Chapter 5
The forest blurred past as I ran, my lungs burning with each desperate breath. Three days I'd been running, pushing deeper into Rogue territory, sleeping in brief snatches against tree trunks or beneath thick underbrush. The scent-masking mixture had worked—no pack warriors had tracked me yet.
But something was wrong.
A primal howl cut through the night air, raising goosebumps across my skin. It wasn't the usual territorial call of a wolf—it was something else. Something feral.
"Malia."
I froze at the sound of my name, whispered through the darkness. Slowly, I turned.
Dominic stood at the edge of the clearing, his silhouette barely visible against the moonlight. But his eyes—one golden, one silver—glowed with an unnatural intensity that made my wolf whimper.
"How did you find me?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.
He took a step closer, and I saw what I hadn't noticed before. His movements were wrong—too fluid, too predatory. His Alpha aura rolled off him in waves, but underneath it was something else. Something wild.
"I will always find you," he said, his voice distorted as if two voices spoke at once. "You are mine."
I backed away, my heart hammering against my ribs. "You made your choice, Dominic. You chose Averie."
Another step closer. "A mistake."
"A mistake that cost my mother her life," I spat, anger flaring hot in my chest.
His face contorted, features shifting between human and wolf. "She is gone. But you—you will never leave me again."
Before I could react, he lunged forward. His hand closed around my throat, not squeezing but holding me in place. With his other hand, he ripped the small vial of scent-masking mixture from my pocket.
"This," he growled, crushing it beneath his boot. "This is how you thought to escape me?"
I struggled against his grip, but it was like fighting stone. His wolf was too close to the surface—maybe it had already taken over completely.
"Let me go," I demanded.
Instead, he dragged me through the forest, back toward pack territory. I fought with everything I had, but my strength was no match for his. By the time we reached the Dark Moon Pack House, dawn was breaking over the horizon.
"Take her to my chambers," he ordered the guards who flanked the entrance. "No one enters without my permission."
---
I awoke to the sting of a needle piercing my arm. Disoriented, I blinked up at Dominic's face hovering above me.
"What are you doing?" I tried to pull away, but my wrists were bound to the bedposts with silk scarves.
"Fixing our problem," he replied calmly, pushing the plunger down.
Fire spread through my veins from the injection site. I gasped, arching off the bed as pain radiated outward.
"Wolfsbane," I choked out, recognizing the burn. "Dominic, stop—"
"Not just wolfsbane," he said, his eyes gleaming with a terrible light. "Something new. Something that will help you forget."
The pain intensified, spreading to my chest where my wolf lay curled protectively within me. I felt her stir in panic as the substance reached her.
"Don't fight it," Dominic murmured, stroking my hair back from my forehead. "Let her sleep. Let everything that hurts fade away."
I tried to reach for my wolf, to hold onto her, but she was slipping away like water through my fingers. Her presence dimmed, growing fainter with each heartbeat.
"No," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. "No, please—"
But it was too late. My wolf went silent, curling into a tight ball deep within me. Not dead—sleeping. Dormant.
Dominic leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear. "Now you can be what I need you to be."
The room spun around me as the drug took full effect. My thoughts blurred at the edges, memories shifting like sand beneath my feet. But somewhere in the center of the storm, a spark remained—my consciousness, my will.
I forced my eyes to flutter closed, my breathing to slow. When I opened them again, I let confusion fill my gaze.
"Who..." I whispered hoarsely.
Dominic smiled, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. "You're home, Luna. You're where you belong."
I stared at him blankly, playing the role he expected. "Luna?"
"Yes," he said, his voice softening with false tenderness. "My Luna. My mate."
I let my gaze drop submissively, while inside, behind the mask of confusion and compliance, my mind remained crystal clear. My wolf slept, but I was still awake.
Still fighting.
Still planning.
"I don't remember," I whispered, the words both lie and truth.
"Then let me remind you," he said, his fingers tracing patterns on my skin. "Let me show you what we can be together."
As he spoke, I nodded slowly, the perfect picture of submission. But in the darkness behind my eyes, I was already calculating, waiting for the moment when his guard would drop.
When I would strike back.
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