Chapter 25 SHE'S ENCHANTING
DEREK’S POV
“Damien, get your hands off her,” I growl furiously as my wolf rages once we see him with his hand locked with hers.
“Why? If you won’t hold her, at least someone should; don’t be stingy, alpha,” he says, and I growl fiercer when I see her stare up at him with a bright smile, one she has never directed at me.
“I swear to the goddess Damien, I will have your head,” I say, stressing every word through the mind link, enough that he can feel how serious I am and ready to walk out there to cause him severe pain.
He seems to get the message this time as he lets go of her hand and steps away from her a bit, but I’m still aggravated.
I know he’s doing this to get a rise out of me, in some sick reasoning, he believes that if I’m infuriated enough, I’ll start treating her right.
In the past days, he has been throwing complimentary comments at her to my hearing just to annoy me, and it has worked, which is why for five days I ensured that I drowned him with work, giving him no time to hang out with her.
Comments like ‘she has such lovely eyes’, ‘have you seen her smile?’, ‘her voice is so calming’, and more have had me digging my claws through his neck in a warning, but this doesn’t stop him as he kept saying, ‘if she’s yours, then treat her like she deserves’.
After the first two days of talks like this, I had him thrown in the dungeon, and for the past three days, I kept him there without food or water, but here he is trying to coerce me to kill him again.
I know without a doubt that he’s doing this to rile me up because in three minutes, he mind-linked me with the exact words, ‘I’m with your mate in the garden, come see how lovely we look together,’ he said, and I immediately saw red, ready to rip his heart out and end his miserable life.
The fact that he’s like a brother to me and has been my closest friend since the day I was born is the reason why I haven’t taken any drastic action.
He knows this and has decided to test the limit of my patience.
I watch them walk together, and in a second, her appearance completely enchants me as I watch her laugh and spin, her brown hair being blown all over her face by the wind, and even from here, I can see the glow in her eyes, and I can tell she’s truly happy.
“Gosh, it’s so beautiful here,” I hear her say with a chirpy tone, and I find myself smiling.
“I promised, didn’t I?” Damien says, drawing my attention back to him, and my annoyance returns.
“You did, you’ve been so kind to me, I think – nope, I’m sure that I would be miserable here without you, thank you Damien,” she says, getting closer to him to give him a peck on his cheek and that’s when I growl loudly, startling both of them as they turn to look at my direction even though they can see me through the glass.
“Get here this instant, Damien. This instant!” I growl with intensity, letting him feel the waves of rage rushing through me.
“I’ll be right back, Princess, don’t worry, just stay here,” he says reassuringly to Amber, who looks shaken up as she keeps her eyes in my direction.
I wait with thin patience until I see him and my claws protract and he visibly tenses when he sees them, but I don’t give him a second before I retract them and charge at him, landing a solid punch on his cheek drawing blood and then another punch to his stomach and then a series of punches until I’m pounding his body with my fist while he stays completely quiet and takes it.
“Fix yourself and meet me in my office in ten minutes,” I say to him, not looking back as I walk away from his figure, which is crouched down in pain.
Ten minutes of waiting settles understanding within me, as I see things from Damien’s point of view. Amber was right, she would be miserable without the simple gestures of care Damien is showing her.
I’m not about to be that way with her for any reason, so basically, Damien is doing me a favor by keeping her happy.
For days, I haven’t felt that heart-wrenching sadness that overwhelmed me since the day she moved her. Lately, I’ve felt her peace and contentment, and that has put me at ease enough to focus on work.
With Damien with her, things seem to be working out in my favor. I get to keep my distance from her and keep my peace while doing it and still have my wolf sated by being around her at night, with the only repercussion being my jealousy.
Logically, this seems like a really good deal, but logic never prevails when I see red with jealousy, hence why I’m still imagining ways to end my beta's life.
I hear the door of my office open, and I see him walk in, his wounds already healing, and I level him with a sharp glare.
“She’s my mate,” I state, walking closer to him.
“Yes,” he replies with a nod.
“She belongs to me.”
“Yes.”
“She’s your Luna.”
“Yes.”
“Your duty is to protect her and nothing more.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know your place, Damien?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m entrusting her care into your hands, don’t dare cross your boundaries, Damien,” I say, standing right in front of him.
“She needs to leave this place, even if for a day; she’s drained,” he says, still with reverence.
“What is your suggestion?”
“I want to give her a tour of the pack. That would undoubtedly make her more comfortable here,” he says, and I stay quiet for a moment thinking about it, and I realize it’s a good opportunity.
“Okay. You will use that means to tell her about her role during the induction ceremony. The blood moon is coming up in three days, and I’ve decided I won’t mark her. I can’t have such a connection to her. You know the alternative,” I say to him, watching his expression closely.
I’ve been avoiding talking about this for so long because I was fighting with the fact that I need a stronger connection with Amber if I’m to be made Alpha on the blood moon. Ideally, a day before the ceremony, the alpha is to mark his mate; it can be done sooner, but it must be done to ensure their bond is strengthened.
But in my case, I’d rather not join our souls and minds together, hence why I have to go with the alternative.
“You want me to convince her to mate with you, before the ceremony,” he says, his voice holding clear disagreement, and a frown settles on his face.
“Yes, Damien, I want you to inform her that we will mate before she is made your Luna on the night of the blood moon. Do you have a problem with me mating Amber?” I ask, leveling him with a hard stare and reading his expression with scrutiny.
I know that the next words he says will determine if I will have to choose a new beta or not.
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CAN’T LOSE HER