DOMINIC
The last few weeks had been a blur of Lena's arrival, the attempted escapes, and my deliberate procrastination of the morning's upcoming meeting. I despised council meetings, but they were necessary for peace and I wouldn't deny my pack safety or the other packs' either, if I could help it.
I heaved a sigh, looking up at the sky. Lena looked over at me curiously but didn't ask.
The morning sunlight spilled across the estate grounds in soft golds and greens, chasing away the heavy mist that lingered in the hollows. I walked a little slower than usual, matching Lena's cautious steps as we crossed the wide stone path toward the stables. She clutched a wool cardigan tighter around herself, the sleeves dangling past her knuckles, her nose wrinkling slightly at the smell of damp earth and horses.
"You don't have to look so nervous," I teased, brushing the backs of my fingers against hers. "They're just horses."
She smiled, shy but real. "I'm not nervous about the horses."
I wanted to press—to ask her what she was nervous about—but instead I led her toward the paddocks. If she was going to feel at home here, she needed time, not pressure.
"You'll like it once you get used to it," I promised. "And if you don't, we can find somewhere you do like."
She looked up at me, something quiet and unsure passing through her expression before she tucked it away. "It's beautiful."
I wanted to tell her that she was the most beautiful person or thing I'd seen in my entire life. The way the sun caught her hair and her full lips parted made my chest hurt.
We were halfway down the lane when we heard the clicking of heels. My stomach tightened before I even turned. I knew that sound too well.
"Dominic," Adelaide called, a mock sweetness lacing her voice. "And you must be—Lena, was it?"
I steeled myself, shifting subtly closer to Lena. Adelaide stood before us in a tailored cream coat that probably cost more than most people's cars, her arms crossed, her mouth curled into a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Adelaide," I said flatly. "This is Lena."
Lena offered a small, polite smile, but I caught the way she raised a single eyebrow, cool and unimpressed. It made me want to laugh—and made something inside me swell with pride.
Adelaide tilted her head. "Oh, you're the one he's been hiding away."
Lena said nothing. She didn't fidget, didn't look down, didn't rise to the bait. She simply met Adelaide's gaze with calm disinterest, as if Adelaide were no more important than a passing cloud.
Adelaide's smile tightened. "I hope you realize what you're getting yourself into, dear. The estate can be a bit..." she paused, pretending to search for the word, "overwhelming."
"I'm sure I'll manage," Lena said, her voice even and utterly unaffected.
God, she was perfect.
Adelaide flicked her hair over her shoulder, trying to regain control of the conversation, but before she could say anything else, a sleek black car pulled up along the drive.
"Council meeting," she said, her eyes cutting to me. "You're needed."
I ground my teeth, reluctant to leave Lena alone. "It won't take long," I murmured to her, brushing my knuckles lightly against her hand again.
"I'll be fine," she said softly.
I hesitated, but Adelaide was already striding toward the car, tossing a glance back at me like she owned my schedule. I swore under my breath and squeezed Lena's hand once before following.
"Evan!" I barked, spotting him leaning lazily against the paddock fence. He straightened at once.
"Keep her company," I ordered. "Don't let her wander off."
Evan gave me a lazy salute, his grin wide and infuriatingl at once. "Wouldn't dream of it, Alpha."
I caught the way Lena's face eased when she saw him—the way she relaxed, smiling in a way that was open and natural. A pang shot through my chest, sharp and unwelcome. Evan was safe. Familiar. Easy to like.
I shoved the feeling down hard and walked slowly to Adelaide by the car, who didn't bother hiding her smirk.
"Jealous already?" she said, too sweet.
I ignored her, my eyes locked on the striking figure of Lena standing by the fence, sunlight turning her hair to a halo. I was lingering and we all knew it.
Evan leaned casually against the fencepost, his easy grin firmly in place as he watched Lena approach.
"Want to meet the horses? They're less judgmental than most people around here."
She laughed—an actual, real laugh—and the sound caught me even from by the car. I wrenched open the car door with more force than necessary stuffing myself in. I glared out the window, my jaw tight.
Adelaide noticed. Of course she did.
