Samantha’s POVThe call from the twins brought me back to reality, clearing my head from the highs. Devon’s voice still rang in my ears, and I had to cut this trip short and get home to them as soon as possible. Whatever was going on here with Dominic could not compare to the urgency of being there for my twins.My fingers tightened around the phone, and a wave of realization hit me so hard that I felt my knees weaken. Dominic was my mate. My wolf had confirmed it, the strong attraction, the pull drawing me closer to him, it was the mate bond tugging, aching to be fulfilled. It felt like fate had reached out to mock me, ripping away any sense of control I thought I had. All those years of trying to move on, of telling myself I was strong enough to build a life without him, now felt like a cruel lie.Why did I have to suffer his betrayal and neglect first before I was made to realize that we were fated to each other? Why did fate have to play dirty on me? It’s unfair! Now that I had
Dominic’s POVI stood there, stunned, long after Samantha’s figure disappeared, leaving her words echoing in my head. “Do you still want to find your fated mate?” I had not been prepared for the sharp edge of that question or the way her voice had almost cracked when she said it, like she was keeping something inside, something she did not want me to see.My mind spun, grasping for answers, but none of it made sense. Samantha had never shown any sign of being my mate before. She had never had a wolf, and even when I had searched for my fated mate years ago, there was nothing about her that set off that primal connection.My wolf stirred restlessly, more agitated than I had felt in years. ‘She can’t be our mate,’ I told him, a denial that sounded weaker by the second. Yet the pull was there, so intense and undeniable, clawing at the edges of my control, wanting to be freed, to be fulfilled. There was something in me that ached to be satisfied, a longing for a mate that had been sittin
Samantha’s POVI barely managed to push the door shut behind me before my knees trembled and I dropped on the floor. The room was quiet, too quiet, and for a moment, all I could hear was the pounding of my heart in my ears. I pressed my back against the door, closing my eyes and trying to steady my breathing. Dominic’s presence had a way of ripping scars and opening old wounds, making everything feel raw again. But I could not let that get to me. I had to stay focused, to keep my head on straight for Devon and Diana.My phone buzzed in my pocket, yanking me out of my thoughts. I pulled it out, and my breath caught when I saw the caller ID: Annie - Home.Panic twisted in my chest as I quickly answered. “Annie? Is everything okay?” I tried to keep my voice steady, pushing my worries away, but my nerves were on edge.“Samantha,” Annie, the human nanny I had trusted to care for my twins, spoke in a soft tone. “Sorry to bother you, but the twins called you earlier, yeah? I noticed this on
Samantha’s POVI stepped into the conference hall, and I immediately felt the heavy atmosphere. It was suffocating for someone like me. The aura of the Alphas and Betas from different packs filled the space, it felt powerful, intimidating, as if it was trying to force me to cower in fear and bow my head in submission. Yesterday was different since there were more lower ranks in the event hall, serving us, but now, only the heads, right hands, and trusted advisors of the Alphas were present. My eyes immediately sought out Dominic, a compulsion I could not seem to shake. He stood near the front, exuding authority and power, and his presence seemed to be dominating the room as if he were born to command it. Even from here, I could feel the pull, the undeniable draw that I hated and craved in equal measure.But before I could dwell on it, my gaze shifted. The rogue stood in the center of the room, restrained and surrounded by soldiers. The sight of him made my skin crawl, like little spid
Samantha’s POV“The Alpine Bar is just down the street,” one of the Alphas recommended but the others refused, uttering bad experiences in the said establishment. I had not expected the meeting to end on such a strange note. The moment the rogue incident was resolved, the Alphas and Betas seemed eager to blow off steam as they planned to go to one of the nearest bars in the area. Jokes were shared, and a few of them were already laughing, the threat of the hybrid seemed to have been pushed aside for a temporary escape.We all left the conference hall once they had decided on a place, but I was not in the mood for a drink.“Sam!” Killian called, jogging up to me with a mischievous grin. “Come with us. We could use a little distraction, right?” he convinced. I folded my arms, already shaking my head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass. I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”Killian groaned dramatically, his hand over his heart. “You’re no fun,” he teased, acting like he had been hurt by
Samantha’s POVWhy did he do that? Dominic had kept Olivia by his side after all these years, for sure, there must be going on between them. But, why did he push her away, ignore her? and the way he stared at me intensely as if he wanted me to hold him instead of Killian. Though he never asked… I should stop being delusional and acknowledge the fact that he could not let go of Olivia. Because if he really wanted me instead of her, he would have left her long ago. But he did not.Killian slumped in the passenger seat, groaning softly as I buckled him in. His head lolled against the window, and his eyes were barely open. I slid behind the wheel, and started the car, the engine purring to life. II gripped the steering wheel, trying to focus on getting Killian back safely, but my thoughts wouldn’t stop racing.Dominic. The way he acted… did not fit the image I had of him. He had always kept me at a distance, cold and uninterested. But tonight, his behavior had been anything but detached.
