For a moment, he said nothing. The only sound was the wind against the glass and the faint rustle of her clothing as she shifted her weight.
“Sit,” he said finally, his voice low.
Layla didn’t answer, but the creak of the chair told him she obeyed.
He stared at the reflection in the window, her shape small against the cold light, her hands folded tightly in her lap. Her face was pale, her eyes bruised with exhaustion.
The silence stretched.
When he finally spoke, the words came out steady. Too steady.
“Tell me the truth, Layla. Did you perform witchcraft on me?”
The question hung in the air, heavy as stone.
Layla stiffened. He saw her reflection flinch. “I…I don’t know what you mean,” she said softly, but her voice wavered.
He turned then.
The movement was slow, deliberate. The study felt smaller with him facing her, the weight of his presence filling the space. He stepped forward, every inch of him carved from restraint.
“Don’t lie to me.”
Her breath caught. “Dominic—”
“Don’t,” he said again, sharper this time, “not to me. Not now.”
Her lips parted, then closed again. He could see the battle flickering behind her eyes, the instinct to deny, to protect herself, clashing with the pull of a command from her Alpha.
“I know what I saw,” he said quietly, “the cord in your hand. I felt dark magic crawling all over me.”
Her head snapped up at that, “It wasn’t like that,” she said quickly.
He took another step closer. “Then whatwasit?”
She hesitated, a heartbeat too long, her face falling as she realized he’d caught her in her lie.
Dominic’s jaw tightened, “You used witchcraft.”
Layla flinched as though he’d struck her. “I was trying tosave you!” she burst out, “You weren’t breathing…I thought you were…”
He didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
The words seemed to collapse under the weight of his silence.
Her voice dropped, trembling, “Julian said you were dying. I couldn’t just sit there and watch—”
“So you broke the law,” Dominic said, his tone low but trembling at the edges. “You brokeourlaws.”
She rose from her chair, her cheeks flushing with anger and shame, “What was I supposed to do? Wait for you to die?”
The words hit him harder than he expected.
He drew in a slow breath, forcing calm, “You know what witchcraft means in this pack,” he said, “you know why it’s outlawed. The power that witches wielded all those years ago, the devastation they caused. Even when their intentions were good. Magic always has a cost .”
Her eyes filled with tears, “I know exactly what it costs,” she whispered, “I’ve lived my whole life paying for it.”
The words stopped him cold.
