I wasn't planning on it.

Alana was the love of my life, the piece of my soul that I didn't know but had craved for centuries until I finally found her. After everything we had gone through, the pain and constant struggle to survive, I couldn't leave her behind. Without her, I was nothing but a violent, merciless monster and for a long time, I had been okay with that… until her. That part of me still existed but she was the only one that could calm the beast that dwelled in the darkest parts of my mind.

"What are you doing, Lana?" I muttered under my breath as I turned onto the highway and flew down the road. "What's the end game?"

The day Alana and I had left, we knew what we were giving up and had accepted our lives would never be what we had once thought. She had hated leaving her baby sister behind and I had offered to take her with us, but Lana had turned it down. If Avrilia had gone with us, she would have lived in constant danger and always afraid of what each day would hold. Those had been some of the same reasons that had led us to make the decision to send Nevada away. We were dangerous, toxic to those we loved, and they all deserved better than a life of blood and fear.

I clenched my jaw, knowing that the one thing we had tried so hard to keep from happening had eventually happened anyway. It had been inevitable and if I was honest with myself, I had always known that it would be. Avrilia was dead, slaughtered viciously in her home and she would never know the true beauties of the world. Nova and Nevada were so young, innocent to so many of the true horrors of life, but had still been ripped from their lives and cast into a major role in the war. Death was inevitable, even for the immortal.

My thoughts drifted back to the conversation I had with August as I loaded the car with my few belongings that I had managed to cling to over the years. After saying my final goodbyes to my children, they damn near fled from my presence like they couldn't get away from me fast enough, all but running from the room. Who was I kidding? I was lucky neither of them had punched me as a parting gift.

●●●●

"How long have you known about the stones?" August had asked as he watched me.

I had kept my back to him as I stowed away my things, buying as much time as I could before facing my best friend. He hadn't sounded accusing or angry, which I was grateful for, but the lack of emotion almost bothered me more. We had heard the myths over the years, as bedtime stories when we had been mere children and as a legend of twisted truths as we had fought side by side on countless occasions as adults.

When I had finally turned around, the familiar impassive expression rested on August's face but I could see the turmoil in his eyes. 

"I take it you heard the conversation?" I had asked as I leaned casually against the side of the driver's door. 

"I was just in the kitchen," August replied dryly, "so it wasn't exactly a strain on my vampire hearing."

Nodding, I crossed my arms over my chest and silently traced the claiming mark on my with my eyes. It was only half of one, the other half tracing delicately alone Alana soft, creamy skin that, when our hands linked together, they created one whole image. My muscles itched to jump in the car and tear out of there after her, but I couldn't leave just yet.

"I found out after Alana and I left," I began slowly, choosing my words carefully. "Elijah told me."

"Elijah?!" August asked, his back straightening. "How is that possible?"

"He wasn't dead, August," I explained quietly, forgotten anger pressing at the surface. "My father banished him from Folmoria, for defying orders but he couldn't bring himself to kill Elijah. So he lied instead."

August looked at me for several moments, shocked warring with his own anger at the injustice of it all. In the end it didn't matter, not any more. It had all happened too long ago for it to make a difference.

"Where is he?" August finally asked.

I shrugged and stepped away from the car. "With Eli there isn't much telling, whoring was always his favorite hobby and that hasn't much changed."

August chuckled lightly before stepping up the side of the car as I slid into the driver seat. His silvery violet eyes scanned my face, the hard angles of his face still tight with tension.

"Is that where you're going?" he asked finally.

"Don't worry about me," I replied with a shake of my head. "Keep them safe and make sure you keep an eye on that warlock as well. I don't trust him and he could be here just to gather intel. He knows more than he's letting on and Nova will be the one to get it out of him. If word gets out about those stones, the entire world will be after my kids, August."

"I know," August growled. "You should have told me."

"Maybe but I figured the less people that knew, the better." 

August didn't say anything, stepping back as I closed the door and brought the vehicle to life with a twist of the key. Rolling the window down as the garage door slid up behind me, I looked at my closest friend one last time.

"I love my kids, August, but they aren't children anymore," I told him, my heart threatening to shatter as I spoke. "I missed out on the years of holding them close and protecting them from the world. Now all I can do is make sure they have the tools they need to get through this war that I failed to stop. You and Robbie do right by them, be there for them and I'll do what I do best before I come back."

"If you don't, I think Nevada will find a way to Hades just to kick your ass," August retorted with a forced smirk, but I could tell he didn't want me to go either. "You better come back, you hear me, brother?"

"I don't have time to die, old man," I shot back with my trademark smirk before turning serious again. "See you on the other side?"

