Page 28 of Mane Squeeze
“Only half,” he said, his grin crooked and far too charming for someone that had fought a demon ten minutes ago. “Still got enough blood to be a menace.”
She pressed the bandage firmly against his skin, leaning in closer. “Be a quiet menace.”
He didn’t move. Didn’t pull away. Just looked up at her like he was seeing something different now. Like he was learning her.
“You’re not afraid,” he said suddenly.
“Of what?”
“Of me. The lion. What I am.”
“I’ve always known what you are,” she said, voice soft but sure. “You’re not a monster, Dominic. You’re just... more. And just because you’re the only lion shifter in town doesn’t make you a leper.”
She went to move away, to grab another bandage, but his hand reached up—callused fingers brushing lightly along her jaw. It was tentative, reverent. Like he wasn’t sure he was allowed.
She froze.
“I don’t know what this bond means,” he said, barely above a whisper. “But I know I don’t hate it. Not anymore. And I don’t hateyou.”
Her lips parted, words she hadn’t planned rising to the edge, but she couldn’t get them out. Her heart beat too loud.
His thumb grazed her cheekbone.
She tilted toward him without meaning to, but then a pulse of magic rippled between them, soft and electric, like a held breath finally exhaled. Candles flared once, then steadied. Somewhere deep in the walls, the cottagesighed.
They sprang apart like they'd been shocked.
Lillith stood, clearing her throat, suddenly hyperaware of everything—the heat of her skin, the weight of his gaze, the silence pressing close again.
“We should talk about Thaloryn,” she said, too quickly.
Dominic sat up slower, grimacing. “We should talk about what the hell that shadow thing was. It moved like a curse but it fought like a beast. And it didn’t bleed.”
She nodded, clutching her arms around herself. “Which means it wasn’t conjured. It wasgiven.Shaped by something older. Fae.”
His jaw tightened. “Thaloryn.”
She nodded. “He knew what he was doing when he cursed us. This bond... it’s not just a punishment. It’s protection. Or leverage.”
“He marked us.”
“Yes,” she said, voice low. “And I don’t know why.”
He looked up at her then, the candlelight catching gold in his eyes.
“I don’t think it’s just him,” he said. “That thing wasn’t just meant to kill. It was meant totest.To see how we fought. If we’d survive.”
“Or if we’d break.”
The storm outside faded into silence. Just the occasional drip from the eaves and the steady pulse of candlelight in the corners.
She looked at him—this man she’d known in passing for years, always circling but never close. Always heard about, snapped at but neverreal.
And now, he was the most real thing in her world.
“I’ll get more tea,” she said. But even as she turned away, she felt the pulse of his presence follow, never more than thirty feet, never less than a breath away.
Now though, after tonight and even maybe before, it didn’t feel like a curse anymore.
