Damian's POV “Let’s start with the scars then,” I said, taking a deep breath to steady myself. I shifted my position so I could face her fully. “But know this: it’ll be raw, it’ll be messy, and it won’t always look pretty. Are you sure you want this?” “I don’t care about pretty,” she whispered fiercely, inching closer. “I care about you.” The sincerity in her voice both broke me and molded me anew. With a slow inhale, the weight of my past rushed in like waves against a crumbling shore. “I’ll tell you what you want to know…” And for the first time, I allowed myself to peel back the layers, revealing the darkness I usually buried deep—a darkness that had made me who I was today. “I grew up in a harsh world—one that bred survivalist instincts and stripped away the niceties. My father was a powerful man, an Alpha who ruled through intimidation. The betrayal of my mother shattered the foundation of our lives. She left us when I was too young to understand, and my father put the b
Damian’s POV I would burn kingdoms to ash before I let her go. The moment stretched before us, heavy with unspoken words and lingering fragments of intimacy. I gently stroked Ava’s hair, allowing the silence to envelop us like a protective cocoon. Each second felt like a promise—I wanted to pledge myself to her, to show her that this connection wasn’t fleeting but an eternal bond that transcended the barriers I’d built around my heart. “Do you feel it too?” she finally asked, her voice a husky murmur that stood at the threshold of vulnerability. “What do you mean?” I replied, leaning back to meet her gaze more fully, intrigued by where this was heading. “This… us,” she said, sweeping a hand between us. “What we just did—it feels different. It feels important. Do you feel that?” I nodded, breath hitching in my throat. “It’s more than just what happened last night, Ava. It’s… everything. You, me—this connection we share. It’s deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced.” Th
Damian’s POV The night air clung to my skin, cool and crisp, yet nothing could douse the inferno still raging through me. Ava lay sprawled against the plush white sheets of the cabana, her chest rising and falling in soft, uneven breaths, lips still parted from the cries that had shattered into the night moments ago. Her skin glistened faintly in the dim light, moonbeams and lanterns conspiring to turn her into something celestial—untouchable by anyone but me. Except now, she wasn’t untouchable. She was mine. Claimed. And yet… I couldn’t stop touching her. My fingers traced idle patterns along her hip, moving up the smooth expanse of her thigh as though memorizing every curve, every inch of what I’d just taken. What we had just become. “Ours,” my wolf purred, his voice a low rumble of satisfaction that vibrated through me. “Finally. Do you feel it, Damian? The bond. The way her body accepted us. She’s marked in every way that matters.” I swallowed hard, because he wasn’t
Damian’s POV The city stretched beneath us, a sea of glittering lights under an ink-black sky. My private rooftop was silent except for the hum of the night breeze and the faint sound of music drifting from the speakers I’d had set up. Candle lanterns lined the edge, casting a soft golden glow over the terrace—a deliberate design to assert my control and create an atmosphere that would encourage… intimacy. Yet here I stood, losing every ounce of that control because of one woman. Ava. She walked ahead of me, her heels clicking softly against the polished stone floor, the wind teasing strands of her hair loose from the elegant knot she’d arranged earlier. The moonlight caught on her bare shoulders, making her look almost ethereal, as if she didn’t belong in this ruthless world I ruled. She belonged somewhere softer, safer… but she was here—with me. The way her dress hugged her curves drove me wild, and with every step she took, my wolf stirred within me, his voice deep and demandi
Damian’s POVThe car was silent, save for the rhythmic hum of the engine and the occasional soft rustle of Ava’s movements beside me. She sat there, her fingers nervously tangling in her lap, the moonlight slipping through the tinted glass and casting a gentle glow over her delicate profile. For a fleeting moment, I wanted to reach out and feel that warmth, to anchor myself in the solace she brought.You want her.The voice of my wolf was low, primal, humming through my veins with a dangerous urgency.She’s ours, he growled, possessiveness thickening the atmosphere around us. Not just the human side of me—the beast claims her too.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, knuckles turning white as I fought against the surge of heat crawling up my spine. She’s not ours. She’s my responsibility. That’s it, I snapped back, trying to banish the waves of desire threatening my resolve.My wolf laughed darkly, a rumbling growl that swirled through my mind. Responsibility doesn’t make your p
Damian’s POV Ava's soft smile didn't quite reach her eyes as she glanced my way, but it knocked the breath out of me all the same. It was a fragile expression—one I had seen far too often lately—and it made me ache to gather her up and shield her from all the hurt and uncertainty that clouded her life. As she turned back to Eli, brushing a lock of hair from his forehead with a tenderness that ignited a wildfire within me, something primal stirred. I wanted that touch. That gentleness. That piece of her she guarded so fiercely, and yet I felt like an outsider standing at the door of a home I desperately wanted to enter. My wolf's voice slithered through my mind like smoke. “You want her to look at you the way she looks at him.” She will. “Claim it.” Not here. Not now. I forced myself to stay rooted by the door, hands buried in my pockets to stop them from curling into fists. The sight of Ava laughing—a soft, shaky sound—as Eli cracked some joke I couldn’t hear felt like music p