Claimed By A Midnight King

Chapter 26

Dominic’s POV

The investigation was getting nowhere.

Silas had found evidence. The tool, the rat, the barrel markings. But we still didn’t have a culprit. We didn’t have proof of who’d poisoned the water. And without that proof, I couldn’t move against anyone.

Without that proof, the pack would keep blaming Vivian.

And every day that they blamed her was another day I had to watch her suffer.

I was in the war room reviewing maps when Silas approached .

“We need to talk about the girl,” he said without preamble.

“No,” I said.

“The entire pack is talking about her,” Silas continued. “Vespera has been very busy spreading rumors. She’s telling people that you’re bewitched. That the girl has Solari magic affecting your judgment.”

“Do you believe that?”

“No,” Silas said. “But belief is more powerful than truth sometimes. And Vespera is very good at spreading belief.”

I set down my pen . “What do you suggest?”

“I suggest you decide what she is to you,” Silas said carefully. “And then you decide what to do about it. Because right now, you’re caught between protecting her and protecting yourself. And that’s making you look weak.”

After he left, I sat alone in the war room and tried not to think about Vivian .

It didn’t work.

I thought about her face when she saw me in her doorway. Thought about the way she’d gone very still, like she was bracing for impact. Thought about how hard it had been to walk away from her.

Thought about how I wanted nothing more than to go back.

I told myself I would wait. I told myself I would give it time. I told myself that whatever this was—this bond, this attraction, this impossible feeling, it would fade once I proved she was innocent . Once the pack accepted the truth. Once I could return to normal.

But I was lying to myself.

By the second night, I couldn’t stay away anymore.

I went to her room around midnight. The tower was quiet. No one would see me. No one would know.

She was reading by the small window when I came in. She didn’t seem surprised to see me. Through the bond, I realized she’d been waiting for me. Knowing I would come back.

“You can’t keep doing this,” she said before I could speak.

“I know.”

“The pack is already talking about you visiting me,” she continued. “Vespera is using it against you. She’s saying I’m controlling you. She’s saying I have magic that’s—”

“I don’t care what Vespera says,” I cut her off.

“You should,” Vivian said. “You’re the Alpha. You can’t afford to look weak. You can’t afford to…”

I crossed the room and pulled her to her feet.

“Stop talking,” I said., my wolf trying to tear it way out of my body just to taste her lips.

“Dominic..”

My hand came up to her face. My thumb brushed her cheekbone, and the touch sent electricity down my spine. The bond screamed at me. The wolf inside me howled. Every instinct I had was telling me to claim her. To mark her. To make it impossible for anyone to question who she belonged to.

“Your back,” I said. “How much does it hurt?”

“It’s healing,” she replied.

“I felt every lash,” I said. My voice sounded rough. Desperate. “I felt every single one like it was happening to me. Do you understand what that means?”

“Silas explained about the bond..”

“It doesn’t mean anything technical,” I interrupted. “It means that when you hurt, I hurt. When you’re in pain, I’m in pain. When you’re terrified, I’m terrified.”

I was close enough now that I could smell her. Close enough that the bond was vibrating between us like a living thing. Close enough that I could kiss her if I just leaned down a few inches.

I wanted to.

God, I wanted to.

Her eyes were wide. Her breathing had gone shallow. She was afraid.

Not of me. Of this. Of what was happening between us.

My other hand came up to her other cheek, and I was holding her face like she was something precious. Like she was something I needed to survive.

“Tell me your father killed mine,” I said quietly.

“What?”

“Tell me!!,” I repeated. “Tell me that your father murdered my father. Say the words.”

“Dominic, I…”

“Say those words.”

“My father killed your father,” she whispered. “He murdered him. He murdered your family.”

“And I don’t care,” I said.

I leaned down. Just a little. Just enough that I could feel her breath against my lips. Just enough that I could kiss her if I closed the distance.

Her hand came up and grabbed my tunic.

I stopped.

For a moment, we stayed like that. Suspended. On the edge of something that I couldn’t take back once I crossed it.

Then I pulled away.

I stepped back and turned to the window before she could see the state I was in. Before she could see how much I wanted her. Before she could see that I was losing the war I’d been fighting since the moment I first saw her.

“Your wounds,” I said. My voice was rough. “They need more time to heal. And I need… I need to figure out who did this. The poisoning. Once I have answers, once the pack knows the truth, things can change.”

“And if the pack doesn’t accept the truth?” she asked quietly.

“Then I burn the world,” I said simply. “And we build something new from the ashes.”

I left before I could say anything else. Before I could do anything else.

In the corridor, I leaned against the stone wall and tried to breathe. Tried to remember why this was impossible. Tried to remember my father’s face.

The memory was blurry now. And that terrified me more than anything else.

Because it meant she was winning. It meant the bond was stronger than my oath.

It meant my wolf was overriding everything I’d ever promised myself.

And worst of all, it meant I didn’t want to fight it anymore.