Chapter 27: Damien, You Are Chaining Me
Ariel
That night I came home early. The house felt bigger and quieter with just us. I poured tea with hands that still shook. The day’s little displays — the pen moving, the addicting hum under my skin — made me feel like I was on the edge of falling off something high.
Damian came down the stairs silent, the way only a man who owned a building could be. He watched me while I closed the kettle lid.
“You tried to lie to me today,” he said.
“I did not,” I snapped. The flames in the kettle hissed.
“You did,” he said, his voice flat. “I could smell it. Your fear, your hiding. Don’t do it.”
I turned, proud and small. “You can’t control everything.”
He stalked forward, the space between us closing. Up close, he was a presence that breathed heavy with power. His jaw clenched, then he stepped in until his chest touched mine.
“Then admit it,” he whispered, the smell of cedar and fire strong in his nose. “Admit what you are.”
“I am me,” I said. “Not your experiment.”
His thumb brushed my jaw, and the gesture was gentle for a second, soft enough to make my breath hitch.
“You are changing,” he said. “And you’ll either let me help you, or you’ll let them take you.”
“Who is ‘them’?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. Instead, his mouth crushed mine. The kiss was not soft. It was rough and demanding. I had a second of panic and then a decision that started as rebellion and turned into something else. I kissed him back with a fierceness that surprised me. I surprised myself.
When we broke apart he was breathing hard, the gold of his eyes brighter than normal. He tasted like smoke and iron.
“Stay,” he whispered. “Stay with me tonight. Let me hold you while you change.”
Part of me wanted to run, to escape the ache and the tightness. Another part — a darker, lonelier part — wanted him more than anything. I let him pull me into his arms. I let him cl
aim me with hands and whispers.
Ariel’s POV
The air between us crackled like lightning. I stood on the balcony, gripping the railing so hard my knuckles turned white.
“You can’t keep doing this, Damian,” I hissed, refusing to turn to him.
His shadow loomed behind me, larger than life, suffocating. “Doing what?” His voice was calm, too calm, the kind of calm that meant danger.
“Chaining me!” My voice rose, cracking under the weight of my fury. “I’m not some fragile little doll you can lock away! I’m human. I have a life. And you—”
“And I’m the only reason you’re still alive.” His words cut through me like a blade.
I spun to face him, tears brimming in my eyes. “Alive? Is this living to you? Being trapped in a golden cage while you decide what’s best for me? That’s not protection, Damian—it’s control.”
For a moment, he just stared at me, his jaw tight, his eyes flickering gold. His wolf was close, I could feel it.
Then he stepped forward, towering over me. “You think I enjoy this? You think I don’t see what it’s doing to you? Ariel, if I let my guard down for one second, they will take you from me. Rip you apart. Do you understand that?”
“I don’t care!” I snapped, voice breaking. “I’d rather die free than live like this!”
His face darkened, his body trembling with barely contained rage. For a terrifying second, I thought he might snap. His fists clenched at his sides, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Then—he turned away.
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” he muttered, voice low and dangerous. He stormed back inside, slamming the door so hard the glass rattled.
And just like that—he was gone.
\---
Damian’s POV
Her words echoed in my skull, each one sharper than claws.
I hate you, Damian. You’re chaining me. This is not protection.
Hate.
The word made my wolf snarl inside me, scratching at my skin, demanding I go back and prove to her that she was mine, whether she liked it or not. But I couldn’t. Not right now. If I touched her, I wouldn’t stop.
So I left.
The drive to the hotel was a blur of headlights and fury. By the time I reached the suite, my wolf was clawing for release. I ripped off my shirt, pacing like a caged animal, fists pounding into the wall until plaster crumbled beneath my knuckles.
“She doesn’t understand,” I growled to myself. “She can’t.”
But another voice whispered back—dark, cruel. Or maybe she doesn’t want to.
I poured a glass of whiskey, downed it, then another. The fire in my chest dulled nothing. Her face, her tears, her trembling voice—it was all I saw.
And the truth that scared me most?
I couldn’t lose her. Not even if she hated me.
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Ariel’s POV
The room felt emptier without him. The silence was suffocating.
I sat on the edge of the bed, clutching a pillow, rocking slightly like a child lost in a nightmare. My mind wouldn’t stop replaying the fight. His eyes, his rage, his words.
“I’d rather die free than live like this…”
Had I really meant that?
Tears slid down my cheeks, hot and endless. I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling the ache. I didn’t hate him. I couldn’t. But I hated what he was turning me into—weak, caged, suffocated.
The buzzing of my phone startled me. I wiped my eyes and reached for it, half-hoping it was Damian apologizing.
But it wasn’t.
Unknown number.
With trembling hands, I opened the message.
And my world shattered.
Photos. Damian, shirtless, in what was clearly a hotel room. A woman draped over him, her lips brushing his jaw. Lily.
The furniture, the curtains—I knew this suite. He had taken me there once. It was his hotel. The room number was even tagged.
My stomach dropped. My vision blurred. “No… no, no, no…”
I threw the phone, but then scrambled after it, desperate to look again, desperate to find a flaw, something to prove it was fake. But the more I stared, the more real it seemed.
“Damian…” My voice cracked, a broken sob.
The man who claimed me, who caged me, who swore I was his—was with her.
\---
Damian’s POV
The second glass of whiskey hit harder, but not enough. My wolf paced inside me, restless, violent.
I sank into the chair, rubbing my temples, when my phone buzzed. I snatched it up instantly—hoping, praying it was her.
But it wasn’t Ariel.
It was nothing. Just silence.
And suddenly, a chill spread through me, a whisper of dread. My instincts never lied. Something was wrong.
Far away, I could feel her pain, sharp as a blade against my chest.
And I knew… someone had just driven a wedge between us.
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Ariel’s POV – Cliffhanger
The phone slipped from my hand, landing on the floor with a thud. I stared at it, sobbing, my body trembling.
The images glowed back at me, undeniable, merciless.
Damian. With Lily.
The truth—or the lie—was clear enough to destroy me.
I curled into myself, clutching my stomach, whispering his name like a prayer I no longer believed in.
“Damian…”
Tomorrow, I would demand answers. Tomorrow, I would confront him.
And tomorrow… everything between us would break.