Chapter Forty-Four

Finley

Damon woke me up as he parked the truck and when I stretched my arms I hit him in the face, not realizing he was so close to me.

“Sorry,” I said as he laughed.

“If you want to hit me just say so, at least give me a chance to defend myself,” he said as I laughed feeling embarrassed.

“It’s your own fault, why is your head so close to me anyway?” I asked him.

“Let’s go check in,” he said as he climbed out of the truck and I looked up at the hotel.

I followed Damon inside and waited slightly behind him as he checked in and got the keys to a two bedroom suite. He was still playing at being a gentleman and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. My head said he should give me space but my heart wanted him close to me.

Upstairs in the suite Damon put my suitcase down in the master bedroom and then went to the second bedroom and closed the door. I sighed and closed my door as well and opened my suitcase to take another shower.

We had to report to this Council place at eight am and I had no idea what to expect. I was nervous, not really about seeing Calvin again because I knew Damon wouldn’t let him hurt me, but about what they would ask me.

I didn’t want to answer personal questions about me and Damon or how I felt about him, because even I wasn’t sure that what I felt for him wasn’t just the bond doing what it was supposed to do. Did I really love him or was it just the bond that told me I loved him. I couldn’t be sure about my own feelings and I wished that Damon hadn’t marked me like he had.

I wished a lot of things were different, but then again I had told myself I’d give him a chance when we went to St. Barts, and that was before he marked me. He was also a creepy stalker who had cameras installed in my house and watched me all the time. I shuddered at the thought of that, but then he was also the man that found me in the basement and looked after me, accepted me for who I was or was that the bond pushing him?

I got dressed after my shower, still not close to an answer when Damon knocked on my door and told me that it was time to leave. My hands were shaking and my palms were sweating by the time we left the lobby of the hotel.

“Finley,” Damon said as he stopped just outside of the hotel.

“I’m sorry, I’m just nervous,” I said to him.

“It’s okay to be nervous but I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said as he took both of my hands in his and I could feel myself calming down.

“Let’s just get this over with,” I said to him as he kept holding my hand and started walking towards his truck.

The drive there took fifteen minutes because of traffic but it wasn’t really far from the hotel and I wondered why Damon didn’t just suggest we walk there. I followed him into a building where a man behind a counter looked at me warily before looking at Damon.

“Welcome Mr. Woods,” he said and slightly bowed his head but I still noticed it.

“Thank you, nineteenth floor again?” he asked.

“Yes sir, they are expecting you,” he said and glanced at me again.

“Miss Blake is with me,” he said and the man just nodded but said nothing to me.

Damon and I walked over to the elevators and he pressed the number for the nineteenth floor. We didn’t say anything in the elevator and I got the idea that Damon was somebody quite important. I had gotten that impression the first time in the hotel in St. Barts and this man’s demeanor practically screamed respect and a little fear.

“Alpha Woods, you can go to conference room three,” a woman said as the elevator doors opened and I felt a surge of jealousy at the way she looked at him.

“Thank you, Natanya,” he said, barely looking at her.

Nobody introduced us and I just silently kept following Damon as he walked down one hall and then opened a door that looked exactly like the other four doors we had passed. Four men were already seated in the conference room, one of them being Calvin Williams.

“Right on time Alpha Woods, please take a seat,” one of the other men said.

“Thank you Council member Robins,” he said and pulled out a chair for me to sit furthest from everyone but still next to him.

“As just stated I’m Council member Robins, this is Oracle West, Alpha Williams and his Beta Goldfield,” Robins said.

“I am well acquainted with everyone, this is Finley Blake,” Damon introduced me and I kept my gaze averted from Calvin’s. I could feel him looking at me and I shivered despite myself.

“Miss Blake, how did you become acquainted with Alpha Woods?” Robins asked me.

“He was my neighbor,” I answered.

“I apologize for the frankness of the questions that will follow, are you involved in a sexual relationship with Alpha Woods?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered and I heard a low growl coming from Damon. I was feeling embarrassed having to answer these questions.

“When did he reveal the truth of our nature to you?” he asked me.

“He didn’t,” I answered truthfully.

“Where did you get your information that you reveal in your books?” he asked.

