Chapter 20 Mine
Mine
Dom
The palms of my hands burn as my knuckles tighten around the pool cue. Jasmira and her date are preparing to leave, and now I see this asshole’s hand splay possessively across the small of her back. That black dress hugs every curve and will haunt my dreams forever.
And she’s gone. Disappearing through the exit. A feral growl builds inside my throat. My wolf claws inside my chest, wondering why another man is touching her and why I am not.
She’s mine.
I hadn’t planned to wait for her outside the restroom, but after we kept eye-fucking one another from across the bar, I needed to speak to her. Each time she looked at me, I could feel her pulse quicken, my own heartbeat racing in response.
The sweetened scent of her arousal wrapped me in a tight fucking hold when she was standing there, back pressed against the wall.
Every touch, every stroke of her hand learning my body had my wolf on fire.
I had to redirect the blood flow of my erection that was growing, straining against my pants.
All I wanted was to press my body against her, using the wall for balance, wrap her legs around my waist, and sink my fangs into her neck with me buried inside her—locked in and never letting go.
If no one had come down the hallway to interrupt us, would she have kissed me?
I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. This is a mess.
I am a mess. Jas is gone now. I should head home, too.
There’s no sense in staying here. I wanted a night out.
Shoot some pool, have a drink. My Sense told me it would be good to come here.
Maybe I needed to relax after all that’s happened. Or maybe I needed to see this.
I get what she’s doing. She wants to keep living her life. She’s confused, she’s hurt, and she’s frustrated, and I get it. I understand, but try telling my wolf that.
Suddenly, my pulse accelerates.
“Please stop.” I hear the whisper, I smell the fear.
Jasmira. She’s all I can think of as I race out the door.
My vision burns as my eyes shift, blazing with the fire of a thousand suns when I see them near her car in the parking lot. His filthy fucking hands are on her. She told him to stop, and he is still touching her.
“Hey, asshole!” I shout, my fangs are already growing. “She said stop.”
“Hells—” the fucking prick mutters.
“I can send you there if you want,” I growl, feeling my wolf standing on the edge, “in pieces.”
My bones immediately stretch, spine curving, muscles swelling beneath my shirt until the seams split. A deep snarl ruptures from my chest and rumbles through the parking lot.
My limbs elongate, joints cracking as thick black fur bursts along my arms and shoulders, tearing through the skin.
My fingers lengthen, claws pushing free from the tips, long and curved.
I tear away any last traces of flesh and tossing them aside.
My boots split apart under the force, leather ripping as my feet grow into broad paw pads, shifting into a digitigrade stance, with long toes, each tipped with a claw.
I flex my fingers as heat coils in my chest, feeling every sinew in my hand tighten. Gleaming obsidian claws catch the glow of the crimson moonlight.
Taking a few steps, my claws dig into the ground. Then I drop, my hands and legs folding into a lethal stance—and I run.
“Dom—” she says, voice trembling, but it’s too late.
He doesn't have time to react before my hand snaps out, fisting his collar and lifting him clear off the ground as I rise to my full height like he weighs fucking nothing. He is nothing. A worthless bloodsucker looking for a woman to manipulate, use, and throw away.
My entire being vibrates, fist clenching as anger crashes through me like ice splintering through my veins. This asshole thinks he can harass women, specifically, my mate…after she told him no. She’s bound to me.
A roar explodes deep inside me. The vampire’s eyes go wide as saliva flies into his face, legs kicking to reach the ground. His fangs slip out not in threat but in pure, pathetic fear. His nails claw at my arm, but he can’t pry me off. He isn’t strong enough.
I lean in close, my muzzle brushing the side of his pale throat. His scent curdles with panic, and I want to dance in it. He should be afraid. Jasmira is mine.
He shudders, voice cracking. “I-I wasn’t—I didn’t touch—”
Liar.
I snap my jaws an inch from his face, and he screams. The sound is satisfying. If I didn't know any better, I'd think my wolf is smiling.
He squirms, still kicking uselessly while I show him each of my teeth. I could rip his fucking throat out before he blinks. I'm hungry for it. My tail waves back and forth in anticipation.
“Dominik,” Jasmira whispers, voice shaking but steady enough to reach into the rage coursing through me and wrap a hand around my heart. I let out a low snarl, my head slowly turning towards her.
She stands a few feet away, arms wrapped around herself, chest rising and falling with uneven breaths.
Fear ghosts across her features—but not fear of me.
