17

I looked amused at Damian, who quickly closed the door behind him. "Why do I have the feeling that you only waited an hour to the second?" He grinned mischievously before shrugging and sitting down on the floor next to me. "What are you doing out here?" he asked me.

"I don't know either. Somehow it's nice here, in this silence." Damian looked thoughtfully into the distance. We stayed like that for several minutes until he turned back to me and took a deep breath. "You're hiding something from me, Alina." I swallowed hard and tried not to meet Damian's eyes. He was too afraid that he would find all the answers to his questions there.

"And please don't say I'm imagining things. You know so much about my kind so much more than others your age. You don't faint if you have a dismembered corpse. You live alone and you try to fool everyone that your aunt is a busy woman."

He ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall of the house. "And then... then there's your power. I don't know if there's anything I missed, but humans don't have much power. Not to mention that while you seemed quite shocked when I told you we were mates, you accepted it very quickly. I can't shake the feeling that you already knew. And that's not possible. Damn, none of this should be possible, so what are you not telling me?"

Finally I turned my gaze to Damian. It was on his mind. All these questions, to which he had no answer. He felt like I didn't trust him. But I did. More than I've ever done with anyone else. "Damian," I began cautiously.

"I know you have many questions and I can only tell you that I understand." I hesitated. "I really want to tell you everything. I want to answer your questions and clear any doubts out of your head. But I can't. Not yet. I promise I'll tell you everything and answer every question you have, but for now not yet. I need time to come to terms with this situation and... I've never told anyone. I'm sure you're the right person to confide in. But later." Damian wrestled with himself.

He understood my explanation still didn't want to back down. I leaned forward and looked into his dark eyes. "I want you to know one thing, Damian. You are the first person I truly trust. You are the first person I can be myself and let myself go with. Please don't forget that."

I looked at him pleadingly and he seemed to understand. Damian nodded slightly before saying with a slight smile on his face: "Okay. I understand that you need time and I will wait until you are ready." Happily, on impulse, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed myself tightly against his body. Damian chuckled and returned my hug with the same intensity. We didn't pull away from each other and just sat there, inhaling each other's scent.

After a while, Damian's muscles tensed as he carefully stood up with me in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist to show him I had no intention of letting go of him just yet. He laughed. We re-entered the room and he closed the patio door behind us. Then he took a few steps towards the bed, where he stopped.

I'm assuming we're sleeping in one bed? I chuckled softly at his nervous question. I nodded vigorously, hoping he would understand. Which he did. Damian carefully sat down on the double bed so that I was now sitting on his lap. He held me a little awkwardly.

You have to let go of me or this won't work. Then I just made whining noises. Then I heard a sigh. You have to take off your pants and I have to take off my top, after that we can go straight back to bed and cuddle. I even ask for it.

With a sigh, I pulled away from him. He was right. I quickly stripped off my sweatpants so that I could lie down under the black duvet, clad only in an oversized t-shirt and underwear. I didn't miss the fact that Damian's gaze lingered longer on my legs. I patted the seat next to me impatiently, feeling like a small child.

Who was the teenager in love now? But I didn't care. Damian pulled the shirt off his body, exposing his powerful back. With a few fluid movements, he hopped under the covers to me so that we were now both lying across from each other.

And do you still want us not to touch?, I heard him ask with a grin. I rolled my eyes. He knew the answer to that question, but still wanted to hear it. I couldn't blame him.

No I do not want to. So are you coming closer to me now or do you still need a written request? He didn't need it. In the next second he was with me and pulled me to his warm upper body. I sighed happily and snuggled even closer to him. As Damian began to spread his fingers in feathery touches on my cheek, I fell asleep faster than I expected.

I woke up in pleasant warmth. Smiling slightly, my mouth twisted as I felt his heartbeat under my palm. I knew where I was. Lying on top of Damian with one hand on his chest and our legs intertwined. I lifted my head and looked at the peacefully sleeping Alpha below me. His mouth was slightly open and his head turned a little to one side.

He had his hand wrapped around my waist and was holding me tight as if trying to stop me from leaving. The next moment the sun shone brightly on my face and I narrowed my eyes blinded. My gaze found the patio door and my eyes widened in shock. It was noon.

The sun was at its highest and if I listened carefully I could even hear Damian's people outside. I quickly wrenched myself out of Damian's firm grip, which wasn't easy at all since his arms and legs were wrapped around me like iron. I made it anyway.

Still a little tired, I stood in the middle of the room and stretched. I only noticed that my t-shirt was riding higher when I heard a dangerous purr coming from the bed. Damian had opened his eyes and looked at me with devouring eyes. Then he murmured, "Come back to bed," in a hoarse morning voice that sent chills down my spine. I smiled lightly. "It's not possible. It's much too late. We slept too long."

He grumbled something unintelligible and then started to reply, but was interrupted by a knock. Before Damian could say anything, I scurried to the door, but still managed to catch Damian's "Alina, you're not wearing anything!" hear what I studiously ignored. I opened the door and looked at Jack, who was looking into my blue eyes with an angry expression on his face.

"What's happening?" He ignored my question. "Is Damian here? I couldn't reach him via the mind link-" His question was interrupted by a sleepy Damian coming to stand next to me. "What is it?" he asked in a now alert voice. Jack ran a hand through his hair uncomfortably. "There was another murder."

DAMIAN’S VIEW

I looked at the corpse thoughtfully. It was the same pattern as with Ella Mulm, only this time it was not an arm that was missing, but the left leg. The face was left unharmed, so the wrinkles on the male victim's skin could be clearly seen.

