Chapter 37: Shadows Over My Shoulder
Chapter 37:
Ivy’s POV
“You’re damn right I’d say no.” I took a step toward him, anger bubbling up in my chest. “You think you can just decide what happens to me, Damian? You don’t own me.”
His eyes flashed gold, faint but unmistakable. “I’m not trying to own you. I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“Well, I've been doing quite fine, wayy before you came along, thank you very much!” I glared at him, “Infavt, I would say I was doing better before you came into my life!”
His eyes darkened, not with anger but with sadness, “Do you think I enjoy this?” he asked quietly. “Do you think I like knowing there’s someone out there who’d use you just to get to me?”
I scoffed. “Then leave, why do you want to turn my life into a surveillance zone?”
He exhaled hard through his nose. “You don’t get it. Whether or not I stay away from you, Lucien already knows what you are to—”
“And what am I exactly? A human?” I asked sarcastically, recalling his earlier words.
“You're mine,” he said quietly. “And that makes you a target. He'll want to hurt you cause it hurts me. And the truth is…it's not only him.”
The air between us suddenly felt charged with tension.
I turned away, pacing toward the window because I needed distance, from him, from his voice, from the part of me that wanted to believe this was just all a bad dream. “So that’s it? You come here because I’m a problem to fix?”
He was behind me in a heartbeat. “You’re not a problem,” he said, his voice rougher now. “You’re the only thing keeping me sane.”
I closed my eyes. “Don’t…”
“I mean it.” He breathed, “Lucien wanted the truce broken, and now it is. He’ll come after me, after the pack, and after you, because he knows what you mean to me. And I didn’t want you blindsided in all of this, I wanted you to know the problems that come with being with me..”
Something in his tone made my chest ache. I turned to face him. “You think I can just run and hide? You think I can pretend this isn’t real?”
“I think,” he said, stepping closer until I could feel the heat radiating from him, “that I’d rather have you hate me and alive than love me and dead.”
The truth was, I wanted to stay angry. I wanted to scream at him about the unfairness of it all. I wanted to shove him out of my apartment and out of my head and heart. But the way he looked at me, tired, drained, yet still aching with worry he couldn’t hide, made me hesitate. It also didn't help that fear had started to burrow its way under my skin at his words.
“You really think they’d come after me just because of you?” I asked, air quoting the next words, “Despite the fact I'm human?”
“I don’t think,” Damian said, stepping closer, lowering his voice until it was barely a growl. “I know.”
I stared into his eyes, heart pounding…And I realised something…In that moment, he didn’t seem to be asking for my understanding, rather he was begging for it. Beneath the carefully put together facade, there was a man unraveling.
“Damian…” I started, softer now. “I can’t live like that. Looking over my shoulder, afraid of shadows that might not even be real.”
His gaze met mine. “Oh they’re very real. I’ve seen what Lucien does to his enemies. And you are now enemy number one.”
I swallowed hard. “Maybe, we can report him to the police or…isn't there like a supernatural police od something.” I was grasping at straws but at this point I would take anything.
He let out a low chuckle, “No, there's no supernatural police and the normal police can't handle what's out there.”
“And you think you can?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The storm outside had turned heavier, and raindrops hammered heavily against the glass. He was still standing too close, close enough that I could see the flecks of brown in his dark eyes.
Finally, he broke the silence. “Ivy, can you let it go?” He asked quietly, “I need you to trust me to let me keep you safe, even if it's just for tonight. Even just so I can feel better?”
So I swallowed whatever I had been about to say, and crossed my arms again, trying to make it seem like I was still mad. “You say this will make you feel better?”
“It’ll help me breathe,” he said, a small smile on his lips.
The honesty in his words undid me. I looked away, back toward the rain-streaked glass. This part of the city outside seemed quiet tonight, as if they could tell that danger was creeping in through every corner.
Finally, I muttered, “Fine. One night. And if your people so much as step inside my door, I’m calling the cops.”
He let out a slow exhale, his smile widening as he looke down at me, “It’s a deal. Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me.” I moved past him toward the kitchen, needing space to think, to breathe. “I’m only agreeing so you’ll stop pacing like a caged animal and not wear my floor out.”
He almost smiled at that. “Old habits.”
I rolled my eyes and reached for a mug. “Coffee?”
He hesitated. “I shouldn’t stay long.”
“Really? You came here drenched and angry and made me accept your bodyguards, so I could be safe. The least I can do is give you something to drink.”
That earned me an actual smile, “You’re impossible.”
“Occupational hazard.” I said, rolling my eyes.
I watched him as he took a step back toward the door, pausing like he wanted to say something more. For a moment, I thought he might touch me, but he didn’t.
“Get some rest,” he said softly. “I’ll check in tomorrow.”
“You're just going to leave?” I asked softly.