Chapter 10

Dominic’s POV

The first time I really saw her, she was in my chair.

Council hall was a circus that morning, all these cranky old voices bouncing off the stone, the usual headache. Normally, I would storm in, bark out the law, end the chaos before it started, and remind everyone who was boss.

Except, I opened the doors and just…stood there.

She’s right there at the head of the table. My seat. Where I belong. But she sits there cool as anything, cloak draped over her shoulders, silver Luna crest shining. Her face is like a locked door, calm, almost bored, but her hands are steady on the wood while every ancient in that room talks.

And for once, nobody was yelling. No threats, no interruptions.  She was actually listening. 

These stubborn fossils hung on her words, nodding along. When she spoke, they bowed their heads like she was some kind of goddess. Nobody was thinking about how she’s the random girl I married because of my dad’s orders. No, they looked at her like she was Luna.

I hid by the door, melting into the shadows, watching the whole show. Nobody even picks up that I was not in my seat.

She didn’t spot me.

And, I couldn’t drag my eyes away.

That... that was a first.

It didn’t stop there.

Two days later, I saw her down at the training grounds.

The warriors were basically half-asleep, stumbling through drills. Normally I would rip into them, chew them out until they remembered how to fight. Elora, though? She’s got her own game.

She struts onto the field, grabs a wooden staff, lines up right beside them, and doesn’t say a thing.

Her braid cracked like a whip when she spun, every move precise. One of the guys slips, she didn’t roast him, just nudged his stance, helped him sort himself out, quiet as you like. Next thing I knew, everyone was straightened up. Focused. They followed her like she had a magnet inside her head.

By the time I got closer, the whole formation was sharp, not a toe out of line. When she finally stopped, those warriors? They bow. Sweaty, proud, eyes practically spitting fire.

No one looked at me like that in ages.

I should have pissed myself off. I should have made my hackles rise, her stepping on my toes like that.

Except it didn’t.

It stung, but for a whole different reason.

I realized I had never paid attention to this fire in her before. Spent all that time with someone else, pretending Elora was still the kid I used to know, and here she was running the show I was supposed to lead.

Then, the feast came around.

The whole courtyard was glittering with lanterns, tables heavy with harvest. Usually, that was my gig, sit at the head, let people toast me in strict awkward silence.

But not tonight.

Tonight, they couldn’t get enough of her.

Kids dragged her into the dance, old folks bowed, babbling their thanks about their squabbles finally being solved. Warriors clapped her on the shoulder, omegas practically bear-hugged her, all glossy-eyed and grateful.

And Elora? She just shone. Not the annoying, smug sort of glow. It was like she was finally home. Right where she was meant to be.

Standing there, I got it...how invisible I made her.

The pack gave her what I never did.

I stayed in the shadows watching and smiling.

I decided right there, never again. No more running. No more leaving her to this, while I sulked and chased Mira while neglecting my duty as the Alpha.

If she would stand in the middle of the fire for this pack, the least I could do is stand beside her.

Not as her lover. But as her partner.

As her Alpha.

Her actual husband.

The next morning, I found her in the kitchen, elbows deep in flour, laughing with the omegas. I nearly tripped over my dignity, grabbing an apron.

She blinks at me like I had sprouted a second head. “Dominic?” She’s suspicious, can’t blame her.

I ditched the cloak, rolled up my sleeves, and grabbed a hunk of dough. “Alright, boss. What’s next?”

She sputters, gaping. “You...you’re helping?”

I shot her a grin and threw her own words back at her. “Isn’t that what a Luna does? Why should you do it alone?”

The omegas started whispering, and they still looked at her, not me. But there was this warmth, and for the first time? I actually felt it, too.

In the council meeting, I sat next to her. We judged together. It wasn't as boring as it used to be when I did it alone.

Training drills. I wasn't barking, I’m sparring, showing them we’re a team.

At feasts, I staked out the space behind her, hand on her shoulder, no words needed.

And it worked.

The pack started buzzing. Elders quit gossiping. The Warriors pushed harder. The omegas let themselves laugh.

Because now, for once, their Alpha and Luna were right there.

Together

It wasn’t about the pack anymore. That ship had sailed. It was all these weird, tiny moments sneaking up on me.

She laughed when she found me totally wrecked in flour, looking like the world’s saddest pastry chef. That little frown she gets when she’s hunched over maps, all stubborn focus, tracing out paths I never would have dreamed of. The way her eyes go all soft when she thinks nobody’s paying attention. Yeah, I saw that.

Look, I married her because it was what I was supposed to do. Out of duty. I made sure to spend all my free time with Mira.

But now, standing right there next to her, it got me in the gut. I actually felt proud. Also, the fun part, something heavy and sticky and not so pure. Possessive, almost. Like she’s mine. It grossed me out because I took her like a little sister.

   One night, after basically surviving a day full of arguing idiots and drills, I caught her passed out over the council table. She just… collapsed. Maps everywhere. Cheek pressed into the paper, braid a mess, breathing slow. I just stood and stared. My chest tightened out of guilt, or maybe regret.

She did everything I was supposed to. She carried the pack. And what did I ever give her? A world-class masterclass in loneliness.

So I leaned down, caught a bit of her hair, and tucked it away from her mouth. She sighed quietly.

And something just snapped inside of me. Not the old hunger, not that pathetic craving for someone to fill up the empty space. This was… new. Deep. Scary.

   The next day, I went full throttle. Not because I suddenly wanted her, not like that, but because I had a point to prove. She wasn’t invisible. Not anymore. Not to me, not to anyone. Time for everyone to get the memo.

I stood taller next to her in the council hall. I went harder on the training grounds, just to keep pace. I said her name out loud, in front of everyone, the elders, the warriors all of them. Luna Elora is leading this with me.

And, little by little? I saw something crack in her, too.

That flicker of doubt in her eyes is fading. Those walls kept getting shakier. The pack? They started to really see her. Not just Luna, their Luna. Ours.

I was going to be by her side as a good husband.