Ashen pov
I hated him.
I hated the way he saw through me, stripping me bare with nothing more than those cold, ruthless eyes.
I hated the way my body betrayed me, trembling at his touch, my omega instincts clawing to submit to him.
But more than anything...
I hated that he was right.
I wasn't surviving. I was running. Hiding behind a mask that was cracking more and more every second he touched me.
I could feel the heat of his breath against my throat, his scent wrapping around me, suffocating me in a way that made my head spin and my knees weak.
I dug my nails into his chest, trying to push him away, trying to fight... but my body was already betraying me, leaning into him, seeking the comfort and safety that only an Alpha could give.
No.
I couldn't let this happen.
I couldn't let him break me.
"I won't submit to you," I choked out, hating how weak I sounded, how desperate I felt.
Dominic's dark chuckle rumbled against my skin, sending shivers down my spine.
"You already are," he murmured, dragging his lips along my jaw, making my body burn with shame and something far more dangerous.
Desire.
My throat tightened, panic clawing at my chest as my instincts begged me to bare my neck, to surrender to the Alpha who was slowly unraveling me.
"I can't," I whispered, voice breaking as tears burned behind my eyes.
I felt his grip tighten on my waist, steady and possessive, as if anchoring me to him.
"You can," Dominic growled, his tone low and commanding. "You're stronger than you think, Ashen. But strength isn't about fighting who you are. It's about accepting it."
My breath hitched as he leaned closer, his nose brushing against my scent gland, inhaling deeply as if he was already claiming me with something as simple as breathing me in.
My body trembled violently, my heat suppressed by the drugs I'd been taking for years, but they were weakening... just like me.
I wanted to scream, to curse him, to push him away and run...
But the truth was, there was nowhere left to run.
Because deep down...
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
The bond I'd been denying for so long was tearing through me, raw and unforgiving, demanding submission.
And I hated myself for how good it felt to finally stop fighting.
A broken sob escaped me as my head tilted to the side, baring my neck to him without thinking, my body surrendering to the Alpha who had hunted me from the moment we met.
"That's it," Dominic growled, his voice thick with satisfaction as he pressed his lips to my exposed skin. "Good boy."
A whimper slipped past my lips, shame and relief crashing over me in waves as I felt his teeth graze against my mark spot, claiming me without even sinking his fangs in.
I was pathetic.
Weak.
Everything I'd spent years trying to prove I wasn't.
But for the first time in my life...
I didn't feel alone.
I felt... safe.
And that terrified me more than anything.
Because this was only the beginning.
Dominic Kael Varen wasn't just going to break me.
He was going to own me.
And I was already falling apart in his hands.
I struggled to breathe, every instinct screaming at me to pull away, to fight—
But I couldn't.
Because the moment his teeth grazed my neck, something inside me shattered.
The walls I'd spent years building crumbled beneath his touch, and I felt the bond I'd been denying snap into place, tightening around my soul like chains I'd never be able to break.
Panic surged in my chest, but it was drowned out by the warmth that flooded my veins, his scent wrapping around me, consuming me.
"No," I whimpered weakly, trying to resist the way my body softened against him.
Dominic growled, low and dangerous, his grip tightening as if daring me to keep running. "Stop lying to yourself, Ashen. You've been fighting for so long... but you were always mine."
I hated how true those words felt, hated the way my heart skipped at the sound of his voice possessive, claiming, undeniable.
My body betrayed me again, leaning further into him, my hands clutching at his shirt like he was the only thing keeping me from collapsing. And maybe he was.
"You don't get to decide that," I spat weakly, but even I heard the way my voice trembled. "I won't be your weak little omega."
Dominic's eyes darkened, something primal flashing in them as he leaned closer, his lips brushing against my ear. "Weak? You think surviving this long, hiding who you are, makes you weak? No, Ashen... it makes you mine. And I will break every wall you've built to keep me out. Piece by piece."
I trembled violently, shame burning through me as tears threatened to fall. I hated him for this. For seeing me. For dragging me out of the darkness I'd been drowning in.
I hated him...
But gods, I craved him.
"I don't... want this," I whispered, but the words lacked conviction, cracking under the weight of my own need.
Dominic chuckled darkly, one hand sliding up to my throat, tilting my head back, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Liar."
My breath hitched as his thumb brushed over my pulse, slow and deliberate, feeling the way it raced beneath his touch.
"You've been hiding for so long, you've forgotten what it feels like to belong. But I will remind you, Ashen. I'll tear down every fear, every doubt... until there's nothing left but the truth."
"And what's that?" I choked out, hating how weak I sounded.
"That you were always meant to be mine," Dominic growled. "My mate. My omega. My everything."
My vision blurred with tears as the bond between us tightened, burning through me like fire, demanding I surrender.
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
All I could feel was him.
