{Dominic}I stepped into the bar, and the smell of sweat and overpriced whiskey overwhelmed my senses instantly. My gaze fell on Reina, she was hard to miss in her electric blue minidress and black heels.“See her anywhere?” Ryker leaned in beside me, keeping his voice low, but his nostrils were flared. He didn’t like crowded places, and neither did I.“Yup,” I said, barely paying attention.Because my eyes had just shifted to the woman standing beside Reina. And suddenly, the noise in the bar thinned. Like my ears had tuned out everything but her.She was angled slightly behind Reina, hair falling past her shoulders, but for some reason, it looked slightly crooked. My wolf lifted its head. “Mate?” it questioned.But it couldn’t be. I had already lost my mate. But her scent felt so strong to me, the initial smell of sweat and booze had disappeared, and my nerves buzzed with electricity.“Come on,” I said, nodding toward the girls while already cutting through the crowd.Bam!Some idi
{Lyra}“Are you sure it worked?” I asked for the third time that night, hovering in Isaac’s doorway.He didn’t even bother looking up from his tablet this time. He remained slouched on his bed in pajama bottoms, and a bag of Skittles open beside him. “Relax. I told you, it’ll be fine.”“Okay, but define fine.”“Fine as in, I completely changed your entire file.” He threw a red Skittle into his mouth, but his eyes were still glued to the screen. “Everything on NovaCore’s server about Lyra Jackson has been scrambled. There's a new photo, new date of birth, new medical records. I even changed your emergency contact to some poor guy named; Mike Dunlop.“Who’s that?”“Dunno.” he finally looked at me, flashing me a lazy grin. “The point is, you’re completely safe. Nobody’s gonna trace anything back to you, and that includes Dominic.”The panic in my chest eased a whole lot, and I walked over to Isaac. “You’re a freaking genius.” I leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead.“I know,” he
{Lyra}I hadn’t meant to kiss him back.At least, I didn’t think I had. But the warmth of Dominic’s lips on mine lingered so sweetly, and the longer it went on, the more I forgot how to breathe. I curled my fingers into his T-shirt, unsure whether I was about to push him away or pull him closer.But I didn’t get to make that decision, because he beat me to it. “Play along.” His breath tickled my ears, and I internally shuddered.I didn’t know if it was because he was an Alpha in his home, but that was all it took for me to already start questioning my morals.He pulled back, his eyes locking onto mine, and as I stared into his beautiful gray eyes that had tiny flakes of gold scattered around them, I immediately remembered where I was, and who I was supposed to be.In the blink of an eye, I switched from Lyra, fully into Evangeline, “Babe, not in front of the help.” I said, sliding my hand into Dominic’s and leaning against his shoulder.He smiled, his eyes dancing with mischief, but
{Dominic}I sat across from her with my chin resting on my knuckles, pretending to review the same page I’d been staring at for the last five minutes. She was chewing on the pen again.The truth was, I hadn’t absorbed a thing since she started mouthing the end of that pen like it owed her answers.“Evangeline Wolfe.” God, I was a fool.She wasn’t even trying to be seductive. Everything about her was maddeningly unintentional, and it only made things worse. “That goddamn contract clause,” I sighed, recalling the part where she said there wouldn’t be any sexual interaction.She didn’t want me, at least not in the way others did. There wasn’t that usual hungry-eyed obsession that most women had around Alphas like me. I mean I was Dominic Bloodhound, damn it. A name that made people tremble, and an Alpha that even the Elder council bowed to. And yet here she was, crossing her legs on my couch, bored out of her mind, acting like I was too much to tolerate. But that was exactly why I’d p
{Lyra}I stretched lazily across the bed, letting the silk sheets slip down from my shoulders. My legs sank into the mattress, causing a satisfied moan to escape my lips while I was still lost in a half-dream state.The bed was heavenly, like a giant fluffy cloud they’d managed to capture and put in the room just for my comfort. I completely underestimated how soft it would be; my body just refused to get up. I could sink into it forever and die happy.Knock. Knock. Knock.“Miss, may I come in?” came a woman’s voice from behind the door.I blinked my eyes open, looking up at the ceiling, before groaning in frustration. I had hoped to stay in this room unbothered for a very, very long time, but it seemed my plans were about to be dashed..“Come in,” I mumbled into the pillow. The door clicked open, and I watched as a girl no older than me walked in. Her dark hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, and she wore one of those vintage maid outfits I’d only seen in magazines and TV.“Good mo
{Dominic}I heard a faint whimper echo between my ears which made me perk up, focusing my ears to be sure I had heard right. The whimper came louder this time, but I didn’t hear it with my ears, it felt like it was a sound that only my soul could hear.I pushed the chair I was sitting on back and crossed the room in seconds. The moment I stepped into the hallway, my eyes locked on Zane’s back. He was hunched forward slightly, with his usual scowl across his face.But then he shifted just a fraction, and I saw her, he held her by the wrist, and pain flashed on her face before she closed her eyes.The growl that tore out of my chest wasn’t voluntary. My body reacted before I did and I was halfway down the hall in the blink of an eye. I grabbed Zane’s arm, squeezing it with enough force that a crack echoed. Evangeline stumbled back, but I caught her around the waist, holding her against me as Zane dropped to the marble floor, howling in agony.“Touch her again, and I’ll break more than
