{Dominic}
I couldn’t believe my ears. I understood the fact that he wasn’t her father, but to sell your stepdaughter at an auction was insanity.
Now I regretted not biting his head off when I had the chance.
My eyes raked over her, making sure to capture every detail of the human before me. She looked so small, and for someone who had been dragged across an auction stage and displayed like livestock, you’d expect her to be trembling.
But her beautiful blue eyes burned like ice-cold fire, and even though I smelled her fear and panic, she stood her ground against me, an Alpha, when most would be cowering in fear.
She was strong, but only the Moon goddess knew what she had to go through to become that strong.
“What of your mother?” I asked calmly, before bluntly adding, “Is she dead?”
She hesitated for a brief moment, and I watched as pain clouded her pretty features. “She might as well be.”
I frowned, “What does that mean?”
The pain became more noticeable, and she had to look away before answering. “A few years ago, she was attacked by witch hunters. She fought them off, but… she disappeared after that.” She lifted her head, and as her eyes met mine, I noticed the dampness in them. “I don’t know if she’s dead.”
My heart ached for her, and so did my wolf, but there was something she said that caused a chill to run through me.
“Did you say witch hunters?”
“Yeah.” she nodded.
Then I remembered Victor had mentioned her mage lineage.
A strange feeling coursed through me immediately. I had come to Ravenshire in search of a witch doctor. Could it be—
Lyra’s stomach let out a loud growl, and her entire body went still. A flush crept up her cheeks, spreading to the tip of her ears.
I couldn’t hold it, a deep chuckle rumbled from my chest before I could stop it. Lyra squinted her eyes and glared at me, clearly mortified, but it only made the moment funnier.
“Take a shower. I’ll have someone bring over some warm clothes, like I promised.” I slid my hands into my pockets as I prepared to leave. “And after that, I want you to join me in the dining hall for dinner.”
“I’m not hungry,” she muttered, but from the sound of her voice, and her traitorous stomach, she wasn’t as convincing as I’m sure she thought.
“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear,” I leaned slightly forward and released only a small amount of my Alpha aura, but not enough to hurt her. “That wasn’t a request.”
She sucked in a breath, and her entire body stilled instantly.
“So she’s not immune to my Alpha aura, but for some reason I can’t outrightly command her. What a fascinating human.”
I withdrew my aura, allowing her to catch her breath. Then I turned around and walked out, “I’ll see you at dinner.” I shut the door firmly behind me.
****
{Lyra}
Dominic sat at the head of the table, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a fork in his hand.
The moment I walked into the dining hall, the rich scent of the exquisite meal his chef had cooked up made my mouth water against my will.
“I would eat, but I wouldn’t enjoy it”
As I approached, Dominic’s eyes flicked up to meet me, but before he could say anything, I noticed someone sitting by Dominic’s right.
He wasn’t an Alpha, I could tell that much, but he was strong.
His green eyes locked onto me, and his eyebrows drew together, but all he did was stare at me. His eyes scanned me like I was a fish out of water.
“Stop staring. It’s not nice.” Dominic said to the man.
The man snapped out of his daze and blinked, finally looking away. But then his lips curled into a smirk, and he turned to Dominic.
”Dominic, you not gonna introduce us?” he asked with a humorous edge in his voice.
“This is Lyra. She’s my guest.” Dominic didn’t even glance up from his plate.
The man’s eyes danced with mischief, and he chuckled softly. “Your guest?” he dragged the word guest as he spoke. “Since when do you entertain guests? Especially women?”
“Since now.” Dominic lifted his face up and glared at him. “Lyra this is—”
“Ryker. A pleasure to meet you, Lyra.” Ryker interrupted, and Dominic’s jaw ticked. “I’m the Beta of this pack and, more importantly, the brains behind this whole operation.”
Dominic shot him a look, but Ryker only smirked, and I found my lips twitching. He was quirky and amusing, nothing like Dominic’s cold and distant demeanor.
I hesitated for a second before taking his hand. “You must be special,” he mused as he pulled back. “Dominic doesn’t even like me, much less a human.”
“Thank you?” I blurted out, unsure of what to say. My eyes flickered to Dominic, but he had stopped paying attention.
I sat down to dinner, and through conversation, I learned that Ryker was Dominic’s beta, his best friend, and from what I could tell, the only one who could speak to Dominic without fear of getting his throat ripped out.
Ryker and I got along surprisingly well. He had a natural way of disarming people with his charm, but just as we were finishing up, Ryker wiped his mouth with a napkin and turned to Dominic, “So, about this witch we’re supposed to catch.”
I immediately froze, and my fingers grabbed onto the tablecloth. My heartbeat suddenly came up to my ears, and I struggled to hear anything else.
Dominic glanced at me, and forced my face into remaining blank.
“Ryker.” Dominic called his name in a voice that sent shivers down my spine.
“Shit—”
“Follow me to my office,” Dominic stood abruptly, but before he walked away, he looked at me once again. “You should go back to your room. Have a good night’s rest.”
I nodded slowly, and he didn’t even wait for a response. He and Ryker left the dining hall, and soon enough, I was alone.
I waited a few minutes before getting up and leaving the dining hall, trying to recall the way back to my room, but the villa was huge, and before I knew it, I was lost.
I stuck to the walls, hoping to see someone who could point me in the right direction, and as I turned a corner, I noticed a door was slightly ajar, and I could hear muffled voices.
I went closer and heard Dominic’s voice. I should have gotten out of there immediately, but I couldn’t help but be curious about the witch Ryker had mentioned.
I edged even closer, pressing myself against the wall and placing my ear on the cold brick.
