Chapter 42

I shifted in my seat, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious with all their eyes on me. But I owed them an answer, especially with the way Dominic was looking at me, like he needed to hear it. I wasn't sure what exactly he wanted me to say, considering he should know all this.

"I mean..." I picked at the edge of my napkin. "Well… I meant what I said.”

“Vivan always has her brunch at Crescent,” he said. “It’s the sister restaurant to this one.”

I blinked. “I’ve… never been to Crescent.”

He set his silverware down. Brow furrowing. “What?”

Grandpa and Arielle said nothing, but I noted that they had both gotten tumblers of whiskey to drink.

“Vivian…” I cleared my throat. “I was never really invited to go.”

He blinked. “To her birthday party?”

“I always thought it was held at Brightclaw.”

He grimaced. “The pack’s celebration of her birthday has never been her birthday party. She always does the same thing every year. Weekend cruise on the lake, Crescent, Moon Lake, and the pack party the night she gets back.”

I blinked. I had heard of Moon Lake. It was one of the most expensive spas in all of Brightclaw. As for the cruise, I hadn't even gone on one in this lifetime.

I swallowed. “I've never been there either. Moon Lake, that is. Or the lake. I had hoped that I would be able to go to Moon Lake for my graduation, if I could save up the money for it.”

They looked a lot more likely now than it had been before, considering how much money I was going to be getting out of my mother's estate every month thanks to Dominic being ridiculous.

He worked his jaw. “Trellis?”

“What’s that?”

“Another spa. The Cove?”

I shook my head. “It’s on my list of places to visit.” I looked across the table. Grandpa looked furious even though he was smiling. Arielle drank her whole tumbler. “I… heard the water was really nice.”

"Have you ever been to the ocean, Renee?"

I shuddered at that. “No, I haven't, and I don't plan to go either.”

Getting on the yacht in my past life had already been such a big deal.

Dominic leaned on an elbow, running a hand through his hair. He looked like he was getting more and more frustrated by the second. But I couldn't really understand why. Was he really that surprised? It wasn't as if Frostborne had the money that Brightclaw did. The only reason I had been on that vacation in which I had saved Vivian's life was because Dominic had invited me.

“Gratis Resort?”

“That’s where Tyler went for his brother’s birthday, right?”

Dominic clenched his fist so tight, his knuckles turned white.

“Are you telling me—” He cleared his throat “What about your dates with Tyler?”

I shrugged. “We usually went to a diner, or maybe a restaurant sometimes. He… took me to Psy Leap when he proposed. It was fun.”

Psy Leap was a well-known arcade. I had always wanted to go, and it had been a lot of fun at the time. I have been touched that he remembered that it was a place that I wanted to go to at the time. But the longer I looked at Dominic's face, and the more he seemed to react to all of his information, I was starting to feel as if the betrayal and everything else that I should be really, really pissed about and started long before he had even proposed.

Arielle’s eyes bulged in her eyes. Her face was flushed, and Dominic just stared at me. He looked furious, but like he was trying to hold it back. I could feel the heat radiating off of him.

"Psy Leap… is where he proposed to you?"

I nodded.

"… do you have photos?"

I nodded, slowly. "They'd… be on my phone." My lips twitched. "I remember he asked me not to post them so we could tell me in person."

"And is… that the nicest place you went to with him?"

I nodded. "Why?"

"I'm going to drag his entrails out through his nose," Arielle growled.

I blinked. "I… it was special. He knew I wanted to go, so he took me. Paid for it all. It was probably our best date."

"… did he not pay for dates otherwise?"

I shrugged. "We split it."

I laughed, but it sounded bitter even to my own ears. "Looking back, it was probably because Tyler was busy taking other girls out while he was supposedly dating me. He probably didn't have the funds for it all."

Dominic’s jaw clenched so tightly I thought he might crack a tooth, but he said nothing. Just stared, the muscle in his cheek ticking.

Dominic's eye twitched. "And… when you went out with Vivian?"

I grimaced. "We… didn't go out together much. I went shopping with her to help her pick out things…'

I waved my hand. "I knew she went nicer places. She and the daughter of Greenhollow and a few other people would go. She always said it would be a waste of what I'd managed to save," I added, a little softer. "Spending my whole paycheck on one outing, and she was right…"

Dominic's expression screamed that she wasn't. There was a beat of silence around the table, heavy and uncomfortable. My grandfather just looked into his whiskey tumbler. Arielle was refilling hers, murmuring to herself, eyes flashing with fury.

I caught a few words and realized she was talking to her phone, dictating another note.

Dominic cleared his throat and finally spoke, his voice steady but colder than before.

"I’m sure your cousin," he said, giving her a nod, "and the rest of your family will make sure you get to see more of… the world properly."

I opened my mouth, ready to brush it off, but then he looked at me directly, and the warmth in his voice shifted.

"And if there’s ever somewhere in Brightclaw you want to go," he said, quieter now, almost like it was just between the two of us. "Anywhere at all, I'd be happy to take you if they are too busy."

For a second, I couldn’t breathe. My heart fluttered wildly against my ribs, the words echoing through my mind.

It sounded almost like... a date.

My cheeks burned, and I ducked my head, pretending to smooth my napkin again just so I wouldn’t make a fool of myself by grinning like an idiot.

Maybe things were starting to change after all.

I stared down at my lap, willing my heart to slow down.

The idea of Dominic taking me out — just the two of us — kept playing over and over in my mind like some ridiculous daydream.

I pictured it far too easily: him holding the door open for me, his hand warm against the small of my back, the two of us sitting across a cozy table somewhere, the low hum of conversation around us. His full attention on me. His smile just for me.

My cheeks flushed hotter.

Stop it, Renee. I gave myself a mental shake. You’re getting carried away again.

I forced myself to look up, to meet his gaze without letting all those stupid hopeful feelings show on my face.

"Thank you," I said simply, keeping my voice steady. "I appreciate it. Really."

He gave me a small nod, almost like he understood everything I wasn’t saying out loud. And then he turned his attention back to grandpa. They shared a silent look and grandpa grinned.

"I believe we'll leave Brightclaw's locations to you, but the rest of the continent is ours."

"That is more than reasonable," Dominic said. He smiled at me. "I am sure you'll enjoy it."

We started eating again, though I kept stealing glances at him the rest of the night.

Dominic

After dinner, I bade them goodnight. I drove through the city streets with the window down, the cool night air doing nothing to cool the anger burning through me.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, replaying Renee’s words in my head.

My hands tightened until my knuckles ached.

It wasn’t just disappointment I felt — it was fury. Vivian had claimed to be her friend. Tyler had claimed to love her. And yet neither of them had ever treated her like she mattered. Like she was worth anything. They had been lying through their teeth about every dollar spent, letting me believe that they were using the money in a way that made sense. I ground my teeth. It made me sick.

Renee deserved better. So much better. And the fact that she seemed almost resigned to the way they had treated her only twisted the knife deeper.

I barely remembered the drive home. My hands were clenched so tight around the steering wheel, I was surprised the damn thing didn’t snap. I had to breathe or I was going to was going to shift in a fit of pure rage, and that never ended well.

I turned onto the road that led to the estate planning to approach this as calmly as possible. But as soon as I pulled into the driveway, I killed the engine, and noticed the cars parked out front in the visitor parking: daughters of other packs who all led me to believe that they were friends with Renee.