Page 18 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)

The mattress dipped on one side as Dominic settled onto the bed beside her. Luna hugged the edge of her side, already feeling the heat radiating off his body. The cabin’s master bedroom suddenly felt impossibly small, the king-sized bed shrinking to the dimensions of a life raft.

This was ridiculous. It didn’t have to be weird.

She tugged at the borrowed T-shirt that barely reached mid-thigh. The cotton was worn thin from countless washes and soft, but it was not enough armor against the hard male body lying less than one feet away.

“You can relax,” Dominic said, his deep voice slicing through the silence. “I’m not going to touch you.”

Why?

Luna stiffened. “I didn’t think you would.”

Liar.

“Your body language suggests otherwise.” He wore only a pair of black sweatpants, his muscular chest bare and impossible to ignore.

Why was he so damn sexy?

Luna forced her gaze to the ceiling. “I’m just not used to sharing a bed.”

“With me, or with anyone?”

“Both.”

Dominic moved, and she felt the mattress adjust again. When she braved a look, she found him propped on an elbow, watching her with those eyes that saw through her every time.

“What was your life like?” he asked. “After you left the pack.”

“There’s not much to tell,” she said. “I ran. I hid. I survived.”

“You did more than survive,” Dominic countered. “Tell me more.”

“I moved around a lot at first,” she said after a long pause. “Three different towns before I found Oakridge. Changed my name to Lily Coleman. Dyed my hair.” She touched the brown strands self-consciously. “Did everything I could to become someone else.”

“Why a librarian?”

A small smile tugged at her lips despite herself. “Books were my only friends those first few months. Seemed fitting to surround myself with them.” She glanced at him. “What about you? What was your life like after I left?”

Dominic’s expression darkened. “I joined the Hunter Organization almost immediately. I felt I needed to punish myself instead of taking on my mantle as alpha. I worked my way up through the ranks. Fought. Killed.” His voice dropped lower. “Became exactly what they wanted me to be.”

“A weapon,” Luna whispered.

He held her gaze. “I thought I was protecting humanity. Ridding the world of evil. Becoming someone worthy of the power I was born with.”

Someone worthy.

The words echoed in her mind, stirring memories of their past, of moments when the young Dominic had shown kindness when no one else did.

“And?” she asked.

“And now I don’t know what I am.” The admission felt so genuine, and Luna felt a dangerous softening inside her.

Don’t.

She couldn’t afford to see him as just a vulnerable man.

“What was it like?” he asked suddenly. “Being completely alone?”

The question pierced something deep within her, something raw and unhealed. “Terrifying. Liberating.” She swallowed hard. “No one called me a pack failure anymore. No one looked at me with pity or disgust. But no one looked at me beyond my job, either.”

She hadn’t meant to reveal so much, but something about the way he was looking at her made her feel she could open up to him.

Dominic’s expression softened. “You were never a failure, Luna.”

Her chest tightened. “Don’t. Don’t say things like that now.”

“Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t change anything.” She sat up, the blanket pooling around her waist. “I spent my entire life being told that I was exactly that. A failure. That I wasn’t enough. I was mocked for not shifting. Treated like I was defective.”

The words poured out now, wounds reopening. “And you stood by and watched. You waited until I was at my lowest, until I’d lost my mother and had nothing left, and then you—” she cut herself off, unwilling to finish the thought.

Then you pushed me away.

But she didn’t say that.

Dominic sat up too, the space between them electric with tension. “Luna—”

“We should get some sleep,” she interrupted, lying back down and turning away from him. “If we’re going to convincingly play husband and wife while figuring out how many demons have infiltrated your organization, we’ll need to be rested.”

No one said anything after that. Finally, she heard him shift, felt the mattress settle as he lay back down.

“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly to her back, “I’m sorry.”

Luna squeezed her eyes shut against the burn of unexpected tears. “Sorry doesn’t erase the past.”

“No,” he agreed. “It doesn’t.”

The cabin fell silent except for the soft howl of wind outside and the steady rhythm of Dominic’s breathing. Despite her exhaustion, sleep remained elusive. Luna lay rigid, every movement, every shift, every sigh from the man beside her felt too close.

How did she end up here?

Eventually, her body’s need for rest overcame her restless thoughts and she drifted into a fitful sleep, dreams tangling with memories until she couldn’t tell which was which.

***

The first sensation Luna felt as she began to wake was warmth. Comfortable, enveloping warmth that made her want more. She hadn’t felt anything like this in a long, long time.

She shifted, pressing back against the solid heat behind her, sighing contentedly as strong arms tightened around her waist.

