Chapter 9

Trisha’s P.O.V:

“W-wh-hat’re you doing here?” I stuttered out. NO! This can’t be happening! “How d-did you fi-find me?”

Damien stood up from the bed, dressed in his usual black shirt and pants. His face was expressionless as he took slow, steady steps towards me. The green of his eyes lit from within like an emerald that has been exposed to the sun. “You thought you could get away from me that easily?”

His words gave me all the strength I needed to fight back. Strength fueled with anger and desperation. “And you thought I’d go back to you like a lost puppy even after you tried to take Neema away from me?” I spat at him, trying to keep my voice low so as not to wake Neema or alert any of the guards. “I thought you were going to help me! But the only reason you asked me to visit you in the castle was so your men could raid my house while I was away!”

“Careful, Trisha,” Damien narrowed his eyes at me, taking another step closer so that our chests were almost touching. “Those weren’t my men. Sabrina was the one who went wagging her tail back to her father. Vandal took advantage of the situation so it would look like I was the one after you.”

It was overwhelming, this tension between us, standing so close to him, but I tried not to let it overpower me. “I can’t trust you anymore, Damien.”

“Neither can I.” His voice was hard but quiet; he seemed to be avoiding waking Neema as well. But then again, Damien rarely raised his voice. “You ran straight for the woods and now you’re teaming up with the enemy.”

Suddenly, the realization hit me of just how dire a situation I was in. Not only was Damien in the midst of hundreds of werewolves, I was putting their lives in danger as well. Damien might not survive an attack from so many wolves, but he won’t go down without taking a few hundred with him. And wolf packs had cubs, elder family members. They weren’t frozen in time like vampires were. Moreover, I was in the middle of their den, having taken shelter from Damien. If someone found out Damien was here...NO!

“You need to leave!” I brought up my hands to his chest and pushed hard, but to no avail. “Damien! You need to leave! If they find out you’re here-“

“No one will find out anything.” He placed his hands on top of mine and held me to him. “Unless you decide to warn them.” It wasn’t a statement. He wanted to know if I’d betray him.

I shook my head frantically, my semi-dry hair falling in front of my face in the process. “I won’t tell anyone. But please, you can’t tell anyone about their hideout either! Promise me!” I asked him urgently.

“I can’t tell anyone anyway.” His answer made me look up into his eyes. “I could only reach here because I pictured you as a lock before teleporting. Barely escaped detection from that wolf outside.”

“Wh-how...” I honestly didn’t know what to ask. Damien has never been this open about his powers before. Even now he was being vague enough so that I couldn’t understand what he was trying to tell me. And his being so close to me wasn’t helping either. So I tried to take a hasty step backward and nearly fell flat on the floor for ignoring my foot.

Damien used his hold on my hand to pull me back up and wrapped one arm around my waist to steady me. “What’s wrong?”

He looked down at his chest and for the first time, I remembered that I had the salve in my palms, which were now smeared on his black shirt in a yellowish purple stain. He pushed back further to study me and his eyes instantly went on the bandages around my knees and leg. Frowning, he turned my hands palm side up and brought them closer to his nose. “Lavender and Calendula?” He asked.

I nodded. “And Yarrow.”

“What happened to your leg?” He asked. So I told him the whole story of what happened after I reached home from the castle; how a stake plunged into my leg; how my teenage servant had been murdered and how I made a narrow escape and contacted Lucas to help me and how I ended up here in the midst of a wolf pack. I did however; leave out a few important details about the compromised border and how deep Lucas’s connections went into our hierarchy.

I was a vampire subject loyal to her King, but at this instant, blind loyalty wasn’t going to get me anywhere except in deep trouble.

Damien looked murderous once I’d recited my tale. “I think Vandal and I have a little chat overdue.”

“No!” I shook my head frantically, clutching his shirt in my hands. “You do that and he’ll know where we are. He’ll come after us and then there would be no way to avoid a war.”

Damien let out a soft sigh and helped me sit at the edge of the bed, making sure not to disturb Neema. Once I was seated, he knelt on the ground in front of me and offered me his hand.

“Huh?” I looked at his palm and then at his face questioningly.

“Bite.” He raised an eyebrow. “It’ll help you heal faster.”

For a second my mind went back to how he’d bitten down on Sabrina’s neck as her moans of pleasure echoed around his office. But he hadn’t offered her his blood. Should I take the offer? Blood from the vampire King was potent and it would heal me almost instantly. But…

Seeing the dilemma in my eyes, Damien lowered his hand and I felt disappointed that he was revoking his offer. That was until I saw him open his mouth and cut the skin of his thumb on his fang before he brought his finger back up and smeared the blood on my lips.

A gasp escaped my lips and he took the opportunity to place his thumb inside my mouth before withdrawing it slowly. But even that tiny amount of blood on my tongue was like an aphrodisiac. It sent tingles up my spine and made me shiver from pleasure as I licked my lips for more. I braced my hands on his chest to let the shuddering pass. It was an erotic experience unlike any other I’ve ever had.

But Damien narrowed his eyes at me. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“What?” I looked into his gemstone eyes, startled and terrified. Had I given something away in my pleasure-drunk state?

“About the boy. He’s special. To both you and Vandal.” Damien said. “What aren’t you telling me, Trisha?” He asked with more force.

“I told you, he looks like my son…my dead son.” I removed my hands from his shirt, our proximity scrambling my thoughts. We had a strong chemistry, Damien and I. None of us could deny the pull we felt for each other when we were near. Even from afar, one look was enough to send my heart racing so fast, everyone in the room could hear it. But we never could act on it.

“And Vandal is very possessive of his property.” He smirked. “I’ll accept that explanation for the time being. I’m giving you an option Trisha. Tell me about the boy by the end of this month, or I’ll find out anyway.”

My eyes widened in alarm, but there was nothing I could do without making Damien suspicious. “Damien-“

I gasped as Damien came down on top of me, making me fall back on the bed. “Get some rest, it’ll heal you faster.”

And when I thought he’d just up and leave, he leaned closer. Our faces were mere inches apart and I could feel his warm breath fan my cheeks as his eyes bore into mine with that breathless intensity. A couple more inches and his lips would be on mine…just a bit more.

But then Damien lifted his face and kissed my forehead instead. It was the briefest of touches, but it was enough to cause a shiver to run down my spine again. I didn’t know I’d been holding my breath until he removed his lips from my skin and stood up. I closed my eyes for the briefest moment and when I lifted my lashed, he was gone.

I sat up in bed, looking around the dimly lit room to find any trace of Damien. But he was already gone, like he’d never been here in the first place. Neema slept soundlessly beside me, curled into a ball, but he was unharmed and for the first time, looked peaceful in his sleep. I lifted my hand to my forehead and touched the place he’d kissed me. The skin still tingled, the only proof that he’d made physical contact, that he’d kissed me. The first kiss I’ve ever had from him in the hundred and seventy years that I’ve known him. And I knew I’ll cherish this memory forever.