Chapter Four

Damon Pov

An hour later, having dropped off Andrew and Matt at their houses, I am finally pulling up to the pack mansion. I park the bronco in front of the house, grab my phone, and race into the house like my life depends on it.

As soon as the door opens, Slade and I can smell the sweet smell of cinnamon rolls. For the first time in months, Slade relaxed in my mind, and without thinking, I let my nose lead the way. Before I realized where my feet were taking me, I found myself outside Elle's door, breathing heavily.

Not ready to leave, I sank to the floor, leaning against the door and letting my nostrils fill with her sweet scent. My body is relaxing for the first time in weeks that I don't realize when the rest of the world falls away...

"Damon, wake up, son," my father's voice startles me awake, my eyes wide, confused about where I am. The last thing I remember is sitting outside Elle's room. I can't still be there, can I?

"Dad! Wha-?" I ask, my voice still groggy from sleep. My hands tried to wipe the slumber from my eyes. It took me a few more seconds to realize I must have fallen asleep outside Elle's room. Fuck. 

"I found you sleeping. What are you doing sleeping outside Elle's room?" he asks, his voice filled with curiosity, but the worst is how his eyes feel like they're peering into my soul. 

"I...uh...I don't know...I must have sleepwalked or something..." I try to explain, but guessing by the looks on his face he doesn't believe my lies, and I am ready for him to call me on it. 

"Well, you should probably get back to your room. It would help if you had some sleep before you come to my office at 9 am to catch up on the business you missed while at training. I know it's the first day of senior year, but you missed a lot of important things while away," he says as he offers me his hand to help me from the ground and pull me into a hug.

My father wasn't an overly emotional man, especially in front of other pack members. But in private, when it's just him, mom, and me, he opens up. "It's good to have you home, son. Your mother and I have missed you." 

"I have missed you too. What time is it?" I ask him, wondering how long I have been outside Elle's door and who else might have seen me slumped over like a lovesick puppy. 

"It's about 3 am. What time did you get home?" he asks as we start walking to the stairway to the upper levels of our rooms. 

"We crossed the borders around one a.m, I think," I reply anxiously, wishing to be done with this conversation and the embarrassment I feel being found sleeping outside Elle's room like some lovesick pup begging for a chance to go to the school dance. I am not that kind of loser. 

"Oh well, go get some sleep, son," he says as we get to the level my room is on. "Oh, and Damon?" he asks as I put my handle on my door handle, causing me to turn and look back at him standing on the stairs. 

"Yeah?" I ask, turning to look at him one last time before walking into the bedroom I haven't seen in weeks. 

"Let's not sleepwalk outside Elle's room anymore. Understood?" he asks, but the edge in his voice could sharpen knives which unsettles my possessive Alpha wolf, who is pissed at being told what to do. 

"Got it," I say before walking into my room and slamming my door with more force than necessary. Shrugging off my shoes and tearing off all my clothes until I'm only in my boxers, I crawl into bed, hoping to get some sleep before I have to meet my father in his office. 

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LUNA OLIVIA POV

The annoying beep of my alarm clock rouses me from a profound sleep. Reaching over to touch my mate before leaving him for an entire day but finding sheets between my fingers jolts me awake quicker than the sex. Where could he be at three a.m? At this godless hour? 

I am only up because I am going to New York City with the girls and Elle. Now that her wolf is about to surface, things will change around here quickly. I want this last experience with her before the truth of her purpose here becomes known. I Reach out through the bond to feel for my mate, Charles, only to smell him coming in the door. 

He may be older than when we first met, but he is still the most breathtaking man I have ever met. He has a knowing smile as he starts undressing, unaware of my eyes on him. Feeling mischievous, I ask him, "where have you been?" Just for the chance to startle him since it's such a rarity. 

"I was thirsty, but I ran into Damon sleeping outside Elle's room again," he says, and I don't need a light on to see the smirk on his lips. Unfortunately, he responds utterly unphased by my question, damn Alpha genes. 

"Remember when you could carry him back to his room?" I ask with a chuckle, "I guess things have changed since then and will continue to do so, won't they?" I ask him, the worry evident in my voice. 

"They will," Charles said with a sigh, "but we made a promise we cannot break, and we know what needs to be done. We promised, Liv." His face holds compassion and understanding, but something in his tone has a reminder. 

