Bella's POV.

(One week later)

“Alpha Dominic” I whispered softly, my body aching for his touch.

He leaned down and kissed my neck gently, then moved lower to my collarbone. His lips were warm and careful, like he wanted to remember every inch of me.

“So soft,” he whispered against my skin. His voice sounded deep and rough, sending shivers straight through me.

His hands moved to the bottom of my shirt. He didn’t rush. Instead, he slowly pulled it up, inch by inch, his gray eyes behind the mask watching closely.

I felt shy but excited as the fabric slid over my belly. He paused and ran his fingers over my curves, tracing the roundness of my stomach and hips.

“Look at you, Little Wolf,” he murmured. “Every curve is perfect. Full and beautiful. Made for me.” He kept lifting the shirt until it came off completely.

Cool air touched my breasts, making my nipples tighten. Dominic stared for a long moment, his breathing heavier.

Then he lowered his head and kissed between my breasts, slow and tender, before moving to one side and sucking gently.

I arched my back and let out a soft moan. His hand slid lower, over my waist and down to my thigh. He squeezed softly, like he loved how thick and warm I felt.

His fingers moved between my legs, teasing gently, stroking me through my panties until I was wet and trembling.

“That’s it,” he said quietly. “Let me take care of you.” He slipped one finger inside, then two, moving slow and deep while whispering, “My little wolf… so tight and sweet for me.”

I was lost in the feeling, my body burning with need. He kissed up my body again, taking his time on every soft part, until his face hovered right above mine.

His masked eyes locked on mine. He was about to kiss my lips when my eyes suddenly snapped open.

I sat up fast in my own bed, breathing hard. My heart pounded like crazy.

My boobs felt perky and sensitive from the dream, pushing against my thin nightgown. I looked around my room. Morning light came through the curtains. It was just a dream again.

I covered my face with my hands and groaned. It had been one full week since the humiliating day at school and the mating ceremony.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. In my dreams, he touched me like I was beautiful.

He called me his Little Wolf while his fingers moved inside me, making me feel wanted for the first time. The real Dominic was cold and powerful. Yet my body kept remembering the dream version of him.

I shook my head and tried to pull myself together. “Stop it, Bella,” I whispered. “He’s not for you. Soon you’ll be in an arranged marriage anyway. Just forget him.” The thought made my chest hurt. I hated feeling this weak again.

“Bella!” Mom’s voice called from downstairs. “Breakfast is ready. Come down before it gets cold.”

I sighed, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and got out of bed. When I reached the living room, I stopped. Riley sat at the table with Mom, looking at me with big pleading eyes.

“Please, Bella,” Riley said quickly, standing up. “Come back to school today. I know it’s been awful, but you can’t hide forever. Tryouts are happening, and I don’t want to go alone. I need my best friend.”

I didn’t want to. The idea of facing everyone again made my stomach twist. But Mom gave me that look, and deep down I knew Riley was right.

I had no choice if I wanted to finish the school year. “Fine,” I said quietly. “Give me ten minutes.”

I ran upstairs, washed my face with cold water, and picked out a simple black sweater and jeans that hugged my curves.

I brushed my hair and took a deep breath. “You can do this,” I said to myself.

Riley and I walked to school together. The moment we passed through the gates, the stares came back.

Students whispered and laughed. My cheeks burned, but I kept walking with my head down.

Riley held my hand tight and whispered, “Ignore them.”

Soon it was time for hockey tryouts. We made our way to the ice rink and found seats in the stands.

The players warmed up on the ice, sticks slapping against pucks. My eyes scanned the side of the rink and landed on him.

Dominic West stood there in full hockey gear, arms crossed over his broad chest. Even in gear, he looked powerful and commanding.

His dark hair was messy, and that sharp jawline made my stomach flip.

I couldn’t help swooning a little. In my mind, I saw his hands from the dream trailing over my skin again. Those strong fingers touching my curves, calling me Little Wolf. Heat rushed to my face.

Just then, Dominic turned his head and looked straight at me. Our eyes met for a second, making my heart jump.

