Page 25 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)

Luna took sure and quiet steps on the carpet as she walked back and forth in the safe house’s small living room. Through the windows, she could see the twilight sky painted blue and purple.

Adrian's news still rang in her ears. The organization remained infested with demons, their identities unknown except for Xavier and the corrupted priest. She now saw threats in every shadow, and the possibility of being attacked was very real with every sound outside.

She had felt secure in the safe house just days ago; it had felt like a true sanctuary, but now it felt like a trap that would soon spring.

Dominic seemed to have realized it, too.

"We can't stay here."

His voice echoed her thoughts as he entered from the kitchen. But simply knowing that was not enough.

Where would they go?

"They'll find us eventually." Luna crossed her arms.

"Not eventually. Soon. It's only a matter of time." Dominic was insistent.

"Then where do we go? Another cabin in the middle of nowhere?"

"It’s time to go home. To the Silverlight Valley Pack." Those last three words were the last she expected to come out of his mouth.

What?

The words hit Luna like a physical blow. Her breath caught, memories flooding back—the whispers behind her back, the cruel laughter, the isolation. She hadn't set foot on Silverlight Valley territory in six years.

"No." She would not return to the source of her trauma if she could help it.

"Luna—"

"I will not return to that place." Her voice lowered in her conviction. "That was my hell, and you want to take me back there?"

Dominic moved directly to face her. “I know what they did, and I know what it was like for you there. But right now, that seems like the lesser evil. We need the pack's protection."

"Protection?" Luna scoffed, turning away. "They never protected me before. Why would they start now?"

His hand caught her wrist, gentle but firm. "Because I'll make them."

Something in his tone caused her look up into his eyes. Something fierce burned behind those gray eyes, making her stomach flip and her magic hum.

Making her trust his words.

"The pack is the only place with the numbers to stand against Xavier if—when—he comes," Dominic continued. "And I…" He paused. "I'm still their alpha. Even if I've been away hunting."

"Do you really believe they'll take me in?" she asked. "A shiftless who's now a witch? I'm everything they despise."

Dominic's expression hardened. "They'll accept what I tell them to accept."

But Luna knew pack politics didn't work that way. Respect was earned, not commanded. Even for an alpha.

"We leave at dawn," Dominic said, releasing her wrist. "Pack what you need. And trust me, I won't let anyone hurt you. Not again."

She nodded once more to show she accepted his words. In a hurry, she made her way to her room, before the flutter in her chest could betray her.

A flutter she wasn’t sure came from fear or something far more dangerous.

* * *

The journey to Silverlight Valley territory took most of the day. Luna sat beside Dominic in their beaten SUV. They spoke little, but it was a comfortable silence. She spent most of the drive lost in memories of the pack she'd once called home.

Will they remember me?

As they crossed onto pack land, Luna felt it immediately, a familiar energy that called to her blood despite everything.

This is still home.

The pack compound hadn't changed much in six years. The main house—a sprawling log structure where the alpha family lived as well as the hall which served as the pack's gathering place—stood in a clearing surrounded by smaller cabins.

"Try and breathe, Luna," Dominic whispered, sensing her anxiety.

Luna obeyed, suddenly realizing she'd been holding her breath as she exhaled shakily. "I'm breathing. If I wasn’t, I’d be dead."

Liar.

“You didn’t even need that lie.” He saw right through her, like every other time. "Don’t you know you’re a terrible liar, Luna Mitchell?"

Before she could get a lick back, figures emerged from the main house.

Luna recognized Harrison Blackwood, Dominic's father and current alpha, his silver-streaked black hair unmistakable even at a distance. Beside him stood several Elders and members of the pack.

Dominic rolled the SUV to a stop, and for a moment, the two of them didn’t move.

"I need you to stay close to me," he said. "No matter what happens."

Need me?

Luna swallowed, adjusting the neckline of her blouse. "Where would I go anyway? For a walk?"

A ghost of a smile crossed his face before he masked it when stepping out of the car. Luna took one more deep breath to steady her nerves, and followed him.

Her boots touched Pack ground for the first time in six years, and Luna held her head high despite the weight of two dozen stares locked on her. Some faces she recognized—older now, harder—and others were new.

None looked welcoming.

"Dominic." Harrison stepped forward, his voice a deep rumble so similar to his son's. He looked at Luna for just a just a second before speaking to his heir. "It's been too long, son."

"Father." Dominic bowed his head slightly.

Harrison's nostrils flared subtly, and Luna knew he was taking in their scents, likely noting the bond between them. His eyes narrowed.

