Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Chapter 184

Dominic’s POV

I stood by the office window, staring at the city lights without really seeing any of them.

Daniel knocked once and stepped inside. "Gemma moved into Eliza’s place today."

"Eliza’s back?"

Daniel stayed by the door. "She got back today. She’d been away from the territory handling some stuff."

"Call Anna. Ask when she and Lena will be done."

Daniel made the call. Anna said they needed another thirty minutes.

I grabbed my coat. "Tonight, find out from Anna what Lena talked to her about."

Daniel’s expression tightened right away. The bond between him and Anna was still new, and most of their conversations had been about schedules, meals, and everyday basics.

"I’ll try."

We drove to Blackstone Ridge and waited in the garage. A minute later, Anna’s car pulled in too. They got out, and I went over.

Hearing footsteps, they both turned.

"He’s been waiting for you the whole time," I heard Anna whisper to Lena as I approached. "As long as he doesn’t sever the bond, you’re his mate. End of story. Anyone trying to get in the way of that is the real problem, not you."

"I don’t care that much." Lena’s voice was flat, almost too calm.

Anna gave her a look. "You do care. You just don’t want to admit it. You’ve been in his life long enough that you’re probably already stuck in his heart. All you have to do is make him remember."

"Worry about your own bond first," Lena said. She wasn’t being mean. Just brutally honest. "Mine isn’t your business."

Anna went quiet.

I walked up to them, looked at Anna, then at Lena. Then I took Lena’s hand and, without saying a word, led her toward the elevator.

She tried to pull her wrist free. I tightened my grip.

She wasn’t going anywhere.

Anna and Daniel stayed behind.

Anna’s POV

I watched them disappear into the elevator—Dominic holding Lena’s wrist in an iron grip, while Lena’s face stayed unreadable, like nothing could crack through.

"Does he love her?" I asked Daniel as we walked toward our entrance.

"I don’t know."

"You’re a man. Can’t you tell?"

"I’m a man, yes, but I’m not an Alpha." Daniel held the door open for me. If he couldn’t verify something, he wouldn’t just make stuff up. That was so him it hurt.

I stopped and looked at him. "Wow. You are seriously no fun."

I walked in first. He followed, catching up in two long strides.

Inside the elevator, I stared at the changing floor numbers. Daniel swallowed, then finally spoke.

"Alpha won’t sever his bond with Lena."

I turned to him. "He told you that?"

"He said it before. And he meant it."

"What about Gemma? What does he think about her?"

"Gemma hasn’t approached him. He offered to arrange a place for her, but she turned him down. She moved in with Eliza instead." Daniel met my eyes. "In his mind, Lena still comes first."

"Gemma turned him down?" I raised a brow.

"Yes."

"Well, at least she’s got more sense than Eliza."

The elevator doors opened. Daniel unlocked the apartment.

"Anna, you’re the person Lena trusts most. Talk to her. Tell her to stop spiraling. Alpha Dominic is loyal to the bond. He won’t betray her."

I grabbed a throw pillow and dropped onto the couch. "She’s not trying to overthink on purpose. When a man’s first love suddenly shows back up in his life, anybody would feel shaky. I would too."

"You wouldn’t." Daniel’s tone was calm as ever. "I don’t have a first love."

I looked at him. "I wasn’t talking about us. I was making a general point."

"I know." He stood in the middle of the room and spoke about his romantic history like he was giving a patrol report. Totally flat, zero drama. "Before you, I never had a mate."

"So basically, you have no clue how to be in a relationship."

"I can learn."

I lifted an eyebrow.

"I learn fast," he added.

That made me laugh. I couldn’t help it.

Daniel was cold by nature, quiet, the kind of guy who treated words like they cost money. But every word he said was real. No fluff. No performance. No dodging. No mixed signals. Just the plain truth, straight up.

"Okay." I held out my hand. "Then I’ll learn too."

He walked over and took it.

I tilted my head back to look at him. "We’re both new at this. If I mess something up, try to be patient with me."

"Okay." He nodded.

I waited for more.

Nothing.

"That’s it?"

"I’ll do my best."

I let go of his hand, not sure whether I wanted to laugh again or smack him.

He noticed I wasn’t happy. Thought for a second. Then spoke.

"Anna."

Something in his voice made my back straighten on instinct.

"I don’t know how to say pretty things. I’m not charming, and I’m not romantic. I’m probably not the kind of man you imagined having as a mate." His gaze locked onto mine, steady and solid. "But I will give everything I have to protect you. My strength, my loyalty, my life—everything I am is yours."

My heart slammed so hard inside my chest I could feel it all the way in my teeth.

"Don’t say that." My voice shook, so I covered it with attitude. "Dominic saved your life. He should be the one you’re loyal to first."

"But you’re my mate. You matter most." His expression didn’t shift. "Above everything."

Lena’s POV

The whole elevator ride up, Dominic held my hand like he was afraid the second he let go, I’d disappear. I tried to pull free twice, then gave up. We stood shoulder to shoulder, fingers locked, his grip so strong there was no real point fighting it.

I still couldn’t read this man.

Sometimes he acted like I was the center of his whole world, like if he let go of me, he’d lose something vital. It wasn’t habit. It wasn’t routine. It was deeper than that. Bone-deep possession.

He didn’t love me.

But he refused to let me go.

No wonder I kept getting it twisted and mistaking that for love.

"What are you smiling about?" He squeezed my hand lightly. He’d caught the tiny smile on my face before I even realized it was there.

I looked up at him. "You wanna know?"

His eyes narrowed a little.

"I’m not telling you."

The elevator doors opened. Before we even reached the apartment, his phone rang. The second his attention shifted, I slipped my hand free and walked straight inside.

He answered the call and came in after me, kicking off his shoes with one careless motion. He glanced at me on the couch, then headed into the study.

At first I thought it was Gemma calling.

It wasn’t.

Work.

Anna texted me. She’d gotten the information out of Daniel and passed along everything he’d said: Dominic had no intention of severing the bond, Gemma had refused his help, and I was still the one he put first.

"Stop worrying. He’s not going to lose his mind over this."

I looked toward the study and typed back, "If you and Daniel ever run out of things to talk about, feel free to keep discussing me and Dominic."

"We already do. You two are our favorite topic, by the way."

I smiled at the screen.

Daniel was getting under her skin in the best way, bit by bit, even if neither of them had fully figured that out yet.

I sat on the couch for a while, then went to bed.

Sometime after midnight, I jolted awake because I couldn’t breathe.

Dominic’s mouth was pressed hard against mine, kissing me deep and hot like he wanted to swallow me whole, and his body had me pinned into the mattress.

I could only gasp through my nose, quick and sharp, dizzy and half trapped between sleep and the heavy weight of him.

"Dominic—"

He lifted his mouth from mine. His hand was already between my thighs, pressing over the fabric, testing, searching. His breathing was rough. There was sweat on his forehead.

"Go back to sleep," he said, voice ragged and wrecked.

I seriously wanted to curse him out. My brain hadn’t even caught up yet, and he’d already pushed my underwear aside, found his place, and thrust inside.

I bit down on his jaw.

Hard.

He didn’t pull back.

His hips drove forward anyway, pain from my teeth and pleasure from being inside me crossing on his face in a way that made my pulse go wild.

My mind was still hazy, but my body reacted faster than my anger did. He set the rhythm, and I got dragged under with it—arms around his neck, legs winding around his waist.

Afterward, I lay there with my eyes closed, limp and drained, my heartbeat slowly settling. His arm rested across my stomach, his breathing even against my shoulder.

At this point, I honestly had no idea what we even were anymore.