Page 95 of What a Wolf Demands

Max’s voice was deep. “Well, they’re not going to act that way here.” He looked straight at Lily. “Not tonight. Not in my home.”

Lily trembled, but she nodded. “Okay.”

He extended a hand as if he intended to walk with her. “Come. We’ll do this in my study.”

Lily stepped forward.

“NO.” The command leapt from Dom’s mouth before he could stop it.

Everyone froze.

Max’s face darkened. “Careful, Beta. You forget yourself.”

Lizette rolled her eyes. “Chill out, Max.”

He gave her a look.

She glanced away, her mouth compressed in a tight line.

Instinct pushed at Dom, nudging him toward an apology. He could get away with challenging Max in private. Hell, that’s what Betas did—stood up to the boss when no one else would. Leaders needed that kind of check on their power.

But he couldn’t do it in public. Not even Lizette could get away with crossing certain lines when she and Max had an audience. Humans would likely dismiss such rules as anachronistic and, in Lizette’s case, misogynistic. But werewolves weren’t humans. It took strict protocols to keep their inner beasts in check. If those protocols slipped—even a little—people died.

Tension built. Despite the foyer’s sixty-foot ceiling, the big space felt suddenly small. The instinct nudged harder at Dom, compelling him to bow his head.

Then he met Lily’s gaze.

She lifted her chin, a little smile tugging at her pink lips. She wasn’t afraid or intimidated. No, she stood like a small, slender flame in a sea of churning emotion, her green eyes clear and shining with love.

The room fell away. The world fell away. It was just the two of them—two broken people who had found each other and somehow become whole again.

He smiled back.

“Doux Jésus,” someone muttered.

Remy, Dom thought. He looked at his friend, who’d removed the sucker and stared with his mouth hanging open.

Dom looked at the others. They wore identical expressions, their faces a mix of shock and . . . awe?

All because he challenged Max? It was taboo to cross the Alpha, but this was a little extreme. He frowned. “What?”

Remy recovered first. “Ah, nothing. We’re all just a little, um, surprised to see that.”

“See what?”

“You smiled.”

Lizette nodded. “Like a real one. Not the grimacing kind you usually make.”

Dom felt his cheeks heat, and he heard the defensiveness in his tone when he said, “I smile.”

Remy shook his head. “No, you don’t.” He looked at Sophie. “Does he, babe?”

She gave Dom an apologetic look. “They’re right. This is the first time I’ve seen one.” She brightened. “It was great, though!”

Lily laughed.

The sound drew his attention like a lodestone. Unable to stop himself, he went to her and pushed her hair back from her face, delighting in the way the red gleamed under the lights.

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