Blackmailing Belle (The Lost Girls, #4)

by Holly Roberds

"There was a day I overheard him with some of the other Wolves," I begin, the words bitter on my tongue. "I stayed out of sight, listening like some stupid girl hoping to hear something sweet. But what I heard. . ." I trail off, my throat tightening as the memory claws its way back. I force myself to meet Dominic’s intense gaze, grounding myself in the present. "He said I was useful. That keeping me ‘wrapped around his finger’ gave him access to my family, to power. He talked about me like a tool, something to be used. And love?" I laugh again, the sound sharp and raw. "He said love wasn’t real. That I was just part of his plan to rise in the ranks. Apparently, I’d make a decent wife, and he ‘could get skinnier tail on the side.’" That was a direct quote that lives like a permanent dagger under my ribs. Dominic’s lips curl into a snarl, his claws grazing my skin. "He said that about you?" I nod. "I learned my lesson that day. People don’t love, Dominic. They use. My parents did it. Adrian did it. It’s all just. . .utility and convenience.” Dominic doesn’t speak, his sharp gaze pinning me in place, but I feel the weight of his focus urging me to continue. "My mother used to complain about my father constantly. She’d sigh and say he didn’t love her the way a husband should. That he cared more about the Wolves, about chemistry equations, and work than about her. And then one day, she just. . .left.” I glance away, but Dominic’s grip keeps me grounded, his claws trailing light...