Wait. Arms?

Luna’s eyes snapped open. She looked down and saw the muscular forearm draped over her hip.

Oh no.

She was pressed against Dominic’s chest, her back to his front, one of his thighs wedged between hers. His face was buried in her hair, his breath warm against her neck.

Oh, no, no.

And there was something else. Something hard pressing insistently against her bottom. Heat flooded her cheeks as realization dawned.

That was his—

She needed to move. She needed to remove herself from his embrace before he woke up. Before she did something stupid like she was doing now, leaning into the sensation, like arching her back and pressing against him, like turning in his arms and—

“Luna?” His voice was sleepy, low and deep, sending shivers down her spine.

Too late.

She froze, not daring to move. “Yes?”

“Are you awake?” His lips brushed against her neck as he spoke, probably unintentionally, but the contact sent electricity racing through her body.

“Obviously,” she managed.

Nobody moved. Luna found it hard to slow her heart rate as her brain screamed at her to pull away and to push back against him.

“I should—” she began.

“Wait.” His arm tightened almost imperceptibly around her waist. “Just…give me a minute.”

The request hung in the air, loaded with implications. Luna found herself nodding, though he couldn’t see her face. She should have protested.

Because what? Why?

Instead, she lay still in his arms, acutely aware of every point of contact between them.

Especially his hard cock, unmistakable now, pressing firmly against her.

Shit!

Dominic rolled her onto her back, now on top of her in one fluid motion. His eyes looked full of desire, his black hair tousled from sleep making him look younger.

More like the Dominic she’d known years ago at Silverlight Valley.

Luna’s breath caught in her throat. The T-shirt had ridden up during the night, exposing her thighs.

One of Dominic’s hands rested on the bare skin just above her knee.

“You can always tell me to stop,” he said, still in his sleepy rough voice. “If you don’t want it, too.”

Well, that would be a lie.

Because she did feel it, despite her pain and everything that had happened between them; she still felt this unexplainable pull towards him.

“I can’t tell you that,” she admitted.

His eyes sparked, and she could see the wolf and man all at once. The sight sent a thrill through Luna that was equal parts fear and desire. His hand moved from her knee, traveling slowly up her thigh, and she knew she was damned.

“What do you want, Luna?” he asked, his lips now inches from hers.

What did she want?

She wanted to forget the last six years and that day and just surrender to the heat building inside her. She wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and pull him down against her. She wanted—

A piercing alarm rang just then.

Dominic rolled off her immediately, his expression quickly changing from desire to deadly focus. He quickly reached for the device on the nightstand that was emitting the harsh sound.

“What is it?” Luna asked, sitting up and tugging her shirt down over her thighs.

“There’s been a perimeter breach,” he answered, all traces of warmth now gone from his voice. “The compound’s under attack.”

He was already grabbing a tactical shirt from the dresser, pulling it over his head in one motion.

“Demons?” she asked.

“Possibly.” He strapped on a weapons belt. “Stay here. Lock the door behind me.”

Luna bristled at the command. “I’m not helpless.”

Dominic paused, his gaze sweeping over her. “You’re not dressed for battle.”

She glanced down at her bare feet.

“Fine,” she conceded. “But I’m not just going to sit here and wait to be killed if they break through.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He crossed to the closet and pulled out a smaller knife, tossing it to her. “I know you have your magic, but just as backup.”

Luna caught it with ease, the weight familiar in her palm. During her years in exile, she’d made sure to learn how to defend herself with more than just magic.

She had never needed to, but the option was always welcome.

The alarm continued blaring as Dominic moved to the door. He paused with his hand on the knob, looking back at her.

“We’re not finished with this conversation,” he said, voice low.

We were not having a conversation, sir!

Before she could respond, he was gone, the door closing firmly behind him.

Luna stood motionless in the middle of the room, the knife in one hand, the other pressed against her chest, feeling her thundering heartbeat. She could still feel the imprint of his body against hers and the heat from his touch on her thigh.

Focus, there are actual demons attacking.

Moving quickly, she put on the black tights and shoes she’d been wearing when they arrived. It felt good to be back in her sturdy boots.

Whatever happened, she would rather not face it dressed like a teenager at a slumber party.

The distant sound of gunfire reverberated through the cabin walls. Luna positioned herself beside the door, knife at the ready, and waited. She was done being a victim, done being the helpless outcast.

If demons came for her today, they’d find their deaths instead.

The cabin shuddered as something exploded nearby. Luna tightened her grip on the knife.

Let them come.

For the first time since Dominic had tracked her down at the library, she felt the stirring of something beyond fear and anger.

Power.