No. She’s scared of what he was doing, of what he would have done if I wasn't here, but under it all, there is something else.
Something warm. Something drums at the center of my chest hard enough to make my muscles tremble.
Her eyes flick to my hand still wrapped around his collar. “Dom, let him go.”
The vampire nods frantically. I snarl at him for fucking breathing around her, but she did ask nicely, and I don’t want to scare her by what I truly want to do to him.
I drop him, letting him hit the pavement. He scrambles backwards, and he’s gone in a flash. A speeding blur disappearing into the night.
Turning to face her, my breath still comes too fast, too hot. I want to wrap her in my arms, mark her, and claim her. But she’s standing here. Looking at me like I didn’t terrify her date into running for his life. Looking at me, knowing I would kill for her.
Her lips part. “Thank you.”
The words slam into my chest. My ears flatten. My tail lowers. I shift my stance without thinking, trying to look smaller, showing her I would never hurt her.
She takes a few steps toward me, and my lungs freeze when she lifts a hand. I don't want her to be scared of me, so I stand as still as I can and breathe. But it’s getting harder to breathe around her.
Her fingertips gently touch my muzzle, and her touch is soft and warm. It's everything I’ve been craving since the moment she touched me at the bar.
I lean into her, enough for her to hear the heartbeat thundering in my chest, and the bond yanks, like it's bending into place. It burns through my veins, dragging every instinct I have to the surface, screaming at me to seal it.
I can’t. Not like this. Not when she hasn't chosen me. Not when she’s still afraid and trying so damn hard to be brave by the decision fate has made for us.
A low sound spills out of my throat—half-growl, half-whimper. She gasps softly, pulling her hand away, the motion causing me to jerk back.
Her teary eyes go wide. “Dominik?”
I can’t stay. If I stay, I’ll lose control.
I take a few steps away, throwing my head back to let the howl tear free at the red crescent moon above us. It's a raw, aching, and desperate sound. A call for her. Before I turn and run.
I slam my car door, grab my bag I packed before coming over, and pace the large porch of my parents' house. My pulse won’t settle.
My wolf is fire under my skin. Pacing with me, clawing at me.
Wanting me to return to her. I had to leave.
I would have shifted back and claimed her on the hood of the car.
The bond is too new, too loud, and too damn demanding right now. No way in the fucking hells was I going to take her for the first time in a cold parking lot. As painful as it is on this soul-tie to be apart from her, I had to distance myself to protect her, respect her.
It’s after midnight, and my parents have always said if I need them, call them, so I drove here instead.
The light flickers on inside before the door swings open, my parents filling the frame.
Warmth flows out the door, and the sweet aroma of butter and cinnamon still lingers in the air. Grandma’s cinnamon rolls.
Both Mom and Dad are in their pajamas and large matching black robes. Like me, Dad towers over her. A black bonnet covers her curls. His salt and pepper locs fall past his shoulders.
“Dominik?” she asks, soft-eyed from being awakened. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Her brows narrow with concern.
“Hey, Mom. Dad.” I run both hands through my locs. “I’m sorry. I needed to see you guys.”
Dad steps aside immediately. “When you're pacing like that, it’s either trouble or a woman.”
I huff a humorless breath. “Both. And neither. I don’t know.” I shake my head and let my legs carry me forward. My eyes move to the small living room and the crackling fireplace.
I grunt—my eyes closing as I grit my teeth. The pressure hits again, a pulse vibrating deep within. My wolf surges, shoving against my control.
Go to her. Claim her.
The voice is instinct-filled with heat and primal need. There is nothing human about it. My jaw clenches, shoving it down as I sit on the sofa.
Dad studies me. “I’m going to make some tea and get us all settled before we get some sleep. Your eyes keep flashing, son. We can tell you’re fighting him.”
He turns to go into the kitchen. I hear the ticking of the gas stove, the opening of the cabinet doors.
“Because if I don’t fight him,” I say to my mother, my voice low, “he’ll drag me back to Everly Hollow and put me on her doorstep. He wants her. And I—I shouldn't want her." My chest tightens.
“Jasmira? A human mate?” Mom asks, sitting beside me, her hands clutching her robe.
I sigh. “Yeah.”
Her expression softens instantly. “Oh, honey. I had a feeling, my Bloodsense told me the Blood Rose Moon had a strong purpose this year. You shouldn’t be alone. You deserve to be loved, my son, because you have given so much of it.”
