Dominic barked out a burst of long laughter— cruel, evil, maniacal. It reminded Asher a lot about that night they'd first met officially, and Dominic's words to him. He couldn't forget the hurt he'd felt that night, nor could he ever bring himself to forgive Dominic.

"Who's going to throw me out of the palace? You?"

Asher wasn't intimidated at all by his status. He was still a prince of Melissa and had, to an extent, a say on who got to stay around. Dominic couldn't do as he pleased in his own home just because he was going to be Grand King. His parents would never have the same mindset with him and could sanction him seriously if they ever found out that he'd ordered Dominic out of the palace. "I believe I didn't speak a foreign language when I said I wanted you out."

Dominic nodded, raising his hands in surrender. His eyes flitted between Asher and Seth, who sat in a heap on the floor. "I'll leave. And this will be the last time I'll be coming to your home, Asher. From this moment henceforth, you'll be the one searching for me."

Asher was genuinely scared of his threat. He knew that Dominic had so much power and control over him, even more than his parents. Yet, he raised his chin in utmost defiance.

"We'll see."

-----------

Two weeks later.

Jo News Media.

Prince Seth has been exiled off the island of Jo by Alpha Prince Dominic.

From the rumors making rounds amongst citizens, it might seem that Prince Dominic is taking action as regards the rumored illicit affair between Seth and Asher. This comes two weeks after he'd revealed in an interview that he doesn't care about who Asher chooses to spend his time with. We're all wondering what might have happened between the two unsuitable couples to make Dominic believe the rumors and exile the Delver Prince. We're all curious to find out how Prince Asher would take this news...

“Your Majesty?”

Dominic exhaled in satisfaction at the papers in front of him, not sparing a glance at the omega shuffling before him. His heart was gladdened that his revenge on Asher was coming along quite well. He couldn't wait to see how the snot would react too. “I'll have no interruptions now if you don't mind.”

The omega drew in a nervous breath, causing Dominic to look up at him finally. The Prince frowned. “Are you deaf? I said leave me alone.”

“Sorry to object, Your Highness, but Prince Asher is here and he demands to see you.”

Dominic's ears twitched, a mischievous smirk making its way to his lips. He hadn't expected Asher to come down to Agravaria so soon. I guess he saw the papers quite early. “Asher?”

The omega nodded. “He's causing an uproar in the palace. I think it has something to do with Prince Seth's exile.”

“Alright then, let him in,” Dominic rested his back fully, a smirk stretching his lips thin when Asher stormed past the omega, his princely robes billowing in the air and his hair tousled as though he'd been constantly running his hands through it in the past hour, which wasn't a huge surprise. Dominic crossed his legs and brought the papers down to his thighs. Asher banged a fist on the table with a snarl, fury gleaming in his green eyes.

“Pleased with yourself, huh?” The Melissa Prince snapped irritably. Dominic pretended not to hear him. “You rotten arsehole. How can you be so petty to treat Seth like that? Exile? What has he done to you?”

There was a long pause before Dominic set the papers aside and rose to his full height, pinning Asher down with a steely gaze. “Is that why you're being so mannerless and throwing tantrums about? And mind you, it was never my intention to exile Seth. The public reviews and his constant coming over to your place pushed me to make that decision.”

“Liar. This is you paying back for throwing you out of my palace last time. I can very well remember your words, you sick fuck.”

“Mind your tongue. I still maintain what I said. I can't keep being a laughingstock all because of a disgrace like you. I'm a future king. My reputation matters and I'll make sure you're placed on house arrest if you don't stop flirting with your admirers.”

Asher flinched, but it was only for a second. As if Dominic had that much control over him. “You don't own me, arsehole. Do that, and you'll be going against my fundamental right to movement. Trust me, I wouldn't think twice before reporting that you're a menace to the Grand Council.”

Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose, painfully bored. “I'm flattered that you think whatever you say to them will matter. The Grand Council, surely, have seen the splattered news of your irresponsibility on the papers and would give me a go-ahead to discipline your wild ways.”

“I'm not wild!”

