DOMINIC’S POV
I didn’t leave the bar right away.
I couldn’t.
The blood on my hands had dried by now, dark streaks that reeked of violence and guilt. The man I’d beaten—no, destroyed—was still being tended to in the corner, his groans echoing through the now-silent space like a haunting reminder of what I’d done. The crowd had lost its taste for entertainment. The fight was over. The monster had won. And no one wanted to be near him.
“How long would you play this game?” My wolf mocked me, but I ignored him.
I staggered to the counter again, my limbs heavy, my chest burning with a shame I couldn’t even begin to express. The bartender glanced at me cautiously, a towel slung over his shoulder, eyes flickering toward the broken body behind me.
“That your handiwork?” he asked quietly, not accusing, just tired as if he was used to it. All the bloodbath.
I didn’t ev
OLIVIA’S POVMy heart was hammering in my chest, my breath carefully measured as I pressed myself deeper into the shadows behind the dingy curtain of the bar’s back hallway. From my hidden position, I could still see the corner booth where Evelyn and Alpha Dorian sat, their heads leaned in close as the conversation turned darker and more sinister with every word.“I’m listening,” Evelyn had said, her voice a quiet, venomous promise.My fingers curled into fists. Every instinct in me screamed to stay, to hear what came next. Whatever they were plotting—it was about me. About Dominic. About the pack.But before I could lean in, before I could make out even one more sentence from the snakes sharing secrets over whiskey, the unmistakable stench of stale alcohol and sweat hit me like a wall.I stiffened.“Well, well, what do we have here?”A gruff, slurring voice slithered into my ear. I turned my head just slightly, enough to see him—tall, disheveled, shirt half-open and eyes bloodshot, w
OLIVIA’S POVIt was nearly midnight when the knock came.Soft. Urgent. Almost too light to notice—but I’d always been a light sleeper, especially since the children came back into my life.I opened my eyes, heart already picking up pace. The twins were safe, sleeping soundly in their room, and the house was still. Which meant someone was at my door. Quietly, I slipped out of bed and crept to the entrance.A folded note had been slipped beneath it.I frowned, reaching down to pick it up. The handwriting was scrawled, rushed—but familiar. One of the Omega servants from the main house. I hadn’t spoken to her in a while, but I knew she’d remained loyal to me even after everything that happened.My hands trembled slightly as I unfolded the paper and read:"Evelyn left through the eastern path. She told the guards she needed fresh air, but she’s disguised and carrying a cloak. She’s heading toward the border. Thought you’d want to know. Please be careful."My pulse roared in my ears.The ea
OLIVIA’S POVThe twins were unusually quiet on the ride home.Noah stared out the window, chewing on his bottom lip, while Aria kept glancing at me from the rearview mirror like she wanted to say something but was unsure how. It wasn’t like them. Especially not after visiting their father—normally, they'd return with stories, drawings, and dramatic reenactments of whatever silly jokes he had cracked during their time together.But now… silence.Something was off.“Okay,” I said finally, pulling the car into the driveway. “Spill. What’s going on?”Aria twisted in her seat and looked at me, wide-eyed and solemn. “Mommy… Daddy’s really sick. I cried when I saw him in so much pain.”My hands stilled on the steering wheel. “He’s in the hospital. That much I know. But the Beta said he’s stable.”Noah nodded slowly. “He’s stable,” he repeated. “But only on the outside. Inside, he’s breaking. His wolf is broken too. Daddy cried. He even hurt himself and o”My heart dropped.Dominic crying? Th
THIRD PERSON’S POVThe cold, antiseptic air of the hospital room did nothing to numb the anguish that gripped Beta Adrian as he stood by Dominic's bedside. The Alpha, once a symbol of control and strength, now lay pale against the sheets, eyes glazed with a haunting mixture of shame and torment. The sedative had nearly worn off, but the emotional weight remained.Dominic hadn’t spoken much since they brought him in. He barely acknowledged the nurses, his jaw tight, his fists clenched whenever he thought Adrian wasn’t looking. But Adrian was looking. And what he saw terrified him.The Alpha had tried to claw at his chest—at the skin over his heart—as if ripping open his flesh would somehow remove the guilt that festered there. He had curled in on himself, muttering Olivia’s name like a broken chant, over and over, a prayer or a curse, Adrian couldn’t tell. When the nurse left, Dominic grabbed the IV line, ready to pull it out, to do something—anything—to make the pain stop.“I believed
EVELYN’S POVThis was it.The moment I had been planning for days, maybe even longer—mentally rehearsed every word, every gesture, every sigh. The lighting was low, warm and golden. The bottle of wine—his favorite, laced with just the right amount—sat open on the table. I had dressed carefully, in a robe that whispered seduction with every step, loose enough to slide off my shoulder with a single breath.Dominic had softened, just a little. The apology, the remorse—it had worked. He had taken the wine.And now… now I watched as it began to take hold.He leaned back against the couch, his powerful shoulders relaxing, his jaw slackening. His eyes were heavy-lidded, dazed. His breathing slowed, deepened. He looked so breakable, so within reach.I felt hope stir like wildfire in my chest.This is what I was waiting for.He took the bait. He drank it willingly.Now all I needed to do… was wait for the vial to work.I took a deep breath and crossed the space between us slowly, each step del
EVELYN’S POVI left the Luna’s quarters with my pride in shambles and my heart laced with venom. No one would fight for me. No one would see what I had endured. All because of Olivia. Because of a girl with no mark and no power, who’d just walked back in like she owned the world.It was so easy to fool everyone before, but why isn’t it working anymore? Where am I going wrong? Could it be because Dominic knows something about me?No, this isn’t possible! I have covered every track of mine, I have erased all the evidences carefully. I will check everything again, but I am damn sure that no one can reach the evidence.But Olivia, I am sure she knows something.But I wasn’t done fighting.When I reached out to my only helping source that night, I didn’t expect him to answer. I certainly didn’t expect him to advise me. But he did. His voice was smooth and logical, like oil on water.“You want his loyalty? Take away his control. You said he won’t touch you? Then make it so he doesn’t have a