Page 17 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)

Dominic paced the cabin, every step feeling like torture, his body wound tight with tension he couldn’t release. His mind replayed the moment when Luna’s lips touched his over and over again.

He should have been finding a solution to those demons.

But that was the problem. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Luna.

Her dark blue eyes filled with defiance, her now-brown hair tumbling around her shoulders, the soft curves of her body that his hands itched to explore.

He paused at the window, staring out at the compound bathed in moonlight. The special ops cabins were positioned around a central clearing, with Xavier’s quarters far on the opposite side.

Dominic wore the standard hunter uniform, and for the first time in six years, the uniform felt wrong, as if he were wearing the skin of a stranger.

Was this her magic influencing him?

The rational part of him knew that wasn’t true. The witch he’d married—the mate he’d once rejected—had shown him the truth. Xavier, his mentor and leader of the Council, was a demon wearing human disguise.

Dominic felt the beginning of a headache forming behind his eyes. The mating bond between him and Luna pulsed with every heartbeat, growing stronger despite the distance he tried to maintain. He could feel her fear and uncertainty mirroring his own.

He needed to clear his head.

He left his quarters and stalked across the compound, nodding at the hunters who crossed his path. Something caught his eye, and Dominic slowed his pace and changed direction. He circled around to approach Xavier’s quarters from the rear entrance.

Few would dare enter the Council leader’s private space, but Dominic had privileges most didn’t.

High-level clearance.

He smiled to himself as he remembered Marcus’s jokes.

He silently turned the back door handle and slipped inside. The luxurious quarters were dark except for a sliver of light coming from beneath Xavier’s office door. Dominic’s enhanced hearing picked up the sound of rustling papers and quiet footsteps.

What was going on?

With the stealth that had made him legendary among hunters, he moved toward the office. The door wasn’t fully closed, and through the crack, he saw Adrian bending over Xavier’s desk, rifling through documents.

The blonde hunter’s expression was far from the cool professionalism he typically displayed. His ice-blue eyes were narrowed in concentration, his movements quick and precise.

Dominic pushed the door open. “Interesting reading material?”

Adrian spun around, papers clutched in his hand. For a split second, fear flashed across his face before his features settled into a neutral mask.

“Dominic.” Adrian’s voice was steady, but Dominic could hear his elevated heartbeat. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Clearly.” Dominic stepped into the office, shutting the door behind him. The room smelled of old books and that peculiar scent that always clung to Xavier. “Care to explain why you’re going through Xavier’s private files?”

Adrian’s grip tightened on the papers. “I could ask you the same question. Why are you here, Dominic?”

The tension between them crackled like electricity. Two of the most powerful alphas in the organization, sizing each other up, neither willing to show weakness.

Dominic moved closer, his imposing height giving him a physical advantage. “You first. I found you here with your hand in the cookie jar.”

For a long moment, Adrian didn’t speak. Then he exhaled slowly. “Something’s not right with the organization. I’ve been trying to track down information on the witches we’ve captured and…married off.”

Dominic’s wolf stirred beneath his skin, responding to the unspoken implication. “And?”

“They’re gone.” Adrian’s voice dropped to a whisper. “All of them. No records of where they were taken after the rituals. No follow-up reports. Nothing.”

“How many?” Dominic asked, his voice rough.

“Dozens over the past five years.” Adrian set the papers down on the desk. “Including someone I…knew.”

Dominic caught the hesitation, the hint of emotion that the tech specialist rarely displayed. “A witch?”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Her name was Elara. We grew up together in the same pack. She manifested powers when we were teenagers. The Council claimed they were taking her somewhere safe.”

His eyes hardened with his next words. “That was three years ago. I haven’t seen her since.”

The confession hung in the air between them. Dominic took a calculated risk. “I saw something during the ritual with Luna. Something that changes everything.”

Adrian’s posture shifted slightly, his attention sharpening. “What did you see?”

“Xavier.” Dominic kept his voice low, aware of how dangerous the conversation had become. “He’s not human, Adrian. He’s a demon.”

Instead of disbelief or shock, Adrian’s expression settled into grim acceptance. “I suspected something was wrong with him.” He gestured to the papers. “But I needed proof.”