I quickly looked away, feeling so awkward and embarrassed. What was I doing? He probably thought I was pathetic.

I couldn’t take the shame anymore. I stood up fast. “I need to go,” I told Riley and hurried out of the stands.

My feet carried me toward the building. I slipped into the boys’ locker room, hoping no one would see me. It was empty and quiet.

I hid near the back, leaning against the cool wall, trying to calm my racing heart.

“Stupid, Bella,” I cursed myself softly. “Why did you stare at him so long? He isn't even your mate.” I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, wishing the ground would swallow me.

Suddenly, the door opened forcefully and slammed shut. The lock clicked loudly. I froze. No one was supposed to be here for at least three more hours.

My body went tense. I couldn’t be caught in the boys’ locker room. That would make everything worse.

I tried to think of a way to sneak out without being seen when a loud crash echoed through the room, followed by painful grunts.

It sounded like someone was hurting badly.

My curiosity won. I walked slowly toward the sound, my shoes quiet on the tile floor. I peeked behind a row of lockers.

To my utmost surprise, Dominic West was on the ground. He clutched his head with both hands, wincing hard. Low growls came from his throat. His face looked twisted in pain with sweat on his forehead.

Without thinking, I rushed over and knelt beside him. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” I asked, my voice full of worry.

He didn’t answer. His breathing stayed rough. I stood up quickly. “I’ll get someone to help…”

His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist tight. “Don’t,” he growled. “Don’t bring anyone.”

I was confused and panicked. “Then what can I do? Tell me how to help you.”

His eyes met mine, dark and dangerous. “Run!” he warned, his voice low and strained.

I didn’t understand. Instead of running, I crouched down again closer to him. I reached out slowly to touch his head, hoping to ease his pain.

In a flash, he grabbed me by the neck and pushed me back hard against the locker behind me. His claws extended as he half-shifted, fur rippling on his arms, eyes glowing.

My eyes widened with fear. He was going to kill me. I needed to run, but his grip held me in place.

He leaned close to my ear, his hot breath brushing my skin. “Too late to run, Little Wolf… you should have left when I warned you to.” He let out a deep, low growl. His fingers tightened around my neck.

Something wild was taking over him. I could feel it in the way his body shook. Panic filled me. “Please,” I begged, my voice small and scared. “Let me go. Please, Dominic.”

He refused, holding me tighter. I started to run out of breath, black spots dancing in my vision.

Then my inner wolf, Xia, surged forward with sudden strength. Immediately, Dominic’s hand loosened on my neck right away.

I gasped and coughed, trying to catch my breath. Before I could say anything, unexpected words escaped his lips in a powerful growl.

“Mate!!!”

I froze and looked up at him, shocked. His hands slammed against the locker on both sides of my head, trapping me.

He leaned in fast. Before I could speak, he snatched my waist with one strong arm, pulling me hard against his heated body.

“What's happening? What are you…”

I was about to speak when he swiftly closed the distance between us and kissed me deeply, possessively.

I struggled to pull away from his hold and when I did, his next words left me reeling.

“You are mine now,” he said roughly as he stared deeply into my eyes.

I went ice cold as it had begun to dawn on me.

He leaned in again and this time, I felt a sharp sting on my neck as his fangs pierced deeply into my skin.

My eyes widened in full realisation…

I belong to Alpha Dominic now.

I was his Claim.

Bella's POV.

I woke up on the cold floor of the boys' locker room, and every part of my body ached. My head felt heavy, and my neck throbbed with a pain I had never felt before.

I reached up slowly and touched the spot where his teeth had sunk into my skin. The mark was raised and warm under my fingers, and the second I remembered how it got there, my whole body went stiff with fear.

I tried to sit up too fast, and the room spun around me. My arms shook, and I felt myself tipping sideways toward the hard tile floor.

Before I could fall, strong hands caught me under the arms and lifted me up like I weighed nothing at all. I blinked hard until my eyes could focus, and there he was. Dominic.

He was already fully dressed again, standing over me with his arms crossed and his gray eyes locked on my face. He looked calm on the outside, but I could see the way his jaw kept clenching, like he was holding something back.

