Chapter 180
Dominic POV
Vivian is in white. This is a problem.
Vivian sees me coming and brightens immediately, lifting her hand in a gentle wave. “Dominic. Hey-”
“We need to talk.”
Her smile flickers, just barely, before she smooths it back into place. “Oh. Of course.”
My hand closes around her arm, already guiding her away from the crowd before she can ask anything else.
I stop once we’re far enough down the hallway that the gossip will have to work harder to hear us. I release her arm and turn to face her fully, folding mine across my chest thick.
“Is there a reason,” I ask evenly, “your dress is nearly white?”
Her brows lift in innocence. “Dominic, it isn’t white.”
“It is close enough that three people have mistaken you for the bride.”
She hesitates. Only for a second.
“I’ve been helping with every detail of this wedding,” she says softly. “I barely had time to think about myself. It was the only appropriate gown I had ready.”
My jaw tightens.
She lowers her eyes just slightly. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I would never try to embarrass Ellie. I’m sorry if it came across
that way.”
I study her. Really study her.
Because Ellie’s voice is still in my head. Every one of our arguments.
“Ellie seems to believe you sabotage her,” I say.
Vivian’s eyes widen just enough to look wounded. “Dominic… you know I wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Do I?”
I’ve never been so stern with her. Never even cross.
She stills.
“We did grow up together,” I continue, my voice calm, but firm. “I care about you. I always will. But that does not give you permission to make my wife uncomfortable.”
Her hand lifts, reaching for my arm. “Woah. Hold on, Dom, please—”
I step back before she can touch me.
“I don’t care if this was intentional,” I say. “Or careless. I don’t care what you meant by it. I care about the result. And the result is that my wife, my luna, is at the expense of it. Again.”
Her lips part, stunned.
“You opened her dressing room door,” I continue. “You showed up in a dress designed to invite comparison. Whether you admit it or not, you’ve put her in a position where she has to defend herself. And I will not allow that.”
Her throat moves when she swallows.
+30 Bonus
“So let me be very clear,” I say, reaching into my jacket and pulling out a folded stack of cash. I hold it out to her. “You’re going to go change. Into anything else. Any color but that, and you won’t come back until you have.”
She stares at the money like it insulted her personally.
Then at me.
Something flickers behind her eyes. Not quite anger, or hurt, but something colder. A look, honestly, I’ve never seen from someone I once thought of as a sweet butterfly.
She takes it slowly.
“Fine,” she says quietly.
Her lashes lower, her voice soft again, gentle like an injured soul.
“But… may I ask you something?”
I nod once.
She tilts her head, watching me carefully.
“As her sister,” she says, voice almost fragile, “why her?”
A pause.
“Why do you love Ellie so much?”
“Were you under the impression this was a competition?”
Her lips pressed tight, like she was deciding whether to test an Alpha’s patience.
“That…doesn’t answer me.” Her hand moves to mine before I can move.
My eyes narrow.
“Why,” she steps closer, her voice soft enough that no one else would hear it. “Her?”
Her fingers curl around my hand before I can stop her. They’re warm. Clinging.
“Do you not remember our kiss?” she whispers. “Do you remember any of it?”
My face grimaces. I thought we were over this. Past our kid years.
I pull my hand back, stepping back. She follows anyway, closing the distance like she thinks proximity alone might change my
answer. My back touches the wall.
“Please,” she says again, and this time it isn’t pretty, but fragile. “You must remember. It meant something. It meant something to me.”
“Vivian,” I say evenly, lifting my chin to keep space between us. “This is Ellie and I’s wedding. You are not owed anything.”
Her face tightens, cracks forming beneath the surface.
“At one point,” she presses, her voice shaking now, “people thought it would be me. Our parents talked. The pack talked. You didn’t stop them. We were…”
