Page 30 of Reforging Onyx

Dominic frowned slightly. His comments didn’t seem to address what the other witch had been saying, but he wasn’t sure what else Onyx might have meant.

“I’m proud of you for trying,” Dominic said, sitting on the bed and beckoning Onyx over to him. “What is it that you see in them that you do not want to be?”

“I don’t want you to be proud of me!” Onyx shouted, getting up and putting as much distance as he could between them, given the length of chain securing him to the bed. “I don’t want to be good for you. I don’t want to be a good pet you can pat on the head and show off to your friends!” He turned so he wasn’t looking at Dominic, instead staring over the room.

Dominic hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I can’t imagine that you want to be bad for me,” he pointed out. “I’ve promised you that things won’t change, won’t go back to how they were. But that also means that you have to choose to be good for me, and to let things between us be good as well.”

Onyx tugged at the cuff around his wrist, like he was testing the bond.

“Onyx,” Dominic said softly, “I can’t remove the cuff if you don’t come here.”

Onyx spun back around, staring at Dominic. “You just want me close so you can grab me and touch me,” he accused. “You don’t want to make it easier for me to walk away from you.”

“I won’t grab you,” Dominic promised. “Or touch you, right now.”

With a dubious look on his face, Onyx went to Dominic with slow steps, offering out his cuffed wrist.

Dominic watched Onyx carefully. The tension and agitation radiating from the younger witch had him concerned. But he did as he’d promised and removed the cuff, not touching Onyx any more than was necessary to remove it.

Onyx jerked his wrist away as soon as it was free, crossing the room so that he had as much distance between himself and Dominic as possible, then started pacing.

There were times when he needed to cage the Rayne witch in his arms until he worked the emotions out, but he didn’t think that this was one of those times. No, pressure here would cause the wrong kinds of cracks to form.

There was one solution, but he was reluctant to use it.

He had no particular point in mind that would complete Shane’s punishment, and he had not dismissed the wolf while he was still seeing if the social interaction Shane provided could be replaced. It was also late at night, much later than he would at any other time call on Shane to work with Onyx, but he didn’t doubt that the werewolf would be available if that was what Onyx needed.

And it was what his tiger needed, since the restless pacing was only making the Rayne witch’s agitation worse instead of providing any relief. Getting off of the bed, Dominic went to his desk, not reacting when Onyx moved around the room to keep distance between them, or doing anything to move in the younger witch’s direction.

“Have Shane meet me in the gym,” he instructed after pressing the intercom button.

Still not making any movements toward Onyx, he went to the bedroom door and stepped out into the hall, holding the door open for the younger witch.

Chapter 14

Onyx

Onyx eyed Dominic warily as he crossed over to his desk, keeping his distance. He didn’t know what to expect, but the command to have Shane meet them in the gym wasn’t it. Relief flooded him, momentarily cutting into the agitation, and he hurried across the room to flee it in favor of the gym. He took off at a near-run, needing to get this all out before he lost his mind and did something stupid.

Because in Tristan, he’d seen a future that was inevitable, one he didn’t want but faced anyway.

And he didn’t know what to do with that.

Onyx flung the door to the gym open and stepped inside without a second thought. Shane hadn’t yet arrived, but even knowing that the werewolf would be there soon helped.

A little.

He turned back toward Dominic as the other witch entered the gym behind him, taking a deep breath. He was fine. He was fine. Things weren’t bad right now. He wasn’t being punished. Dominic was giving him an outlet, even if he didn’t seem to understand why things were so bad in Onyx’s head.

Onyx would thank him for this small mercy later.

Probably.

When Shane entered the gym, Onyx breathed out slowly, glad to see the werewolf in ways that didn’t even make sense.

Onyx didn’t miss the urgency with which Shane moved from the door to the ring, which he was beyond grateful for. He needed this outlet desperately, needed to be around someone who wasn’t fucking broken beyond repair, who didn’t expect him to be broken in turn.

Shane could be a friend — if Dominic allowed it — and Onyx wanted that. He didn’t want those slaves around. Just Shane.