Ashen pov
Got home to make food.
The knife trembled in my grip.
I had been fine I should have been fine. The suppressants should still be in my system, keeping this damn heat at bay.
But my body didn't care.
A slow, unbearable warmth curled low in my stomach, spreading outward like ink bleeding through water. My breath hitched, my knees weakening as I pressed a hand to the counter for support.
The scent of spices and charred wood seeped into my senses rich, overpowering.
No. No, no, no.
I knew what was coming before the first shudder wracked through me, my body betraying me.
My hand slipped.
The blade sliced through my fingertip.
The sharp sting barely registered over the ache settling into my bones, twisting tight, demanding. A shaky breath left me as the knife clattered against the wooden counter, my blood smearing red against pale skin.
The kitchen spun.
I gritted my teeth, fighting it. I wouldn't give in. I couldn't.
But my scent was already spilling into the air, thick and sweet, unmistakable.
And I wasn't alone.
Heavy boots. A sharp inhale.
Then his presence, looming, commanding.
The room shrank, the walls closing in as the scent of him wrapped around me like invisible chains. My entire body reacted, heat spiking, my breath coming in ragged gasps.
No.
I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing a trembling hand to my burning throat, as if I could hold it all in hold myself together.
But then he spoke.
"Ashen."
The deep, quiet rasp of his voice sent a violent shiver down my spine.
My grip on the counter tightened, my body locking up, every instinct in me screaming for—
No.
I tried to swallow, to breathe past the wildfire licking at my skin, but when I turned my head, the sight of him standing there watching me stole what little strength I had left.
Dominic was still. Too still.
His golden eyes burned, tracking every breath, every tremor in my body.
I could feel him pulling me under, sinking into my bones, into my mind, like a force I had no defense against.
And then it happened.
My lips parted—
And the sound that escaped was desperate.
"Dominic."
Not his title. Not Alpha.
His name.
A plea. A surrender.
The instant it left my lips, I felt it—
The shift in the air.
The dark, unmistakable promise in the way his entire body reacted.
Then he moved.
Heat roared through me, leaving no space for thought only need.
I barely registered the moment Dominic reached me. One second, I was trembling against the counter, my body betraying me. The next, I was in his arms, my back pressed against the cold surface as his mouth crashed onto mine.
A whimper slipped free before I could stop it.
His growl rumbled against my skin, deep and possessive, his hands burning where they gripped my waist. My body arched into him, desperate for the friction, for the relief I shouldn't have wanted but couldn't deny.
"Say it again," Dominic murmured against my lips, his breath hot, demanding.
I swallowed hard, my pride warring with the fire in my veins.
But when his teeth scraped my jaw, my resolve shattered.
"Dominic," I gasped.
That was all it took.
His hands tore at my clothes, stripping me bare in seconds. My body shuddered at the rush of cold air before the heat of his skin consumed me again. His mouth devoured me, trailing fire down my throat, my chest, lower—
A sharp moan escaped me when his lips brushed places they shouldn't. My hands fisted in his hair, torn between pushing him away and pulling him closer.
"Still fighting me?" His voice was dark, teasing, but his grip on me was anything but.
I should have fought.
I should have run.
But as his touch sent me spiraling, as pleasure wracked through me over and over, all I could do was cling to him—
And let go.
The night stretched on, feverish and unrelenting, until exhaustion finally claimed me.
Until I fell into a sleep too deep, too sated.
Morning came too soon.
The warmth of the blankets felt wrong. The soreness in my body felt wrong.
But the worst part?
The lingering scent of him all over me.
My eyes snapped open, my heart slamming against my ribs as the memories came rushing back—hot hands, sharp teeth, his voice dragging me under, the way I had given in—
No. No, no, no.
I shoved the covers off, breath ragged, my skin burning with something worse than heat. Shame. Fury.
I had submitted.
Not because I was forced. Not because he made me.
Because my body craved him. Because, in the haze of my heat, my instincts had wanted to be his.
I gritted my teeth, my hands shaking as I forced myself to stand. My legs ached, my muscles sore from the night before, but I refused to let it slow me down.
I needed distance. I needed control.
I needed to get away from him.
A low chuckle sent ice down my spine.
I turned sharply.
Dominic leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, golden eyes filled with a lazy kind of amusement like he had already won.
"Morning, little wolf."
I snapped.
"You—bastard!" I stormed toward him, shoving hard against his chest. He didn't move. Didn't even flinch.
His smirk deepened. "You weren't calling me that last night."
A growl ripped from my throat. "Shut up."
His fingers brushed my chin, tilting my head up just enough to make my breath hitch. "You think you can fight what you are, Ashen?" His voice dropped, dark and knowing. "You think you can fight what we are?"
I slapped his hand away, my chest heaving. "Watch me."
His gaze burned, his smirk fading into something dangerous.
"Careful, little wolf." He leaned in, voice a quiet threat. "You're already mine."
I turned to leave,heading to the door
I barely had time to react before Dominic's hand shot out, gripping my wrist.
Not hard. Not painful.
But firm. Unyielding.
I yanked, but his hold didn't budge. My chest heaved as I glared up at him, hating how easily he overpowered me,how easily he had always overpowered me.
"Let. Me. Go." My voice was ice, but my body betrayed me, my pulse racing under his touch.
He didn't.
Instead, his golden eyes studied me, something dangerous lurking beneath their usual amusement.
"Why won't you give us a chance?" His voice was quiet, measured. Serious. "What's so bad about being mine?"
Something inside me snapped.
"You want to know why?" My voice rose, raw and shaking. "Because I will be the submissive! I will be weak!"
Dominic stiffened.
But I couldn't stop. The words kept pouring out, like a dam breaking after too many years of holding it all in.
"My mother was an omega. My sister was an omega. And you know what happened?" My breath came in ragged gasps, my throat tight with a rage I had buried for years. "They died, Dominic. They died because i was weak."
His grip on my wrist tightened just barely but I felt it.
I ripped my hand away, stepping back, my whole body trembling.
"My uncle hates me," I spat. "My dad is gone. And why? Because I was born an omega. Because I wasn't strong enough to protect them." My voice cracked, my vision blurred. "Being submissive took everything from me. And I won't " I swallowed hard, my hands shaking. "I won't be that again. Never."
The room went silent.
My chest rose and fell rapidly, my body tense, braced for something.
For him to laugh. For him to mock me. For him to call me pathetic.
But Dominic just stared.
Something in his expression shifted. The sharp, teasing smirk was gone. In its place was something deeper. Darker.
And it scared me more than anything.
Because he looked like he understood.
I laughed.
It wasn't real. It wasn't happy. It was broken.
The kind of laugh that scraped against my throat, raw and bitter, even as hot tears slipped down my face.
"Look at me," I choked out, my voice trembling. "My heat controls me. It turns me into into a needy bitch." I sucked in a sharp breath, my chest heaving. "I'm not going to be a slut, okay? You don't get to" My voice cracked. "You don't get to just fuck me like I'm nothing."
Dominic didn't move. Didn't speak.
I should have stopped there.
But the words kept pouring out.
"My uncle reminded me every day that I'm just a thing to be used, to be fucked, to be thrown away." I let out a shaky breath, my entire body trembling. "I won't be that, Dominic. I won't."
I hadn't even realized I was crying. Not until I felt strong arms wrap around me.
Dominic pulled me close.
I went rigid.
I should have shoved him away. I should have cursed him, screamed at him, made him hate me.
But I didn't.
Because for the first time in a long time, someone was holding me. Not to hurt. Not to take.
Just to hold.
And I didn't know how to survive that.