For a long moment, neither of us said a word. I sat there on the bench where he had placed me, and he stood a few feet away, watching me like he was waiting for me to break apart.

When he finally spoke, his voice came out flat and hard, the same voice I remembered from the mating ceremony.

"You're my mate," he said. "I have marked you. There's no need to feel that as a strange thing anymore."

I stared at him. Strange did not even begin to cover what I felt. My heart was still racing, and my neck still burned, and every part of me screamed that something enormous had just happened to my whole life without anyone asking me first.

But underneath his flat tone, I noticed something else. His shoulders were too stiff. His hands were pressed so tightly at his sides that his knuckles had gone pale.

He was not as calm as he wanted me to believe. He wanted me to feel okay, even if he had no idea how to say it the right way.

My fingers drifted back up to the bite mark, and I winced as it itched under my touch. Tears burned behind my eyes, hot and sudden, and I forced them back down before they could fall.

I was not going to cry in front of him again. Not after everything that had already happened to me today.

"Why did you walk away from me at the ceremony?" I asked, my voice shaking more than I wanted it to. "You didn't want me then. Why do you want me now?"

Dominic's jaw tightened even harder, and for a second I thought he would not answer at all. Then he let out a slow breath through his nose.

"I didn't know," he said. "My wolf, I guess he switched to choosing you. I felt different tonight. He doesn't always let me feel the bond right away."

I wrapped my arms around myself and looked down at the floor. None of that made the humiliation from the ceremony disappear. Everyone had seen him walk past me.

Everyone had laughed. And now I was supposed to believe that his wolf had simply changed its mind hours later, like I was something he could decide on twice.

Dominic must have seen the doubt on my face, because he moved closer and knelt down in front of me so we were eye level.

His hand came up under my chin, and he tilted my face up gently, his voice losing some of its hard edge.

"I know what happened with Elias," he said. "I found out what happened with the video. But none of that matters to me now."

My eyes went wide, and for one small second, something warm bloomed in my chest. Someone was telling me the video did not matter. Someone was looking at me like I was not the joke the whole school had decided I was.

But that warmth did not last long. It curled up and died almost as fast as it came, because I had believed someone once before when he told me things that were not true.

I had believed Elias when he said my body was perfect, when he said he wanted to wait for me, when he said I could trust him with anything. Look where that had gotten me.

So I said nothing. I sat there with my lips pressed together, staring past Dominic's shoulder at the row of lockers behind him, and I let the silence stretch out between us.

After a while, Dominic tilted his head, studying me the way someone studies a puzzle they cannot solve.

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked.

I finally looked at him. "Because the last time a boy told me things did not matter, I ended up standing in a hallway while the whole school watched a video of me in my underwear," I said.

"So forgive me if I do not just believe you because you say something pretty."

Something shifted in his expression. It was not anger, and it was not the cold mask he usually wore. It looked almost like he understood, even if he did not know how to say so out loud.

He did not argue with me. He did not try to convince me all over again. He simply nodded once, like he had accepted that trust was something I would decide to give him later, if I ever decided to give it at all.

For a moment his eyes hardened, and the softness from a minute ago drained right out of his face. He straightened up and took a step back, his arms crossing over his chest again, and his voice came out sharper than before.

"You still think you're worthless because of what he did," he said. It was not a question. "You're sitting here doubting everything I say because some coward with a puck for a brain made you feel small."

He said it like the idea itself made him angry, like he could not understand why anyone would ever look at me the way Elias had.

It did not sound gentle. It did not sound kind. But underneath the hard edge in his voice, I could hear something else trying to push through, something that almost sounded like he could not stand the thought of me hurting and did not know any other way to say it than to sound angry about it instead.

He stood up and reached down to help me to my feet. My legs still felt shaky, but his grip on my hand was steady, and I let him guide me toward the locker room door.

When we reached it, he stopped and looked back at me, his gray eyes searching my face like he was trying to memorize it.

"You'll come to the pack house tonight," he said. "We really need to talk. Bella."

He paused, and something in his voice softened just enough for me to notice. "I won't allow anyone to ever humiliate you again. I promise you that."