A reminder of what will happen if we don't hold up our end of the agreement, and there is no way I could handle the consequences, so I continue with the responsibilities given to me even when I doubt my abilities. 

"We love Elle like she is our own," Charles says, feeling my reservations through the bond. He knows how hard I struggled with the decisions we made long ago. "We owe it to her and Damon to do this. We can't back down now; we already agreed." 

"I know; what's done is done," I say with a sigh, watching as Charles approaches me with a sly smile. Crawling on top of me, Charles nibbles on my marking spot, sending tantalizing shivers down my spine and a moan from my lips. 

"Are you trying to distract me, Alpha?" I ask, giggling like a teenage girl making out with her football star boyfriend. "That depends on if it's working?" he asks in whispers as his lips barely brush against the skin of my neck, causing my eyes to roll back in pleasure. 

"Oh, definitely," I say, grabbing his face and looking into his blue eyes before smashing my lips against his in need, wrapping my arms and legs around him. Forgetting about our promises, troubles, and impending doom, I lose myself in my mate, knowing we can worry about the rest later. 

Together. 

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DAMON POV 

After tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep from Slade's incessant grumbling about our father, I glance at the clock seeing it's only 7:00 am. I can shower and still run into Elle before she leaves for the first day of class.

I know that seeing her would help Slade calm down; this is the longest either of us has gone without seeing her face. I'd be lying if I disagreed that it affects me as much as him. Running to the closet, I pulled out some clothes with a towel and headed through the doorway to the connected bathroom.

Stripping out of the boxers, I stride to the corners where the rainfall showerhead sits and turn it to as hot as it goes. I sit underneath, enjoying the warmth for a minute before I get to work, washing off the stink of my travels.

After fifteen minutes, I am standing in front of a foggy mirror with the towel wrapped around my waist. I quickly dry myself and put on the clothes I picked out before heading to the kitchen, hoping to see Elle's fiery red hair sitting at the counter eating her breakfast. 

Instead, I walk into the kitchen without her presence but am greeted with the smell of Helena cooking pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, and potatoes. The Alpha training mess hall could not compare to her cooking, and I have missed it. 

"Good morning Alpha Damon. We are happy to have you back home," Helena says as she comes over to hug me before returning her eyes to the fluffy pancakes sitting on the grill. "Sit down. Let me get you a plate." 

"Don't have to tell me twice, Helena. I think your cooking was one of the things I missed the most while away. 

"Good, I would be offended if it wasn't," she cackles while placing a plate piled high with food in front of me. We caught up while I ate my food and waited for Elle to come down for her breakfast. But as the clock neared eight, I looked at the stairs expecting her to walk down any second.

"Are you waiting on someone, Alpha?" Helena asks as she watches me look at the clock on the wall for the millionth time. 

"Oh well, I just thought that Elle would already be down here for class to eat; she is going to be late for the first day of her Junior year if she doesn't hurry," I say to Helena, not looking her in the eye as I shove more pancake into my mouth.  

"Oh, Elle went with the Luna and other women to New York City for a girl's day. Knowing how those women like to shop, I doubt they'll be home until late at night." Helena chuckles at my mom's shopping addiction. Now I feel a little sheepish, having forgotten that my mom told me about these plans yesterday, and I forgot too excited at the chance of seeing Elle after so long apart. 

"Oh, right. Mom told me I just forgot, I guess," I say, but Slade isn't happy that my mother took Elle with her to the city; he didn't like the idea of her being in the big city without protection. Plus, why would my mother bother taking Elle to the city? It's not like she needs clothes. I ensured she had plenty of sweatpants and sweatshirts to wear throughout the year. 

"She probably took her so they could buy a dress for your birthday ball," Slade grumbles from the corner of my mind "you know the ball where they are going to arrange her mating with another Alpha." he finishes before returning to where he came from within my mind. 

I say nothing as I head to my father's office, my mind too occupied with Slade's comments. I try my hardest to keep Slade's remarks out of my head, but they keep me distracted throughout the day, even when meeting new pack transfers. I tried my hardest to push it to the side, but I think my dad picked up that my mind was elsewhere. Even now, laying in bed, I am too consumed with the thoughts of Elle finding another Alpha that I don't even notice when I drift off to sleep.