Page 36 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)
He changed strategies, becoming unpredictable, calling on instincts rather than training. The demon faltered, not expecting the sudden shift in fighting style. Dominic pressed the advantage, driving the creature back toward where Kieran waited with a silver blade coated in blessed oil.
With a single, flawless stroke, the sword flashed and separated the demon's head from its body. After giving Dominic a somber nod, Kieran turned to help another pack member with the third demon.
An advantage of the magic inherent in the changes of born shifters, Dominic's tactical vest and pants reformed when he transformed back into human form as he concentrated.
His side was slashed with blood, yet the wounds were already starting to mend.
"Secure this breach," he commanded the fighters closest. "Here, double the guard. They'll give it another go."
He hit the transmitter button. "Luna, all good?"
The only response he got was static. As he tapped the device once more, a feeling of cold dread gathered in his stomach. "Luna? Roman? Report!"
Marcus's voice broke through, frantic and out of breath. "Dominic, they've broken through the central barricade. Roman's down. Xavier's heading straight for the command platform."
Luna.
Dominic broke into a run, shifting back to wolf form for speed.
Ignoring the pain from his wounds, he charged straight through the forest, aiming for the quickest path to the central defense point.
Battle noises filled the air around him—growls, shouts, and the sharp sound of weapons built to disable shifters.
He crashed out of the tree line and found a scene of utter chaos.
The barricades once built now lay in ruins.
Pack members were locked in fierce fights against hunters and demons alike.
At the center of the chaos, Xavier stood at the bottom of the command platform, his arm outstretched toward Luna, who still stood above on the raised platform.
Darkness flowed out from Xavier's fingers. It wasn't just shadow, but something heavier something that warped the air as it moved. Luna pushed it back with a barrier of glowing golden- white light. Her grimoire lay open in front of her, and her other hand traced symbols that lit up with energy.
Dominic darted across the battlefield like a blur. Xavier noticed him at the last moment and moved fast enough to dodge most of the attack. Even so, Dominic's jaws clamped onto the demon's arm snapping through bone and muscle.
Xavier didn’t yell. Instead, he laughed. The sound broke into Dominic’s mind like frozen needles. With a strength that shocked him, he grabbed Dominic’s wolf form by the scruff and flung him aside.
Dominic slammed into the platform’s base. The hit sent shards of wood spraying everywhere. He shifted back into his human form, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead while more seeped through his vest from the reopened wounds on his side.
Dominic stood back up and stepped between Xavier and the platform, where Luna stayed focused on her magical defense. "I know who I’m fighting to protect."
Xavier’s mangled face curled into something that might have been a grin. "Do you? The witch has you spellbound, just as I warned she would." He glanced up at Luna. "She's quite powerful—more than I anticipated. But power attracts power, doesn't it? Creates new life from it."
New life? What is he—
Understanding struck like lightning. Luna's sickness. Her protective gesture toward her stomach. The strange new quality to her scent that he'd attributed to her growing magic.
She's pregnant. With my child.
The realization staggered him, giving Xavier an opening that he instantly exploited. Darkness struck out, this time straight at Dominic rather than Luna. Like living smoke, it burrowed itself beneath his skin and hit him in the chest.
In quest of the corruption it had previously sown in his soul, the darkness tore through him with pain he had never experienced before. Dominic went to his knees, doing everything he could to repel the attack.
Xavier said, "Stop resisting," as if speaking from inside his own skull. "Remember how good it felt to surrender to your darkest impulses? The power it gave you? The clarity?"
He was struck by memories of the icy joy he had experienced while hunting witches, the ruthless joy in their terror, and the moral conviction that had underpinned all the horrors. These recollections were intensified by the darkness, which transformed them into something alluring.
This isn't me. This was never truly me.
"Dominic!" Luna's voice cut through. He sensed her close, felt her kneeling by his side even though the darkness in his vision stopped him from seeing.
