Chapter 9: A Deal With The Devil

“So when do we do this?”

Dominic smiled at Natalie’s question. “I’m thinking this weekend, at the Spring Solace.”

Her eyes widened. “The Spring Solace? Are you sure? Everyone is going to be there.”

Dominic nodded. “All the better. That way everyone will be there to witness it. They might even say the moon goddess brought us together.”

“Isn’t that a little dangerous? Mark is going to be there. What if this turns into a fight and one of us gets hurt? This would all be for nothing.”

Dominic understood her worry, but he had already accounted for that.

“Mark will not be there,” he rasped.

Natalie scoffed. “How can you be so sure? My father talked to him and confirmed—”

“He will have an urgent emergency that day,” Dominic cut in. “It’s already being handled.”

Natalie’s face showed her surprise, and Dominic’s chest tightened. He liked surprising her. It terrified him.

“It’s best not to do anything out of the ordinary for you,” he continued, taking her silence as agreement. “On Saturday, you’ll attend the Spring Solace like everyone else. At some point, I’ll find you and we’ll stumble upon each other. Everything will move very fast from there. Afterward, you’ll come home with me.”

He paused, studying her carefully. “In the meantime, go about your business as usual. I’ll give you my number in case you need me for something. Try not to use it unless you have to.”

He didn’t like that this gave her five days to change her mind, but this plan had the most potential.

She nodded.

“You can’t tell anyone about this, Natalie. Not even your best friend. Especially when there’s a risk that someone will think you’d be safer with Mark.”

Dominic knew about her best friend, Shirley. Trevor had given him everything he needed to know, including that Shirley was protective of Natalie and thought Mark was charming. Their whole friend group did. They never saw the coldness behind his smiles or the chill in his eyes. They thought Mark was perfect and would discourage Natalie from choosing anyone else. And if that didn’t work, there was a good chance they’d tattle.

Natalie remained silent, and Dominic didn’t like it. He couldn’t risk their plan falling apart because she trusted a friend too much.

“I mean it, Natalie. Keep your mouth shut about this. You don’t tell a soul.”

Natalie’s face immediately bristled at the commanding tone in his voice. Dominic almost laughed.

“We should clear this up now, Dominic,” she said sharply. “I don’t have a submissive bone in my body, so don’t bark orders at me unless you’re fine with being ignored.”

The word “submissive” sparked a vivid image in his mind. Her tied up. Bent over. Begging him to take her.

A devilish smile pulled at his lips. Judging by the way her light blue eyes narrowed, she knew exactly where his thoughts had wandered.

“We’ll see,” he murmured. “So, can we shake on it?”

She reluctantly clasped his hand, and Dominic’s smirk returned in full force. He couldn’t wait to break her. This was going to be fun.

---

The moment Natalie closed the front door of her pack house, a booming voice echoed behind her.

“Where have you been, Natalie?”

She wasn’t surprised to see him waiting in the sitting room. Her father always hunted her down to keep a leash on her, and it irritated her beyond measure. Usually, Lance West was indifferent to her, able to go an entire day without speaking to her.

But the moment she disappeared for a few hours, he panicked and acted as if he truly cared. That tactic might have worked when she was younger, but not anymore.

She knew it confused him that she didn’t respond to his sudden interest by striving for his approval.

Those days were long gone and would never return.

“What do you care?” she muttered.

If someone needed fixing, she would have received a text.

“It’s almost time for the evening meal.”

Oh right. Show-off time.

“Also, Mark’s going to be here soon. You have about two minutes to change and be a good girl.”

Ah. No wonder. His golden son-in-law would be in attendance.

“I am perfect the way I am. What I want to know is why no one told me he was coming.”

Lance snickered. “Because you would have disappeared just to embarrass us. As if I’m not already disgraced enough. I still don’t understand why you’re so against him. I never would have thought you’d attract an Alpha in a million years. Hell, no wolf wants to be bound to a Kage unless he has no choice. You should be grateful.”

“Grateful to be mated to a worthless piece of shit? No thank you.”

“To you, he may be worthless, but to the rest of the world, he’s a gold mine. Which calls into question your judgment. Anyway, you’ll have to grow to care about him. I want this alliance, and you are not going to mess it up. Now get upstairs and change into something… I don’t know…”

“Slutty?” Natalie offered.

Her father smirked.

“You want me to look slutty?” she asked again, her face twisting in disgust.

It shouldn’t have shocked her; he’d been doing this since she was fifteen. But somehow, it still hurt.

“Well, since you two have already exchanged contracts, we can skip the seduction stage. And as long as you keep denying him, there’s still a chance he’ll back out.”

Natalie lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “That would be a blessing from the gods, Papa. Wouldn’t you love a blessing?”

“No. A blessing would be you getting out of my house as soon as possible. Whether you like it or not, Mark will be the way out. And it’ll be good for you to mate with someone with a firm hand. You need discipline. Maybe he can be the one to teach you the meaning of respect.”

Natalie froze.

She had assumed her father simply ignored rumors about Mark. That he blinded himself to avoid guilt. But no.

The bastard felt nothing. He was perfectly fine handing her over to a man who would hurt her. He wouldn’t even be angry at Mark for it.

She stepped forward, invading his personal space.

No wolf should do that to their Alpha, but he wasn’t her Alpha at that moment. He wasn’t even her father.

He was just an asshole.

“You know, for the first time in my life, I’m glad Mom isn’t around,” she said. “If she had heard this, it would have broken her heart.”

He laughed. “You forget, Natalie. She died before it became clear you were Kage. If she had known, she would have wanted nothing to do with you, just like me.”

Natalie smiled. “You know, plugging your ears might stop all that hot air from blowing out of your mouth.”

“You disrespectful little bitch,” he snarled, raising his hand to slap her.

She didn’t flinch. “Go on. Do it.”

“I’d rather you didn’t, Lance,” a voice boomed from the doorway.

Natalie’s blood ran cold.

The bastard was here.