August nodded and lightly tapped the top of the car as he slowly walked backwards. "There and back again, Dom."

With one last look at my oldest friend, I back out of the garage and rounded the house only to be gifted with the sight of Nova and Nevada standing at the front. Nova's face was a mask, all of his emotions clamped down as Nevada leaned against him with tears in her eyes. She gave me a watery smile, one I knew she hoped was encouraging but I only hated myself even more.

I forced myself to smile back, praying it was more reassuring than I felt inside, before I had sped away. They would be okay, whether they believed it or not. 

●●●●

"Get your head on straight, Dom," I quietly scolded myself before trying again to call my wife. The line began to ring as I held the small device to my ear. "Come on, answer baby."

On the fourth ring, I heard the sound of the call connecting. 

"I'm fine, Dominic," Alana said as a way of greeting.

Relief I never thought I could feel washed over me and for a moment my mind was a blanket as I tried to process such a precious sound. Finally, I managed to form words and they came out in a rushed jumble.

"Holy shit! Thank the gods, Alana! Where are you? Are you alright? Tell me where you are and I'll come get you!"

A soft sigh came through the speaker and I held my breath.

"I'm not going back," Alana answered quietly and I could picture her closing her eyes and tilting her head up as she spoke. "I have to do this because I'm the only one that can."

"What do you mean? What are you doing?" I asked even though I already knew the answer.

"I'm going home. The kingdom was hit hard, Dom, and the people have no one!" Alana sounded as exasperated as I felt. "I need to take control back before anyone else steps in and destroys what my father fought so hard to protect. It was supposed to be mine since the moment I was born and now it will be."

I understood her way of thinking because I would probably feel the same in her shoes, but we have been gone so long. There was always the possibility that the citizens would accept her after all this time and then showing up out of nowhere. She would even end up implicated in her family's death just like I was.

"And the kids?" I asked, trying to keep the anger from my voice. 

"They are the reason I left, because they need more than two wayward royalty fae and two hybrid vamps at their back," she growled defensively. "Those two are mine. I don't care who Nova's birth mother is because she didn't deserve him. I don't deserve either of them but I'll be damned if I sit back and watch them fight alone. 

"I'm going to extend every possible resource to help them and if that means I have to take my place as queen, then so be it! They'll have an army at their fingertips, Dominic! What else would you have me do?!"

"Told me you were leaving?" I bit out resentful of her choice to leave without me. "We're supposed to be a team and you left without me. Fuck, Alana! You didn't even say a goddamn word to me!"

Alana didn't say anything, the only sounds coming from the other end was her ragged breathing. If it hadn't been for that I would have thought she had hung up on me.

"I didn't want to," she finally said after a while, her voice wavering and I clenched my jaw at the thought of her pain. "But you would have tried to stop me, love, and I couldn't let you talk me out of it."

"It's fucking dangerous, Lana, but I would have gone with you," I informed her, my voice low as I tried to focus on the road. "Just tell me where you are and we'll talk about it."

"I don't want to talk about it!" Alana practically yelled and I had to pull the phone away briefly to keep from hurting my ear. "I made up my mind and that's the end of the discussion."

"Goddamn, you're a stubborn woman," I muttered but she heard me anyway.

"I learned from the best, your highness," she scoffed but there was no malice behind it.

"Baby, please, just tell me where you are," I tried again, damn near ready to beg.

"You left already didn't you?" She asked but I didn't respond because we both knew the answer. Alana heaved another sigh along with a frustrated noise. "Fine, I'm at a diner in a little town east of August's. I'll text you the info…"

"What aren't you telling me?" I asked warily after catching onto the reluctance in her voice.

"I called Elijah," she said and I knew she ran a hand through her hair just by the tone she used. "I figured he wouldn't ask too many questions."

"You called my brother?" I asked for confirmation, pressing my lips together.

"Yes."

"Fine, text me," I growled before ending the call and pushing the gas pedal down.

Tossing the obnoxious device into the cupholder, I flew down the winding two lane highway, the tires waiting up the pavement as I raced towards her. My phone chirped a few minutes later with the name and address of a diner that she and I had been to only a handful of times during our years on the run. It was in a quaint town a few hours away and I didn't even want to think about how she had managed to get so far on foot.

"She's going to be the death of me."

●●●●

The sun was low in the sky, a few stars already starting to glitter in the east, when I pulled up to the front of Maisie's Grill. It looked just like I remembered, a small building with a busted parking lot with faded lines and the air of something out of a sixties movie. Window chalked decorated some of the windows, bright colored and cheerful as it tried to draw in more customers. But the place was always busy, which isn't surprising since it had the best burgers in town.

