Dominic's POV
I slammed the door behind me, tension rolling off me in waves as I stalked through the pack house. My wolf was on edge, pacing beneath my skin, demanding blood for the rogue filth that dared test our borders.
But underneath that fury, there was something else.
Fear.
I couldn't get the image of Ashen hitting the ground out of my head. The sound of that staff cracking against his ribs. The way his body crumpled. The way my heart nearly ripped itself out of my chest when I saw him fall.
I was losing control and it wasn't because of the rogues.
It was because of him.
Because the stubborn little shit refused to let me protect him.
"Dominic!"
Ryker's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He caught up to me as I reached the front door, falling into step beside me.
"You good?" he asked, side-eyeing me.
"Fine," I growled.
Ryker snorted. "Right. Because storming through the pack house like you're ready to murder something is totally normal."
I shot him a glare. "We're being scouted. I should be ready to murder something."
"Uh-huh," he muttered. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that your little omega nearly got his ribs crushed in front of you?"
My steps faltered for half a second.
Ryker saw it. Of course, he did.
"Shut up."
"I'm just saying," he continued, smirking. "For someone who claims he doesn't care, you sure act like a possessive mate."
I froze.
Mate.
The word sent a cold shiver down my spine. My wolf howled at the thought, clawing at the surface, desperate to claim, to mark, to protect.
But Ashen wasn't mine.
Not yet.
And at the rate he was going, the reckless bastard was going to get himself killed before I ever had the chance to change that.
I pushed the thought away and stepped outside. The night air was cold, laced with the faint, rotting stench of rogue. My pack warriors were already stationed along the perimeter, eyes scanning the dark forest that surrounded our territory.
"They were here," Ryker muttered, his gaze sharpening as he sniffed the air. "But they're not alone."
I caught it too.
The scent of something darker. Older.
Something that didn't belong.
"Spread out," I ordered. My voice carried through the bond, reaching every warrior linked to me. "If you see anything, don't engage. Report to me first."
I turned to Ryker. "Stay close. I want eyes on the east side. That's where they breached."
He nodded and shifted into his massive grey wolf, disappearing into the shadows.
I followed, letting the change ripple through me. My bones cracked, muscles stretched, and black fur tore through my skin as my beast took over.
The world sharpened. Every sound, every scent, every movement became clearer.
The forest was silent. Too silent.
The rogues were watching. Waiting.
Cowards.
I stalked forward, every step calculated as I traced the edge of our territory. My wolf's instincts guided me, pulling me toward the faint scent of blood and decay.
Then I heard it.
A soft rustle. A twig snapping in the distance.
I bared my fangs, muscles coiling as I prepared to strike.
But before I could move—
A familiar scent hit me.
My wolf snarled in recognition.
Ashen.
The idiot had followed us.
I whipped around just as he stepped out from behind a tree, clutching a dagger in his hand, eyes burning with defiance.
I shifted back into my human form, fury burning through my veins.
"What the hell are you doing out here?" I hissed, closing the distance between us.
Ashen glared up at me, refusing to back down. "I told you. I'm not hiding."
My hands twitched with the need to grab him, to pin him against the nearest tree and make him understand that this wasn't a fucking game.
But before I could, a low growl echoed from the shadows.
The rogue.
It lunged from the darkness, eyes glowing with madness, jaws snapping toward Ashen.
I moved without thinking.
My body slammed into Ashen's, sending him to the ground as the rogue's claws missed him by inches. I shifted mid-air, teeth sinking into the rogue's throat and ripping it apart with ease.
The rogue hit the ground with a dull thud, its lifeless body twitching before going still.
I turned on Ashen, my wolf still raging, dominance pouring off me in waves as I stalked toward him.
"You could've gotten yourself killed!" I snarled.
Ashen scrambled to his feet, chest heaving, but he didn't back away. "I'm not weak."
"I never said you were weak!" I roared, my control snapping. "But you're mine to protect!"
The words hung in the air between us, thick and heavy.
Ashen's eyes widened.
Shit.
I hadn't meant to say that.
I saw the confusion flicker across his face, the hint of vulnerability he tried so hard to hide.
My chest tightened.
Fuck.
I turned away from him, running a hand through my hair as I tried to shove down the instinct that screamed to claim him. To make him understand he wasn't alone anymore.
"You're reckless," I muttered. "You're going to get yourself killed, and I can't—"
I stopped myself before I said too much.
I can't lose you.
I couldn't.
Not him.
Not Ashen.
When I turned back, he was staring at me, something unreadable in those stormy eyes.
"You don't get to control me," he said quietly.
"No," I said, stepping closer, until there was barely any space between us. "But I will protect you. Whether you want me to or not."
His breath hitched.
I could hear his heart pounding. Smell the nervous tension rolling off him.
