Chapter 8 - Dominic
Seven years ago
Rain hammered down as Dominic cut across the trees towards the Hawthorne house. The storm made good cover. No one stopped the Alpha’s son from doing whatever he wanted, but that didn’t mean he liked being monitored.
The Hawthorne place sat at the edge of Skymist, a slant-roofed cottage caught between the coast and the forest. Light burned behind one window where every other house on the lane was dark. Dominic took the steps two at a time and knocked once.
The door opened. But it wasn’t Theodore who met him.
Layla stood there.
If she was scared, she didn’t show it. She’d done a good job these past months of hiding her fear from him. From all of them. Her chin was set in a stubborn jut, hazel eyes glaring in her heart-shaped face. Her long, honey-colored hair was thrown into a bun, and she tugged on the edges of her worn green knit cardigan, pulling it tight against her body.
If the action meant to conceal, it did the opposite. The fabric instead stretched over her wide hips and large breasts, the soft flesh at her waist yielding to the wool.
Dominic swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
“He’s not here,” she said, voice flat.
He started at her voice, blinking, before a scowl settled on his face. “We’re running drills.”
“He’s not here,” she repeated, knuckles white where she clutched the door.
Ah. So shewasscared.
He tried not to think too hard about the tightening in his stomach.
“Do you know where he went?” Dominic asked.
“How should I know?” she said. “He spends most of his time with you.”
He had no answer for that. So instead, he stepped forward, using his sheer size to force his way into the house. Layla gasped, throwing herself back against the wall as if his mere touch would scald her.
“Hey, what are you-”
“Theo!” he bellowed, voice shaking the walls, “Get your ass down here!”
“I told you already,” Layla squeaked, darting in front of him, “he’s not here, you’re going to wake the neighbors—”
He stooped down, baring his teeth. “I don’t give a fuck.”
Her mouth closed with an audible snap. For a moment, they stood there, too close, and without meaning to, his gaze dropped to her lips.
Fuck.
He didn’t know when it had started. When her flushed face and balled fists had turned from a source of amusement to something else. Something more primal. He knew he had been cruel to her. He couldn’t stop himself. Not when she reacted so deliciously.
He told himself he just relished the feeling of power it gave him to put her in her place. Because to even consider the alternative…
“You’re completely insufferable, you know that?” she said, pushing past him into the kitchen, “Just because you’re the son of the Alpha, it doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want!”
“On the contrary, mutt,” he said, “it means I can do whatever I want.”
Her eyes narrowed, her shoulders set square. “Don’t call me that.”
“What, mutt?”
She stared at him, a thousand emotions swimming across her eyes, before turning abruptly to the kettle. With methodical, slow movements, she began to make a cup of tea. He pretended not to notice her hands trembling.