A sense of nostalgia worked its way in as I looked around, shops and boutiques lining both sides of the comfy diner. Reaching over, I grabbed the Nike baseball cap from the passenger seat and pulled it low over my face. I wasn't sure if anyone would recognize me but there wasn't any reason to take the chance. 

Stepping out, I saw Alana leaning against the side of the building, her back against the brick wall as her head scanned the parking lot. Despite our disagreements, when her violet eyes met mine, her entire face lit up and she dashed towards me. Meeting her halfway on the sidewalk, I opened my arms just as she flung herself into my chest.

Her arms and legs wrapped around my neck as she clung to me, her face buried in my neck as I held her close. Scanning the area as I went, I took us to the back of the diner where there was less of a chance of being seen or heard. 

When I felt we were secluded enough, I pressed her back against the cool stone wall and slipped both hands into her hair. Instantly, our lips found each other, dancing in a familiar rhythm that made my heart race and my blood pound in my veins. The taste of her filled my mouth as the smell of her strawberry shampoo surrounded me and left my thoughts muddled.

With extreme effort, I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers, both of us panting for breath.

"Don't ever do that again," I admonished, gripping her hair a little tighter. "I swear to the gods, Alana, don't ever fucking do that to me again."

I'd never admit it, my pride would probably never let me unless she asked, but I had been terrified. Not knowing where she was or if she was okay had scared the hell out of me and I was surprised I had been able to hold out as long as I had. We hadn't been apart like this since the day we had left our kingdoms behind and I felt like I had been disconnected from a drug that my life depended on. In a way, I guess it did.

"I'm sorry," Alana cried softly, her small hands gripping the hair at the back of my head. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to hurt you, I promise. That's not what I wanted but I knew you wouldn't let me go."

"Baby, if you had told me then I would have gone with you," I told her, pressing a kiss to her skin. "I would never want you to do this alone. Do you realize how dangerous this is?"

"I'm not helpless, Dominic," she snapped, leaning her back to look up at me, fire blazing in her eyes. "I know what I'm getting into."

"Do you really? Because I'm currently on the most wanted list as a suspect in your family's murder and they think I killed you too," I growled and her eyes widened as big as saucers at the revelation. "Someone is playing really fucking dirty, Alana. My picture is all over the news and every social media outlet in the world. Who's to say you won't be next after you come back to claim the throne?"

"I'll-I'll tell them the truth!" Alana stammered quickly, tears shining in her eyes. "They can't think it was you!"

"They'll think you have Stockholm syndrome," I countered. "They're saying I kidnapped and killed you. If the cops think that I kidnapped you and held you hostage for twenty years then they'll say you're brainwashed!"

"Always getting yourself into trouble aren't you big brother?" a familiar voice asked from behind us.

Letting Alana's feet touch the ground and support her weight, I kept one hand on her waist as I turned to face the newcomer. My little brother leaned against the fence behind the diner, sporting a faded black hoodie and baggy jeans. Scuffed black boots poked out from the threadbare end of his pants and I could make out vague outlines of new tattoos on his neck peeking out from beneath his hood. Elijah lowered the worn fabric and revealed a head of blonde hair that was slightly shaggy as if he had cut it himself and currently streaked with faded purple and blue. 

"And they said I was the problem child," Elijah commented with a cocky smirk. "Come on, you two can follow me back to my place. Dogs are crawling all around this place."

Elijah didn't wait for a reply, just pushed away from the fence and disappeared around the corner of the building. Looking at Alana, I cocked an eyebrow.

"This was your solution?" I asked, taking her hand in mine as I followed after him.

"Well… it seemed like a good idea at the time," she defended herself weakly.

I laughed. "The kid is more violent than I am, Love. If bloodshed wasn't the goal then you seriously fucked up."

"Our kids are worth it all."

I didn't say anything else as we both got into my borrowed vehicle and followed Elijah's motorcycle out of the parking lot. There wasn't anything to say because I wholeheartedly agreed.

********************

A/N: So, this chapter took longer than I hoped and fingers crossed that it turned out okay.

Things have been absolutely INSANE for me lately and they don't look like they'll be calming down anytime soon. When it rains it pours and I'm hoping I don't drown.

In the meantime, please be patient with me and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible but who knows when that will be.

Let me know what you thought of Dominic's POV!

Thank you all for everything!!❤❤

Vote and Comment and don't forget to follow me for progress updates for future chapters if you aren't already!

XOXO🖤❤🖤❤

~SM~