The Lycan's Scared Mate

Chapter 3: Ghosts of the Past

Alina’s apartment was dark when she entered, save for the soft glow of the city lights streaming through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. The view of downtown Los Angeles—once a symbol of her independence—now felt like a blurred backdrop to the chaos unraveling in her life.

She dropped her heels by the door and sank onto the edge of her couch, hands trembling.

Lycan.

Fated mate.

Not entirely human.

Each revelation hit harder than the last, knocking the air from her lungs like invisible punches. It felt like she was living someone else’s story. Like her life had somehow drifted off course into the pages of a fantasy novel.

But this was real. Dominic’s eyes—the way they burned silver under the office lights—weren’t a hallucination. Neither was the way her heart still beat in rhythm with his name.

She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands.

She had come back to the city for business. She was supposed to finalize a merger, secure her company’s future, and prove she didn’t need Dominic Blackwood to survive. Instead, she’d walked into a world of supernatural bonds, ancient bloodlines, and truths she wasn’t sure she was ready to face.

A sharp knock on the door jolted her upright.

She blinked. It was nearly midnight.

She approached the door cautiously, adrenaline thrumming through her veins. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

Her stomach dropped.

Of course it was him.

She opened the door just wide enough to see him—still in his suit, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly tousled like he’d run his hands through it a thousand times. He looked like a man unraveling.

“I shouldn’t have come,” he said softly, “but I had to know if you were okay.”

She stared at him. “You think I’m okay after what you told me?”

“No,” he admitted. “But I was hoping we could talk. Somewhere that isn’t a boardroom.”

She hesitated. Her instincts screamed at her to shut the door and lock it. But her heart... her heart betrayed her again.

“Fine. Five minutes,” she said, stepping aside.

Dominic walked in cautiously, like he was entering sacred ground. He looked around, his eyes scanning the clean modern lines of her space—the soft grays, pale golds, and artistic touches that made it hers. His gaze lingered on a framed photo near the bookshelf—one of her and her late mother, arms wrapped around each other, eyes glowing with laughter.

“She would’ve liked you,” she said suddenly, her voice hollow.

Dominic looked at the photo. “You told me she died when you were sixteen.”

“Cancer,” Alina said simply. “It was just the two of us after that.”

He nodded. “I remember.”

The silence between them stretched again, heavy and laced with words neither wanted to say.

“I looked into my family after the divorce,” she said, walking back toward the couch. “Dug up old photos, journals. I thought if I could understand who I came from, I might understand why I was never enough for you.”

“Don’t say that,” Dominic said, voice low.

She ignored him. “I found a letter. From my grandmother. My mother never showed it to me. It talked about dreams. Nightmares. About running through forests she didn’t remember visiting. She said our blood was ‘ancient and wild,’ but I thought it was just poetic nonsense.”

Dominic sat across from her, his expression unreadable.

“Now I don’t know what to believe,” she said, her voice trembling. “I thought I was losing my mind. But maybe I was just waking up.”

“You’re not crazy,” he said. “You’re awakening. The bond is triggering it faster now that we’re near each other again.”

Her head snapped up. “And what happens when it’s fully awakened? What am I supposed to do—join your pack and howl at the moon?”

He chuckled softly, though there was no humor in it. “No. You’ll still be you. But stronger. More... attuned.”

She stared at him, heart pounding. “Is this what you wanted all along? To drag me back into your world and claim me like I’m some prize?”

“No,” he said fiercely. “I never stopped loving you, Alina. But I knew loving you meant risking you. And if anything happened to you because of me, I—” His voice cracked. “I wouldn’t survive it.”

“And if something happens now?” she whispered. “What’s changed?”

His eyes met hers, burning with raw honesty. “Now I know the real risk is pretending you don’t matter.”

For a moment, the world narrowed to just the two of them—two broken souls trying to mend the wreckage of a past neither fully understood.

“You said there were threats,” she murmured. “From rival packs. What did you mean?”

Dominic’s jaw tightened. “There’s unrest in the West Coast territories. Rogues have been attacking pack cities. Our alliance with the Russian clans is weakening. And someone’s targeting humans with dormant bloodlines.”

Her blood turned to ice. “Like me?”

He nodded. “That’s why I reached out for the merger in the first place. I knew you'd be vulnerable. Especially if your powers are awakening.”

She sank deeper into the couch cushions, the weight of his words pressing down like a tidal wave. “So you didn’t want the merger. You wanted me.”

“Both,” he admitted. “You built something incredible, Alina. You don’t need protection. But you deserve to know the truth.”

The truth.

It sounded so noble. But truth had a cost. It had cost her her marriage. Her peace. And maybe even her identity.

She looked at him one last time. “I need space.”

He stood slowly. “I’ll give you that. But not forever.”

As he reached the door, she called softly, “Why me, Dominic? Out of all the women in the world... why am I your mate?”

He turned, his eyes unbearably gentle.

“Because even before I knew what you were… my soul recognized you.”

And then he was gone.

Leaving her in silence.

Leaving her with the terrifying realization that she didn’t just still love him—

She was still his.