Before I could find any words to answer him, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone by the door with my hand still tingling from his touch.

I watched him go until he disappeared around the corner, and then I let out a long, shaky breath. My neck still throbbed. My mind still spun with everything he had said and everything he had not explained.

I did not know what it meant to be someone's mate. I did not know if the mark on my neck made me his forever, or if this was just another way for a boy to make promises he would break the second things got hard.

I pushed through the locker room door and stepped out into the cool evening air, and I started walking home.

My legs carried me forward on their own, one step after another, while my thoughts stayed stuck on everything that had happened since that morning. The video. The ceremony. The bite.

I kept touching the mark without meaning to, feeling the raised skin under my fingers every few minutes, and every time I did, I heard Dominic's voice again in my head. No one will ever humiliate you again.

I wanted so badly to believe him. Some small, stubborn part of me wanted to hold onto those words like they actually meant something.

Maybe this was my chance to be seen as more than a joke. Maybe this was my chance to finally matter to someone who would not throw me away the second it became convenient.

By the time I turned onto my street, the sky had gone dark, and the porch light outside my house cast a soft yellow glow over the front steps.

I slowed down as I got closer, confused by the sound of laughter drifting toward me. My mother's laughter. And underneath it, a second voice, low and familiar in a way that made my stomach drop before my mind even caught up.

I stopped walking completely when I saw him standing on my own porch, leaning against the railing like he belonged there, smiling at my mother as if he had not destroyed my entire life just that morning.

Elias.

His eyes lifted and found mine across the yard, and his grin stretched wider, slow and mocking, like he already knew exactly how much seeing him there would hurt.

"I heard you got claimed by the new Alpha," he called out, loud enough for the whole street to hear. "I guess you finally got lucky, poor girl.

Bella's POV.

I stood outside the Northwood Pack House with my arms wrapped tight around myself, staring up at the tall stone walls glowing faintly under the porch lights.

My stomach twisted with every step I took toward the front doors. A guard met me before I even reached them, nodding once like he had been expecting me, and led me inside without a single word.

The halls were wide and quiet, lined with old portraits of past Alphas, and my sneakers felt too loud against the polished floor. By the time we reached a heavy wooden door near the end of a long corridor, my palms were damp with sweat.

The guard knocked twice, then pushed the door open and stepped aside to let me through.

Dominic's quarters were bigger than I expected, with a large bed against the far wall and smooth dark furniture that looked like it had never once been touched by mess or clutter.

The window on the other side of the room was cracked open, letting in a cool breeze, and Dominic stood in front of it with his back to me, his shoulders set and still.

He turned the moment the door clicked shut behind me, and my breath caught in my throat. He was not wearing his mask.

I had only ever seen his full face twice before, once at the ceremony under bright lights and again in the locker room while my mind was too scattered with fear to really look.

But now, standing there in the soft glow of his bedroom, I let my eyes travel slowly across every part of his face.

His jaw was sharp and strong, his gray eyes even more intense up close, and near the edge of his jaw, I noticed a faint mark, small and pale, like an old scar that had healed a long time ago.

I stared a little too long, wondering where it came from and what had put it there.

"What are you looking at?" Dominic snapped, his voice suddenly harsh enough to make me jump.

His eyes had gone sharp, almost defensive, like my staring had touched something he did not want touched. "Do I look that strange to you without the mask?"

I flinched at the sudden change in his tone, my whole body going stiff.

"No," I said quickly, my voice small. "I wasn't trying to— I just noticed a mark near your jaw. I didn't mean anything by it."

He seemed to catch himself then, his jaw tightening as he looked away from me, toward the window.

A few seconds of silence passed before he spoke again, quieter this time, like he was forcing the harshness back down.

"It's nothing," he muttered. He walked over to the small table by his bed and picked up the black mask resting there, turning it over slowly in his hands like it weighed more than it looked.

"My wolf is wild. Harder to control than most. I wear this to keep myself in check. When people can't see my face, they can't read what I'm feeling. It helps me stay steady."