Dominic’s POVSamantha had always been a mystery to me, but lately, she was something else entirely. After six years since she vanished, she returned like a very different person— fiercer and more outspoken.I could not stop thinking about her. Everything about tonight, about her, felt off. She was no longer the Samantha I remembered. The shy girl who used to blush every time I so much as glanced her way had vanished. This Samantha did not shrink back. She met my eyes, fired back sharp words during our encounters, and held her ground like she did not care what I thought of her anymore.And it threw me off.It was not just her attitude that had changed; it was her whole presence. She walked into a room like she belonged there, like she did not need anyone to grant her a place. The way she carried herself now— it made me see her differently, and I hated that it made me question things I had always thought I knew.For years, I had convinced myself that Samantha had somehow planned our ar
Dominic’s POVThe taste of her name still lingered on my lips as I opened my eyes fully. And then, everything shattered.It was not Samantha.My heart plummeted like a stone as reality hit me with the force of a punch. My vision cleared just enough to see Olivia’s face inches from mine, her lips swollen, her expression smug and satisfied. A wave of nausea hit me and cutting through the haze of alcohol.“What the hell?” I growled, my voice rough. I shoved her off me with more force than I intended, and she stumbled back, her smirk replaced with a pout.“Dominic, what’s wrong with you?” she whined, her voice dripping with feigned innocence. “You were the one—”“That’s enough,” I snapped, sitting up unsteadily. “What do you think you’re doing?”Her pout deepened, her lower lip jutting out as if that could undo what had just happened. “What do you mean? I thought…”“You thought what? That I wanted this?” My head throbbed, anger replacing the drunken fog. “We are nothing, Olivia. Nothing.
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View] Something was wrong.I could feel it through the bond.
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]Twenty hours since I stepped inside the Black Forest and eight hours after I fought and killed those bear-like beasts and the wounds made by that f*cking bear trap made of silver haven’t healed yet. To lessen the pressure on the wound, I decided to morph back into my human form. I noticed that the wound was bone-deep, and I had to take an hour of rest to at least let some tissue regenerate around the femur. I had been walking half-naked around the forest after I tore my shirt and used it to cover the wound.Blood squelched and spurted as I step my injured leg and I couldn’t stop grimacing from it. The excruciating pain shot up to my thigh, causing me to drag my feet while I searched for the herb. I already went to places that were near water sources, but no plants ever looked like how they were described in the drawing Samantha had provided me as a rough reference.Samantha and Mom must have gone to that meeting, and I felt bad that I couldn’t go back y
[DEVON’s Point of View]I would never let them do this to mommy!This strange feeling of anger made my body feel unusually warm. No. Hot. I felt as though I was suffering from a fever. It scared me at first. I was scared at what I felt and I was scared of the anger I saw on those people’s faces towards us and my mom. But there was no way I would let them get near her. I promised Dominic I would protect Diana and Mom with the best I could. And even though my hands were trembling, I just curled them into fists. I couldn’t let them intimidate us. I couldn’t let them bully Mom!It confused me because I had never seen faces with such hatred before.Diana was on alert as well. Despite our fear, we chose to follow our instinct and watched all of them with cold, deadly stares. We sat on each side of Mom. Both her hands were on our left shoulders as the meeting continued with more hateful words from those old, mean people.I looked up at Mom’s face and realized how strong she was and that she
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]After telling Dominic about everything I found out about my mother, it was my turn to talk to Lena and ask questions about it.I needed her to explain why she chose to keep it hidden from me.Lena and my mate’s Beta, Liam, went to the house the day after the incident. Dominic hadn’t come back from the Black Forest. With worry, I explained to them everything about why Dominic chose to go alone on that perilous search for the herb. The herb that held the key to unlocking my true potential as a direct descendant of the Primordial Clan.The Mother Luna of the Silver Crescent stayed silent as she sat on one of the sofas in our home, and Liam was looking at her, worried and anxious. I suddenly hesitated if it was a mistake that I told her too soon about this, but despite Lena hiding it from me, she was the only person I trusted aside from my mate. She had been a mother figure to me since I became an orphan and a wonderful mother-in-law to me.“Have you tried calli
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]“I can go with you.”“No. You stay here…” I caressed her face and then pushed her hair behind her ear. Samantha closed her eyes for a second as she savored the feeling of my skin rubbing against her cheek. With an anxious expression, she reached out and grasped my hand while tilting her head to the side. Her eyes sparkled with tears when she lifted her beautiful face to stare deep into my eyes as if begging me not to go.“You know it’s dangerous out there. Liam barely controlled the situation that happened in the pack manor yesterday. You even had to call Alpha Vance to send more soldiers to stop the Black Claws from escaping the dungeon, Dominic.” Her voice was full of perturbation as she rested her hands on my chest. “There’s no way I would let you go into that forest alone.”“It will be a lot faster if I go alone, love,” I whispered to her and planted a soft kiss on her pinkish, supple lips. I wanted to kiss her more. I wanted to pin her back into b
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from my mate.Diana and Devon stood in front of me; both faces were filled with guilt as they fiddled with their fingers and pouted their lips, too embarrassed and ashamed of what they did.
[ALPHA DOMINIC’s Point of View]“You don’t understand the situation here, Alpha Dominic! I am helping you!”I snarl ripped in my throat as I pushed him away, dropping his body on the dusty, marble floor of the old library. I started walking in circles around him like a predator ready for the kill and was aiming to slit his throat if he ever made a wrong move.
[DEVON’s Point of View]“Devon, we have to go!”“Shhh!”“Madison must be already in the room!” Diana grabbed me by the arm and forced me to return to the playroom. ‘I
[SAMANTHA’s Point of View]I had to know what was really going on.Why was my mother involved with those people? What was her part in what was going on at Silver Crescent? All I knew was that Lena was my mother's best friend. They’ve always been together, discussing the issues in the pack, and Lena trusted Mom—her judgment and Mom’s advice were always appreciated by Mothe