Chapter 4

Dominic

I yawned, surprised by how tired I felt despite having napped on the ride and slept well the night before. I left my office, heading to my room. My suitcase still smelled of the sea air. It was clinging to my skin, too.

I pulled my clothes from the night before out and caught the faintest scent of Renee on them. It felt ridiculous but I buried my face in it and breathed deeply, letting her scent fill my senses.

My fated mate, hm?

I wanted—needed—to believe that it was Renee. Every instinct in me screamed her name. But I didn’t let myself get swept away in the possibility. Not entirely. If it wasn’t her… if it was someone else… I would respect it. I would try.

Polygamy wasn’t unheard of in our world, especially among alphas. Shared bonds, strategic marriages, multiple partners. It was all normal. If the mate the Goddess had chosen for me wasn’t Renee… maybe, just maybe, she would still allow herself to be loved by me. Or love me back. One way or another, I wouldn’t hold myself back from living and chasing happiness.

I passed out with my nose in my own shirt and woke mid morning feeling like a ridiculous teenager. Youthful. Hopeful. I laughed, surprising myself and cleaned up to head to my office, shedding the jacket of my suit and rolling up my sleeves as I dove into a few hours of pack business. Budget reviews. Security reallocations since I'd implicated a whole gamma unit. Notices from the Panel about the court proceedings.

But even as I worked, a thread of anticipation ran under my skin, like static. It was almost time to hear what my wayward daughter had to say for herself.

I finally stood, checked the time, and adjusted my cuffs. The Brightclaw Judicial Hall wasn’t far. I’d asked my pack lawyer to meet me there to sit in on Vivian’s formal interrogation.

The rest of the implicated parties were being questioned individually over the coming days. But Vivian was first. Not because of her importance but because of mine. The drive was short, and I spent it steadying myself, smoothing the edges of my voice and my presence. I’d been preparing for this moment for since this all started. Still, as I stepped into the cold stone halls of the Judicial Hall, I felt my throat tighten.

Vivian was being held like all the others because it was fair. I owed that to Renee. To myself. Even to Vivian.

My lawyer greeted me with a nod. “They're just now bringing her out.”

I nodded and followed him into the dark-glass viewing room, where we could see in, but Vivian couldn’t see us.

She looked tired. Angry. Defensive when she was brought it, but she didn’t look sorry. I stood with my hands clasped behind my back, jaw clenched tight. Whatever illusions I had left about who my daughter was they were about to be stripped away for good.

She was shackled to the table and left.

"Ready?"

I nodded and followed the pack lawyer. Vivian started shouting the moment I walked in.

“They've abused me! I want to press charges." Her eyes blazed when they landed on me. “Daddy,” she spat the word like it tasted foul. “You have to stop this. You can’t actually believe I did anything wrong!”

I sat down across from her, calm and composed, letting her spiral.

“Renee—”

“Enough,” I said, voice quiet.

She stilled, but only slightly, her chest heaving. The lawyer slid the file folder across the table, not bothering to open it. She wouldn’t want to see what was inside. But I needed her to know I had it.

“Do you want to see the receipts, Vivian?” I asked. “Or maybe the text transcripts you deleted from his phone but were recovered by the pack’s forensic unit?”

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

“Do you want to hear what your friends said under oath? Or the maids? The interns? Or better yet, do you want to talk about the dress you stole, the coffee you tampered with, the documents that went missing? Do you really want to go through every incident one by one?”

She curled her lip. “So what? So what if I did some of that? You’re acting like I’m a criminal—”

“You are a criminal,” I said, and for a moment, the words felt like knives slicing through my throat. “And everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You don’t get to scream your way out of this. You can't lie your way out of it either. Perjury is expensive and you already have money issues.”

She looked stricken. She opened her mouth to argue. I cut her off.

“I’m not here to coddle you,” I said flatly. “There’s nothing I can do for you now except tell you this: if you have anything resembling a soul left, tell the truth. It’s the only thing you can offer the people you've hurt.”

“You mean her. You’re choosing her over me.”

I stood. “I’m choosing justice.”

“No!” She surged against the restraints, her voice climbing into a shriek. “You can’t leave me in here! I’m your daughter!”

“You’re also a grown woman who made her choices,” I said, meeting her gaze one last time. “Mountainhowl will conduct the rest of the interrogation. I’m not shielding you, Vivian. Cooperate for your own sake.”

Her panic hit like a wave. “You’re not serious. You can’t just walk out!”

I stood, blocking out her screeching. The door clicked shut behind me, and for the first time in a long time, I felt the unbearable weight of being a father who finally did the right thing too late.

The hall outside the interrogation room was cold. Too clean. Too still.

I walked down it, already loosening my collar. My heart was hammering in my chest like it didn’t know whether to be relieved or ashamed. I’d turned my daughter over to be questioned like a criminal.

No—not like one. She was a criminal. I just hadn't wanted to see it until it had crushed someone else. Her transgressions spiraled fr beyond Renee. I may never know how bad it was. Twenty years from now people could show up to get their pound of flesh and I'd still have to deal with it.

A staffer waited for me outside the deposition suite. “Alpha Brightclaw,” she said with a polite nod. “The Panel’s liaison is ready. Do you want a moment before we begin?”

“No.” I rubbed my temples. “Let’s get on with it.”

Inside, the room was lined with enchanted recording crystals and a long black table. A woman in Mountainhowl-branded clothing sat at the far end, legal counsel for the court. She gestured to the seat across from her.

I sat, placing my hands flat on the table.

“I’d like to be placed under a truth spell,” I said before she could speak. “I want everything on record, and I want it verified.”

She blinked, surprised. “That’s highly promising, even for a Panel member, especially with your level of authority.”

“I’m not here as a Panel member,” I replied. “I’m here as someone whose judgment has compromised a young woman’s safety. I want there to be no room for doubt in my statement. Not from the Panel, not from the court, and not from her.”

The woman nodded slowly, then signaled to the man in the corner. “Very well. A Tier III oathbind will suffice. Do you agree to speak only truth for the duration of this interview, knowing that lies will result in magical backlash and immediate disqualification from your position?”

“I do.”

The spell settled over me like a warm chain around my chest, It was light, but impossible to escape.

“Proceed.”

And the questions began, starting from farther back than I had anticipated. About their friendship. About the Ceremony and Tyler's relationship with Renee. About Vivian. About what I’d known and when. About Tyler and the protection I failed to provide Renee even after declaring her my ward.

I answered them all.

Painfully. Honestly. It wasn't difficult to answer, so much as shameful to know. And when they asked why I didn’t act sooner, why I let it get this far, I didn’t offer excuses. I simply said, "I was compromised. I didn't see the danger. I didn't see how bad it was, partially because I didn't wish to see it… Vivian is my daughter. But I can't unsee it now. I can't unsee all the damage done to Renee, never having looked into any of this and trusting too many of the wrong people."

There was silence after that. The spell pulsed once in confirmation. No lies detected.

The legal rep closed her folder. “That will do for today, Alpha. Your testimony has been accepted. You may revoke the truthbind now.”

I didn’t.

Instead, I said quietly, “When you see Renee… let her know I chose to speak this way. Not because I had to. Because she deserves to know the truth from someone who’s failed her too many times.”

She nodded. "I'll pass along the message… I'm sure Luna and Alpha Mountainhowl will be pleased."

I nodded, revoked my oath, got up and left the room.