Page 47 of Dominion

“But he’ll want to separate us,” Dylan interrupted. “I…” he inhaled. “We were never supposed to be together. Dominion will never allow it.”

“I don’t give a fuck what they will or won’t allow,” I breathed out. “I don’t care what any of them think, because there’s no way in hell that I would let them separate us. Our relationship might be unconventional, but it’s ours, and they’re not taking this away from us.”

“Moonshine—”

“No, Ash,” I rebuked, stepping away from them. There was a fire burning deep inside my core. A fire that wasn’t there before. This fiery, protective feeling wrapped around me, and if I could, I would’ve wrapped both of them in it. “I don’t care what they say. I don’t even care what they want. The only thing I care about are the two of you, Kane, Sebastian, and Rowan. No one else.”

Dylan and Ash looked at each other, then at me. It was as if something snapped inside of them just as it did inside of me, before they came closer, wrapping their arms around my body.

“Okay,” Ash murmured, while Dylan nodded. “If working with Casimir is what you think is the best option right now, then we’ll do it. But if he falls out of line?—”

“Or if he tries something—” Dylan added.

“We are going to act,” Ash finished. “I don’t care if he has an entire army at his beck and call, he’s gonna be destroyed.” Judging by the gleam in his eyes, I knew he meant it.

14

ASH

All conversation stoppedthe moment we stepped into the living room, pretending like we didn’t just maul each other in front of our family and friends. Casimir was grinning from ear to ear and I had a feeling that he heard what we were talking about, considering that he was sitting close to the exit of the living room. Even if it wasn’t for that grin, his eyes said everything I needed to hear—he knew we were going to go to him.

I still wanted to punch him in the face, no matter what.

A rational part of me understood that he wasn’t part of Judah’s Order and that they did things differently, but that other distrustful part was just waiting to see his next step. Besides, why would he come out now, after hiding in the shadows for so long?

Why would he lie about his name when he first introduced himself? He was hiding something, I was sure of it.

“I’m surprised you guys came to join us.” Casimir chuckled, looking at us. Dylan tensed next to me, Skylar scowled at him, and I wanted to say fuck it and walk out of here. But Skylar was right, and someone like him could save us a lot of trouble if we played this right.

“Casimir,” Skylar warned. “Behave.”

“I mean, you did look pretty?—”

“Casimir!” The chastising tone was unmistakable in Skylar’s voice, but the fucker just kept on laughing. Cillian and Indigo looked at the man in question, with a confused Sebastian sitting right next to Casimir.

The familiar stab of guilt pushed through my chest as my eyes lingered on my brother. He had endured so much in his short life, and I didn’t want him to be a part of this. I wanted him as far away from here as possible. While I was elated to see him, to hug him, to talk to him, I was equally as terrified.

Judah would stop at nothing to use those we loved against us. He would destroy everything we held dear just to prove a point. No matter how much I hated it, I needed Sebastian to be as far away as possible from here. Far away from me and this madness.

And I knew just the person who could make that happen.

“Look,” I was the first one to start, trying to calm myself down enough to talk to the man who was a sore spot for me. “We started off on the wrong foot, but we would all appreciate it if you tried to lower that attitude of a jokester. And for fuck’s sake, man, stop with the whole commentary. We get it. You’re a big bad wolf and we are nothing but dirt on the bottom of your shoe, but you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t need us. We need you,” I said pointedly. “And you need us. So, what’s it gonna be, Cas?” I arched my eyebrow at him, and I reveled in the somber expression taking over his face. “Is this going to be a partnership or just another form of dictatorship?”

His brows furrowed, eyes darkened, and somewhere deep beneath that fake facade he carried around, where he wanted to appear like a funny, carefree man, lurked a monster ready to destroy anyone who dared to cross him. There was a reason Casimir Lacroix was the head of The Dominion, and as he stared at me, calculating his next moves, I understood why.

He cared for Skylar, in his own way, but this was a man trained to feel. This was a man who knew no difference between good or bad. He only knew the difference between things that benefited him and the things that benefited others, and I could bet that he wouldn’t do anything that wouldn’t benefit him.

A serpent lived in that bloodstream, a black tar running where blood should’ve been, and I had no idea how someone like Skylar could be related to someone like him. But there was something to be said about the way people were raised, and I wondered if Skylar would be just the same if her upbringing was different. If she had a chance to become what Casimir was today.

“You’re staring, Ash.” The fucker smirked, knowing that I was trying to get a read on him. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s not polite to stare?”

“No.” It was my turn to chuckle. “I had no one to tell me. I mean,” I took a step forward, “you would know, wouldn’t you?”

His darkness touched everything in this room and as he stood up from his seat, I felt everyone around us tensing.

In the wilderness, prey knew when the predator was around, even if they couldn’t see them. And this man towering above me was a beast. A wolf hiding behind a crooked smile and pretty eyes. Perhaps I was just as insane as he was because I didn’t back down, even when Skylar tightened her hand around mine.

I didn’t back down when Casimir came closer, looking down at me as if I were just a passing thought in his otherwise preoccupied mind.

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