Page 169 of Dominion

I can’t stop the way my lips curve thinking of him. The way I’m instantly soothed from the anxiety of a moment before. “Not too much silver, but yeah. Super hot silver wolf. And he likes to be calledDaddy.”

“Oh my gawd. That’s so hot.”

“Super hot.” I laugh. It’s the first time I’ve ever had anything sexual or fun to share with Meagan. I was just out of high school when my dad pawned me off, and I couldn’t share the joy of Meagan’s exploits when she started sleeping with her mate because my life was so traumatic by then.

“Let him mark you, Co-co. You can’t delay living forever. At some point, you have to claim your own life.”

I don’t answer because my sister can’t even begin to understand the mental slavery I’ve been in for so long now, and I’m not going to defend myself.

“Love you,” I say simply.

“I love you, too. Text me a pic of Mark. I promise I’ll delete it as soon as it comes through.”

I laugh softly because it’s the best thing I’ve ever had to text my sister about. “I will. Bye.”

3

Mark

The four of us stand in line for the Dragon Wing, one of the rides at Elitch Gardens, Denver’s amusement park. The pups are on a high from waffle cones filled with ice cream and the five rides we’ve already been on.

Colleen’s face goes soft and beautiful every time she looks at them.

“You look younger, Momma,” Angie tells her, looking up. She’s as cute as they come, with a blonde ponytail high on her head and the same big blue-green eyes as her mom and brother. I’m already as fiercely protective of the pups as I am of my unclaimed mate.

I rest a hand lightly on her hip. She does look younger. Every hour seems to roll back the effects of time on her appearance. “How old are you, babygirl?”

“Twenty-eight.”

I glance at the boy. “How old are you, Jayden?”

“Nine and a half.”

The rattle of the ride keeps the humans around us from hearing the growl in my throat. The wolves hear it though, and all three of them stare at me.

“I was eighteen when my father arranged my mating,” Colleen says, correctly guessing at the cause of my rage. “Just legal.”

“Was that… normal in your pack?” I ask through clenched teeth. I want to kill both her father and the alpha who claimed her.

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. It was horrible for me. I had to forget about college and leave everyone I knew to live with a tyrant.”

The kids listen with big eyes, like they’ve never heard this before.

“You mean Dad?” Jayden asks softly.

She nods. “He had just become alpha of his pack after his father was killed. He was worried about his position being challenged because he was young to lead a pack. He went to grandpa, and they made some kind of deal.”

“We’re not going back there, right, Momma?” Angie asks.

“Never,” she promises, and one small part of me relaxes. At least we agree on that.

“You’re going to stay with me now,” I say firmly, even though Colleen hasn’t accepted it yet.

Jayden stays silent, but he watches me with that wary gaze.

“Are we, Momma?” Angie asks.

Colleen looks away, her lips pressing together. “We’ll see,” she murmurs.