Chapter 4

Dominic

“Master Dominic, Master Ryker isn't receiving visitors at this hour.” The voice of the guard was small but audible enough for my ear to catch.

I stopped right on the threshold, tilting my head with a slow, effortless grin. “I’m not a visitor.”

The guard hesitated, his shoulders locking up. “…Sir?”

“Visitors knock.” I took a deliberate step closer, crowding his space. “Family walks in. You know what I am.”

The man didn't move; his arm remained firmly across the entrance. “I can't allow—”

“You can't allow what?” I leaned in, interrupting him as my voice dropped to a smooth, dangerous purr. “Finish that sentence.”

The guard swallowed hard, his throat bobbing.

I smiled wider, patting his stiff shoulder. “I didn't think you loved your neck more than your paycheck. See? We're communicating now.”

He immediately stepped aside. They always do.

I strolled past him into the massive foyer, letting out a sharp whistle that echoed off the high ceilings.

“Ryker!” I called out the name of that son of a whore.

“Where’s that emotionless bastard my father left lying around?”

Silence. Just the quiet scramble of terrified servants trying to disappear into any corner that accepted their pathetic figures.

“Did somebody unplug him?” I called out, looking around the empty space.

Then a maid by the dining room, who was frozen in place, darted her eyes nervously toward the staircase.

I laughed, giving her a mocking wink. “See? Somebody in this house has manners.”

Then came that annoying voice I wished I could silence for good.

“Have you finished humiliating yourself?”

Ryker.

He appeared at the top of the stairs, already dressed for today's game, looking down at me like a king inspecting a particularly annoying peasant.

I looked up, resting my hands on my hips. “Depends. Are you planning to apologize?”

Ryker raised an eyebrow. “Apologize for?”

“Being born.” I spat.

He didn't blink. He simply started descending the stairs, until he stopped a few feet away from me.

“You forced your way into my home,” Ryker said, folding his arms.

“You ignored every call I made.” I countered.

“Because I had nothing new to tell you.” He argued.

“Viola! I came here. Tadaaa!”

“We ain't supposed to see each other until four hours, Dominic.” Ryker said, looking at me like I trespassed.

I didn't. He forced my hand. If he hadn't been a pussy, I wouldn't have made a stop at this stupid abode of his while the team waited for me.

“Four hours?” I laughed. “Ryker Kane. I'm not here because your face is so pretty to see. The board approved the transfer yesterday. The surveyors were sitting in the room today, waiting.” I took a step forward. “Care to tell me why in the name of cocks and balls you had to drag this shit to Monday?”

“Because I haven't finished reviewing the contract.”

“Bullshit!” I cursed. “You already reviewed it. Fifty times.”

“I'm reviewing it again.” He said casually, shrugging.

I chuckled, taking a few steps forward until I was right in front of him. I stopped. “Did someone replace your blood with poop?”

“Did someone replace your brain with whiskey?” He shot back.

I looked at him for a moment and I already knew how shit like this ended between us. And I swear with my jock, I didn't have that time today. Maybe some other time when I had a full day to myself. But for now…

I pulled the folded legal documents from my inner jacket pocket and threw them. They slid across the table beside us. “Sign that shit.”

Ryker didn't even look at them. “No.”

“I am not asking.”

“Even better,” Ryker said, his voice entirely flat. “Because I'm still refusing.”

I groaned, tossing my head back. “Ryker…”

“If this is all you came for, that's the door. As you can see? I have a game to prepare for. And I think you do too.”

I held his gaze. The irritation brewing deep inside of me.

“Listen to me, you piece of shit. If you don't sign this shit, both me and nobody is leaving—”

I couldn't finish my sentence before…

A sudden pressure rose within me. Very sharp.

I froze.

The air in the room shifted, and I felt… I felt a heavy current like a vibration. Though softer but strong enough that I felt it under my feet.

But that wasn't all. Just then, a scent hit me.

It wasn't the smell of the expensive cologne Ryker wore. No. It was… It was something raw. Something that… that I can't describe.

I slowly inhaled, my chest expanding as the scent hit the back of my throat.

My lungs locked.

My heart slammed hard against my ribs.

I felt hotness run through every vein in my body so suddenly that my muscles went rigid. My wolf, which had been restless for months, surged against my chest with enough force to make my jaw tighten.

Then…

The ache disappeared.

Just like that.

Every restless nerve inside me went unnaturally quiet, replaced by a deep, intoxicating calmness that settled into my bones.