“My imagination,” I said and Damon smiled and hid a laugh as he coughed.

“What was the purpose of Alpha Woods' role in your life?” he asked.

“He was sent to protect me,” I said.

“How did you learn the truth of our existence?” he asked.

“When Calvin kidnapped me and tried to bite me,” I said and Calvin glared at me.

“At which point Alpha Woods intervened and removed you from the Williams territory,” he said.

“Yes, he took me to his clowder and then told me his side of the story,” I said.

“According to Alpha Williams you were already marked but had no knowledge of this,” he said.

“Yes,” I said softly.

“Alpha Woods, am I correct in saying that you marked her without her knowledge?” he asked Damon.

“Yes,” he said, sounding relaxed as my heart pounded away.

“Why?” he asked him.

“She’s my bonded half,” he responded.

“Lies!” Calvin yelled.

“Miss Blake, before the subsequent marking how would you define your relationship with Alpha Woods?” he asked.

“I found myself craving his presence, being near him calmed me and I can honestly say I fell in love with him before that weekend where he marked me,” I said and I could feel Damon’s eyes on me.

“Council member, respectfully, she needs to complete the oath and the bond broken between them since she’s already married, which nullifies her bond with Alpha Woods,” Calvin said.

“What?” Damon asked and then looked at me as I looked down.

“Is this true Miss Blake? Are you married?” Robins asked me.

“Yes,” I said, my voice catching in my throat.

“This complicates matters, the mate bond is sacred to us, by marking her you’ve taken away her choice from being with her husband,” Robins said as he looked at Damon.

“I ran from him! I changed my name and ran as far as I could get!” I said loudly.

The door opened and Jackson stepped inside as panic clutched at my heart and it started pounding against my ribcage. I visibly shrank away from him and Damon leaned forward as if trying to put himself in front of me.

“My dear Lucea,” Jackson said as he stood behind Calvin.

“Gamma O’Leary,” Robins said as he looked confused, “what is the meaning of your interruption?”

“I’ve come to take my wife home,” he said and my eyes widened at the mention of his title.

“You won’t touch her,” Damon said as he looked at him.

“Where’s my son you bitch?” he asked her as I started hyperventilating and Damon jumped up and slid across the table.

He had Jackson against the wall as the rest of them jumped up but it was too late as Jackson’s body slumped down to the floor with a gaping hole in his chest, his body started to shimmer as Damon whispered something and then it disappeared.

“Alpha Woods!” Robins yelled as Damon turned around and I saw that his hand was covered in blood.

“That takes care of that claim,” Damon said as he returned to his seat and looked at Calvin and his Beta.

I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I felt relief knowing that Jackson was dead and I was free of him but looking at Damon I couldn’t understand how he could be so cold and calculating, killing someone just like that.

“Alpha Williams, it’s clear from Miss Blake’s testimony that you kidnapped her and kept her against her will resulting in Alpha Woods trespassing your territory to ensure her safety that was allocated to him as an Enforcer by the Oracles, I therefore sentence you to four months seclusion in Brightnight,” Robins said.

“Four months for trying to keep her safe?” Calvin asked with disbelief.

“She was not yours to keep safe, you kidnapped her and tried to mark her with force even though you knew she was already marked, which would have resulted in her death,” Robins said and nodded his head at two men who took Calvin away. His Beta followed them outside and all who remained was me and Damon and the council member.

“Alpha Woods…” Robins began but a blinding light erupted into the room and a woman stood at the head of the table.

“Alpha Woods, all threats against the human have been eliminated, your assignment has been successful,” she said.

“Oracle Bloom,” Robins said as he bowed his head but when I looked back again she was gone.

“Clearly Gamma Jackson was the last threat against her life,” Damon said as he stood up and looked at me.

“Yes, it seems that you acted within the scope of your assignment although I doubt you knew he was a threat when you killed him,” Robins said.

“It doesn’t matter now, Finley’s free from his power,” Damon said as I sat there not knowing what to say to that.

“What’s going to happen now?” I asked.

“You will have to take the oath that will prevent you from disclosing any information about our kind and then you will be free to leave and resume your life as you see fit,” Robins said.