She reaches out, her hands cradling my face as her thumbs smooth over my beard. “You know we adore Jasmira. Plus, we want cubs—grandbabies, and Seren is the first.”
I roll my eyes at her, but she responds to it with a smirk. The kettle whistles lightly, and soon Dad is back with a tray of four mugs on saucers, a teapot, and a small plate of a gooey cinnamon bun with a fork.
He shakes his head slowly, pouring tea smoothly into each mug. “It all sounds complicated.”
My dad told me when I was younger that making tea is a great way to say you love someone. Pour two cups, sit, and talk it out.
I laugh, but it’s brittle and ugly. “Complicated? She was his wife! And he was my brother in all but blood. And now I’m bonded to her. We’re chosen.” The words break me open, and all the guilt held back spills out. “But she’s not mine to take.”
The silence falls heavy and thick, suddenly broken by the sound of a cane tapping the hardwood.
Our heads turn to see Grandma shuffling into the room, her white nightgown dragging on the floor behind her, with her deep purple robe. Her hair is wild, tight silver curls around her face.
“I knew something was stirring in the air tonight.” She settles into the couch. “That howl of yours cracked the damn wind itself.”
“Grandma, I’m sorry—” I say, pausing for a moment. They heard my howl.
“Don’t apologize, and yes, we heard it. Your soul longs for hers, Dominik. Did she see the Crimson Moon? You see it too?”
My hands run down my face before I bury my face into them, muffling out a yes.
“And did you choose her?”
My throat works around the truth when I look up. Seeing the face of my grandmother. Her eyes are rimmed in silver moonlight.
“I chose to protect her, I swore to always protect them both. But the rest…that’s her choice.
She deserves that much. More than anyone.
I will not force this upon her. But I can’t control this—” My hands claw at my shirt.
“—this beast! He wants her, and she isn’t ready.
She may never be ready,” I whisper. My head feels heavy in my hands, like a throbbing boulder.
She clicks her tongue, a sharp, disapproving sound that echoes in the quiet room. Tilting her head slightly, her eyebrows raise. “This isn’t betrayal.”
“Sure feels like it.”
“No,” she says firmly. “What you feel is grief tangled with destiny. You’re not stealing his place. Fate has made space for yours. The Goddess is showing you, Dominik. Jasmira is ready for love.”
Dad clears his throat and takes a seat on the armrest of the couch. “Son, he’d want her safe. He’d want her to be loved.”
“I’m doing that now, Dad.” My head shakes in disbelief. “This is not the same. This is different,” I murmur.
Mom cups my cheek, my head turning towards hers, into the warmth of her hand. “It isn't that much different.”
I growl, and the deep ache of longing inside is growing.
My grandmother leans forward, laying a wrinkled hand over mine. “The bond will demand. It will force the two of you together. But you can try to take it slow. Walk it at her pace. Give her a chance to let her heart speak before your wolf does. But it will be difficult, exhausting, and painful.”
I close my eyes, pain cracking through my chest. I tried doing that, taking it slow. We spent days not seeing one another, until I followed her scent, and the tug of her soul to her date night at the bar.
Fighting that asshole in the parking lot, seeing her eyes when she reached out to touch me, the desperation I felt in her heart, I had to give myself space too.
I’ll call her soon, but I need to stay here for the weekend, regardless of how pissed off my wolf is.
I'll talk to her on Monday when both our heads are clear.
“I don’t want to hurt her,” I say softly, my eyes landing on each of their faces.
“You won’t,” Grandma says. “Love can hurt, but it can heal. You know how you feel about her, but for now, let her decide what it is she wants.”
I bolt upright, drenched in a cold sweat. The past day of being here with my family, something hasn't been sitting right.
My chest aches something fierce. Bile surges up my throat as I lurch toward the bathroom, slamming my shoulder against the doorframe.
The faucet knob slips in my shaking hand before I manage to turn it on, throwing cold water, gasping as it hits my face.
I grab the hand towel and pat my face, willing myself to breathe.
What is happ—
A burning sensation explodes through my ribcage, each heartbeat is agony through my veins, intensifying with each staggered breath.
“FUCKING HELL!” The words tear from my throat. Invisible talons wrap around my heart, squeezing my soul in a grip so intense, I can’t move. My vision tunnels as the pain pulses, fading to the rhythm of my thundering heartbeat.
I collapse on the cold tile of the bathroom floor. What the fuck?
Jasmira.
Her name flashes in my mind like a warning. Something is wrong. I know it.