"Stay back," he growled, his voice rough. "You'll end up infected too."
"Let me help," she begged, her hands brushing his face warm against the chill of his skin. "Let me in."
The bond they shared throbbed like a faint light in the shadows. Dominic latched onto it, focused on her, trying to resist the pull of Xavier's control.
Inside, Dominic felt his grip slipping. The wolf within him thrashed in furious desperation. The chaos of the battle raged on, but it felt far away, overshadowed by the fight inside him.
"Dominic, you need to hear me." Luna's tone turned sharp and pressing. "Think about who you are. Think about what we discovered together."
She pressed her hands over his chest right where his heart beat. A strange warmth spread from her touch, something pure and untouched by any shadow of darkness. It pulsed through their bond as mates, making it stronger and flowing like a channel between them.
"What is she doing?" Xavier's voice broke with something new—hesitation, maybe fear. Dominic had never heard that from him before. "End her, Dominic! Do it now!"
The command echoed in his head, pushing him to act. His hand started moving without his control, wrapping around Luna’s neck. Panic rose inside him as he felt his grip begin to close.
"Luna," he gasped, his body betraying him. "You need to run!"
She didn’t move away. Instead, she leaned in closer, her blue eyes steady on his. "I trust you," she said. "Take my magic. Use it if you must."
A surge of magic shot through him. It wasn’t just hers—it was theirs. It carried the essence of both of them and the fragile new life she carried. It burned like fire, not just destroying but cleansing, chasing away every speck of darkness.
Xavier let out a scream, this one raw and loud. It wasn’t just inside his head anymore. It was filled with fury. "What…what have you done?" he roared.
Dominic stood pulling Luna up alongside him, their hands still clasped. Silver-blue light shimmered around them, weaving in glowing strands that wrapped their bodies together.
"You craved my darkness," Dominic said. His voice was calm even though pain still surged through him. "But you forgot about her light."
He pulled strength from Luna's magic, channeling it into himself and hurling it outward in a concentrated burst. The energy hit Xavier right in the chest, forcing him to stumble back as cracks split across his human form like shattered glass.
"This can't be happening," Xavier growled, his voice warping as his true self started to emerge. "No witch can wield power like this!"
"That's where you are right, because she isn't just a witch," Dominic said as he stepped forward with Luna walking beside him. "She's my true mate. The mother of my child." Each word strengthened him, strengthened them both. "And you will never touch either of them."
Another pulse of magic, stronger than the first, ripped through Xavier's human facade. The handsome face split along invisible seams, revealing glimpses of something ancient and terrible beneath—scaled skin, multiple eyes, a maw lined with needle-like teeth.
Dominic felt Luna falter slightly beside him, the continuous output of magic taxing her strength. He squeezed her hand, lending her his own energy through their bond.
"Together," he murmured.
She nodded, determination hardening her features despite her exhaustion. "Together."
They raised their free hands in unison, directing the combined force of their power at Xavier's deteriorating form. The magic struck with physical force, tearing away the last vestiges of his human disguise.
What stood before them now bore little resemblance to the mentor Dominic had once revered. Towering over them, Xavier's true form was a nightmare of twisted limbs and undulating flesh.
“Now go hide,” Dominic told Luna.
He was grateful she obeyed him this time and retreated to her secret spot.
Multiple eyes blinked across a face that seemed unable to settle on a single configuration. Wings—not two but six—unfurled from its back, blocking the morning sun.
Around them, the fighting stuttered to a halt as both pack members and corrupted hunters stared in horror at the revealed demon. As though they were afraid of what Xavier really was, even the smaller demons appeared to recoil from his actual appearance.
The demon screamed, "Impossible," as his actual form appeared in a dazzling golden-blue glow, revealing every horrifying feature of his demonic face to everyone.
“You assumed it was impossible,” Dominic said coolly. “And what was that you used to say about assumptions?”
Assumptions kill, old master.