Page 16 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)

Dominic’s gaze flicked to the bathroom door, then back to her. “You had no right to go through those things.”

“I had every right,” Luna took a step toward him.

“I’m fighting for my life here, and not just mine. Do you know how many witches have disappeared into your organization? Twenty-seven in a year, according to one of those records. Twenty-seven women like me, who thought they were being ‘saved’ when they were actually being fed to demons.”

The thought of all those women, their magic harvested for some dark purpose, filled her with a mixture of rage and heartbreak.

Dominic was silent for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he said, “Show me.”

Luna led him to the bathroom and retrieved the other journal from its hiding place. She handed it to him, watching as he read through the entries, his brow furrowing deeper with each page.

“I wonder why I never found these,” he murmured, almost to himself.

“Would you have believed them if you had?” Luna asked quietly. “I don’t think you were searching for hidden books, were you?”

The question hung between them, unanswered. Dominic closed the journal and handed it back to her, his expression troubled.

“First, we need more information,” Luna said. “We need to know exactly how many demons there are, how they’re controlling the hunters, and what they’re doing with the witches they capture.”

Dominic nodded slowly. “Adrian might know more than he’s letting on. But approaching him is risky—if he’s compromised…”

“We’ll have to take that chance,” Luna said. “We need allies if we’re going to expose the truth.”

She moved back into the main room of the cabin, aware of Dominic following close behind her. The white ritual dress suddenly felt too thin and revealing for the seriousness of their conversation.

“You could have escaped,” he said suddenly. “When you discovered the cuffs didn’t work. Why didn’t you?”

Luna turned to face him, surprised by the question. “And go where? This compound is crawling with hunters and who knows how many demons. Even if I got past the perimeter, they’d track me down eventually.”

She shook her head. “Besides, if I escaped, the truth would die with me when they caught me again. No one would know what’s really happening here.”

Dominic simply nodded.

Was that respect?

“We should check if there are other journals,” she suggested, moving toward the desk. “Maybe other hunters have been documenting changes, too.”

As she reached for a drawer, Dominic’s hand shot out, catching her wrist. The contact sent a jolt of awareness through her body, her magic surging in response to his touch. Golden light spilled from where their skin connected, startling them both.

“What is that?” Dominic demanded, but he didn’t release her.

Luna could feel her magic reaching out to him, drawn to the darkness lurking within him like a flame seeking oxygen. “It’s my magic,” she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “I think it’s trying to cleanse the demonic influence from you.”

His eyes widened, but still he held her wrist, watching as the golden light spread up his arm. His breathing quickened, matching her own suddenly rapid heartbeat.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

“No,” he said, sounding shocked. “It feels…warm.”

Luna stepped closer, acting on instinct. Her free hand rose to his chest, where she could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm. More golden light bloomed from the contact, suffusing the space between them with its glow.

“Luna,” he whispered, his voice rough.

She looked up at him, suddenly aware of how close they were standing. His pupils were dilated as he stared down at her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, smell the clean, masculine scent of him mixed with the wild and untamed wolf.

This is dangerous.

But her body wasn’t listening to logic right now. It was responding to the pull between them, the mate bond that had formed all those years ago.

Dominic backed her against the wall beside the desk, still holding her wrist, his other hand coming up to brace against the wall beside her head.

“What are you doing to me?” he asked, his voice a low growl that sent shivers down her spine.

“Nothing,” she breathed. “This is happening on its own. If I was doing this, the magic sensors would have caught me.”

The golden light had spread between them, creating a cocoon of warmth that seemed to push back the shadows in the cabin. Luna could feel her magic working, seeking out the darkness within him and slowly, carefully, burning it away.

Dominic’s face lowered toward hers, their breath mingling in the small space between them. For one wild moment, Luna thought he might kiss her—and worse, that she might let him.

He’s the enemy. He kidnapped you. He rejected you.

Common sense continued to fail against the numbing arousal she felt. This close, she could count each dark eyelash, could trace the strong line of his jaw.

Her magic pulsed stronger, responding to her heightened emotions. The golden light between them brightened, illuminating Dominic’s face in its glow.

His expression changed then, and he released her wrist and stepped back abruptly, breaking the connection. The golden light faded, leaving them both breathing hard in the sudden dimness.

“What was that?” he asked, his voice harsh. “Some kind of spell?”

Luna pressed herself against the wall, trying to slow her racing heart. “No spell. Just our mate bond.”

“Convenient,” he said, his tone turning cold. “The perfect way to seduce a hunter.”

“Oh, please.” The accusation stung even more since moments before he’d been looking at her with such heat in his eyes. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“Isn’t it?” Dominic paced away from her, creating distance between them. “How do I know your magic isn’t affecting my thoughts, making me question everything I’ve believed in?”

“Because that’s not how my magic works,” Luna said, frustration building. “I can’t control your mind. What you’re feeling is the truth breaking through the demonic influence.”

He shook his head, unconvinced. “It’s too convenient. You show up, claim we’re mates, and suddenly I’m supposed to betray everything I’ve stood for?”

“Not betray,” Luna corrected, her voice rising as well. “You are finally seeing clearly for the first time in years! The demons are the ones who’ve been using you, manipulating you, turning you into their puppet.”

“Enough!” he growled, the sound rumbling from deep in his chest.

Luna fell silent, watching him struggle with the conflicting realities battling within him. Part of her wanted to go to him, to offer comfort, but she knew he would reject it—reject her—again.

“You’ll see,” she said finally, her voice quiet but firm. “You’ll see who’s really betraying you.”