Chapter six- The Questions I Ignored

I woke up the next morning with the promise Damon had made still fresh in my mind.

“I will make you my mate soon.”

For some reason, those words made everything feel easier. The doubts I had been carrying seemed smaller.

Perhaps I had simply been impatient.

Perhaps I had expected everything to happen too quickly because I was still trying to convince myself that leaving Ironcrest had been the right decision.

But Damon loved me and he had proven that hadn’t he?

I smiled to myself as I got out of bed.

When I entered the small kitchen, Damon was already there.

He was leaning against the counter, eating a piece of bread.

He looked up when he saw me. “Morning.”

“Morning.” I walked toward him, and he immediately pulled me into his arms.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Better than I have in weeks.” I yawned.

He smiled. “Good.”

I rested my head against his chest for a moment.

There was something comforting about being here.

No expectations, no pressure, and no one reminding me that I was supposed to become the next Alpha.

Just Damon and just us.

I pulled away and reached for the bread on the table.

“You’re eating without me?”

“I was hungry.” He laughed softly.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You could have waited.”

He laughed. “You take too long to wake up.”

I smiled despite myself. For a while, everything felt normal.

Almost too normal.

*****^*^^

After breakfast, Damon told me he was going out.

“Where?”

He slipped on his jacket. “Just meeting some friends.”

“Friends?” I frowned slightly. “You’ve never mentioned them.”

He looked at me for a moment before smiling.

“Aria, they’re just people I know.”

“Oh.” I immediately felt silly for asking. “Will you be gone long?”

“Probably not.” He walked over and kissed my forehead. “I’ll be back before evening.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He left. I watched him disappear through the door.

For some reason, I remained standing there long after he was gone. There was no reason to feel strange.

Damon had a life before me. Of course he had friends and he had things to do.

I was simply still adjusting, that was

was all.

I turned away from the door. I needed something to occupy myself.

************

I spent most of the afternoon walking around the territory.

I had begun to recognize some faces by now.

A few wolves greeted me when I passed while others simply looked away.

I had learned not to take it personally.

I was a stranger here and even though Damon was from Crimson Snow, I had arrived as an outsider.

Still, the whispers had not stopped completely.

As I walked past a small group of women, I heard one of them mention my name.

I slowed.

“…the Alpha’s daughter. She really left?”

“That’s what I heard.” The other scoffed.

“For a man?”

I stopped walking as my stomach tightened.

I turned around. The women immediately fell silent.

One of them looked at me before lowering her gaze.

I should have kept walking but Instead, I asked,

“What did you say?”

No one answered.

I crossed my arms. “If you have something to say about me, you can say it to my face.”

One of them shifted nervously. “We didn’t mean anything.”

“Then what were you talking about?”

She hesitated. “The stories.”

“What stories?” I tilted my head.

“That you left Ironcrest because you didn’t want to marry the man your father chose.”

My jaw tightened. “That is my business.”

“Yes, my lady.” She bowed

I turned away, but their words followed me.

I hated how easily they reduced everything to that. They didn’t know what Damon and I had.

They didn’t know how much I loved him. They didn’t know how trapped I had felt in Ironcrest.

They didn’t know anything. So why did their words bother me so much?

I continued walking but the uneasiness remained.

*********

Damon didn’t return before evening.

I tried not to worry. When the sun began disappearing behind the trees, I sat outside our house and watched the sky darken.

He had said he wouldn’t be gone long.

Perhaps something had come up. I told myself that several times.

Still, when I finally saw him approaching, relief washed over me.

He looked tired.

“Where have you been?”

He stopped in front of me. “I told you. I was meeting some friends.”

“For this long?”

He shrugged. “Time got away from me.”

I studied his face. There was nothing unusual about him.

No guilt, no nervousness, no nothing.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I just worried.”

His expression softened. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I know.” I whispered.

He sat beside me. “I’m here now.”

I smiled faintly as he took my hand.

“Did you miss me?”

“A little.” I said shyly.

“A little?” He gasped.

I laughed. “Fine. A lot.”

He smiled. “That’s better.”

I leaned against his shoulder. For a while, we sat quietly.

Then I remembered something.

“Damon?”

“Hmm?” He mumbled.

“When are we going to meet your Alpha?”

His body stiffened slightly that I noticed.

“We don’t need to.” He frowned.

“Why?”

“Because I’m not important enough for that.” He explained

I frowned. “But I’m living here.”

“So?” He raised a brow

“So, shouldn’t he know?”

Damon sighed. “Aria, you’re worrying about things that don’t matter.”

“I just think it would be respectful.” I shrugged

“You’re not a member of his family. And I’m not some important warrior who needs to report everything I do.”

His words were sharper than I expected.

I pulled away slightly. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

His expression softened almost immediately.

“I’m sorry.” He reached for my hand.

“I just don’t want you worrying about things that don’t concern us.”

I nodded slowly. “Okay.”

He kissed my knuckles. “Besides, you don’t belong to them.”

His eyes met mine. “You belong with me.”

My heart softened.

There it was again. That feeling, and that certainty. Maybe I really was overthinking everything.

“I love you,” I whispered.

“I love you too.” He pulled me into his arms.

And just like that, the questions disappeared.

At least for a while.

**********

That night, we lay beside each other in silence.

Damon fell asleep quickly but I didn’t.

I stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened since I left Ironcrest.

My father, Kael, the wedding, the throne, and everything I had walked away from.

Sometimes I wondered what was happening back home.

Was my father angry? Was he searching for me? Had Kael taken my disappearance personally?

I didn’t know and perhaps that was better.

If I knew too much, maybe I would start questioning my decision.

I turned toward Damon. He was sleeping peacefully.

I watched him for a moment then I smiled.

I had chosen this. And I had no intention of regretting it.

I closed my eyes but just before sleep finally took me, one thought crossed my mind.

Damon had promised that Soon, he would make me his mate.

And once that happened, there would be no reason to doubt that I had made the right choice.

So I held on to that promise Perhaps a little too tightly.