Chapter 20
Dominic:
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I stood in the hallway long after Lucy’s heels had clicked out of earshot. My hands were still clenched into fists, the tendons taut
beneath my skin, but it wasn’t her departure that had my blood simmering.
It wasn’t the woman who suddenly changed her mind about leaving to simply prove a point that annoyed me with what she was doing.
It was Eloise.
The Omega who had just stood up to Lucy with more strength than I thought she had. The girl who had defied me, who had made me
look weak without even trying. She hadn’t cowered or backed down. She had faced Lucy head–on, and the image of it replayed in my
mind, each time more unsettling than the last.
And that was not something that I liked. The strength that she believed that she could have was not one that I wanted to accept. It
wasn’t one that I wanted to look at, nor was it one that I was willing to forgive or just ignore. I needed to put a stop to it. Otherwise, I
knew that it was going to turn back and bite me in a way that I wouldn’t want to deal with.
I turned my attention back to Eloise, who remained by the glass window, staring
…… stain suriou that
he incubation room. Her back was to me, her
arms crossed over her chest as she stood, not saying a word. Isla lay inside, surrounded by tubes and monitors, the soft hum of
machinery creating a lull that felt almost safe. T
monitored by those who knew how to take care of her.
o me, at least, I knew that inside that
she was somewhat safe. She was being
If anyone knew that Eloise couldn’t do it, then it was going to be me. I still found myself wondering how she expected to be taking
care of her alone. The woman couldn’t take care of her when she was inside her, I didn’t know how she assumed that taking care of a
baby…
However, it wasn’t the only thing that bothered me about her today…
Eloise’s reflection in the glass showed none of the fear I had expected. She was not the same frightened Omega that I knew. There was
no concern in her eyes, and I could see that she wasn’t worried about the consequences of the limits that she crossed.
Her expression was calm, almost serene, but I could see the way her hands gripped the windowsill, knuckles white. She was holding
herself together by a thread. That was something that I knew very well. “You are staring, Dominic.”
My footsteps were deliberate as I closed the distance between us. I half expected her to flinch, to move away, but she remained as still
as stone. She didn’t even turn to look at me as she spoke.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, my voice a controlled growl. “What kind of game do you think you’re playing, Eloise?”
Her head turned slightly, enough for me to see the edge of her profile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And there is no game that I am playing.”
“Don’t play games with me, Eloise.” I moved closer, my breath fanning the back of her neck. “I heard you. I saw you. Don’t think that me sending Lucy away means that I favored you over her.”
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Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t respond. Her heart raced as she stared into space, as if trying to ignore everything that I was saying. Normally, I would have ignored it, I might have let her get away with it. But now, I had no intention of doing so.
“You think you can just go around threatening my Luna?” I asked, snapping at her. “Do you think that I am going to let you get away
with it?”
She let out a soft, bitter laugh. “Your Luna?”
“Lucy is still the rightful Luna of this pack.”
Eloise tumed fully now, her back against the glass. Her eyes, shadowed with exhaustion, held a spark that I hadn’t noticed before.
“Then why did she leave? Why was she running away until she saw me?” She asked, shaking her head in question.” Why didn’t you
defend her? Why just watch in silence?”
opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. She was right. Lucy had been halfway out the door, but the moment she had laid eyes on Eloise, something had shifted. She wasn’t going to leave because she was playing the game of stubborn. But I knew this, it
was not going to end well.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, shaking off the thought. “What matters is that you stay in line. You have a place here, and I suggest you
remember it. And if you think that I am going to ignore every stunt that you try to play, then you are going to be in for a bigger surprise
than you’re going to want to deal with.”
“My place? Stunt?” She straightened, her shoulders squaring as if bracing for impact. “And what place is that, Dominic? The Omega
you use to keep your daughter here? The woman you threaten to leave while holding her child hostage? I do not want to stay here, not for a minute. However, you are drawing a line, one that says that I have to stay unless I want to lose my daughter. And trust me when I
say, I would rather take my last breath than lose her to you, or anyone for that matter. Therefore, be kind enough to explain to me what
my place is, it seems to me that I didn’t know I needed to have a different one than I already do.”
The accusation stung, a sharp reminder of the choices I had made. But I didn’t let it show. Instead, I stepped closer, closing the gap
between us until there was barely an inch between our bodies.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “Your place is wherever I say it is. And if I decide that you stay here, that you raise Isla under my roof, then you will
do exactly that. If not, then by all means, you are going to leave, and you’re going to do it alone.” Her breathing hitched, but she didn’t
look away. “You can’t force me to be something I’m not. And if you want to try to separate me from my daughter, then you are in for a
game that you are not going to like, Dominic.”
“Can’t I?” I leaned in, my voice dropping to a whisper. “You seem to forget, Eloise. This is my pack. My rules. You may have grown a
backbone, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are here on my terms. And if you think that you are going to stand in front of me
and face me because you’re relying on Alpha Thorne, then you’re very wrong. Father might like you, but he is no longer Alpha here… I
am.”
Her eyes glistened, but not with tears. Anger. Defiance. She was like a cornered animal, desperate and dangerous. “You think you hold
all the cards,” she said. “But you forget one thing.”
I arched a brow, my interest piqued despite myself. “Enlighten me.”
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“I didn’t fight back today because of Isla.” She took a slow, deliberate breath. “But if you think for a second that I won’t fight for her, that
I won’t do whatever it takes to protect her from you, from Lucy, from anyone… then you don’t know me at all.”
Her words hung in the air, sharp and undeniable.
A slow smirk curved my lips, but the amusement didn’t reach my eyes. “You’re brave, I’ll give you that. But bravery only gets you so far,
Eloise. Don’t make the mistake of believing it makes you invincible.”
She didn’t flinch. “I don’t need to be invincible. I just need to be her mother.”
I stared at her, the silence between us growing heavier with each passing second. There was a part of mem small, buried beneath
layers of resentment and anger, that almost admired her strength. But admiration had no place here. Not when my entire world was
teetering on the edge of chaos.
Without another word, I turned away, my movements controlled and deliberate.
“You’ll stay here until I say otherwise,” I said over my shoulder. “And if I find out you’ve caused any more trouble, if you so much as look
at Lucy the wrong way… I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“And trust me when I say, I am the last person that you are going to want to deal with when
it
comes to that…”