The smile on my face disappeared completely.

Ryker’s eyes narrowed, his posture turning rigid as he watched my expression flatten. “…Dominic.”

I didn't answer him. I took another deep, quiet breath, my gaze shifting to the hallway that led down to his basement. Of course, I knew his house—although not by his will, but by mine.

It was there. That scent was coming from there… right from the… basement.

“Don’t,” Ryker warned. His voice wasn't bored anymore.

I turned my head slowly, looking him dead in the eye. “Who’s downstairs?”

Silence settled for a second.

“Storage.” Ryker answered.

“Try again.” I smiled.

He held my gaze. “Nothing that concerns you.”

I raised a brow. “Exactly what I want to hear.”

I took a step toward the path.

But before my muscles could make another move, Ryker instantly lunged forward, his fingers clamping like a plier around my wrist.

I stopped. But I didn't pull away. My eyes trailed from his arm down to his grip, then back up to his face. The humor from earlier was drained from my soul now. “Remove your hand.”

“No.”

A small, hollow smile touched my lips. “Wrong answer.”

The air shifted. Before Ryker could tighten his hold on me, I unleashed my wolf speed, tearing my wrist free and vanishing into the hallway.

Behind me, Ryker’s furious curse rattled the walls as he chased after me. “Damn it!”

In 5 seconds, I hit the bottom of the stairs.

Holy fuck!

The scent was overwhelming down here, thick and sweet enough to make my claws twitch beneath my skin.

I stopped directly in front of an iron cell door, my breathing heavy and uneven from the speed as I stared through the iron door.

Heavy, frantic footsteps echoed behind me, and Ryker slammed to a halt in the passage, his chest heaving as he threw himself between me and the door.

“What the fuck is wrong with you!” Ryker growled.

But I wasn't looking at him. My gaze was on that door. Just standing in front of it, I could feel the scent seeping out strongly from that door and burying itself deep into me, settling.

“Don’t open that door,” Ryker growled, his eyes flashing a dangerous, dominant gold. Typical Ryker. He already knew what I would do.

“Move,” I whispered.

“Stay away. This is my house!”

I slowly turned my head, my jaw tightening as the true nature of the scent finally clicked into place within my wolf's soul. The undeniable truth of what this was—

No… it can't be. I had searched everywhere. He can't possibly—

My eyes flashed bright silver.

“Move,” I repeated, my voice dropping to a chilling, steady calm. “Move... before I forget you're my brother.”

Ryker didn't back down. He planted his feet solid on the ground, his own wolf rising to the surface as his upper lip pulled back in a snarl. “If you open that door you won't like me.”

“I don't,” I breathed, taking one last, intoxicating inhale that made my inner beast roar for blood. “Do your worst.”

In a swift motion, I rammed my right fist straight into the center of the heavy iron door, sending all my strength against the iron.

BOOM!

The metal groaned, the deadbolt obeying and bending without a second trial.

Inside the cell, I heard it.

“Ahhhhh!” The sharp terrified scream of a girl.

The door swung inward. And I was already moving.

My wolf surged to the surface, seizing control before my mind could catch up. In two long strides, I crossed the cell, stopping only a few feet from her.

I didn't think. I just inhaled. Deeply.

Fuck!

The scent hit me full force.

Every nerve in my body lit up. The ache that had haunted me for months simply... disappeared. The restless beast inside me, forever pacing, finally fell silent.

What I felt was… A wave of impossible calm washing through me, so fucking intoxicating that I could swear it bordered on euphoria.

This was it.

This was the reason for the calm. The temporal pause to my madness.

My eyes slowly lifted to her face.

She was pressed against the concrete wall, trembling so violently I thought her legs would give out beneath her. Her wrists were raw, her clothes disheveled, terror filled every inch of her wide, tear-bright eyes as she stared back at me.

“You…” I whispered. I could feel it… being just this close was doing unimaginable things to me.

I had searched every street, every shadow of this city, every rumour rippling, and she was here… she was…

A broken gasp escaped her lips. Instead of calming, she shrank even farther into the wall, as though she wished she could disappear into it.

Behind me, Ryker's footsteps thundered into the cell.

“Dominic!”

I didn't take my eyes off her.

“You found her...” I murmured, my hands raised up to her face. She ducked slightly, but I settled it regardless. My thumb instinctively stroked the cold skin of her cheek. I turned slowly towards Ryker, meeting his amber eyes. “You found the hybrid.”