Chapter 6

Damian's POV

The knock was hard on my office door when Ethan entered without waiting for me to respond.

“Alpha, there is trouble.” He said, as he tried to catch his breath.

“It is the girl, she is threatening herself with a pin.”

I didn’t wait for any more explanation, I sprung to my feet and I just moved.

“Where?” I asked as we were going.

“Your quarters.”

I left immediately, my steps were faster than I had expected and my anger had reached its peak. Aria. She was always testing her limits.

But even though I was angry, there was something else that I was feeling something I hated admitting even to myself. The bond stirred underneath my skin, warning me that if anything happened to her, I would feel it too.

When I entered the room, everyone went silent. The Maids and guards stood frozen in fear. Aria was standing at the center, a pin was pressed to her throat and her hands were shaking.

She looked at me and our eyes met. “Don’t come closer!” She shouted, her voice broke and her whole body was trembling.

I raised my hand and signalled for everyone to go out. When everyone had left, I turned back to her.

“Put it down.” I said quietly.

She shook her head, the tears started rolling down heavily. “No, you can not order me around anymore, you can’t keep me here like I am some prisoner.”

“You are not a prisoner, you are just under my protection.”

She scoffed. “Protection? You call this protection? You’ve locked me away, watched my every move, and told everyone that I was bought!”

I took a step forward. “Because no one can know what you really are.”

Her lips parted. “You mean your mate.” She said in a low voice.

Her eyes flashed. “You think hiding it makes it less real? You think pretending I am just some slave changes everything ?”

“Be careful, Aria,” I warned in a low voice.

“Why? Are you afraid that they will find out that the almighty Alpha King’s mate is a weak girl? Are you afraid that they will see what kind of monster you really are?”

I took another step closer. “Put the pin down before you regret it.”

“I regret ever meeting you!” she screamed.

“I wish the bond didn’t exist!”

Her words hit me very hard, but I didn’t move. I kept my emotions unreadable.

“You think I asked for this? You think I want a mate who fights me every second of the day?”

She hissed. “Then let me go.”

I stared at her, the tension was getting thick between us. “No.”

“Why not? You said you didn’t want this!”

“Because the bond doesn’t care what I want.” I said.

“And as long as you breathe, I will feel it.”

Her lips trembled in fear. “So you will keep me trapped forever just because you can not stand losing control?”

“Yes.” I said, without hesitation and that made her tears fall heavily.

“You are cruel.”

“I am being realistic.” I replied. “

“I don’t care!” She shouted, her hand was shaking with more intensity that it made the pin scratch her skin, making a thin line of blood appear. My wolf growled at the sight of that.

I moved forward quickly, I reached for her swiftly, grabbed her wrist and twisted it just enough to make her drop the pin. It fell to the floor making a sharp sound.

That action alone made Aria very infuriated she struggled against me, hitting my chest.

“Let me go! You can not keep doing this to me!”

As she was hitting me I perceived her scent again. It was very intoxicating, maddening. My wolf in me screamed to hold her tighter, to keep her safe, but I forced the control back into my body.

“Calm down.” I said in a rough voice.

“I hate you, I hate that I’m tied to you!”

She cried. “

My chest tightened at her words, but I did not let it show. “You are not the only one who hates it.” I muttered.

She froze, her eyes widened “Then why, I don't understand why you are keeping me here?”

“Because you are mine, and until I figure out how to protect you without exposing what we are, you are not going anywhere.” I said.

“You are not protecting me, you are protecting yourself.” She whispered.

I didn’t deny it, maybe she was right, maybe I was protecting the image, the control of the cold Alpha who couldn’t afford weakness.

But she didn’t understand what would happen if the others knew. My enemies would use her to break me and they would succeed.

I finally released her wrist, she stumbled back, rubbing her skin. Her eyes were on she was angry but confused.

“You don’t own me, Damian, no matter what this bond says.” She said in a low voice.

“You will believe that until someone else tries to claim you, then you will remember who you belong to.” I said.

“I will never belong to you.”

I stepped closer again, my voice was calm and cold. “You already do, whether you like it or not.”

She trembled, the tears started coming. “I would rather die than live like this.”

I leaned forward, close enough for her to hear the growl that came out of my throat.

“You will learn that death isn’t your way out.”

For a moment, neither of us said anything. The room was silent except for the pounding of our hearts which was in one rhythm, the same beat.

Her voice broke the silence. “If we weren’t mates, you would have killed me by now.”

“Probably, but you are, so you live.”

Her face twisted in pain. “That is not mercy.”

“No, it is control.” I said.

I turned toward the door. “You will stay here tonight, I will have someone bring food.” I said quietly.

“I don’t want your food.”

“You will eat anyway.”

Her jaw tightened. “You can command the world, Damian, but you can not command my heart.”

I almost smiled. “We will see.”

I bent down and picked the pin on the floor and put it into my pocket. “You won’t be needing this again.”

Then I left, closing the door behind me before I could say anything again.

Outside, I leaned against the wall for a second, dragging a hand through my hair.

I had told myself I didn’t want her, that the bond meant nothing. But when I saw that pin at her throat my heart nearly stopped.

No one could ever know.