Chapter 26
Violet's POV:
I was just about to extinguish the lamp on my bedside table when the door was suddenly shoved open.
Daemon stepped inside.
My hand froze in mid-air. In my previous life—the ten years of neglect that ended in fire—he had treated this room like a quarantine zone. Now, he invaded my territory as if he owned every square inch of it.
"Daemon?" I sat up, clutching the duvet to my chest, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Do you not know how to knock?"
He ignored the question. He just stood there, his eyes tracking my every micro-movement.
"Why didn't you want me at the party, Violet?"
His voice was deceptively calm.
"I didn't say I didn't want you," I lied, crossing my arms over my chest. "I was surprised."
"Is it because of Evan?"
I blinked, genuinely caught off guard. "Evan? What does he have to do with this?"
Daemon finally moved, stalking toward me with the predatory grace of a wolf closing in on a cornered rabbit. He stopped inches from me.
"Don't play dumb, Violet. It insults both of our intelligence." His gaze dropped to my hands, then snapped back to my eyes. "The restaurant. The way you touched him. The way you looked at him."
My stomach dropped. He was talking about the lunch weeks ago, when I had deliberately touched Evan’s arm to annoy Daemon. I hadn't realized the annoyance had festered into suspicion.
"And then tonight," he continued, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "You practically choked when I said I cleared my schedule. You're trying to keep us apart. Why? So you can play house with my Beta?"
"That is ridiculous," I snapped, stepping back. "Evan is your best friend."
"Exactly," Daemon cut in, his expression hardening into granite. "I warned you explicitly: you can play, but not with my friend. Messing within the inner circle is off-limits.
"I am not sleeping with Evan!" I shouted, my control fraying.
"Then prove it." He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Let's ask him."
My blood ran cold.
If he called Evan...
My mind raced through the implications. Evan Thorne was a vault of secrets, but he was also Daemon’s man, through and through. If Daemon pushed him, Evan might crack. He held the photo I sent—the one of Daemon kneeling before Celeste. Worse, he had the security footage from the hospital, the footage of me saving Zane Carter, a rival male, and paying for his treatment.
If that footage came out, Daemon wouldn't just see a charitable act. He would see me funding a potential enemy. He would see betrayal.
I watched in horror as Daemon’s thumb hovered over the call button.
I couldn't let him make that call. I had to divert him.
"Are you insane?" I stepped forward, closing the gap he had created. I looked up at him, letting my eyes fill with a mixture of hurt and indignation. "After the other night? You think I'm sleeping with Evan after what we did?"
Daemon paused, his thumb still hovering over the screen, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Do you really think so little of me?" I pressed, my voice trembling. "Do you think my wolf, Ember, is that fickle? If I were with Evan, do you think I could have stood your touch the other night?"
Daemon stared down at me, his expression unreadable. For a second, I thought it worked.
Then, the corner of his mouth quirked up in a cold, sneering smile.
He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear. "Who knows, Violet? Maybe you're just greedy. Maybe you just realized what an Alpha's body can do, and you wanted more. Once you got a taste of the real thing, maybe you went looking for the next best thing while I was away at the border."
The humiliation was a physical slap. He reduced me to nothing but a body seeking a fix.
"You bastard," I whispered.
"Let's find out," he said, and pressed the call button.
He hit the speakerphone icon and held the device up between us like a judge's gavel.
Ringing...
My breath hitched. Panic clawed at my throat. No, no, no.
Ringing...
I felt tears prick my eyes—not of sadness, but of sheer, impotent rage and fear.
"Alpha?" Evan’s voice crackled through the speaker.
I froze. I couldn't breathe. I stared at Daemon, my eyes wide, the moisture spilling over onto my cheeks. I was shaking, terrified that my plans were about to crumble because of a stupid misunderstanding.
Daemon looked at me.
For a heartbeat, the cruelty in his red eyes flickered. The Alpha mask cracked, revealing something else beneath—confusion, perhaps? Or a sudden realization that he had pushed too far?
He stared at my tears, his jaw tightening. The silence on the line stretched taut.
"Daemon?" Evan asked again. "Hello?"
Daemon broke eye contact with me, looking down at the phone. His thumb moved.
"Nothing," Daemon said, his voice devoid of the earlier venom. "Wrong number."
He tapped the red button. The line went dead.
My knees felt like water. I turned away from him instantly. I scrambled onto the bed, diving under the duvet and pulling it up to my chin, turning my back to him.
"Get out," I whispered into the pillow.
I waited for the sound of the door opening. I waited for him to leave, triumphant in his bullying.
Instead, the mattress dipped.
I stiffened, every muscle in my body locking up.
The rustle of fabric told me he was stripping off his shirt. Then the belt buckle jingled. A moment later, the weight on the bed shifted, and Daemon slid under the covers beside me.
He didn't touch me. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, a solid wall of heat radiating from his body.
My heart was still racing, but the panic was slowly being replaced by a heavy, aching sorrow. He was here, in my bed, acting like a husband, yet his mind was miles away.
I stared into the darkness of the room, the silhouette of the window frame cast against the wall. I shouldn't ask. I knew the answer. But the question clawed its way out of my throat before I could stop it.
"That girl," I whispered, my voice raspy. "The student. Are you serious about her?"
Beside me, Daemon was still. He didn't feign ignorance. He didn't ask which girl.
"It's... distinct," he said finally. His voice was low in the darkness, stripped of the mockery he used as a weapon. It sounded honest. Terrifyingly honest.
A sharp pain pierced my chest, precise and agonizing.
"But she has a mate," I said, thinking of Zane.
"Not for long," Daemon replied. The callousness of his tone chilled me to the bone. "Once they reject each other, they aren't mates anymore. Bonds can be broken."
"Good luck with that," I muttered, my voice dry.
In the dark, my resolve hardened into something diamond-hard.
If he was going to steal Celeste, I was going to make sure Zane didn't go down without a fight. It was only fair.
Morning arrived with a cruel brightness, the sunlight streaming through the sheer curtains and demanding attention.
I woke to the sound of movement. I rolled over, blinking against the glare, to find Daemon standing by the wardrobe. He was already dressed in slacks, currently buttoning a pristine white shirt. The fabric pulled tight across his broad shoulders, tapering down to his narrow waist.
Even now, knowing what a monster he was, my traitorous eyes traced the line of his back. It was unfair that evil came packaged so beautifully.
He caught my reflection in the mirror and turned, his face impassive.
"Get dressed," he said. "Breakfast is in ten minutes."
I dragged myself out of bed and pulled on a fitted, backless sundress in a deep crimson. I brushed my hair until it fell in glossy waves down my back, applying a coat of dark lipstick to match.
When I entered the dining room, Daemon was already at the table, the remnants of his breakfast pushed to the side. He was drinking his black coffee, scrolling through emails on his tablet with lethal efficiency.
I sat opposite him, picking at a slice of toast, the dry crunch echoing in the large room.
Daemon finished his coffee in one long swallow and stood up, adjusting his cufflinks. He looked at me then, his gaze sweeping over my bare shoulders and the cut of my dress.
"Hurry up and eat," he said, turning toward the foyer without breaking his stride. "I'll wait in the car."
I froze, my coffee cup halfway to my lips.
"Wait?" I called after his retreating back. "Wait for what?"
He didn't turn around. "To go."