“Now we have it.” Dominic moved to the desk, scanning the documents Adrian had been examining. “Luna’s magic revealed his true form during the ritual. She saw it, too.”

Adrian’s brow furrowed. “But the ritual was supposed to suppress her powers, not enhance them.”

“I have to tell you the truth now. She’s my true mate. The bond strengthened her magic instead of destroying it.” Dominic felt strange saying it aloud.

“Shit,” Adrian said. “That complicates things.”

“Tell me about it.” Dominic’s lips thinned into a hard line. “We need to figure out how deep this goes. How many of the Council are demons? How many hunters are under their influence?”

Adrian nodded, gathering the papers into a neat stack. “We need to be careful. If Xavier suspects we know…”

The sound of voices in the outer quarters cut their conversation short. Both men tensed, their enhanced senses picking up the sound of footsteps approaching.

“Xavier,” Adrian mouthed, recognizing the distinctive cadence.

In one fluid motion, Dominic grabbed the papers and shoved them into a folder, while Adrian quickly straightened the desk. They moved toward the adjoining bathroom just as the office door began to open.

Inside the small space, they stood motionless, barely breathing. Through the crack in the door, they could see Xavier enter with another Council member, their voices low but clear to shifter hearing.

“The witch’s power should have been completely drained by now,” Xavier was saying, his usually smooth voice edged with frustration. “Something went wrong with the ritual.”

“Perhaps Blackwood isn’t controlling her properly,” the other Council member suggested. “He seems…different since the ceremony.”

Xavier’s laugh was cold. “Dominic has always been exceptionally loyal. The darkness in him runs deeper than most. Still, we should accelerate our plans. Bring in the next witch sooner than scheduled.”

“What about Blackwood’s witch? Should we eliminate her?”

There was a pause, and Dominic’s hands curled into fists, his claws threatening to emerge.

“No,” Xavier finally said. “We need to observe what went wrong first. Besides, she may still be useful. Her power signature is…unusual.”

The conversation continued, but they moved out of earshot, deeper into Xavier’s quarters. Dominic and Adrian waited several tense minutes before slipping out of the bathroom.

“We need to move quickly,” Adrian whispered, his ice-blue eyes serious. “They’re suspicious already.”

Dominic nodded, his mind racing. “Keep gathering information. I’ll warn Luna.”

They parted ways at the door, Adrian disappearing into the shadows while Dominic forced himself to walk casually. His instincts screamed at him to run, to get to Luna as quickly as possible, but he maintained his composure until he reached the cabin.

Once inside, he locked the door and swept the room for listening devices—a precaution he’d never thought necessary before. Finding nothing, he moved to inner room where Luna slept.

Luna sat on the edge of the bed, watching him warily as he entered. She wore the clothes he’d given her, his shirt, oversized on her and slipping off one shoulder to reveal smooth skin beneath.

“What’s wrong?” she asked immediately, rising to her feet. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Dominic closed the door behind him, keeping his voice low. “We need to talk.”

Luna crossed her arms over her chest, creating a barrier between them. The gesture sent a pang through him that he quickly suppressed.

“About what? Have you finally decided to believe what we both saw during the ritual?”

He moved closer, his tall frame looming over her, but she didn’t back down. Her scent—like wildflowers and something uniquely Luna—filled his senses, making it hard to concentrate.

“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 been corrupted. 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?”

The question stung, but he deserved it. “I’m not asking you to trust me blindly, Luna. But right now, I’m the only ally you have in this place.”

She was silent for a long moment, weighing her options. Finally, she nodded. “Fine. But there are rules.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow. “Rules?”

“Yes.” Luna squared her shoulders, drawing herself up to her full height, which still left her head barely reaching his chest. “You stay on your side of the bed. No touching. And you tell me everything you learn—no holding back information.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite the gravity of their situation. Even in captivity, even facing demons and corruption and danger, she wasn’t going to be pushed around.

“Deal,” he said. “And in return, you tell me everything about your powers. How they work, what you can do with them.”

Luna hesitated only briefly before nodding. “Deal.”

They stood there, an arm’s length apart. Dominic’s wolf paced restlessly beneath his skin, demanding he claim their mate. But the man knew better. She hadn’t forgiven him for the past, and he hadn’t earned that forgiveness.

Not yet. But he would.