Chapter 4: Weapon or Mate

Liana pov

I could kill him with a touch.

The words echoed in my mind as I stared at Dominic, at this stranger who claimed we had a past I could not remember.

 My hands trembled, and I tucked them behind my back, suddenly terrified of my own skin.

"You are lying." But even as I said it, I knew he was not. The nightmares, the strange sensations, the way my father had always looked at me with something resembling fear, it all made horrifying sense.

"I wish I were." Dominic's voice was rough, his eyes still burning amber. "My father's files are explicit. Sanguis hybrids were designed as the ultimate weapon.

 Your blood carries a toxin that targets Alpha physiology specifically. One scratch, one bite, and an Alpha's system shuts down within minutes."

"Then why have I not killed you already?" I gestured between us, at the mate bond humming with dangerous energy. "We have been in the same room multiple times. You touched me in the SUV."

"The mate bond creates immunity," he interrupted. "Partially. As long as the bond remains incomplete, I am safe from the lethal aspects of your blood. But the moment we fully mate." He stopped, jaw clenching. "The consequences become unpredictable."

I laughed, the sound bitter and sharp. "So I am either your prisoner or your executioner. How comforting."

"You are my mate." The possessiveness in his tone made my stomach flip. "And I will not let anyone use you as a weapon. Not your father, not the rival packs who will come hunting once they realize what you are."

"I am not yours to protect." I pushed away from the desk, needing distance, needing air.

 "You took me as collateral for my father's crimes. You want revenge, remember?"

Something dangerous flickered across his face. In two strides, he was in front of me again, his hand catching my chin and forcing me to meet his gaze. The touch sent electricity racing down my spine, the bond roaring to life between us.

"Do not mistake my control for mercy, little wolf." His thumb traced my lower lip, the gesture both tender and threatening. "I should kill you.

 Every logical part of me knows you are a threat to everything I have built. But my wolf?" His eyes flashed pure amber. "My wolf will burn this entire city down before letting anyone hurt you."

My breath came faster, my body betraying me by leaning into his touch. "I hate this bond."

"So do I." But his hand slid into my hair, tangling in the strands, and the contradiction in his words and actions made my head spin. "I hate that I cannot stop thinking about you. I hate that my wolf demands I claim you despite knowing what you could do to me. I hate that you smell like mine even though you are my enemy's daughter."

"Then let me go." The words came out breathy, unconvincing even to my own ears.

"Never." His forehead pressed against mine, and the mate bond sang with satisfaction at the contact. "You are mine, Liana. Whether you remember me or not, whether you want this or not. Mine."

The door burst open, shattering the moment. Marco, Dominic's scarred lieutenant, stood in the doorway, his expression grim.

"Alpha, we have a problem. Vincent Moretti just sent a message."

Dominic released me immediately, the ruthless Alpha sliding back into place like a mask. "Show me."

Marco held up a phone displaying a video. Even from across the room, I recognized my father's cold features on the screen.

"Play it," Dominic ordered.

Vincent's voice filled the room, smooth and calculating. "Dominic Voss. I believe you have something of mine. I am prepared to negotiate for my daughter's return. 

Meet me at the Riverside warehouse in three hours. Come alone, and I will provide information about the other Sanguis survivors I have been protecting."

My blood turned to ice. "Other survivors?"

"He is lying," Marco growled. "It is obviously a trap."

But Dominic was staring at me, and something in his expression made my skin crawl. "Is he?"

"I do not understand."

"Your father claimed he has been protecting other hybrids like you." Dominic's voice was deadly calm. 

"Which means he has been building an army of Alpha-killers. And this meeting? He is not negotiating for your return, Liana. He is testing what you can do."

The implication hit me like a physical blow. "He wants to see if I will kill you."

"Yes." Dominic moved to the window, his shoulders rigid with tension. "If the mate bond does not protect me as thoroughly as we think, Vincent gets rid of his biggest threat.

 If it does protect me, he learns valuable information about how the Sanguis immunity works."

"So do not go." I stepped toward him, my hands fisting in his shirt before I could stop myself. The bond flared at the contact, and his hand came up to cover mine. 

"It is a trap, you said so yourself."

He looked down at me, and for just a moment, the ruthless Alpha disappeared. I saw the boy from the photograph, the one who had promised to protect me.

 "If there are other hybrids, I need to know. They could destroy every pack in this city."

"Or he could destroy you."

"Would you care?" The question was soft, dangerous. "If I died, you would be free."

My throat tightened, the truth lodging there like broken glass. I should want him dead. 

He was my captor, my enemy, the son of the man who killed my mother.

But the thought of Dominic dying made something inside me scream in protest.

Before I could answer, his phone rang. He answered, his expression hardening with each passing second.

"When?" he snapped. Then, "Lock down the compound. No one in or out."

He ended the call and looked at me, and what I saw in his eyes made my heart stop.

"What happened?"

"The warehouse Vincent specified?" Dominic's voice was lethal. "It just exploded. Twelve wolves dead. All of them wearing Voss colors."

My father had just declared war.

And I was the weapon he intended to use.