"You've brought a stranger onto pack land." It wasn't a question, and the underlying growl made Luna's skin prickle.

"Not a stranger," Dominic replied evenly. "My mate."

A murmur rippled through the gathered wolves. Luna’s cheeks felt hot under the intensity of their scrutiny. Her dark blue eyes met several shocked stares before lowering.

"Your mate?" Harrison's eyebrows shot up. "The organization allows such things now?"

"They were the ones who married us. However, the organization is compromised," Dominic said, his voice carrying across the clearing. "We're here because it's no longer safe elsewhere."

An older female, Elder Luna, remembered as Margaret stepped forward. "She smells of magic," she spat, as if the word itself were dirty. "Witch."

"Yes." Dominic's hand found the small of Luna's back. "And it’s her power that exposed the demonic corruption within the Hunting Organization."

Disbelieving whispers broke out. Luna kept her eyes forward, though she could feel the hostility radiating from the gathered wolves.

"This is ridiculous," a man to Harrison's left growled. "Since when do we harbor witches?"

"Since I say so," Dominic replied, his voice taking on an edge that made several wolves instinctively lower their gazes.

The man was not so easily cowed. "And who are you to say anything? You abandoned the pack to play hero with the hunter squad. Now you return with wild stories and a witch mate? She's probably enchanted you—"

Dominic moved so fast Luna barely registered it. One moment he stood beside her, the next he had the man by the throat, lifted several inches off the ground. He clawed at Dominic's forearm, his face rapidly reddening.

"Don’t make me say this again, Jacob. Luna is my mate," Dominic’s voice rumbled, dropping to that dangerous tone that sent shivers down her spine. "My wife. And you will show her the respect that position demands."

"Dominic." Harrison's voice cut through the tension. "Release him."

Everyone stilled and, in that moment, Luna actually thought Dominic might refuse his father. She could see in his clenched jaw and the vein pulsing at his temple that he wasn’t done punishing Jacob.

Then, after waiting a beat, when he believed he had made his point enough, Dominic lowered Jacob to the ground and came back to her side.

Jacob gasped, rubbing his throat. "She can't be trusted—"

"Enough." Harrison's command silenced him instantly. The alpha turned his calculating gaze to Luna. "You seem familiar, girl."

Luna forced herself to stand straight, summoning all her courage. "This is the pack that bore me," she said, all her strength going into steadying her voice. "Luna Mitchell."

Once she said her name, wolves exchanged glances and whispers while recognition changed Harrison’s expression.

"The shiftless one," someone muttered. "She couldn't change."

"Thought she died years ago…"

Luna flinched internally at each comment, old wounds reopening.

Nothing's changed here.

"She's stronger than any of you know," Dominic said, proudly at her side. His voice carried across the clearing, commanding attention. "Without her, I would still be their puppet, hunting innocent witches for demonic purposes."

His hand found hers, warm and surprisingly gentle. Luna's breath caught in her throat as he interlaced their fingers.

"Luna Mitchell is my true mate," he continued, his eyes sweeping the gathered wolves. "My wife by ritual. And I stand with her against anyone who would challenge that."

Wow.

The fierce declaration hung in the air. Luna stared up at him, shocked at how he could just summon the words that not only convinced the pack, but her, too. All of a sudden, she wasn’t sure this was still part of the protection he'd promised. It felt real.

How can he fake this?

Harrison studied them both for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he stepped forward and addressed the pack.

"My son has returned with grave news and with his mate," he said, his voice carrying the weight of alpha authority. "We will hear them out fully in council. Until then, they are under my protection."

He turned to Dominic and Luna. "This is always home to both of you."

With those words, the pack members began to disperse, but Luna could still feel their wary gazes. Harrison stepped closer to both of them when it was just three of them left.

"It appears there is a lot to discuss," he said. "Come inside." He nodded to Luna, a gesture not quite warm, but not hostile either. "Both of you."

Luna let out the breath she was holding as Harrison turned back to the main hose. She looked up at Dominic with a small smile forming on her lips. "Thank you."

"I owed you that much," Dominic whispered.

Of course. Owed me.

Those five simple words killed the fragile hope that had begun to bloom in her chest. This wasn't about her; there was no future.

To him, this was about the debt he felt he owed her and his guilt.

Luna pulled her hand from his. "Right," she said, her voice carefully neutral.

A the two of them walked into the Alpha house, she told herself it didn't matter. That she didn't care if his protection came from obligation rather than affection. That she wouldn't let herself hope for more.

She told herself her focus should be on stopping Xavier and his demons. About protecting other innocent witches that were being hunted.

But still Luna felt the ache in her chest.