Dominic’s POV


    “You’re the first woman who has ever dared to strike me,” I said, barely recognizing my own voice as it dropped to a dangerous register. “Do you have any idea what the consequences are for that?”


    My wolf was demanding retribution, furious at being denied, at being struck. But then I saw her <b>face </b>-tears streaming down her cheeks, her expression a mixture of fear and something deeper. Pain.


    The sight of those tears cut through my rage like nothing else could have. The predatory instinct receded, leaving me suddenly aware of how tightly I was holding her, of the red marks forming on her delicate skin. I released her wrist immediately, drawing back.


    “Get dressed,” I managed, fighting to keep my voice controlled despite the turmoil inside me. “I’ll take you home.”


    She scrambled away, gathering her scattered clothing with trembling hands. I watched her, conflicted emotions warring within me. My wolf still wanted to im her, to make her submit, but the human part of me recognized the vulnerability in her movements, the shame coloring her cheeks.


    The silence in the car was oppressive as we sat there. When she reached for the door handle, I


    tensed.


    “I said I’ll drive you,” I stated firmly, unwilling to let her wander the streets alone at this hour.


    “No,” she replied, her voice unsteady but determined. “I’d rather take the bus.”


    The door mmed with finality, and I watched her walk away, her spine straight despite everything. Something in me admired her courage even as it infuriated me. No woman had ever walked away from me before.


    I followed her at a distance as she walked to the bus stop, my Maybach crawling silently along the curb. Pride had made her storm off, but instinct wouldn’t let me leave her unprotected at this hour. I watched her board thete–night bus, then trailed it through the city streets, staying far enough back that she wouldn’t notice.


    When she finally reached Sofia Rodriguez’s apartment building, I parked across the street, hidden in shadows. The dashboard clock read 2:17 AM. Twenty minutes I’d been sitting here, watching her silhouette move behind the second–floor curtains, ensuring she made it safely inside after our encounter in my car.


    7:57 <b>Sat</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>20 </b>


    :


    89


    My wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin<b>, </b>sensing her even at this distance. The mate bond was undeniable now. Each encounter had only confirmed what I’d sensed from our first meeting at that bar–the electric awareness when our eyes met<b>, </b>the overwhelming need that drove me to take her to my hotel, the territorial rage that surged through me seeing her injured at the parking lot.


    She was mine. My mate. There was no question anymore.


    I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened. The certainty terrified me more than the doubt ever had. After Caroline’s betrayal had nearly destroyed me, I’d sworn never to be vulnerable again. Now fate had thrown Reba in my path–a human with ties to my future Delta.


    What was I supposed to do with her now? How could I approach her after the way we’d parted


    tonight? The mate bond pulsed between us like a living thing, demanding recognition, but I had no


    roadmap for this situation.


    “I’ve only met this woman a handful of times,” I muttered to myself. “I can’t just choose her as a


    mate immediately.”


    As Reba’s shadow disappeared from view, I started the engine. Women ultimately betray you. That


    was the one truth I’d learned the hard way. This pull toward Reba was just biology, just instinct.


    And I’d spent my entire life mastering my instincts.


    But even as I drove home, her scent lingered in my car, on my skin, in my mind.


    Reba’s POV


    “Where did you disappear to?” Sofia asked as I quietly closed her apartment door behind me. She was


    curled up on the couch in a fluffy robe, a ss of red wine in her hand, some reality show ying on


    mute on the TV.


    “Nowhere special,” I replied, avoiding her eyes as I kicked off my shoes. My body still hummed from


    Dominic’s touch, and I felt both exhrated and ashamed.


    “Your cheeks are flushed, and you look… different.” Sofia raised an eyebrow. “What happened,


    Ba?”


    I sank into the armchair across from her, suddenly exhausted. “I don’t want to talk about it.”


    I was about to respond when my phone rang. My mother’s number shed on the screen. At this


    7:57 Sat, Sep 20


    hour? My stomach tightened with dread as I answered.


    Chapter Comments


    3 days ago


    Her mother is calling her at 2 AM to say that the tumour has grown, couldn’t wait till the morning?


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