CHAPTER 3

As Wella went to take a morning shower, I was left at the living area having some headache on what I should do. My phone rested in my trembling hand, its screen black, as I paced the room while my heart kept pounding in my chest. 

The weight of Dominic’s last message hung over me like a dark cloud. ‘The lingerie looks good. Even more good if I show it to Alpha Harold.’

My breath hitched at the memory of the message. I just made a terrible and most dumbest mistake—a drunken, foolish mistake to be exact—and now I was at the mercy of a beta who clearly knew how to exploit my fear with just one respond. 

Panic quickly clawed my throat, and the gnawing dread that my husband learn of what I did, of how I sent those pictures to Dominic by mistake made me scared to the bones. My thoughts raced, scrambling for a way out, but every option seemed to collapse under the weight of Dominic’s simple but dreadful threat.

While I was deep in my thought, my phone suddenly rang, snapping me back to the reality—and it was fucking Dominic calling! 

I hesitated at first, thumb hovering over the screen thinking whether I should answer the call or not. And despite contemplating, I still couldn’t bring myself to answer it. 

And regret gnawed on me as the call ended quickly. It made me think what if I said the wrong thing? What if he was already on his way to show Harold?

My fingers clenched tighter around my phone. A cold sweat broke across my skin as I stared at the screen, the missed call notification glaring back at me.

Moments later, a message pinged. ‘Call me back, Elisse, or this is going to get messy.’

My heart stopped for a second. He wasn’t bluffing. I had no choice. And so with trembling hands, I dialed Dominic’s number. The phone rang almost twice before he answered it.

“Good morning, Luna Elisse.” His voice slid through the line, low and amused, like a predator toying with its prey.

“Beta Dominic, about the pictures please,” I stammered, struggling to keep my voice steady. “You have to delete the photos. It wasn’t meant for you. It was a mistake—”

“A mistake, huh?” he cut me off, a chuckle vibrating through the phone. “Seems like a pretty careless mistake to make, especially for a demure Luna like you, Elisse.”

I swallowed hard, feeling my completely dry throat. “You don’t understand, Dominic. You see, I was drunk when that happened. It was all an honest mistake. I wasn’t thinking straight. It was meant for Harold, not you.”

“Oh, I understand perfectly,” he replied smoothly, his tone darkening. “But here’s the thing, Elisse. Whether it was meant for Harold or not, it’s in my possession now. And it could cause a lot of trouble, don’t you think? Especially if your precious Alpha Harold saw it.”

My stomach churned, the gravity of the situation pressing down on me like a weight I couldn’t lift. Hearing him made me gripped the phone tighter. “Please, Dominic,” I whispered, desperation creeping into my voice which I had not thought of doing towards a beta. “Don’t do this. I’ll do anything you want.”

There was a pause on the other end, and for a moment, I thought I had gotten through to him. But then he spoke, his voice dripping with menace.

“Is that so? Fine then, meet up me in my rest house and delete the file yourself. You know where it is.” 

Before I could respond, the line went dead. And as I stared at the phone screen, my heart pounded so loudly that I thought I’d have a heart attack. I guess I didn’t have much of a choice. I needed to go see him. I had to fix this before it was too late.

Following that, the drive to Dominic’s rest house felt like a blur. Thankfully, Wella offered to accompany me,  as she seemed to sense my distress, and now she sat silently in the car, watching me as I clutched the steering wheel with white knuckles. 

“Elisse, are you sure about this?” Wella asked quietly, concern etched across her face. “You don’t have to do this. We can figure something else out—”

“No,” I cut her off, shaking my head. “I have to fix this. I can’t let him show that picture to Harold. It’ll destroy reputation even more.” My voice cracked with fear and frustration.

Wella didn’t push any further, she simply nod back as a support as we pulled up to Dominic’s isolated rest house. His place stood between the dense woods surrounding it like a fortress. 

