The Fire He Wanted to See Burn

Long after Dinner was over and his mates had all retired to their rooms, Damon took a quiet and unhurried stroll through his surrounding. There was peace all around him, but his mind was far from everything… not even the moonlight offered him the kind of peace he was searching for.

His mind was still on the intriguing girl that was at his table during dinner, the girl that was practically sold to him, a girl that seemed to be powerless but yet carried an aura of greatness. He had watched her closely, watched her hold her head high and refusing to break despite the constant attacks from his other two mates.

Damon could still see her clearly in his mind, that calm face she had hidden all her burden under. He was not a fool… he had noticed the slight trembling in her hand as she picked up things during dinner, the way Nyla's voice seemed to make her eyes drop and shoulders tense. It wasn't a look of submission…he'd seen submission too many times, and the fiery girl he brought back from the Shadow pack. She has not been submissive. Elena's sudden silence was a deliberate act, the silence of someone who had suffered a lot but refused to give her enemies the satisfaction of feeling like they had won.

A slow and dangerous smile formed on his lips as he slowed his pace. As much as he liked her fierce and ferocious nature, she still needed a little bit of humbling, and there were no better people to give it to her than Nyla and Lucia. There was no need to interfere at the moment. In fact, he was curious about how long her fire would last under their cruelty. Would she snap? Would that temper and sharp tongue dare anyone to stop her? Or would she finally be broken and tamed… just another beautiful decoration for his household.

He had been drawn to her mostly by her defiance, that proud and bold girl who had stood up to him when men cowered in fear. The girl he had to force his mark of claim upon, the one who was reckless and unafraid. He wanted to have that fire close, to watch it blaze in his home even if it burnt everything else around it. What good was a mate who cowered in fear?

Yet tonight, all he had seen was silence.

He sighed, shaking his head as he walked on. “What exactly do I do with you, my little flame,” he murmured to himself in amusement.

After a few more minutes, he finally reached the edge of his mansion where the stone path met the darker line of the woods. He stood there for a while, just staring into the shadows and juggling thoughts in his head. What was it about this girl that had made him forget about the lady from his dream? Why had she suddenly unsettled him this quickly?

The sound of approaching footsteps broke through his thoughts, but he never bothered to move. His senses had already picked up the person's presence a long time ago, and his ears easily recognized the rhythm of the footsteps… His Beta, Hector. A man whose presence and support beside him had always been as steady as the moon overhead.

“My Alpha,” Hector greeted, bowing in respect before falling into step beside him. “I knew I would find you out here.”

Damon smiled faintly in the darkness. “Of course you did. You always know where to find me.”

There was a pause, then Hector spoke carefully. “You’ve been… quiet since dinner. Is it about the girl?”

Damon didn't say anything. He resumed walking along the edge of the woods, making long strides and forcing Hector to keep up with him. Hector knew Damon better than anyone, and experience told him that he was deliberately being evasive.

“There has to be a logical reason why you brought her here,” Hector continued, trying to thread as softly as possible. “The elders are also baffled by your decision about taking her as a mate, especially since she's an Omega and has no particular special ability.”

Damon still kept on walking, absentmindedly kicking a loose piece of stone.

Hector refused to back down. “You already have two very complicated bonds in Nyla and Lucia, Alpha Damon. What made you decide on another one?”

Damon finally chuckled, although there was no genuine humor in it. “Complicated is an understatement.”

“Then?” Hector pressed on in a firmer tone. “Is she the one from your dreams? The chosen one you’ve been searching for?”

Damon stopped abruptly. “No,” he said simply. “She is not the one from my dreams.”

Hector frowned. “Then why…?”

“Because she interests me,” Damon cut him off before he could speak further. His voice was low and steady, the kind he used when he meant every word he uttered. “She carries a fire that the others all lack, and I believe that's reason enough for me.”

Hector studied him in silence for a moment, as if considering if he should press further for answers or let it be. “Interests you… or challenges you?”

He looked as if he was about to smile, but his mood just didn't allow it. “Maybe both actually, or maybe none. Does it really matter?”

“It matters if you’re leading yourself… or the pack into danger,” Hector said evenly. “Your decisions reach farther than your own personal desires as an Alpha.”

Damon finally looked at him fully, keeping his voice calm and casual despite the look in his eyes that said otherwise. “Danger keeps the blood alive, Hector. And as for Elena…” His voice dropped, softer this time, and almost contemplative. “I want to see if her silence will hold. I want to see if she breaks…or if she burns.”

Those words hung in the air between them for a while, heavy and unsettling. Hector didn’t reply immediately. He knew Damon well enough to recognize when pressing further would lead to nothing but a closed door.

Instead, he sighed quietly and nodded once. “Very well. But I must warn you, my Alpha. Fire may warm the hands…or it may consume the house.”

Damon’s smile finally looked genuine. “Then let’s see which one she chooses to be.”

The two men stood there a moment longer, the forest whispering faintly around them, each lost in their own thoughts. Then, without another word, Damon turned back toward the packhouse.

“Goodnight, Hector,” he said, tone cool, distant.

“Goodnight, Alpha,” Hector replied, watching as Damon disappeared into the shadows of his own home with a troubled expression lurking on his face.

And somewhere in the house beyond, Elena lay in her room, unaware that the man who had claimed her was already plotting to test the limits of her strength, waiting to see whether she would rise from the ashes… or be reduced to them.