Dominic's POV
I felt Ashen's body tremble against mine as I held him, shielding him from the eyes of the wolves who dared to judge him.
My mate.Fragile. Terrified. But still standing.
And these fools thought he was weak?
No.
They didn't see what I saw.
They didn't feel the rage that burned in my veins every time I caught a glimpse of the scars that bastard left on him.
The fear Ashen tried to bury.
The way he flinched at my touch.
My wolf raged beneath my skin, demanding blood for every ounce of pain this world had forced him to endure.
I wanted to rip his uncle's throat out. Tear him limb from limb for daring to speak his name, for breaking something that was meant to be mine.
But that wouldn't heal Ashen.
That wouldn't make him see what I already knew.
That he wasn't weak.
He was surviving in a world that was built to break him.
And now... he had me.
I tightened my hold around him as he clung to my shirt, his silent sobs muffled against my chest.
I felt the way he fought it.
Fought me.
Fought this bond that had already wrapped itself around his soul.
But he wouldn't win.
I wouldn't let him.
Because I'd been chasing this bond my entire life.
And fate had given me him.
Broken.
Feral.
Mine.
I looked up, eyes burning with warning as I met the stares of the Alphas and Betas who had dared to witness this moment.
"Leave," I growled, my voice laced with enough dominance to make them all lower their heads in submission.
No one hesitated.
They turned and filed out of the hall, not daring to challenge me.
Not when they could feel what I was capable of.
What I would become... for him.
The moment the doors closed behind them, I felt Ashen try to pull away.
I didn't let him.
His breathing was uneven, panic still clinging to him.
"You can't keep doing this," he whispered, his voice broken, desperate. "I'm not... I'm not what you think I am."
My wolf bared its teeth in frustration.
"No," I said darkly, tilting his chin up so he had no choice but to look at me. "You're not what they think you are."
His eyes, filled with so much fear and pain, locked with mine.
"You're mine, Ashen," I said, my voice rough with truth. "You've always been mine. And I will burn this entire world to the ground before I let anyone touch what belongs to me."
His breath hitched.
His lips parted as if he wanted to argue.
But he didn't.
Because somewhere, beneath the fear, his wolf felt it too.
The bond.
The pull.
The undeniable truth that no matter how far he ran...
I would always find him.
Because fate made him for me.
And I'd be damned if I let him slip through my fingers.
I leaned closer, brushing my lips against his ear.
"You can keep fighting me, little wolf," I murmured. "But every time you run, I'll chase you."
His eyes fluttered shut as a shiver ran through him.
"And when you fall…" I tightened my grip on his waist, dragging his fragile body against mine. "I'll be the one who catches you."
Ashen let out a shaky breath, and for a moment, I felt the walls he'd built around himself begin to crack.
But he was stubborn.
And terrified.
So he did what he always did.
He pulled away.
I let him.
For now.
Because whether he accepted it or not...
Ashen was already mine.
And I was willing to become a monster to protect him from this world.
Even if that meant protecting him from himsel