{Lyra}The silk around my wrists was soft, but it may as well have been steel, binding me in place like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.I stood in the center of the stage, dressed in a beautiful short ivory satin gown that did very little to hide the clear white skin of my thighs.The entire room felt suffocating, and it made my heart pound so hard that I honestly thought my ribs might crack from the intense pressure.As I looked out into the audience seated in rows, all I could make out were the decorative masks they wore to hide their identities and the paddles they twirled in excitement.These people were the elite 1% of the world; billionaires, politicians, aristocrats, criminals, and worst of all… a few Alphas.As an omega that I was, there was nothing scarier than being sold to an Alpha wolf. They were akin to monsters to us omegas. Treating us like nothing but playthings for their own sick pleasure, and there was nothing even the moon goddess could do to change that.The audi
{Dominic}Just looking at her made me want to howl, but I couldn’t for the life of me understand why my wolf was so excited. It wasn’t like him.She was beautiful, I’ll give her that, but she was a slave, and that was enough reason to not give a fuck.The only reason I was in that auction house at the time was because I was looking for information. I needed to track someone down, and quickly.I had left my territory and come to this deadbeat city in search of a rumored witch doctor who could save my little sister.Many years ago, my father had wanted to expand his territory, and in doing so, he raided a small town and ended up executing an innocent witch. He had no idea that she was part of a coven that had once protected us werewolves.With her dying breath, she placed a curse on my father’s bloodline, and if I didn’t find the witch doctor, then my sister was going to die.Yet here I was, being distracted by a mere human slave. It irked me, but when the auctioneer announced her mage
{Dominic}I heard a faint whimper echo between my ears which made me perk up, focusing my ears to be sure I had heard right. The whimper came louder this time, but I didn’t hear it with my ears, it felt like it was a sound that only my soul could hear.I pushed the chair I was sitting on back and crossed the room in seconds. The moment I stepped into the hallway, my eyes locked on Zane’s back. He was hunched forward slightly, with his usual scowl across his face.But then he shifted just a fraction, and I saw her, he held her by the wrist, and pain flashed on her face before she closed her eyes.The growl that tore out of my chest wasn’t voluntary. My body reacted before I did and I was halfway down the hall in the blink of an eye. I grabbed Zane’s arm, squeezing it with enough force that a crack echoed. Evangeline stumbled back, but I caught her around the waist, holding her against me as Zane dropped to the marble floor, howling in agony.“Touch her again, and I’ll break more than
{Lyra}I stretched lazily across the bed, letting the silk sheets slip down from my shoulders. My legs sank into the mattress, causing a satisfied moan to escape my lips while I was still lost in a half-dream state.The bed was heavenly, like a giant fluffy cloud they’d managed to capture and put in the room just for my comfort. I completely underestimated how soft it would be; my body just refused to get up. I could sink into it forever and die happy.Knock. Knock. Knock.“Miss, may I come in?” came a woman’s voice from behind the door.I blinked my eyes open, looking up at the ceiling, before groaning in frustration. I had hoped to stay in this room unbothered for a very, very long time, but it seemed my plans were about to be dashed..“Come in,” I mumbled into the pillow. The door clicked open, and I watched as a girl no older than me walked in. Her dark hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, and she wore one of those vintage maid outfits I’d only seen in magazines and TV.“Good mo
{Dominic}I sat across from her with my chin resting on my knuckles, pretending to review the same page I’d been staring at for the last five minutes. She was chewing on the pen again.The truth was, I hadn’t absorbed a thing since she started mouthing the end of that pen like it owed her answers.“Evangeline Wolfe.” God, I was a fool.She wasn’t even trying to be seductive. Everything about her was maddeningly unintentional, and it only made things worse. “That goddamn contract clause,” I sighed, recalling the part where she said there wouldn’t be any sexual interaction.She didn’t want me, at least not in the way others did. There wasn’t that usual hungry-eyed obsession that most women had around Alphas like me. I mean I was Dominic Bloodhound, damn it. A name that made people tremble, and an Alpha that even the Elder council bowed to. And yet here she was, crossing her legs on my couch, bored out of her mind, acting like I was too much to tolerate. But that was exactly why I’d p
