From Banished Luna To Supreme Queen

Kiera's POV:

Grabbing a pen, Dominic scratched his signature onto the agreement. "There's your signature. It won't change anything unless I agree to let the mate bond be broken."

The ease with which he signed made my heart tighten, then left me feeling oddly empty.

After tucking the agreement away, I spoke quietly. "This isn't a bluff. I'll expect you at the altar tomorrow."

Then I walked out, certain I had nothing more to say.

"Shouldn't you follow her, Dominic?" Thalia asked weakly behind me. "I've never seen Kiera this upset."

"Let her go," he insisted without emotion. "She's only throwing a tantrum. We both know she can't leave me."

"Still, don't you think..."

"Don't worry about her. An Omega who can't shift has nowhere to go outside the Crescent Pack. What's she going to do? Return to the Nocturne Pack and be a slave again?" A brief silence followed before he added confidently, "I know Kiera. She won't go through with severing our bond."

Just beyond the corner, I stood in the hallway and heard him clearly.

He wasn't going to stop me.

As far as he was concerned, leaving him wasn't a choice I could make.

With a bitter smile, I made myself walk on.

Once home, I emptied a bottle of liquor and fell into bed. Drink slowed my restless thoughts and softened the pictures I couldn't get out of my head.

Thalia nestled against Dominic. He offered her apple slices and gently stroked her pregnant belly.

Thinking about them was more than I could stand.

Morning brought me back to consciousness with an arm holding me around the waist.

Suddenly wide awake, I glanced down. Dominic's muscular arm kept me firmly against him, and his broad hand lay over my lower abdomen. Heat spread from his palm through my skin.

At some point during the night, he'd come back and drawn me close in his sleep. His steady breathing warmed my neck.

Every muscle went rigid, and I stayed perfectly still.

Without warning, memories I'd tried to put aside returned.

Our first meeting had been at the Crescent Pack's altar. Blood covered him after his enemies had chased him to the border of our territory.

Saving him had cost my mother her life. As she lay dying, she joined our hands and said, "Please look after my daughter, Dominic."

He gave her his word.

Beside her body, he knelt and kept hold of my hand. He promised, "For as long as I live, you'll have my protection, Kiera."

Back then, I'd trusted every word.

A whole lifetime together had seemed certain.

Instead, someone else had received all the love and care I'd hoped for.

A sudden vibration came from my phone on the nightstand. An email notification from an unfamiliar sender lit the screen.

Reaching across, I picked it up and opened the message.

Photo after photo loaded, and each hurt more than the one before.

In the first, he was guiding Thalia into the obstetrics department. His hand supported her waist as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

The next showed them walking through a park together. She held his arm, and her pregnancy was already easy to see.

Another captured him kneeling behind her during prenatal yoga. Both his hands were at her waist to keep her steady.

There were more, tracing her pregnancy from its earliest days right up to eight months.

During my three years away, he'd stayed by another woman's side through every stage of carrying their child.

My tears fell before I could stop them. His hand on me had become unbearable, and I shoved him away. "Wake up! Get out of this bed!"

Startled out of sleep, Dominic went from groggy to fully alert in a heartbeat.

His body went rigid, ready to lash out like an animal caught off guard.

Recognition stopped him almost immediately. The hostility left his face, replaced by a puzzled frown.

"Was it a bad dream?" His hand came toward me to draw me close again. "Settle down. You can get some more sleep."

Moving out of reach, I kept my voice steady. "Get ready. We're going to the altar and having the elders break our mate bond."

Without another glance at him, I tried to get out of bed. A hand closed around my arm, and Dominic pulled me back against him.

"Tell me what happened," he said quietly, searching my face. "Why are you crying?"

My eyelids fluttered, and the gentleness in his tone made my heart stumble despite everything.

None of it meant what I wanted it to mean.

He'd always been able to make his voice sound tender one moment and cold the next.

That warmth persuaded me to lower my guard, leaving me open to the hurt that followed.

His fingers closed around my chin. "No more tears."

Through my blurred vision, I held his gaze and stubbornly kept silent.

Before I could object, his hold tightened and his mouth pressed against mine.

The force of the kiss overwhelmed me, sending fresh pain through my split lip.

Fear surged through me. Both my hands went to his chest, and I pushed as hard as I could.

Then anger took over. How could he think he had any right to kiss me?

Questions crowded my head until I couldn't separate one from another, and the confusion only made the hurt worse.

There was no chance to sort through any of it. When Dominic wanted something, he was used to taking it.

One of my hands was caught in his grip as I struggled, and he held me tight, pinning me in place.

Despite the heartbreak, my body still reacted to his kiss-and I couldn't stop it.

He knew me well enough to provoke a response without trying.

With each breath, I caught his familiar scent, followed by the faint perfume of another woman.

Yesterday, that same perfume had clung to Thalia.

Those photos returned to me at once. Had he kissed her like this, too?

Cold swept through me, and suddenly my thoughts were painfully clear.

My teeth sank hard into his tongue. A hiss escaped him, and his grip slackened enough for me to pull away.

Anger darkened his face. "Kiera..."

"It's me, Dominic! You've got the wrong sister!" I pulled farther back as everything I'd tried to contain came spilling out.

Something I couldn't read crossed his eyes. "You've misunderstood what's between Thalia and me..."

His words did nothing to ease the pain eating through my chest.

With tears streaming down my cheeks, I stopped caring about the consequences. My hand rose before I could think better of it.

The slap landed hard against his face, and I ran out of the house.