C9 Late night reunion

DOMINIC’S POV

I opened the door and found his familiar side profile.

"Uncle John. it's been a while," I said as I walked toward where he had parked the car.

"Five years too long," he replied, eyeing me. "You've grown, Dominic. More and more like your father every day."

I shrugged off the comment. "So, what brings you here now, after all this time?

He sighed. "I figured it was time. I've been gone too long. You're not a kid anymore. You've been handling things on your own."

"I've been doing that for a while now, you know that." A moment of silence passed between us before I continued. "But. good seeing you. You don't look much different." I folded my arms.

Old habits, I suppose." He glanced around the environment before focusing on me once more. "And you… a hockey star now, huh? That's impressive."

"yeah. It keeps me grounded. The pack doesn't always get it, but I make time for it."

"So why now? Why show up after all these years?” I asked, my voice sharper.

He took a deep breath, his words measured. "I know I haven't been there like I should've been. But I've been watching from afar, giving you space to figure things out. I didn't want to hover." He stopped for a moment, then added, "But I'm here now because I don't want to lose any more time. We're family, Dominic. Family sticks together.”

My jaw clenched for a second, then relaxed. "Family, huh? That's something I had to figure out on my own." I met his eyes before softening. "But yeah. Whatever.”

"We've got a lot to talk about," he said, his tone warmer now. "I want to hear everything I've missed. I'm here to listen-and help, if you'll let me."

"How about a walk?" he suggested.

I nodded reluctantly. I really hadn't expected this to be drawn out-I thought it would just be some sort of awkward exchange, and then we would go our separate ways.

"So, how's the pack handling all these attacks lately?" he asked, the sound of his voice slicing through the crunch of leaves beneath our feet.

I didn’t even bother looking at him. “You don’t have to pretend like you care,” I said flatly.

The crunching stopped. I turned back, my steps slowing. "What?" I grumbled.

He still stood there, looking at me with a face that said he was about to spill some of his wisdom I hadn't asked for. "You know I do, Dominic," he said, picking up his pace to catch up with me.

"You need to stop being so hard on yourself. Nothing that happened was your fault.”

I stopped and waited for him to close the gap between us. When he reached me, he laid a hand on my shoulder. "Let it go, drop that weight you're carrying."

That hit a nerve. I froze, muscles tensing under his hand.

It wasn't just the words,it was the truth. The fact that I had been carrying all this shit for too long, abandoned by my parents and then finding out they're dead,the life I never asked for, ripped away from anything close to normal because of this wolf gene, and then Uncle John, the only family that remained, disappeared for five years like I didn't matter.

My fist was clenched, my jaw tightened, the anger inside me swirling like a storm. My eyebrows furrowed, everything in me ready to explode.

But I made myself take a deep breath and cool down. It wasn't time for that.

I shouldn't be angry with my uncle, he was just trying to help, I guess. The silver lining is that at least he didn't bail on me my whole life-he's the only one who didn't completely disappear.

"I'm not carrying any weight," I said bluntly, brushing him off.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked after a moment, like trying to steer the conversation to lighter topics.

"No. And I'm not planning on it," I said firmly.

“Why not?" he pressed, curiosity creeping into his voice.

"I don't know, haven't figured my life out yet," I said, pausing a second. "Hell, maybe I'll just pay someone to be my mate, get the pack off my back."

"Just be smart about it, okay?" He said as if trying to impart some sort of knowledge, though it came off more like advice he thought I needed to hear.

I nodded, not really in the mood for a lecture.

"So, how about you come visit us sometime? Meet your cousins?" he asked nonchalantly, but I knew exactly where this was going.

"Wait, what? No way. You want me to meet people I've never even laid eyes on, just cause we share some blood? They don't even know I exist."

He gave a dry laugh. "What are you supposed to mean?” He asked. “ I have obviously told them about you."

"Great, so what am I supposed to say? 'Hello, I'm Dominic. Your long-lost cousin who was rejected by his parents and, yeah, has a werewolf gene which makes him a ticking time bomb'?

He chuckled. "That's crazy. We can break it to them easy about the werewolf thing, alright? Come on, let's get back to the lair."

As my uncle left, couldn't rid myself of that faint sense of satisfaction I felt from his visit. Of course, was angry with him, but a part of me was glad he had come.

The clinic girl-whatever her name was had asked me to hang out with her and her friends. Especially since her friends share a dorm with Abigail. Like I need any more distractions. The thought of seeing her again, getting pulled into that mess-it's not worth it.

I could have gotten a hold of Enzo, but knowing him, he probably was up to some kind of late-night trouble. So, it made more sense to bet on the library. Never did late-night studying before, but maybe now is the time.

I pushed open the door to the library, and the soft creak felt like it echoed louder than it should in the dead quiet.

I looked back down at my book, slapping it shut with a sigh. "Shit, I can't do this," I muttered, scrubbing my eyes. The hell was I thinking, coming here to read this late? I shook my head, the slight smile tugging the corners of my mouth. This was a bad idea from the beginning.

I stood up, stretching out the stiffness in my muscles, then decided to take a walk around.

The library was even bigger than I had remembered. The further in I walked into the labyrinth of shelves, the larger the place seemed once again. It was quiet, the type of quiet that was thick and just absorbed any sound well before it could have echoed. The walls stretched high, in this mute off-white that seemed to blend right into the dark wood shelves towering over me. Packed, row upon row with more books than anyone could probably ever read in a lifetime.

Along the ceiling, dim lights hung and cast a soft glow throughout the aisles. The shadows from the shelves made the corners withdrawn, and it seemed like the library went on and on in every direction. I barely heard my footsteps with the carpeted floor smooth from years of students treading through this place. The shelves simply went on and on, row after row, then another and another, almost as if they would swallow you up if you weren't careful.

Turning toward another section of the library, I saw a soft light flicker ahead of me, little more than a contrast to the dimly lit shelves. Curiosity piqued , I walked toward it slowly, my footsteps echoing faintly in stillness. The closer I got, the more the light seemed to pull me in-but then my eyes caught something else-something much better.

There, just past the glow, was a familiar silhouette. I froze for a moment, realizing it was her.