"Do we already know who this is?" I asked. Jack shook his head. "No, but Connor is just asking. He should come with the information right away. By the way, we were looking for footprints and found some a little further away. During the time I was looking for you, a few of our warriors have them Trail followed. It leads back to the water. Also, as you've probably noticed, the scene of the accident isn't far from the other one." "accident scene." I let the word melt in my mouth. It didn't fit the horrible crime that was being committed here.

The next moment, Ethan stepped out of the forest. He carried the victim's missing leg and carefully placed it next to the body. "I found it a few yards from here, covered in leaves." I nodded once. My gaze fell on Alina, who was now kneeling down and pushing the man's gray strands aside with her finger. She looked sad, guilty. I walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She winced and then looked up.

Recognizing me, she seemed to calm down and let me help her up. Alina stood close to me. She leaned into me as if unable to support her own weight. I frowned at her. I desperately needed to know what was wrong with her.

A gray wolf shot out of the thicket and turned to Connor at the same moment. He quickly bowed his head and then said to me, "Grayson Cettol. Age 71. Retired. Lives alone in remote cottage." "Does he have children or other relatives?" Alina asked.

"None live here. He has a sister who lives in Canada." "Okay. Thanks, Connor." He nodded at me and then backed away.

"What do you think?" Jack thoughtfully looked after Connor. "The same pattern as with Ella Mulm. Even the location is almost identical. It was probably the same perpetrators." Alina pushed a strand of her fair hair behind her ear and moved her feet restlessly back and forth. It was only then that I noticed that she was once again not wearing shoes. Jack nodded in agreement.

"I came to that conclusion, too-" He didn't get any further, because suddenly eight wolves jumped into the clearing and growled aggressively at us. One light brown one in particular stood out as he continued to walk towards us and bared his teeth menacingly.

Jack, Ethan, Connor, Drokor, Lerhome and I transformed instantly. I stood protectively in front of Alina, who didn't look scared at all. No, she seemed more confused. Don't attack them until they make the first move!

I told the others. The light brown wolf kept coming towards us and the others kept circling us. However, they made sure that the corpse was not harmed. They were werewolves, I realized now. They were significantly larger than normal wolves, but still smaller than us. I was waiting that someone made a mistake. The light brown did. With a leap he threw himself on me, but I dodged in time. He jerked around again and began to snap at me. I dodged and instead rammed my skull into the exposed side of his abdomen. I used the time this bought me to keep an eye out for my other people.

I could already see one of the opposing wolves lying on the edge, injured. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and spun around in time to punch a brown wolf hard enough to knock him unconscious against a tree.

All were involved in a fight, only the light brown one I could not make out anywhere. With a quick leap I sprang to Drokor and freed him from a wolf, who had sunk his teeth into his flesh. He lay motionless and Drokor was panting heavily. I suddenly realized what I had overlooked. Where the hell was Alina? I looked around frantically. There she stood. Leaning against a tree. With frantic movements she looked around and clawed the bark with her fingers.

A violent gust of wind sent another opponent bouncing away, but he straightened up, only to be bitten on the shoulder by Jack. My eyes widened in shock when I saw the light brown wolf running to Alina. He opened his mouth.

Damn, I wouldn't be there fast enough. But Alina dropped to her knees and was able to swing herself onto a branch of the tree with a quick jerk. I could still see the tendrils wrapped around her legs. Furious, I fixed the strange wolf. He had dared to attack her. Although she had nothing to do with it and had nothing to oppose him either.

I knew that a black haze had just covered my eyes so that all I could see was the little shit. But I didn't care. He shouldn't have attacked her. I knew my boys had finished off the wolves. Not killed, but disabled. Now they held back because this was my fight.

I rushed at him in anger. I slashed his back, bit his shoulder hard, and then brought in the final blow when... When, on the edge of my consciousness, I heard a female voice yelling at me to stop. I shook my head and returned my gaze to the injured wolf. Then someone pushed in front of me. A girl, with fair hair, pale skin, full lips and blue eyes that glared at me. With an effort, the girl's words got through to me: "Pull yourself together, Damian, and leave him alone."

I growled at the voice. Menacing, intimidating. But she wasn't interested. "Don't give me that, Damian. Now slow down and finally listen to me." I shook my head.

I had to kill that idiot. Had to- Her face moved into my field of vision. Now her gaze was loving. She smiled at me forgivingly. You, my mate. Alina. She was fine. Then I became aware of everything else around me. My warriors, still standing a little apart. Jack, watching everything closely. The strange wolves. I turned back and looked at my bloodstained hands while panting.

A soft hand on my chin forced me to look away. Alina and I both squatted on the floor. She smiled lightly at me, one hand gently on my cheek. She brought me back. Saved me from doing something terrible. A shiver came over me and I wrapped my arms around Alina's body.

She immediately returned my hug. I buried my head in the crook of her neck, breathing in her lovely, soothing scent. After a while we broke apart and stood up again. My remaining warriors had turned back, too. Jack grinned at me and Alina.

"You really are a little miracle, Alina. Nobody has ever managed to get Damian out of his destructive frenzy. Only when he had killed everyone, could he find himself again." She didn't respond to that, but I had to agree with my beta. Otherwise, unfortunately, I was unstoppable and regretted my actions afterwards.

"Why did you actually stop Damian?" Jack shrugged his shoulders. "It was her fault after all. They attacked us." "Because I know the idiots," said Alina, pointing to the injured wolves. "This is Niklas with his funny friends."