Maya's POV
You belong to me.
The words echo in my head as Dominic walks away, leaving me standing in the rain like an idiot. By the time my brain starts working again, he's already disappeared into the manor.
What the hell did that mean?
Iris grabs my arm and practically drags me inside. Did he just say what I think he said? Because that sounded incredibly
Not now. My voice comes out sharper than I mean it to. Water drips from my hair onto the marble floor, creating a small puddle around my bare feet. Somewhere in the distance, I hear voices gathering in the library. The will reading.
My chest tightens. Whatever Dad put in that will, whatever promise he forced Dominic to make—I'm about to find out in front of two hundred pack members who already think I'm worthless.
Perfect.
The library is packed when we arrive. Pack members line the walls, perch on chairs, crowd around the doorway. Everyone wants to see what the broken Alpha's daughter inherits. Everyone wants to watch me fail.
Uncle Marcus sits in the front row, right where Dad used to sit during pack meetings. He's changed into a dry suit somehow, looking polished and put-together while I'm still dripping rainwater everywhere. His smile when he sees me is all teeth and no warmth.
Maya, dear. Come sit. He pats the chair beside him like I'm five years old.
I'd rather sit on broken glass.
But before I can move, Dominic's hand closes around my elbow. She sits here. His voice cuts through the chatter, cold and absolute.
He guides me to a chair in the second row, right behind where Marcus is sitting. The spot gives me a perfect view of my uncle's back—and puts me directly in Dominic's shadow as he stands beside my chair like a guard dog.
The room goes quiet. People stare. Whispers start.
Why is the Beta standing with her?
Look how close he is...
That's inappropriate, isn't it?
My face burns hot. I want to tell Dominic to move, to stop making this worse, but his hand is still on my shoulder—a light touch that somehow feels like an anchor keeping me from floating away.
Mr. Chen, my father's lawyer, clears his throat. He's a small human man with gray hair and kind eyes that look sad today. We'll begin the reading of Alpha Garrett Thornhill's Last Will and Testament.
The room holds its breath.
Mr. Chen opens a leather folder. To my daughter, Maya Thornhill, I leave the entirety of my personal estate, including Crescent Manor, all lands within Silverpine Territory, and full rights to the Alpha seat
Gasps explode around the room. Someone in the back shouts, She can't even shift!
pending her completion of the Trials of Ascension, Mr. Chen continues loudly, to be undertaken within six months of my death, or the Alpha seat passes to the next blood heir.
Marcus. The next blood heir is Marcus.
My uncle stands slowly, playing the concerned family member perfectly. Brother, you can't be serious. Maya is... she's not ready for Trials. She's barely a wolf at all—
She's Alpha-born, Mr. Chen says firmly. The bloodline doesn't lie.
But the timing—six months? That's barely enough time to train, even for an experienced wolf. Marcus turns to face the crowd, his voice dripping with fake sympathy. I love my niece, but we must be realistic. Perhaps it would be kinder to spare her the humiliation of failure.
Murmurs of agreement ripple through the room. My hands clench into fists on my lap. They're already deciding I'll fail. Already writing me off.
There's more, Mr. Chen says, and something in his tone makes everyone freeze. Alpha Garrett included a special provision regarding Maya's protection and guidance during this transitional period.
No. Oh no. I know what's coming. I can feel it in the way Dominic's hand tightens on my shoulder, in the way the room seems to tilt sideways.
I name Dominic Ashford as guardian and protector of my daughter Maya, Mr. Chen reads, until such time as she successfully claims her Alpha inheritance or chooses a mate. During this period, Beta Ashford will have full authority over her living arrangements, training, and personal security. Maya will reside under his direct supervision and protection.
The room erupts.
That's insane!
She's twenty-three years old!
What kind of father
My brain stops working. Guardian? Direct supervision? I'm a grown woman, and my father just... just gave me to Dominic like I'm a piece of furniture to be watched over?
The humiliation is so complete, so crushing, that I can't breathe.
Marcus is on his feet. This is highly unusual! Maya is a legal adult. You can't simply assign her a... a keeper!
It's in the will, Mr. Chen says quietly. And it's legal. I made sure of it myself at Alpha Garrett's request.
Dominic finally speaks, his voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. I accept.
Just like that. Two words. No hesitation.
I twist in my chair to look up at him, but he's staring straight ahead at the lawyer, his face carved from stone. He won't look at me. Won't meet my eyes.
Well. A woman's voice, smooth and poisonous. How... cozy.
I find her in the crowd—Vanessa Cross, tall and beautiful with sharp cheekbones and sharper eyes. She's watching Dominic with an expression I can't quite read. Hurt? Anger? Something darker?
I'm sure Beta Ashford will be very... thorough in his supervision, Vanessa continues, and the way she says it makes something ugly coil in my stomach. Living so close. Watching her every move. One might wonder about the appropriateness of such an arrangement.
Several pack members nod. The whispers grow louder, nastier.
She's been following him around since she was a teenager...
Now he gets complete control over her...
If you ask me, something's not right...
They're making it sound dirty. Wrong. Like Dominic is some kind of predator and I'm his prey.
My face burns so hot I think my skin might actually catch fire. I want to scream at them, defend us both, but what would I even say? That I've been in love with him for years? That would just make everything worse.
This meeting is concluded, Mr. Chen says, closing his folder with a sharp snap.
I don't remember standing up. Don't remember walking out of the library. One second I'm drowning in whispers and stares, the next I'm running up the main staircase, my wet feet slapping against wood, my lungs burning.
I make it to my bedroom and slam the door so hard the frame shakes.
Then I slide down to the floor and let the tears come.
Stupid. So stupid. Of course Dad didn't trust me to handle things alone. Of course he thought I needed a babysitter. Even from the grave, he's treating me like a child who can't be trusted.
And Dominic—God, Dominic just accepted it without even looking at me. Like I'm a burden he's obligated to carry. Like I mean nothing.
Footsteps in the hallway. Heavy. Male. Getting closer.
They stop right outside my door.
I hold my breath, waiting for a knock. Waiting for Dominic to say something, anything.
But he doesn't knock.
Instead, I hear the door to the bedroom next to mine—the one that's been empty for years—creak open. Hear footsteps move inside. Hear something heavy drop to the floor.
He's moving in. Right next door. Just like Dad's will said.
For a long moment, there's only silence. Then
A sound. Low and tortured, barely audible through the wall. It takes me a second to recognize it.
Dominic is growling. No—not growling. He's snarling like a wolf that's been caged, furious and desperate and barely in control.
Something crashes in his room. Glass breaking. Wood splintering.
Then his voice, rough and ragged and full of pain: Garrett, you bastard. What did you do to me?
My heart stops.
Because Dominic sounds destroyed. Like my father didn't just make him my guardian.
Like he made him my prison guard.
And Dominic is suffering just as much as I am.