He hated that he wanted this.
Hated that he wanted me.
But I saw the way his body reacted to my dominance. How his pupils dilated. How his breath stuttered when I leaned in, brushing my nose against the side of his neck.
I growled lowly, dragging my lips along his skin, savoring the way he trembled beneath me.
"Mine," I murmured against his throat.
Ashen sucked in a sharp breath. "I hate you," he whispered.
I smirked against his skin. "No, you don't."
I felt his fists clench against my chest, like he was trying to push me away but couldn't.
I pressed him back against the nearest tree, trapping him there, my body caging his smaller frame.
His eyes met mine, blazing with defiance.
"Prove me wrong," I challenged.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then, with a growl of frustration, he grabbed the back of my neck and crushed his mouth against mine.
I groaned, losing myself in the taste of him, in the fire that burned between us.
He was mine.
And I'd burn this whole world to the ground to keep him safe.
The moment Ashen's lips collided with mine, my control shattered.
My hands gripped his waist, pulling him closer, forcing him to feel every ounce of tension I'd been holding back since the day I first laid eyes on him. He tasted like rage and defiance, but underneath that, I could taste something else.
Fear.
Not fear of me.
Fear of surrendering.
Of submitting to the bond that already tied him to me.
My wolf howled in satisfaction, demanding more. I deepened the kiss, swallowing the soft sound that escaped him as my tongue brushed against his. Ashen's fingers tangled in my hair, pulling hard, like he was trying to fight me and give in at the same time.
I broke the kiss, breathing heavily as I rested my forehead against his. "You can keep fighting me, little wolf... but we both know how this ends."
Ashen's chest heaved beneath mine, and for a moment, I thought he'd push me away.
But he didn't.
He let me cage him there against the tree, let me tower over him, dominate him with nothing but my presence.
And fuck... my wolf loved every second of it.
His eyes burned with hatred and longing, a war raging inside him that I was more than willing to help him lose.
"I don't want this," he rasped, voice shaking with the lie.
I smirked darkly. "Then why are you trembling beneath me, omega?"
His breath hitched.
I saw it that brief moment when the mask he wore cracked, and his body reacted to the truth.
He was mine.
Mine to break.
Mine to protect.
Mine to claim.
I leaned in, brushing my lips over the mark spot on his neck, letting my teeth graze against his skin. Ashen's body tensed, every instinct in him screaming to submit, to bare his neck to his Alpha.
But he fought it.
Stubborn little shit.
"You think you can keep pretending to be a warrior forever?" I murmured against his throat. "You think you can hide from me?"
"I'm not hiding," he snapped, but his voice cracked. "I'm surviving."
His words punched through my chest, hitting something raw inside me.
I growled, slamming my hand against the tree beside his head, making him flinch.
"You call this surviving? Putting yourself in danger just to prove you're not weak?" I snarled. "I see through you, Ashen. You're not weak. You never were. But you're mine to protect, and I'll kill anyone who tries to take you from me... even if that means protecting you from yourself."
His breathing quickened, panic and desire swirling in his scent.
"You don't own me," he whispered.
I chuckled darkly, trailing my lips up to his ear. "I already do."
Ashen's knees buckled, but I caught him before he could fall, one arm locking around his waist as I pressed him against the rough bark of the tree.
"I hate you," he hissed, but his body betrayed him as he melted into my hold.
"No," I growled, pressing my forehead to his. "You hate that you want this. You hate that no matter how much you fight... your body knows who it belongs to."
Ashen let out a shaky breath, eyes burning with fury and something else... something he was terrified of admitting.
Submission.
Acceptance.
My mate.
I pressed a soft, possessive kiss to his jaw, letting my scent sink into him. "I'm not giving you a choice, Ashen. You're mine... and the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be."
His hands pushed against my chest weakly, but I could feel how badly he wanted to cling to me instead.
I could feel how hard he was trembling...
How hard he was breaking.
My wolf rumbled in satisfaction.
I leaned closer, lips brushing against his ear.
"Submit," I growled.
Ashen whimpered before he could stop himself, his body reacting to my dominance, his omega instincts betraying him.
"Fuck you," he snapped, voice cracking.
I smirked. "You will, little wolf. And when you do, you'll be begging for it."
Ashen's eyes widened with fury, but beneath that...
I saw it.
The surrender he was fighting so desperately to hide.
"You can run from me all you want," I murmured, dragging my lips down his throat. "But I'll always catch you. I'll tear through this whole fucking world if I have to... but you will be mine."
Ashen's breathing hitched as I pressed a soft, almost tender kiss against his mark spot.
"Try and stop me," I dared him.
His eyes burned with rage... but he didn't push me away.
He couldn't.
Because deep down...
He already belonged to me.