{Lyra}I hadn’t meant to kiss him back.At least, I didn’t think I had. But the warmth of Dominic’s lips on mine lingered so sweetly, and the longer it went on, the more I forgot how to breathe. I curled my fingers into his T-shirt, unsure whether I was about to push him away or pull him closer.But I didn’t get to make that decision, because he beat me to it. “Play along.” His breath tickled my ears, and I internally shuddered.I didn’t know if it was because he was an Alpha in his home, but that was all it took for me to already start questioning my morals.He pulled back, his eyes locking onto mine, and as I stared into his beautiful gray eyes that had tiny flakes of gold scattered around them, I immediately remembered where I was, and who I was supposed to be.In the blink of an eye, I switched from Lyra, fully into Evangeline, “Babe, not in front of the help.” I said, sliding my hand into Dominic’s and leaning against his shoulder.He smiled, his eyes dancing with mischief, but
{Lyra}“Are you sure it worked?” I asked for the third time that night, hovering in Isaac’s doorway.He didn’t even bother looking up from his tablet this time. He remained slouched on his bed in pajama bottoms, and a bag of Skittles open beside him. “Relax. I told you, it’ll be fine.”“Okay, but define fine.”“Fine as in, I completely changed your entire file.” He threw a red Skittle into his mouth, but his eyes were still glued to the screen. “Everything on NovaCore’s server about Lyra Jackson has been scrambled. There's a new photo, new date of birth, new medical records. I even changed your emergency contact to some poor guy named; Mike Dunlop.“Who’s that?”“Dunno.” he finally looked at me, flashing me a lazy grin. “The point is, you’re completely safe. Nobody’s gonna trace anything back to you, and that includes Dominic.”The panic in my chest eased a whole lot, and I walked over to Isaac. “You’re a freaking genius.” I leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead.“I know,” he
{Dominic}I stepped into the bar, and the smell of sweat and overpriced whiskey overwhelmed my senses instantly. My gaze fell on Reina, she was hard to miss in her electric blue minidress and black heels.“See her anywhere?” Ryker leaned in beside me, keeping his voice low, but his nostrils were flared. He didn’t like crowded places, and neither did I.“Yup,” I said, barely paying attention.Because my eyes had just shifted to the woman standing beside Reina. And suddenly, the noise in the bar thinned. Like my ears had tuned out everything but her.She was angled slightly behind Reina, hair falling past her shoulders, but for some reason, it looked slightly crooked. My wolf lifted its head. “Mate?” it questioned.But it couldn’t be. I had already lost my mate. But her scent felt so strong to me, the initial smell of sweat and booze had disappeared, and my nerves buzzed with electricity.“Come on,” I said, nodding toward the girls while already cutting through the crowd.Bam!Some idi
{Lyra}I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my neck, the damp ends of my now-brown hair dripping onto the hem of my oversized shirt. I patted them softly, squinting at my reflection in the mirror above the hallway console.The box had said ‘Warm Chestnut.’ a freaking lie, it was more like ‘Mediocre Brown that Screams Average Citizen number 5.’ But I guess that’s what you get from buying dye at a 24 hour gas station in the middle of nowhere.“I can work with this,” I muttered, flipping my hair forward, then I grabbed the hairdryer, plugging it in, and cranked it to max. The dryer screamed to life, letting out a blast of hot air, and I bent my head, fluffing and drying for like eight seconds.Then the lights blinked, flickering for a while, and then everything went dead.“No, no, no!” I whined, smacking the dryer like it could fix the entire grid. I threw the dryer onto the counter and yelled, “Isaac!”“Yeah?” he hollered from somewhere in the house, probably on his
{Lyra}“I’m home!” I called out as I pushed the door open with my hip, juggling my bag, my coat, and the stupid, expensive folder that held my copy of the marriage contract I had just signed.From the couch, a voice called back. “Took you long enough.”I stepped into the living room and found Isaac planted on the couch with his knees pulled up, and his eyes glued to his battered tablet. The poor thing looked like it had been run over by a truck; there were cracks everywhere, and the screen was hanging on by what I’d call sheer willpower.“You look comfortable,” I said, dropping my bag by the door with a thud.He sat up when he heard my voice properly and craned his neck to look at me. “Well? How’d it go?”I let out a long breath and kicked off my shoes. “It went better than I expected, actually. He was weirdly professional.” I paused. “But also weird. And the thought of living with him under the same roof...” I scrunched my face up in disgust.Isaac’s eyebrows pitched together, and th
{Lyra}“Sure, why not.” Dominic said with a shrug.“Sure?” I raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”“I’m sorry if I made it seem like the contract was a closed case. I’d love to hear your demands.” Dominic said with a smile."Why are you being so nice?" I asked, as my suspicions began to grow.He chuckled. “Contrary to popular belief, not all Alphas froth at the mouth like savages. My mother raised a gentleman.”“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “It just felt so... well, you know.”Dominic waved it off with a flick of his hand, and beckoned to the waiter. “That’s fine. You’re allowed to be antsy, it’s a big decision.”“Yeah,” I whispered, but I’m pretty sure he heard me.“It’s okay, Evangeline. We’re partners now.”“Partners.”The word sounded strange coming from his mouth. Alpha males didn’t use words like that. Not unless they were manipulating you, or so my mother had told me.“You’re serious?” I asked, narrowing my gaze.“You’re willing to give me three years of your life. The least I can do