Dominic POV
My wolf is screaming.
Not metaphorically. Actually yelling inside my head, clawing at my control, trying to burst free right here in this elevator.
MATE! MATE! PROTECT MATE! SHE'S LEAVING! STOP HER!
I fight to keep my face calm while my insides are ripping apart. Maya is pressed against the elevator wall, her brown eyes big with fear. She can see it—the gold bleeding into my eyes, the fangs I can't quite hide.
Eight months. I've controlled myself for eight months. And now it's all coming apart because she tried to sneak away during my lunch meeting.
Where was she going?
"I asked you a question, Miss Chen. " My voice comes out rougher than I mean. The dog is too close to the surface. "Where are you going?"
"L-lunch," she stammers. "Just lunch."
Lie. I can smell lies—it's one of my skills as an alpha wolf. Her smell changes when she's not telling the truth, turns sour like unripe fruit.
"You're lying." I step into the elevator. The doors close behind me, trapping us together in this small room. Bad plan. Her smell fills my nose—jasmine and old books and something uniquely Maya. My wolf purrs with pleasure. Close to mate. Good. Keep mate close.
"I'm not—"
"Your heart rate just jumped. Your pupils widened. You're sweating." I list the signs like I'm reading a report, trying to stay professional. Trying not to think about how badly I want to pull her against me and never let go. "Who were you meeting?"
Her jaw sets in that stubborn way that makes my wolf want to howl with pride. Strong mate. Brave mate.
"That's none of your business."
Wrong answer.
I hit the emergency stop button. The elevator jerks to a stop between floors. Maya gasps, grabbing the railing.
"Everything you do is my business," I say quietly. Too quietly. "You work for me. That means I need to know where you are, what you're doing, who you're talking to."
"That's crazy! You can't control my lunch break—" " Someone contacted you. " I don't know how I know this, but I do. Some instinct deeper than reasoning. "Someone sent you a message. What did it say?"
The blood drains from her face. Bingo.
"How did you—" She stops. Swallows. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Another lie. The sour smell makes my wolf snarl.
I take another step closer. She's stuck between me and the elevator wall. I can hear her heart pounding. Can see the pulse jumping in her throat. Every predator sense in me zeros in on that vulnerable spot.
Bite. Claim. Mark. OURS.
No. God, no. I can't. " Maya. " Her name tastes like honey on my tongue. I never use her first name. Too close. Too dangerous. But my power is slipping. "Whatever they told you, whoever they are—they're lying. They're trying to use you to get to me."
"Why would anyone want to get to you?" Her voice shakes, but she doesn't back down. "What are you?"
There it is. The question I've been fearing for eight months.
I should lie. Should make up some reason for the glowing eyes, the fangs. Contacts. Dental work. Anything.
But I'm so tired of lying to her.
"You should be more specific," I say instead. "Do you want to know what I am? Or do you want to know why I've been mean to you since the day we met?"
She blinks. "Both."
Fair enough.
"I'm a shifter. A wolf." The words feel like pulling teeth. "And you're my fated mate."
Silence. Long, horrible quiet.
Then Maya laughs. It's not a happy sound—it's the laugh of someone who's been pushed too far.
"Right. Of course. My boss is a werewolf and supposedly I'm his—what did you call it? Fated mate?" She covers her face with her hands. "I'm having a breakdown. That's what this is. I'm hallucinating from worry."
"You're not hallucinating."
"Then prove it." She drops her hands, glaring at me with more bravery than most alphas show. "If you're really a wolf, prove it."
My wolf leaps forward eagerly. Yes! Show mate! She'll understand!
But I know better. If I shift in this lift, she'll scream. She'll run. She'll quit and leave and I'll never see her again.
The thought makes my chest physically hurt.
"I can't," I say hoarsely. "Maya, please. Just trust me—"
"Trust you?" Her voice rises. "You've made my life hell for eight months! You attack everything I do, you make me work impossible hours, you treat me like I'm stupid!" Tears shine in her eyes but don't fall. She won't let them. "And now you're telling me it's because we're fated mates? That's the worst answer I've ever heard!"
She's right. God, she's right. I've been a monster to her.
"I was trying to protect you," I say desperately. The truth spills out like blood from a wound. "My mother was my father's mate. When I was fifteen, enemy shifters killed her. They tortured her to death to hurt my father. If I claim you, if anyone in the shifter world knows you're mine—they'll come for you. They'll hurt you to hurt me."
Understanding flickers in her eyes. Then hardens.
"So instead, you decided to hurt me yourself?"
The words hit like a physical blow.
"I was trying to make you quit," I admit. "If you left, you'd be safe. You'd be away from me."
"Well congratulations." Her voice is ice. "It almost worked. I've been planning to quit for months. The only reason I haven't is because I can't afford to."
Each word is a knife in my gut. I've done this. I've trapped her here, made her unhappy, all while telling myself it was for her own good.
What kind of monster does that make me?
My phone buzzes. Then again. Then a third time in rapid succession.
I pull it out, frowning. Three texts from Lucas, my brother: Dom, we have a problem.
That person who's been asking about you? We found him.
He's got pictures. Of YOU shifted. And he knows about your helper.
Ice floods my blood.
I look up at Maya, whose phone is also buzzing in her bag. She pulls it out, and I see the screen over her shoulder: Time's up, Maya. If you're not here in 5 minutes, I'm sending everything I know about Dominic Kane to every news station in the city. Including what he REALLY is.
Maya's eyes meet mine, wide and frightened.
"What have you done?" I whisper.
The elevator lights flicker.
Then go completely black.
And in the darkness, something growls.
Something that isn't me.