Chapter 43 Chapter 43
ANNA’S POV
After Elijah caught me on top of Damon with him grabbing my ass, it suddenly felt like I could no longer breathe.
He had really seen me.
I sank onto the edge of the bed, my hands gripping the soft sheets. My heart pounded, stomach twisting into knots. That look on his face—shock, hurt, and disbelief—haunted me. I should have felt relief that he was gone, but instead, panic and guilt gnawed at me.
Damon wasn't even saying anything.
He just leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, and his dark eyes fixed on me. His presence was heat itself, suffocating, and demanding attention. I could feel the warmth radiating from him, and the strength in the way he stood.
Every nerve in my body hummed at the sight of him. My thoughts scattered, messy, chaotic, and I hated myself for noticing the way his shoulders flexed as he shifted, the hard line of his chest, and the raw strength that seemed to radiate from him.
And I wanted him.
Fuck, I still wanted him.
How was this possible?
Finally, he spoke, his voice sounding like a promise and a threat at the same time.
“You’re still thinking about that bastard!” Damon noticed, cutting through the tension in the room. “You're worried Elijah saw us?”
I shook my head quickly, trying to gather my thoughts. “I… I—”
“You don’t get it!” he snapped, stepping closer, and heat rolled off him in waves. He moved with a predator’s grace, and I felt my pulse spike. “He doesn't care about you, Anna.”
My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Damon’s eyes darkened, and he stepped even closer, closing the distance between us. His hand brushed mine, sliding over my hip and resting possessively, almost dangerously, against me.
“Have you forgotten about the Alpha kings? Fifteen of them, expecting you to obey, to strip, to humiliate yourself. And where was Elijah? Did he come to save you?”
His question made my heart skip a beat.
The memory hit me like a lightning strike.
Elijah… he had truly done nothing. He had stayed in his chamber and not even come for a second to save me.
Damon’s hand tightened slightly around my waist, pressing me impossibly closer to him. Heat surged through me, a delicious fire I couldn’t resist. “He knew exactly what was happening,” Damon continued, with anger in his voice. “And he did nothing. He left you to face them alone. He let them decide whether you lived or died.”
My fingers dug into the sheets in anger. The memory of the humiliation I had almost faced mixed with the rage rising in me. My chest heaved, heart hammering. Elijah… the man I had once loved, the one I thought would protect me—he had actually abandoned me.
Damon’s voice dropped. “Do you see it now? Do you see who the coward really is? The man you thought would fight for you? The man you thought deserved your loyalty?”
I wanted to argue.
I wanted to deny it, but the truth stabbed me sharper than any blade.
Damon’s hands slid along my sides, pressing me closer, and I felt the heat of his body all around me. I shivered. My pulse raced, my stomach twisted, and every inch of me wanted him. He was dark, dangerous, and dominant. He was everything Elijah wasn’t.
And I wanted it.
I wanted him...
“Anna, you should want someone who actually stands up for you,” Damon murmured, his lips brushing against my ear, warm and dangerous. “Not a coward. Not someone who watches you almost die and does nothing. I was the one who made sure you stayed alive.”
“Yes…” I moaned as he further pressed onto me, my breath shaky, and my chest heaving. “Yes, I should want you instead…”
His smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, teasing, and dangerous. “Good girl!”
My body pressed against him, unable to resist. My pulse was a drumbeat in my ears. My thoughts of Elijah, of the hurt, of the betrayal, melted into anger and desire. Fuck him! All I could feel right now, all I could think about, was Damon.
And I was satisfied.
“You see it now, don’t you?” he questioned. “You see why you should want me instead of him? Why you should feel… this.”
I gasped, heat rolling through me. My fingers brushed his chest. Every nerve alive, chest tight, stomach twisted. The pull, the fire, and the danger—all of it made me ache. My mind was dizzy, lost in the sensation of him, and in the sharp truth of his words.
“Yes,” I breathed, trembling, almost unable to speak. “I… I see it.”
Before I could speak again, Damon’s lips crushed against mine.
It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t soft.
It was wild—raw and consuming.
His mouth claimed mine like he’d been holding back for centuries, and every ounce of anger, desire, and tension between us exploded all at once. I gasped against him, my fingers clutching his shirt, pulling him closer, desperate and dizzy.
His hands roamed up my sides, strong, and leaving fire wherever they touched. The world blurred around us—the room, the bed, everything. There was only him. Damon. The man I shouldn’t want but couldn’t resist.
My thoughts tangled, my breath shallow. His lips moved to my jaw, down to my neck, each kiss making it harder to think. I could feel his fangs brush my skin, teasing, threatening—but never crossing the line by biting into my neck.
Sometimes I forget he's also a vampire.
I tilted my head, breathless. “Damon…”
He pulled back slightly, eyes dark and heavy, his voice low and rough. “Say my name again!”
“Damon,” I moaned, trembling.
His smirk was sinful. “Good girl!”
And then—
The door burst open.
We froze.
A guard stood in the doorway, his eyes wide as if he’d just walked into death itself. He should have knocked but obviously forgot. His face was pale, and his hands shaking. He bowed so fast it looked like he might break his neck.
“Forgive me!” he stammered, his voice trembling. “Forgive me, Lord Damon— I didn’t mean to intrude!”
Damon growled dangerously, a warning rumbling deep in his chest. The sound alone made the guard’s knees buckle.
“Speak!” Damon ordered.
The poor man looked like he might collapse on the spot. “I—I bring a message, my lord. From Alpha Elijah.”
The name hit me like a strike to the chest, and I stiffened, my breath catching as Damon’s grip on my waist tightened.
“What message?” Damon asked darkly.
The guard swallowed hard. “He—he has an announcement in ten minutes… in the grand hall. He said everyone is expected to be there.”
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut through bone.
I pulled slightly away from Damon, staring at the guard. “An announcement?” I repeated softly.
“Yes, my lady,” the guard whispered, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. “Alpha Elijah said it was urgent. All pack members are to assemble at the hall immediately.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed. “Dismissed!”
The guard nearly tripped over himself as he bowed again and fled, the door slamming shut behind him.
The room fell back into silence.
My heart was still pounding from the kiss, from the tension, and from him. But now it was pounding for something else too—something cold and uncertain.
An announcement.
By Elijah.
In ten minutes.
And after what Elijah saw this morning—after seeing me with his brother—I knew exactly how deep that wound would cut.
What kind of announcement could he possibly make after that?
What was he doing?