And gods... I was already falling.
I could still feel the weight of Dominic's touch on my neck as we walked side by side toward the Blackridge Pack's meeting hall.
The bond between us was raw and suffocating, making my skin burn with shame and something far more dangerous — need.
I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be standing beside him like I belonged in his world.
But Dominic wouldn't let me run. Not anymore.
The heavy doors to the hall opened, and the moment I stepped inside, the air shifted.
My breath hitched as my eyes locked onto a familiar figure standing among the gathered alphas and betas.
My uncle.
Cold, cruel, and every nightmare I'd spent years trying to escape.
My body stiffened, panic clawing at my chest as old memories flooded back — the beatings, the words that shattered me, the punishment for being born the way I was.
I felt Dominic tense beside me the moment he caught my scent shift. His sharp gaze followed mine, landing on the man who had made my life hell.
My uncle's eyes narrowed in disgust the moment he saw me. "I should have known you'd crawl your way into an Alpha's shadow, hiding like the pathetic omega you are."
The words hit me harder than they should have. I'd heard them my entire life, but standing here, with Dominic's bond burning through me, they cut deeper.
I clenched my fists, forcing myself not to cower under his gaze.
Not this time.
Dominic's growl echoed through the hall, sending shivers down the spines of every wolf present.
"Careful with your words," Dominic warned, stepping slightly in front of me, shielding me from my uncle's gaze. "You're speaking about my mate."
My uncle's eyes darkened with rage, his lips curling into a sneer. "Mate? That thing? He's not worthy of being an omega, let alone carrying an Alpha's mark. He's weak. A disgrace to our kind."
I flinched at the words that had haunted me my entire life, but Dominic's aura flared, dark and possessive, wrapping around me like a shield.
"Watch your mouth, old man," Dominic's voice dropped lower, more dangerous. "You think you can stand here and threaten what belongs to me?"
My uncle let out a cold laugh. "I don't need to threaten him. He'll break on his own. That's all omegas like him are good for. Running. Hiding. And eventually... dying."
My breath hitched as shame and fear coiled in my chest.
But before those words could drown me, Dominic moved.
In a blink, he was in front of my uncle, his hand gripping the man's throat and slamming him against the wall with enough force to make the entire room tremble.
A collective gasp echoed through the hall as the alphas and betas surrounding us stepped back in fear.
Dominic's eyes glowed with pure rage, his wolf barely restrained.
"You think I don't know what you did to him?" Dominic growled, his voice thick with violence. "You think I haven't seen the scars you left on what's mine?"
My uncle struggled against Dominic's grip, but he was no match for an Alpha like him.
"I should rip your throat out for what you've done," Dominic spat, his claws extending, pressing against my uncle's skin.
"Do it," my uncle choked out, a twisted grin spreading across his face. "Kill me. But it won't change what he is. Weak. Useless. Broken."
I felt my chest tighten as those words wrapped around me like chains, threatening to drag me back into the darkness I'd barely escaped from.
But before the panic could consume me, Dominic's voice cut through the noise in my head.
"No," Dominic's grip tightened. "He's not weak. You just never deserved to see his strength."
My eyes burned as something cracked deep inside me.
Dominic wasn't defending me out of pity.
He saw me.
He saw the fight I'd endured. The pain I carried. The strength I had to survive it all.
And he still chose me.
Dominic leaned closer, his voice dark and filled with promise. "You'll never touch him again. You'll never speak his name. Because from this moment on... he belongs to me."
My uncle's eyes widened as Dominic's dominance filled the room, drowning every wolf in submission.
"And if you ever come near him again," Dominic's voice dropped lower, lethal and unforgiving, "I'll tear your pack apart and make you watch as I burn everything you've ever built to the ground."
The room was deadly silent as Dominic released him, letting him fall to the ground like the pathetic excuse of an Alpha he was.
My uncle coughed and staggered to his feet, his eyes burning with hatred as he looked at me.
"You think he'll save you from what you are, Ashen?" he spat. "You'll always be nothing. No Alpha's bond can change that."
My heart clenched, fear threatening to consume me.
But before I could fall into that darkness again, Dominic's hand found mine, gripping it tightly.
"I already did," Dominic growled. "And I'm never letting him go."
I felt the bond between us flare, wrapping around my soul, pulling me from the shadows that had haunted me for so long.
My uncle turned and stormed out of the hall, defeated.
The moment he was gone, my legs gave out, but Dominic caught me before I could fall, pulling me against his chest.
"I've got you," he murmured against my hair. "No one will ever hurt you again, Ashen. Not while I'm breathing."
A broken sob escaped me as I gripped his shirt, letting the weight of years of fear and shame finally fall from my shoulders.
Because Dominic Kael Varen wasn't just my Alpha
He was my mate.
And he would burn the world to protect me.