I nodded slowly, watching the way his fingers traced the edge of the mask like it was something he both hated and needed.

I understood more than he probably realized. I knew what it felt like to hide behind something just to survive each day, to build a wall so no one could see how close you were to falling apart.

I did not say any of that out loud. I just let him keep talking, sensing that this was the closest he had come to opening up to anyone in a long time.

He walked slowly around the edge of the room while he spoke, like standing still made the words harder to say.

He told me that his wolf had been different from the moment he was born, stronger and angrier than anything the pack elders had ever seen in a boy his age, and that his father had decided early on that the only answer was control, not comfort.

There had been no gentle lessons, he said, only strict ones. No one had ever taught him how to sit with fear or grief without turning it into something sharp enough to survive on.

The mask, he admitted, started as a punishment tool his father used to make him hide his emotions from the pack, and somewhere along the way it had become the only thing that made Dominic feel safe in his own skin.

Hearing him say it so plainly, without asking for pity, made my chest ache in a way I had not expected.

He set the mask back down and took a step toward me, his hand lifting slightly like he meant to touch my arm.

Before I could stop myself, I flinched hard and pulled back, my whole body bracing on instinct.

The second the flinch happened, something flickered across Dominic's face, quick and sharp, like actual pain had cut through him for a moment.

He covered it fast, his expression sliding back into that familiar cold mask even without the real one in his hands.

He stepped back and crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"I'm not Elias," he said, his voice low. "I won't hurt you."

Hearing him say it out loud, so plainly, loosened something tight in my chest.

I felt the fear in my body ease, just a little, enough that I reached out first this time and let my fingers brush against his hand.

"I know," I whispered. "I'm just scared. A little."

Dominic looked down at where our hands had almost touched, and something in his shoulders relaxed.

He told me quietly about the nights his wolf clawed at the inside of his chest, desperate to break free, about the years he spent learning to bury every feeling so deep that nothing could slip through the cracks.

He said his father raised him to believe that softness was weakness, that showing anyone your fear only gave them a way to use it against you.

I listened to every word, surprised at how much he was giving me without me even having to ask.

"You don't have to be scared of me," he said finally, his voice calmer now than I had ever heard it.

He reached out again, slower this time, and lifted my hand in his.

My heart pounded as he bent his head and pressed his lips softly against my knuckles. The warmth of it spread all the way up my arm.

"But I need time. I need you to trust me."

I nodded, my chest full of something warm and fragile that I was almost afraid to name.

For the first time since the video, since the ceremony, since everything that had gone wrong that week, I felt something close to safe standing there in his room.

It scared me almost as much as it comforted me, but I let myself hold onto it anyway.

Dominic walked me slowly through the rest of his quarters before I left, pointing out a smaller room connected to his own that he said would be mine whenever I chose to stay.

It had its own bed and a wide dresser, empty and waiting, like he had already planned this before I ever agreed to any of it.

I ran my fingers along the edge of the dresser, trying to imagine my life folded into a space inside his world, and something about the idea felt both terrifying and strangely hopeful at the same time.

When it was finally time for me to leave, Dominic walked me to the door and told me to head straight home, promising he would check on me later.

I stepped out into the hallway alone, my mind still replaying the feel of his lips against my knuckles, when raised voices from somewhere down the corridor stopped me cold.

I froze near a corner, my back pressed instinctively against the wall. The voice was loud, sharp with fury, an older man's voice that carried easily through the stone halls.

"You claimed that chubby girl? The one from the video? You're really willing to embarrass this pack, Dominic?"

My whole body went numb.

I recognized the venom in those words instantly, the same kind of cruelty the whole school had thrown at me just days ago, except this time it came dressed in authority, in a voice that clearly expected to be obeyed.

Then I heard Dominic answer, his tone dropping into something low and dangerous, colder than I had ever heard him speak even to me.

"I want you to know that she is my mate," he said. "Touch her, and I'll destroy you."

My breath caught in my throat.

I did not need to see the man's face to know exactly who he was. Only one person in this pack held enough power to make even Dominic's voice shift like that, hard and warning and afraid all at once.

Dominic's father