"You could always call the meeting short," she said, her voice syrupy sweet. "Rush back to her side like some kind of knight in shining armor."
"Shut up, Adelaide," I muttered, not taking my eyes off Lena.
She was smiling again, her arms relaxed at her sides, her hair falling into her face as she listened to whatever nonsense Evan was spinning. It hit me then, hard and brutal: how different she looked when she wasn't guarding herself.
Different from how she was with me.
I hated it. And I hated myself for hating it.
Inside the council room, I sat stiffly at the long mahogany table, pretending to listen to the droning voices around me. I tapped my fingers against my thigh, restless, my mind stubbornly drifting back to Lena.
How easily she had brushed off Adelaide.
How easily she had smiled at Evan.
I clenched my fist under the table. I didn't want to be the possessive bastard hovering over her shoulder. I trusted Lena.
I just didn't trust everyone else.
Especially not Evan, with his easy charm and his endless supply of stupid jokes. I knew that Evan would never cross that boundary, he'd never cross me as his Alpha, his friend, but it still burned me alive from the inside out.
Without the mate bond fully formed, everything felt like war and destruction. But I would be strong, and I would wait for her. I would trust her. I would trust my pack.
Adelaide leaned closer, her perfume sharp and cloying. "You're distracted," she said softly. "Not very leader-like."
I ignored her again. I didn't have time for Adelaide's games.
I needed to get back to Lena. Quickly, before my wolf clawed its way out to do it.
The council chamber, lined with dark wood and older wolves, felt even more suffocating than usual. Their eyes pinned me like knives the moment the doors closed behind me.
Elias, the eldest, cleared his throat, leaning forward with hands steepled. "Dominic. There are concerns we must address."
I leaned back in my chair, spreading my arms wide across the carved rests. "By all means," I said coolly. "Address them."
A younger wolf, Marcus, shifted uncomfortably before speaking. "It's about your… human."
I didn't flinch. Didn't let them see the way my blood heated instantly at the casual dismissal in his tone.
"You mean Lena," I corrected. "Say her name."
Murmurs swept the room, the barest flicker of unease. They hadn't expected me to push back so quickly.
Elias pressed on. "Is she to be Luna? To lead a pack she knows nothing about? She has no blood tie to our traditions, no understanding of our laws. It is highly irregular."
Adelaide watched me from her seat along the far wall, legs crossed, amusement glinting in her eyes. She'd orchestrated this. She thought I would fold.
I smiled slowly, a predator's smile.
"You all were content with my bachelorhood for years," I said, voice like steel wrapped in silk. "Content to let Adalaide hover, waiting like a vulture for the scraps when time ran out."
Adalaide's smile froze.
"You didn't care then whether I had a mate or not," I continued. "Because it suited you. Because you thought you could control it."
The table shifted, some of them bristling, but none spoke against me. They wouldn't dare.
"You forget," I said, leaning forward now, my voice dropping low. "I am the Alpha of the largest, strongest pack on this council. I am your leader. And you sit here questioning me because a woman you don't understand makes you nervous?"
No one dared meet my eyes.
I thought of Lena. How steady she stood against Adelaide's barbed words. How gentle her hands were when they brushed my hand back this morning. How she carried strength without ever needing to bare her teeth.
"Lena is mine," I said, letting the words sink into the marrow of the room. "She will be Luna if she chooses it. She will stand beside me not because of your approval, but because she is stronger than any wolf in this room."
A few wolves shifted again, uncomfortable, unsure.
I stood slowly, the chair scraping back with a deliberate screech.
"I have protected this pack, this council, for years. I've bled for you. Fought for you. Led you. And I will protect her just the same."
My voice cut through the room like a blade.
"If any of you think you can question my strength, challenge my leadership, or threaten her—" I let the threat hang in the heavy air. "—you are welcome to try."
No one moved.
I stared each of them down, one by one, until their gazes dropped. Even Adelaide shifted in her seat, forced to swallow her smugness.
Satisfied, I straightened my cuffs, my voice cool and final.
"This meeting is over."
Without waiting for permission, I turned and strode out, the doors slamming shut behind me.