CHAPTER THREE

Damon’s POV

I closed the bathroom door behind me, and the moment the latch clicked, I lost control.

My knees hit the floor. A low, guttural growl ripped through my chest, shaking the walls of the master suite.

 My claws lengthened, punching through the expensive tips of my dress shoes, gouging deep grooves into the black marble floor.

MATE. MATE. CLAIM. MARK.

My wolf, shadow-dark and ancient, was thrashing against the cage of my mind.

 He wanted to break down that door. 

He wanted to tear that cheap, bloody dress off her body. 

He wanted to sink his teeth into the soft curve of her neck and bind her to us so permanently that even death couldn't separate us.

"No," I gritted out, sweat beading on my forehead. I dug my fingers into the stone floor, fighting the transformation. "Not yet."

SHE IS OURS, my wolf roared, flooding my senses with her scent vanilla, rain, and the underlying metallic tang of her fear. SHE IS HURT. WE MUST HEAL. WE MUST KILL WHO HURT HER.

"We will," I promised, forcing my breathing to slow. "But she is terrified. If I go in there now, it looks like this... I will break her."

It took five agonizing minutes to push the beast back down.

 I stood up, adjusting my suit jacket, though the fabric strained against my expanding muscles. 

My reflection in the mirror showed a monster eyes glowing a violent, blood-red, veins pulsing along my neck.

I needed to cool down.

I walked out of the bedroom and into the hallway. 

My Beta, Kael, was already there. 

He was leaning against the wall, scrolling on a tablet, but he snapped to attention the moment he saw me.

Kael was six-foot-two and built like a tank, but in my presence, he instinctively lowered his head, baring his neck in submission.

"Alpha," Kael said, his eyes darting to the closed bedroom door. "Security sensors picked up an unauthorized entry. 

I was coming to clear the intruder, but the system said you... carried her in"

"She is not an intruder," I said, my voice sounding like gravel grinding together.

Kael hesitated. He sniffed the air, and his nose wrinkled. "Damon... she smells like a rogue. And... is that the Silver Moon Pack scent on her?"

I stopped walking. I turned slowly to face my Second-in-Command. The air temperature in the hallway dropped ten degrees.

"She is not a rogue," I said, letting a fraction of my Alpha Command slip into my voice. The pressure hit Kael like a physical blow. He flinched, taking a step back.

"She is my Mate."

Kael’s jaw dropped. "Your... but you’ve been waiting for"

"I found her in the woods. Rejected. Bleeding." The rage flared up again, hot and blinding. 

I pictured the girl in my bathroom the way her ribs showed through her skin, the way she flinched when I raised my hand. "Someone tried to throw her away like trash."

Kael’s expression shifted from shock to cold professional fury. "Orders, Alpha?"

"Lock down the estate," I commanded, walking toward the balcony. "Level 5 Security. No one comes in. No one goes out. If a delivery truck even looks at the gate wrong, vaporize it."

"Understood."

"And Kael?"

He paused.

"Get a background check on the Silver Moon Pack. I want to know who the Alpha is, who the Beta is, and who was celebrating a birthday tonight. I want names."

"You planning a war, boss?" Kael asked quietly.

I looked out at the city lights of Obsidian my city, my kingdom.

 Somewhere out there, a boy was sleeping soundly, thinking he had successfully gotten rid of a 'problem.' He had no idea he had just declared war on the Devil.

"Not a war," I said, my eyes flashing red. "An execution."

I waited an hour before I went back into the room.

The water had stopped running. The room was silent.

I opened the door quietly. The scent of lavender and clean skin hit me instantly, soothing the jagged edges of my wolf.

Elara was asleep.

She had found one of my silk shirts it hung off her tiny frame like a dress, the sleeves swallowing her hands. 

She was curled up in the exact center of my massive bed, looking impossibly small against the black sheets.

I approached the bed like a predator stalking prey, my footsteps making no sound.

I stood over her. Her silver hair was damp, fanned out across the pillow like moonlight. 

The dirt was gone, revealing skin that was pale and porcelain-perfect, except for the ugly purple bruise forming on her arm where a guard had grabbed her.

A low growl rumbled in my chest, involuntary.

Mine.

She stirred in her sleep, her brow furrowing. A whimper escaped her lips. "No... Liam... please..."

The name hit me like a whip.

Liam.

The boy who had rejected her. The boy whose scent was still faintly clinging to her skin, underneath the lavender.

Jealousy, black and toxic, coiled in my gut. I wanted to wake her up. I wanted to force her to look at me. 

I wanted to erase his name from her mind and replace it with mine until I was the only thing she knew.

Soon, my wolf whispered. Soon she will beg for us.

I reached out, my hand trembling slightly, and brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face.

 My knuckles grazed her cheek. She was so soft. So fragile. 

One squeeze of my hand could crush her, yet I would sooner rip my own heart out than leave a scratch on her.

She sighed at the touch, leaning into my hand unconsciously.

"Sleep, Little Wolf," I whispered into the darkness. "He threw you away because he was blind. But I see you."

I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It was a seal. A promise.

"And when you wake up... you’ll realize that you didn't lose a mate. You gained a Kingdom."

I walked to the glass wall, looking out at the moon.

Let the Silver Moon Pack sleep tonight. Let them t

hink they are safe. Because tomorrow, the King is coming for them.