His Breaking Point

His Breaking Point
Chapter 55:

Ivy’s POV

We were halfway up the path when I felt it.

It wasn’t much, just a faint charge in the air, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The forest seemed to go quieter all at once, like even the birds and little critters seemed to know there was a bigger predator in the area.

Elsa must’ve felt it too because her laughter cut off mid-sentence. She turned, eyes scanning the trees. “Oh, hell.”

“What?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even.

But before she could answer, he appeared.

Damian stepped out from between the trees like a shadow made flesh, fast, silent, and very furious. His eyes burned molten gold, jaw tight enough to crack bone. He didn’t say a word. Didn’t have to. The look alone was enough to make even the toughest man quake.

Elsa winced beside me. “Okay, technically, this is not my fault.”

He didn’t even glance at her. His gaze was fixed on me. “You were told to stay on the property.”

I swallowed hard. “I was on the property.”

He started walking toward me—slow, measured steps that made the ground seem to tremble with each one. “You were supposed to stay in the house,” he said, voice low, dangerous. “Not half a mile into the forest.”

“It was her idea!” I blurted, pointing a finger at Elsa, who immediately took a casual step back.

“Hey,” she said, hands up. “Don’t drag me into this. I’m just the tour guide.”

Damian’s eyes flicked to his sister for half a second, enough for her to mumble something that sounded suspiciously like ‘I’m leaving before she spun on her heel and disappeared down the path.

Traitor.

I turned back just in time to see him closing the remaining distance between us. “Damian,” I started, “you’re overreacting–”

Before I could finish, his arm wrapped around my waist. The world tilted, and a startled yelp escaped my throat as he hoisted me clean off the ground and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing.

“Damian!” I yelped, pounding my fists lightly against his back. “Put me down!”

“Not a chance.”

“Seriously? What is wrong with you?!”

His voice came out rough, threaded with something that made my pulse trip. “You think it’s funny to walk straight into danger?”

“I didn’t see any danger!”

“You don’t always see it,” he snapped, tightening his hold as he started striding back up the trail. “That’s the point.”

I tried to wriggle, but his hold was unnervingly solid, every inch of him radiating control and heat. “You can’t just drag me around like a sack of flour!”

“I can,” he said flatly. “And I am.”

The nerve of this man.

I could feel every breath he took, the steady rise and fall against my stomach. The scent of him, pine, smoke, and rain, wrapped around me until it was hard to think straight. The rhythm of his stride was steady, powerful, and infuriatingly confident.

By the time we reached the steps of his house, my face was on fire. “You are insane!” I shrieked

He didn’t respond. Just opened the door, still holding me effortlessly, and stormed inside. Maren, passing through the hall with a tray, froze mid-step. Her brows shot up.

“Do I even want to know?” she asked dryly.

“No,” I gritted out.

Damian’s voice was clipped. “She left the grounds.”

“Ah,” Maren said, utterly unfazed. “Shall I prepare a grave or a snack?”

He didn’t answer. Just kept walking, up the stairs, down the hall, straight to his room. He set me down only when we were inside and the door clicked shut behind us.

The air between us shifted instantly.

He stood there for a moment, towering over me, his chest rising and falling fast, his eyes still glowing faintly gold. I could practically feel the tension rolling off him in waves, anger, worry, and something darker tangled up beneath.

I folded my arms, glaring up at him. “You could’ve just talked to me.”

“I tried,” he said, voice low. “You didn’t listen.”

“So your solution was to handle me like an animal?”

I tapped my chin, glaring at him from the corner of my eyes, “Oh wait! You are one!”

His lips curved, not quite a smile, more like frustration barely held in check. “You think I’d let you wander off when Lucien’s people are sighted near the grounds?”

That made me falter. “What?”

“They’re moving again,” he said, pacing once before facing me fully. “You don’t understand what that means, Ivy. If they catch even a hint of your scent–”

He cut himself off, dragging a hand through his hair. For a second, the strong facade cracked, and the man underneath bled through, tired, furious, and protective to a fault.

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t.

He stepped closer. Close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him, see the faint pulse in his throat. “You could’ve been taken,” he said quietly. “Do you get that? You being out there, unguarded—it’s not just reckless, it’s dangerous.”

Something about the way he said that word sent a shiver down my spine.

“I wasn’t trying to–”

“I don’t care what you were trying to do,” he interrupted, voice low, rough. “I care that you’re safe.”

The words shouldn’t have sounded the way they did, sharp and almost desperate. His hand brushed my arm, barely a touch, but it was enough to make the air feel thick.

I swallowed. “You don’t get to control me just because you–”

“Because I what?” he asked, stepping even closer. “Because I care? Because I can feel every time you’re scared or angry or trying not to run from me?”

My heart hammered almost painfully in my chest. “You’re impossible.” I whispered.

“So are you,” he murmured.

I tried to look away, but he caught my chin gently, forcing me to meet his eyes. Gold bled into gray, his expression unreadable but burning all the same. My breath caught.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” he said, voice barely above a whisper.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Neither of us moved. The world seemed to narrow to the space between us, the faint brush of his thumb against my skin, the steady sound of his breathing, the dangerous heat that had no business feeling this right.

Then, slowly, he let go. The loss of contact was like being doused in cold water.

He stepped back, jaw tight, eyes narrowed. “I shouldn’t have…” He cut himself off, shaking his head. “Stay inside. Please. Just… stay inside.”

I stood there, pulse still stuttering, trying to catch up to what had just happened. He turned toward the door, hand on the knob.

“Damian—” I started.

He looked back once, and for a split second, the Alpha was gone. In his place was a man barely holding himself together. “Don’t make me choose between protecting you and letting you go,” he said quietly. “Because you won’t like the choice I make.”

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

I stood there, still breathless, the echo of his words hanging heavy in the air.