Dominic kept his tone even. “This isn’t how I wanted it to happen.”
“Oh, really?” she said, laughter cutting sharply. “You humiliate me in front of the entire pack, and thisisn’t how you wanted it?”
He met her glare and said nothing. There was no answer that wouldn’t make it worse.
Theodore turned on him next, disbelief cracking through his composure. “What the hell are you doing, Dom? You can’t…she’s my sister. You can’t just claim her like—”
“I already have.”
The words came too easily.
Theodore’s face hardened. “You didn’t even tell me. You—”
“This isn’t up for debate,” Dominic said.
“It damn well is!” Theodore took a step forward, the wolf in him stirring. “You blindsided her, the pack, me—why her? You could’ve—”
Layla cut in, her voice sharp and cold. “Because he can.”
The silence that followed was deafening
Dominic turned to her, jaw tight. “You think this is about power?”
“What else would it be?” She took a step closer, close enough that he could see the small tremor running through her hands. “You rejected me once, Dominic Volkhov. Don’t you dare pretend you’re doing this for anyone’s good but your own.”
Theodore froze, eyes flicking between them. “What are you talking about?”
Layla didn’t look away. “Tell him.”
Dominic felt the room tilt, an old memory pressing at the edges of his mind. Rain on the window, her hand against his chest, the sound of his own name caught between her teeth.
“Theo,” he started, “this isn’t—”
“Tell him!” Layla shouted, the words cracking under their own weight.
He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, steadying his voice. “It was years ago.”
Theodore stared. “You…” He couldn’t seem to find the rest of the sentence. “You were with her?”
Dominic didn’t flinch. “It was a mistake.”
Layla let out a humorless laugh. “Seven years later, and you’re still exactly the same.”
Theodore’s expression shifted, anger overtaking disbelief. “You think you can just—” He broke off, breathing hard. “You used her, Dom. And now…now you drag her in front of the pack like—”
“Stop it.” Layla’s voice, quiet but cutting, sliced through the rising fury. Both males turned to her.
“Don’t you dare act like you care, Theo,” she said. “You’ve spent years pretending I don’t exist unless it’s to remind me of your stupid rules.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Neither is this,” she said, “but here we are.”
Theodore looked at her, something breaking in his face. “You don’t understand what this means.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly,” she said, her eyes sliding back to Dominic. “He gets to save face. The noble Alpha’s son,taking pity on the pack’s weakest link. No pesky treaties or negotiations required. A nice, quick show of strength.”
“That’s not why,” Dominic said.