I swallowed hard as got out of the car, as an eerie feeling enveloped me as though I was being carefully watched around me. I had to urge the courage to ignore this feeling as I told Wella to for me in the car for I won’t take long.

The door to Dominic’s house was ajar when I entered. I quickly asked the maid, who escorted me inside as though they were really expecting me to come, where was Dominic and she quickly told me to head straight to his study.

And just as what his maide told me, He was indeed sitting at his desk, casually scrolling through his phone, the image still glaring on the screen. I stopped at the threshold, feeling a rush of cold terror wash over me.

“I’m here,” I said, voice tight. “Now please, delete the picture.”

“Luna Elisse, please take a seat.” he offered.

And I refused. “There’s no need. I won’t be taking long as I just want you to delete the photos, Beta Dominic.”

Dominic looked up, a slow smile creeping across his face. “Elisse, you’re not in any position to be making demands especially with what I have that would destroy you.” He leaned back in his chair, his eyes raking over me like I was a piece of prey. “And since you’re here, let’s talk.”

I stepped forward, nerves frayed. “There’s nothing to talk about. I told you—it was a mistake. You need to delete that picture before this gets out of hand.”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression darkening with amusement. “Oh, I’ll delete it… eventually. But first, I want to know—why were you sending that to Alpha Harold in the first place?”

I froze. I hadn’t expected that question. My gaze dropped to the floor, my voice barely a whisper. “Because… that’s none of your business.”

“Oh then I might as well ask the alpha and then show these to him after—”

He pushed me at the corner and it made me finally compelled to speak as I saw him dialing Harold’s number. “Fine! Harold doesn’t love me anymore. He’s been distant, cold. And only shows disinterest in me on the bed whenever I initiate to make love with him. Perhaps if I show him those photos, I thought perhaps I made some naughty list that would make me the ideal woman he might like, then maybe—” I broke off, biting my lip.

Dominic leaned his face forward wearing a dangerous gleam in his eyes. “So your Alpha mate has been neglecting you, huh? Was he cheating on you as well?”

My throat tightened. “Yes,” I admitted, the truth spilling out in a rush of anger. “He’s been seeing someone else. He doesn’t care about me anymore.”

Dominic’s smile widened. “So that’s why you were sending him these naughty photos? Trying to win him back?” He stood up, slowly walking around the desk until he was right in front of me. “And yet, here you are, throwing yourself at another man.”

“That’s not what this is!” I snapped, heat rising in my chest. “I’m not cheating on him—I’m trying to fix my marriage.”

He raised his phone, showing me the image again. “This doesn’t look like you fixing anything, Elisse. It looks like you’re trying to burn it all down.” His voice lowered, dripping with intent. “If that’s truly the case, you know, I can help you with that.”

I stared at him, confused and afraid. “What are you talking about?”

He stepped closer, his voice a low murmur in my ear. “You want out of this mess? I can give you what you want. I can make the alpha disappear from your life entirely. But there’s a price.”

I turned to face him, heart pounding. “What do you want?”

He leaned in, his breath hot against my skin. “I want you, Elisse. Your body. Your soul. Everything about you as whole.”

A chill ran down my spine. I took a step back, shaking my head. “No. This isn’t right.”

Dominic’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous thirst—no, hunger even. 

“Think about it, Elisse. You’re already trapped in a loveless marriage. Why not take what I’m offering? You’ll have power, freedom, revenge and all you have to do is give yourself to me.”

I backed away, my mind spinning. “You’re sick, Dominic. I came here to fix a mistake, not to make a deal with an asshole devil.”

“But you’re already in hell,” he said, stepping closer. “And this asshole devil you’re calling is offering you a way out.”

I turned to leave, but before I could reach the door, the projector clicked on, lighting up the room. My blood ran cold as I saw the image projected against the wall—me, naked, in that cursed lingerie that I sent him last night.

I turned back in rage and furiously asked, “Did you made some duplicate copies now to blackmail me, you moron?”