Page 40 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate
“I saw Adrian snooping through Xavier’s office,” he said. “He’s suspicious too. He’s been tracking witches who disappeared after their rituals.”
Luna’s eyes widened, her arms falling to her sides. “Disappeared?”
“No records of where they went. Nothing.” Dominic ran a hand over his face. “And then Xavier came in while we were hiding. He was talking about accelerating their plans, bringing in another witch.”
A shudder ran through Luna’s body, and without thinking, Dominic reached for her. His hands gripped her upper arms, steadying her. The contact sent a jolt of electricity through him, the bond between them flaring to life.
“What else did he say?” Luna asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She didn’t pull away from his touch, which he took as a small victory.
“He mentioned that something went wrong with our ritual. That your power should have been drained by now.” Dominic’s grip tightened slightly. “He said they might eliminate you.”
Fear flashed in Luna’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination. “Then we need to act fast.”
Brave girl.
“We will.” Dominic released her arms. “But we need to be smart about this. Xavier has eyes everywhere.”
Luna paced the small room. “We need to find out how many demons have infiltrated the organization. And we need to warn the other witches who are being targeted.”
Dominic watched her, struck by her immediate concern for others despite the danger to herself.
She hadn’t changed much.
“Adrian’s working on identifying who we can trust,” he said. “But it’s not just the demons we need to worry about. The hunters…many of them are under some kind of influence. I felt it myself—a darkness that clouded my judgment.”
Luna stopped pacing and turned to face him. “Just like in Xerxes’s journal?”
Dominic felt the darkness inside him recede further in her presence, as if her very proximity was cleansing him.
“Partly,” he admitted. “But that’s no excuse for how I’ve treated you.”
She studied his face, searching for something. “The bond between us is growing stronger, isn’t it? I can feel it…tugging at me.”
Dominic nodded, relieved that she felt it too. “It’s getting harder to ignore.”
“And is that why you’re helping me now? Because of the mate bond?”
Dominic wanted to tell her that his reasons went deeper than that, that he’d never truly stopped thinking about her in all these years, but the words stuck in his throat.
“I’m helping you because it’s the right thing to do,” he said instead. “The organization I’ve dedicated my life to has beencorrupted. Everything I thought I was fighting for…it was all a lie.”
Luna’s expression softened slightly. “Not everything. You wanted to protect people from real threats. That part was true. And the Hunter Organization originally was a source of good.”
She understood him when she had every right to hate him. Dominic moved to the window, needing distance from her watchful gaze
“We need to leave this compound,” he said. “Very soon, but for now, we maintain appearances. As far as anyone knows, we’re a newly married couple, oblivious to what’s really happening.”
Luna’s cheeks flushed. “And how exactly do we maintain that appearance?”
“I stay here, in this room, with you.” Dominic’s voice deepened. “No one will question why we want privacy. It’s expected.”
The implication hung in the air between them.
“You want to share this room? This bed?” Her voice held a note of disbelief.
“It’s the safest option,” he said, trying to sound practical despite the heat coursing through his veins at the thought. “No one will disturb us, and I can protect you if they try.”
Luna’s gaze dropped to the narrow bed, then back to him. “And I’m supposed to just trust you? After everything?”
