Chapter 17: Sleepwalking

Dante held a glare. "I told you, that is one thing I can’t do. There is nothing between her and me. We don’t even like each other. And how can she possibly tempt me when you and I are mates? And that aside, do you think I’m some uncontrolled animal who would fall at the sight of any omega?"

Bits by bits, a little sense of annoyance was beginning to crawl into his tone.

Meris rapidly shook her head at him. "That...t-that’s not what I meant, Dante."

He shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants, saying, "I understand your dislike for her. No one wants anyone near their mate. But you’re being unreasonable with it. She is a contract deal. She needs to remain here until the contract ends, and when it does, she will be sent back to her father. What is so hard to understand there?"

"Dante!" She stomped her feet on the floor.

"I won’t have this discussion again." He looked away from her. "You need to cooperate. If she gets hurt in this place, I will be taking the blame, and that will not be good for this pack. Keep your jealousy wrapped and behave. She may be a bit crazy sometimes, but I think she’s not one to start a fight unless provoked."

Meris furiously narrowed her eyes on him. "What are you trying to insinuate, Dante? Are you trying to say that what happened was my fault?"

Dante only looked at her.

He didn’t answer but simply walked past her towards his bed, where he stood and began to take off his tie and unbutton his shirt.

"You can go to your room."

"What?" She turned and shot him a confused look. "Can I not sleep here with you anymore?"

"I never said that." He shrugged off his suit jacket. "But for tonight, I’d like to be alone."

"Dante—"

"Leave, Meris. I need to be alone. We’ll talk again in the morning. Give me space."

Disbelief lingered in Meris’s body language. She couldn’t believe this. This was just...

...Unbelievable!

"Fine," she spat, both hands balling into a first. "I. Will. Leave!"

She turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut heavily. The walls nearly rattled.

Dante paused, left in his unbuttoned shirt and suit pants.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple with a pained expression on his face.

"What is happening to me?" he mumbled under his breath. Each time, he felt that he was beginning to lose control of himself. He felt disoriented.

Leaving the bed, he took a shower. He came out and changed into white pajama pants. His upper body was left bare.

He laid down to get some sleep, but even after an hour, he found that he could not sleep at all.

And so, he stood up and walked toward the table, pulling out the drawer.

He grabbed his pack of cigarettes, took a stick and a lighter, and then turned around and left the room.

Dante went down the stairs to the last floor. He walked into the living room, intending to make his way to the foyer and out of the manor, but he had only made it to the door when he paused, taken aback.

He frowned.

Slowly, he turned, brow rising as his gaze fell to the big white sofa.

"What the..."

Lying on the sofa was Selene, who was fast asleep. The bedsheet she’d brought with her had slipped off to the floor. Her sleeping position was rough, legs thrown away, arms tossed above her head with her pajama shirt slightly raised, revealing her belly. Her hair was a tousled mess with a few strands falling over her face to even latch over her parted lips.

She ugly-slept.

Dante’s face was a fine paint of shock and disbelief.

Why is she sleeping out here?

He blinked.

And who sleeps so roughly?

His fingers involuntarily twitched by his sides. He wanted to walk over and fix her. However, he shook his head and turned his back on her.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

He dragged his fingers through his hair and walked away. However, he stopped. He was bothered, too bothered. And unable to help it, he balled his fist, turned, and moved toward the sofa.

"I’m just fixing her up. Nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t mean I care. I’m just...being a gentleman," he said to himself as he lowered himself at the waist, picking up the bedsheet.

He fixed her pajama shirt down, brought down her hands to her sides, and put the leg that had dropped to the floor back onto the couch. Then carefully, he threw the bedsheet over her and covered her up.

He turned around to walk away, but a pair of fingers suddenly wrapped around his wrist. Before he could even think or look back, he was pulled down into the sofa. And proceeding to loom over him like a shadow was a body smaller than him.

The back of his head slammed hard into the moderately soft sofa.

He didn’t even have time to understand what was going on when both of his hands were grabbed and pinned above his head. His waist was straddled, the weight above him holding him down.

"What were you trying to do to me, hm?" atop him, Selene questioned.

"You!—" Dante met her eyes, furious to the bone. "Get off me!"

"No."

She shook her head.

"I told you... W-when people bully me, I will fight back."

He frowned hard. "When did I bully you?!" He wriggled his arms to break free, but then he realized...

...Her grip was just too strong.

"What the heck...?" he murmured under his breath, lifting his head to look at her. "Aren’t you...an omega?"

None of this made sense to him. While Wild Omegas were strong, maybe even as strong as or stronger than betas, but even then this much strength was ridiculous. How could she...

Irritated, he growled under his breath and forcefully broke out of her hold. He grabbed her by her arms and flipped her over, leaving her under him.

He glared into her face.

"What do you think you’re doing?"

Selene stared up at him. "I will fight back!" she spat, puffing a breath of air on him.

Dante narrowed his gaze on her.

"Let go."

She wiggled under him.

"You can’t bully me. My papa—"

"Are you...sleeping?" Dante interrupted suddenly and quickly pressed a palm over her forehead. "Sleep...are you sleepwalking, talking? What the heck is this?"