“You need to be careful and keep your mouth shut.” I heard Dominic say, and I pressed my ears harder. “If anyone finds out why we’re really here, there could be grave consequences.”
“I understand, Alpha.” Ryker sounded more serious now, and his usual playful edge was completely gone.
“Tomorrow morning we resume our search for the witch doctor. And no one will get in my way.”
I gasped, I had to get away from there before I was caught. All of a sudden, Dominic’s sudden appearance in Ravenshire started to make a lot of sense.
Dominic was after my mother
{Lyra}Morning sunlight spilled across the curtains in soft ribbons, warming the sheets tangled around me. For a moment, I didn’t move, just lay there, cocooned in the kind of peace I had once thought impossible. I heard Isaac’s laughter floating faintly through the corridors. Bright, bubbling, so carefree it tugged a smile out of me before my eyes had even opened fully.The promise I made to my mother, swearing to protect him. I had kept it.I stretched languidly, blinking toward the tall windows where the light poured in, gilding everything it touched. And there he was.Dominic stood near the window, shirt half-buttoned, cufflinks glinting as he fastened them. The sunlight painted his profile in gold, catching on the hard edge of his jaw and the sweep of his shoulders. Regal. Powerful. But there was something softer too, something human the world never saw—the way his brow furrowed slightly as he fought with the stubborn cufflink, the faint sigh that escaped him when he won the bat
{Lyra}The city blurred past in streaks of gold, but all I could see was the hard line of Dominic’s jaw reflected in the window.He looked untouchable, every inch the Alpha who had just walked into a boardroom and taken back his throne without flinching. I turned my hand where it still rested in his, our fingers entwined. His skin was warm, but his grip was absent-minded, like he was holding on out of instinct, not intention. My thumb brushed over his knuckle until his gaze finally shifted toward me.The limo slowed as we turned through the wrought-iron gates of the Bloodhound estate. The familiar sprawl of stone walls and towering glass rose to greet us. Staff lined the entrance, bowing their heads as Dominic stepped out first. I followed, their eyes flickering to me with something new—curiosity, whispers pressed into hushed breaths at the corners of the hall.They looked at me differently now. Not as some nameless girl trailing in his shadow. Not even as an interloper. Something els
{Dominic}The frosted glass doors whispered shut behind me, sealing the boardroom into silence so sharp I could hear the faint tick of the gilded clock on the wall. Twelve seats, eight familiar faces, and a fracture that spread down the length of the table like a scar.I saw it instantly—who still remembered where their loyalty belonged and who had bartered theirs away like scraps on a street corner.Brad, Ian, and Alexis straightened at once, relief blooming across their features like they had been waiting for this very moment. On the other side sat Stark, Wilmer, Voss, and Lenny—whose presence among them made my jaw tick. They’d finally bought him, then. At the head of the table lounged Mariela, draped in a burgundy suit sharp enough to cut glass, her hand curled lazily over the armrest of what was meant to be my chair.Her gaze collided with mine. Surprise first, then calculation.“Dominic,” she purred, masking her tension with silk. “What a… surprise. We weren’t expecting—”“Get o
{Dominic}The morning sun caught on every inch of NovaCore’s glass-and-steel towers, gilding them until they looked like they had been carved from the heavens themselves. It should have looked beautiful to me, but instead it looked like a challenge, a fortress I’d once conquered and now had to reclaim.The limo slowed at the barricades. Beyond the tinted windows, a sea of bodies surged—reporters pressing against the cordon, cameras flashing like relentless lightning. Security wrestled to keep the lines intact, but still the voices only grew with each passing second, overlapping in a chaotic chorus.My reflection in the glass stared back at me, I was dressed in a sharp black suit, tie knotted by Lyra. For a second, I simply breathed, pulling the air deep into my chest, steadying the rhythm of my heart. I had faced rogues who wanted to tear me limb from limb, blood feuds older than the walls of Crownshaven, even death itself. But this battlefield was different; it had clean floors and p
{Lyra}The first thing I felt was warmth. Not the kind born of fire or fever, but the gentler warmth of morning sunlight spilling across sheets, wrapping everything it touched in soft gold. For a moment, I let it pool over me, allowing the silence of Crownshaven to sink into my bones. It had been so long since I woke without dread pressing at my ribs, without fear scraping at my throat.My eyes fluttered open. Curtains billowed faintly with a draft from the balcony doors, carrying the faint hum of the city alive beyond the gates. Somewhere below, laughter rang out—Isaac’s laughter, sharp and bright, echoing through the marble halls as though the boy had made them his playground. The sound curved a smile onto my lips before I even realized it.Dominic was still beside me.I rolled slightly, propping my head on one arm. He lay on his back, dark hair mussed across his brow, the lines of his face softened in sleep. For once, he wasn’t the Alpha or the CEO or the man carrying a curse on hi
{Dominic}We stood in the courtyard the next morning, watching as Myra single-handedly orchestrated our departure with an efficiency that could’ve put a general to shame—carriages of supplies rolling in, servants darting back and forth with cloaks and travel cases.If she weren't the daughter of the great Alpha of the Nort,h I would've honestly considered hiring her as my assistant. Grimhold leaned heavily on his cane, but the gleam in his golden eyes hadn’t dimmed since the feast. Myra hovered near his shoulder, her mouth pressed thin, though I caught the way her hands gripped his arm tighter than necessary.I bowed my head to him once. “You should be in bed, not standing in the cold.”He bared his teeth in a grin. “And miss bidding you farewell? I’d sooner let frost rot my bones.”Lyra stood beside me, Isaac’s small hand tucked in hers, Odessa draped in a heavy cloak that nearly swallowed her whole. Kael lingered a pace back, shadow-silent but watchful.“Thank you,” I said, and my