“Yes, you are,” Dominic maintained, seeing an avenue to break the prince from within. “You're nothing but a wayward child who seeks to have his way every time. Don't you know you're not only embarrassing yourself and me but also your family? Why aren't your parents saying anything?”

Asher raised a finger at him, eyes full of fire and hate. “They trust their son, much more than his soulmate who's a hypocrite and readily believes the media who would do anything to paint a bad image.”

Dominic scoffed. “I don't believe it's just the media in this case. Your shamelessness has long been due. It's only right that you're exposed.”

“So you think sending Seth off the island is a good thing? For fate's sake, no one has ever been off the island except criminals! And Seth is a prince. He has never been out in the wild, and nor does he have any survival skills. Sending him off to get killed isn't your best move of revenge. Take your grievances out on me and not my friends.”

“Are you done?” Dominic said. It was oddly infuriating how much Asher cared about Seth's exile, more than the fact that he'd felt insulted and deserved an apology. And as for Seth, he didn't exile the prince off Jo as the papers claimed but to a secluded city a little off the island that was inhabited by humans. Since Seth hadn't shifted for a long while, he fitted right well with the humans and there were zero chances of the full moon affecting him. He should be fine. “First, I don't think that Seth's exile is a good thing. It's the best thing to keep you on a short leash. I didn't take any actions against his brother, Enoch because that would be taking this whole thing too far. It's none of your business who I chose to punish, and yes being off the island would give him a hard view of life and help him, man, up. He'll learn to be brave and strong.”

Asher met his eyes, chuckling. “Wow. Just wow. So, you're trying to twist your wicked intention into something good? Since when did you start caring about how much of a man Seth is? And are we honestly going to talk about bravery and strength? We both know that you don't possess those.”

“Whatever,” Dominic waved a hand dismissively, plopping down on his swivel chair. “I've explained what needs to be said. You can disagree all you want but it still won't change my decision.” He sifted past the page gossip page to sports. Asher stood there, all the fire gone out of him. He looked miserable. Try as hard as he could to prevent it, Dominic felt a tug of pain in his chest. Asher was making him hurt.

“Do you think ignoring me would work?” Asher smiled mockingly after noting how Dominic was affected too by his pain. “I can't suffer the sting of your words alone, arsehole. We're bound together, we'll suffer together.”

Dominic had to give it to him--Asher was more brilliant than he'd always thought. The Melissa Prince, though born early, was intelligent and had access to one of, if not the best tutors across the twelve kingdoms. Tutors that read far and wide, and only attended to the children of the royal elite.

But Dominic would rather face Asher's anger on being called a kid, than witness his sore pride if the little snot got to know his true opinion about him.

He just loved messing with the prince's emotions, which always had a counter effect on him. Asher was everything he was not, everything he sometimes wished to be— loud, extroverted, and funny. Asher was sentimental and emotional, requiring the validation of others to be happy. The latter reason was what irritated Dominic the most. The Alpha Prince loathed people, which was what Asher attracted every time. He was pissed because Asher could never disappear from the public eye even though Dominic had to exile all his admirers.

It made him more than irritable and jealous that Asher could do without his attention. He wanted Asher to crave his touch, crave his eyes on him every second like it'd been when they first met. But unsurprisingly, after that disastrous night, he felt it through their bond that Asher hated him. Everything about him. It shouldn't have gotten to him because he was used to not being understood, but it did.

“Go. Get out,” Dominic gestured towards the door. “Stop being pitiful. Crying doesn't suit you.”

“Neither does lying. Can't you bring him back for me? Please? I'll do anything you ask of me.” Asher succumbed to begging and Dominic considered his request for a millisecond. But then a picture of Asher kissing Seth's cheek just as the papers stated flashed through his mind, hardening his heart.

“He'll remain exiled for a while, till your scandal dies down. You'll see him then.”

“You cruel bastard— ” Asher's sobs rocked through him as he stared at Dominic with so much venom. He stayed there, fuming for a few moments of silence while Dominic kept his eyes trained on the papers on his thighs, before storming out of the room.

The moment the door slammed shut, Dominic sighed. The ache in his chest lessened to a considerable degree.