DOMINIC
I stormed out of the council room, the door slamming behind me with a satisfying thud. My chest was tight with anger, and the words I'd just spat in that room echoed in my mind. I had been clear. I had made sure they understood that no one—no one—would stand between me and Lena.
But the taste of triumph was bitter when I thought of her.
I had to get back to her. I had to see her.
As I crossed the courtyard, my gaze caught a flicker of movement by the paddocks. I froze.
There she was. Still with Evan.
His voice, loud and easy, rang out across the distance. "And you? The one Dom's been sneaking around with, hiding away from the rest of us? We've all noticed, Lena. So, what have you two been up to? Hmm?"
I clenched my fists at my sides, my pulse quickening, but it was her laugh that stopped me dead in my tracks.
That soft, melodic sound, one I hadn't heard often enough. It curled around my insides like a damn drug, and the sight of her head thrown back, eyes sparkling with mirth, hit me harder than I was prepared for.
Evan was leaning against the paddock fence, his posture too relaxed, his smile too wide. And there was Lena, standing there, relaxed, comfortable, as if she belonged. As if the walls between her and the rest of the pack had already come down.
I didn't want to feel jealous. I didn't want to be the possessive asshole that growled at every man who looked at her. But goddamn it, it hurt.
I was her mate. Her destiny. And yet here she was, laughing and joking with Evan like she hadn't even thought twice about it.
I knew she felt the bond.
But I didn't want to push. Not today. Not yet.
I was halfway across the courtyard before I realized I was practically rabid and foaming at the mouth.
I cleared my throat, forcing my body to relax, and took a few more strides, forcing myself to maintain a neutral expression. I couldn't let Evan see me struggling and risk him passing it on to someone else. I couldn't let anyone see how damn vulnerable she made me.
"Well, well," I said, my voice louder than I'd meant. "Having fun?"
Lena turned, startled at first, before her expression softened. Her eyes met mine, and I felt the warmth that always came with her gaze. But the smile she gave me was just a little too gentle. Too easy.
"Dom!" she said, the smile pulling across her face again as she stepped toward me. I faltered for a beat, unused to such an enthusiastic greeting from her.
Evan, of course, grinned like the damn cat who'd caught the canary. "Took you long enough," he said, his tone playful but knowing.
"Evan," I growled, not in the mood for his games. My eyes flicked back to Lena, her relaxed posture, the way she'd softened, the way she seemed so at ease with him.
The old, ugly jealousy flared again.
I didn't know why it bothered me so much. I trusted Lena. At least in this. I still wasn't sure she wouldn't run off the second there were no eyes on her, but I knew she was just being herself with Evan. He was her friend, after all. The problem was, I wasn't ready to share her. Not like this.
"Do you need something, Dominic?" Evan asked, the teasing edge to his voice still there, but I could see the wariness now, the slight tension in his shoulders. He knew something was off, felt the rift growing.
I took a deep breath and forced my tone to stay even, even though my insides were a storm. "No. I'm just here to take her inside. We need to—" I stopped myself, the words dying in my throat. What the hell were we supposed to do next? "We need to talk," I said finally, though it sounded lame even to my own ears.
Lena's gaze flicked to me, concern flashing in her eyes. But she didn't pull away. She didn't look uncomfortable.
"Okay," she said, her voice quiet. "I'll come inside."
She glanced at Evan then, and I saw the moment of hesitation, a flicker of something unspoken passing between them.
I forced myself to smile, my jaw tight. "Thanks for keeping her company," I said to Evan, though the words felt like they were being dragged from me.
"Anytime," Evan replied, the grin back in full force.
I turned away, not wanting to say anything more to him. It was me she was coming to, damn it. Me.
I should've been happy that she seemed so at ease with him, a step closer to joining the pack, having friends and a purpose among them. But I wasn't.
I was furious. Furious because she hadn't come to me for comfort and friendship. Because I wasn't the one she was laughing with. She wasn't mine in the way I wanted her to be, not yet, and that realization left a bitter taste in my mouth.
As we walked back toward the estate, I kept my distance. Lena kept her eyes on the ground, her hands clutching the cardigan tighter around her. I felt horrible that her cheerful demeanor had leached away almost immediately. I didn't know what was going on in her head, but I wasn't about to ask.
When we reached the steps, she hesitated before turning to me. "Dom..."
I looked down at her, every nerve in my body taut, wound up tight.
"What?" I said, more harshly than I'd intended.
She looked up, her eyes steady. "You're upset."
I swallowed hard, fighting the urge to snap at her, to tell her that I had a damn right to be upset. Instead, I softened my tone, knowing I had to keep it under control.
"I'm fine," I muttered. "Let's go inside."
But I wasn't fine.
And the silence that stretched between us as we walked inside felt more suffocating than any council meeting, any challenge, any threat to my pack.
It was the silence of a man who had no idea how to navigate the chaos inside his own chest. The silence of a man who had never once considered that his own mate might not feel what he felt.