Evangeline's POV His words echoed in the silence again. “So… will you consent?” My heart had just begun to slow, still thrumming with the memory of what just happened, his words...fuck! he knew how to use them. We had come so close to something I never thought I would allow myself. But now something had shifted inside me, hardening with bitterness and fear. I swallowed, staring down at my hands, my fingers trembling under the weight of my decision. “I… can’t,” I stated. My words tasted like ash. His expression went quiet and calm, impossible to read before he asked, softly but with a knife-edge of steel, “Why not?” My chest heaved. I trembled, but I forced my gaze to his. “Because you’re insane,” I said, quieter than I felt. But each word struck me like a blow: insane. Crazy. The word echoed in the room and so did my anger. He flinched, just a fraction, almost like he expected more, and I felt something coil inside me: confusion, remorse, rebellion. “You’re twisting m
Evangeline's POV Gods....the moment his hands moved down my waist, a tremor ran through me. Heat. Real, burning, bone-deep heat. He didn’t even touch me the way I expected like rough, just a careful slide of his fingers across my hips, like I was fragile and breakable. Was that mercy? No. It felt like reverence. My breath caught as his forehead brushed mine again. Damien's body was so close, his scent thick in the air—sandalwood and something darker, untamed. I hated how much I liked it. How my body responded even when my mind screamed at me to stop. How could someone I despised so deeply make my chest flutter like this? I’d kissed him out of spite. To win a game I didn’t even know the rules of. But now… I wasn’t sure who was winning. He was breathing heavily, like every second he held himself back was some small war. I could feel it. The restraint. The torment. The firestorm just under his skin. I knew I was playing with something I didn’t understand. His hand
Damien's POV The footsteps receded down as if it suddenly felt my presence fading like a released breath. For a moment, the oppressive tension that had coiled within me loosened. I exhaled slowly and let my shoulders drop, aware of the tremor in my chest that hadn’t subsided. How many more... Every shift of my bones and muscles ached, as though my mind and body were precariously suspended between duty and reckoning. I glanced toward Evangeline. Her hand was against the wall yet she stood steady. I turned as though leaving, moving away from the heat of her gaze. Then she spoke quietly, surprising me. “Damien,” she called gentle but firm. For the first time she called my name, it had a resonance when she used it. Not like Alpha, not boss, just Damien. I paused, caught in mid-step. “Who was the lady you went to meet earlier today that was looking for you?” she asked. I closed my eyes. Damn her timing. She’d asked what I practically didn't want, how closely she watched and
Damien’s POV The corridor was quiet as I walked it anyway, my steps echoing off the cold walls of the east wing, the one Draven had claimed for himself when he returned to the fortress last moon cycle. A place where till this day, I didn't know the reason he chose to live in that part of the fortress, perhaps where his demons would never stay sleeping for long. He wanted to talk right after Evangeline had rushed in and talked about him out of the blue. I already knew something was wrong. When I reached the tall door carved with the crescent sigils of our bloodline, I paused for a moment, my fingers flexing at my side. A cold unease stirred inside me like something older. I knocked once. No answer. Then I pushed the door open. Draven stood near the hearth, his hands shoved into his pockets, his back to me. Firelight licked across the edges of his face, painting him in fractured golds and reds. He didn’t turn as I entered. He didn’t have to. “You wanted to see me,” I said ca
Evangeline’s POV The second I got to my feet, my legs didn’t carry me-they flew. I didn’t know how I managed to push myself forward, how I didn’t trip again, how I didn’t scream. The walls blurred. I didn’t know this part of the fortress. It was endless halls with heavy doors, and my heart, God, my heart was choking me. I couldn’t breathe. Kaia. Kaia. She had looked right at me. And him. Draven. Her body had been bent, helpless. His voice still clung to the back of my skull like a splinter. “Pleasure me, now. I didn’t bring you here to hesitate.” The cruel edge of it. The low, commanding tone. And Kaia… the way she had obeyed without looking him in the eyes. No. No no no. I turned sharply into another corridor, my chest on fire. A door ahead was slightly ajar. The only light in the entire passage spilled through that crack. I didn’t think. I just ran inside, my breath torn and ragged. The moment I crossed the threshold, I froze. Damien was there. He stood before a tall man
Evangeline's POV Something didn't right. Even as Kaia had left my room, even as the door clicked shut with gentle finality, I couldn’t stop thinking about the look in her eyes, the fear, the uncertainty… the guilt. And the way she couldn’t answer me. What was she hiding? I stared at the door for a long time after she left, biting my lip, torn between giving her space or doing something I hadn’t done in a long time, following my instincts. Eventually, the silence grew too loud. My breath trembled through the quiet as I rose slowly from the bed. I reached for the door, cracked it open as silently as I could, and peeked out into the hallway. The corridor was dim, lit only by the wall lights placed evenly along the walls. It was empty. But Kaia hadn’t gotten far. Her silhouette was visible at the far end of the hall, moving softly, her small frame gliding like she had memorized every corner of this fortress. I stepped into the hallway, closing the door gently behind me. My bare fee