Chapter 31 FURY IN HER EYES
DAMIEN’S POV
“You don’t know the extent of suffering I can endure, as well Derek, so for every second that you torture me, I’ll bask in the satisfaction that you will never earn the title of an Alpha, I’ll see to it. You’d be left with making the hard choice of marking me and joining our souls completely or being angry old Derek for eternity. It would be your choice,” I hear Amber say once I get to Derek’s room, and I watch her walk past me with fire in her eyes, not acknowledging my presence.
I watch her retreating figure, and I can tell that Derek did an awful job at convincing her.
An unreasonable part of me that has been pining for her in every way a male would want a female feels good about this, at least she wouldn’t be with another, but the reasonable part of me knows that this isn’t just bad for Derek, but also bad for the pack.
Thoughts of her leave my mind once Derek and his father walk out of the room with blood red eyes and rage rolling off them in waves.
“If she were treated better, she would have been more than willing,” I say calmly, though not daring to look at them in the eye.
“This isn’t the time to get on my nerves, Damien. Follow her and talk some sense into her, because if I don’t get my title this night she would not live to see another night, pregnant or not, I’ll have her head sent back to her family for her insolence, and the pain I’ll feel after it would be a reminder of how irritating she was,” Derek says and I don’t waste another second before walking away from them.
I head directly to her room, but I don’t get a chance to speak when her voice behind her closed door comes through to me.
“I want to be alone, Damien. I don’t care what they said. I need to be alone right now,” she says, and gone is the fury I heard in her voice; now I hear a woman hurt, vulnerable, and broken.
A woman who doesn’t want my comfort. One who doesn’t want to be consoled but wants a sense of control in her life that seems to be out of her hands, so I stay silent.
I move to the opposite end of her door and stand there watching the door and waiting for whenever she’s ready to speak to me.
I can’t help but hear it, the sound of her sobs weighs like tons of bricks on my heart. For hours, I hear her weep, and I feel tortured that I can do nothing about it, just stand and listen to the sounds of her agony.
After some time, what feels like ages, she stops crying, her room becomes completely silent and I hear only her breathing, but I can tell that she isn’t asleep, so I decide to say something.
I walk back to her door, I don’t knock, I simply stand and listen more for a minute before speaking.
“Princess, you have to think of all the ways you can use this to your advantage. Not just claiming control today but buying your freedom permanently. Right now, you have the power to make both the Alpha and his heir move mountains just to get your consent. Take advantage of this and secure your freedom and your comfort as well as full rights over your baby,” I say, knowing that she has heard every word and I understand her silence.
I move away again, leaving her door to my former position, waiting for her to pick herself off the floor.
More hours pass by until it’s sunset, and I simply focus on the door, standing as emotional support for her, resolved to be here for as long as she needs. My focus is only broken when Derek’s aggressive tone fills the hallway.
“Why is she still cooped up in her room, and why the heck are you standing here doing nothing about it when it’s sunset?” he says with clear annoyance.
“I don’t think pestering her more or giving more threats would help our case. I think we should give her some time,” I say, trying to reason with him. Knowing him, he wouldn’t mind knocking her door down and pulling her to his room.
But even with this, her refusal to be with him would prevent any form of connection between them.
“What do you mean, more time, Damien? It’s dark out already, it’s just a few hours before midnight, and she is still locked in her room, ensuring to defy me with each hour she stays there,” he vents, the veins on the side of his face popping.
“If you don’t trust her, Derek, then trust me. Believe me when I tell you that you will not miss the rising blood moon; she will come to you. I assure you,” I say with certainty, knowing her, she’ll make the right call.
Regardless of what she might be feeling right now, Amber is strong and smart and will undoubtedly make the most of this situation.
“She just needs time,” I say, ignoring the groaning of my wolf at the thought of her mating with Derek tonight.
“She had better be, for her sake,” he says, after silently observing me for a moment, before he walks away, leaving me still standing and waiting.
She has been in there for so long and hasn’t taken food or water into her system, so I decided that feeding her would be my first course of action.
I mind link an omega to bring food to her room immediately.
Once the omega hands me the tray and leaves, I put it down and keep waiting for her, choosing not to disturb by knocking and requesting she eat.
Two hours later, and I see the door handle move, and the door squeaks open, revealing her exquisite figure that sets a chain of attraction off within me as she stares at me with an intense look that has me unsettled.
Gone are the sad eyes I saw hours ago; now they hold a sense of confidence as they sparkle with what seems like hope, and she takes powerful strides towards me, leaving me stunned and staring.
This is the first I’ve seen her with this much conviction in her eyes, as though she has the power to either change the world or destroy it.
CLAIMED ONCE AGAIN