Chapter 145
His father’s gaze snaps to him. “You will,” he replies calmly. “Not far. Given her condition. But you will leave outside this room.”
Dominic hesitates, jaw clenched, and I can feel the tension coiling between them like a drawn wire.
“It’s okay,” I say quietly, looking up at Dominic. “I can handle this.”
He looks like he wants to argue. Like he wants to stand his ground and bare his teeth at his father, instead, he exhales sharply.
“I’ll be right outside,” he mutters.
The door closes behind him with a sound that feels final.
Dominic’s father folds his hands on the desk, posture relaxed, eyes assessing me like I’m a problem he can see right through.
“Miss Ellie,” He grins, “You know, for someone so against our family, I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I…” I hesitate. “Need a favor.”
“Everyone always eventually does from us,” He says cooly. “I know why you’re here.”
My head tilts. “You do?”
“Of course,” he replies smoothly. “You’ve reconsidered. You’re ready to accept your place as Luna. To move forward with Dominic. Yes?”
“Ah, no,” I say immediately. “That’s not-no.”
Something flickers across his face. Annoyance.
“I’m here about my mother,” I continue, forcing the words out before he can interrupt. “She’s been arrested. The charges are false from my father’s company. But I don’t have the authority to open her case back up and prove it. But you have influence, an Alpha, and I need your help to get her released.”
He listens without interrupting, nodding occasionally, like a man humoring a child who’s explaining something obvious.
When I finish, he sits back in his chair.
“Well, you are correct. Only Alpha family members have access to special bail authority within the law,” he says calmly.
Relief spikes sharp and immediate. “Exactly-”
“Yes,” he interrupts, voice smooth as polished stone. “Family.”
My breath stalls.
“I am not family with your mother, Ellie,” he continues. “Outsiders cannot legally intervene in these matters.”
The words land carefully. Precisely. Not cruel.
Worse than cruel.
He doesn’t say no. He just lets the silence stretch long enough for me to understand what he is saying.
I stare at him, the truth of his word sliding into place.
“You’re saying…” My voice trails off.
He tilts his head, watching me closely. “I’m saying there are paths to power. And paths outside of it.”
My hands curl in my lap.
12
Chapter
+30 Bonus
He’s not refusing to help.
He’s telling me the cost.
And suddenly, the weight of the mansion feels unbearable, the walls closing in as the implication settles deep in my chest.
If I want to save my mother-
I don’t need permission.
I need a marriage.
And he knows it.
Chopter
