Chapter Twenty Four
Damien’s POV-
As soon as I heard Julian’s words, I panicked from where I was standing.
I could tell just what he was about to say to Elara.
Something to sweeten his way into her life, something about being, “together” talk, something about her “freedom” since she hadn’t found her mate yet
My blood was rushing. I could hear it in my ears, and I was unable to refrain myself from shouting across the corridor, my words ringing in the air, unarguable
“What on earth are you still doing there?! It’s time for class!”
I had purposely added that part about him being a teacher just to hide my desperation, but I was shaking inside.
I was scared
I couldn’t allow him to finish that sentence I couldn’t allow him to ask her to be his, not when every fiber of mine still shrieked that she was mine.
What I did not expect was Elara’s reaction. I’d steeled myself for her to turn on me, to scold me for interrupting, even to agree defiantly, about whatever it was Julian was proposing, just to spite me. But she didn’t, she’d taken the excuse to be free, her face flushed as she muttered something about class and rushed into the lecture hall.
It was a wave of relief, and shock too. But to again it served as a flicker of hope. She had not waited for him to explain.
She hadn’t wanted to.
That meant something, right? It meant she wasn’t succumbing to Julian’s charms, that despite all the distance with which she’d separated us, she wasn’t going to leap into his arms,
For the first time in days, I felt able to breathe.
—
My mind was spinning as I watched her walk out through the doors. The mate bond wounded me deeper than he could’ve known. Back in our previous life when Elara had sensed it the instant we met, her eyes Julian’s suspicious mention of it had flickering to life with an intimacy that had unraveled me. But this was a different experience.
She didn’t appear to feel it at all, or if she did she was fightin
fighting it with everything she had.
I had pried open the truth, without saying it a thousand times, the bond that still flickered in my heart, binding me to her over time I couldn’t tell her–not now
If I did, she’d refuse me, break that bond with that cold resolve I’d seen in her eyes. And that would kill me.
I had survived losing her once, but losing her forever? I couldn’t bear it.
Still, doubt gnawed at me
Why was this life so different? There’d been a time in our past when she had loved me fiercely, when her trust had been unbreakable, right up until Sabrina’s lies and my stupidity shattered it.
But now she hated me, and the walls she had erected were higher than I could scale
What has changed?
Had the Moon Goddess done this, some punishment for my sins? Or was it me – had I broken something between us that would never heal?
+25 ROMUS
I let out a sigh, shoulders drooping, and then I felt it – the pricking awareness that drew my gaze to the side.
Julian was still standing there, leaning back against a tree, arms crossed, a smug smile spread across his face.
We locked eyes, and the air between us crackled with tension.
He laughed, a deep and mocking laugh that pushed me to the edge. “Why do you keep butting in on my moments with Elara, Damien?” he said, his voice light yet laced with venom
“What, got a problem with me talking to her?”
I felt anger, hot and immediate. I took a step toward him, fists balled at my sides. “Get away from her, Julian,” I growled, my voice low and dangerous. “You don’t get to play your dumb games with her. She’s not a pawn in whatever you’re up to.”
He smiled wider, but his eyes hardened and sparkled with challenge. “Games? Nah, Damien, this isn’t a game. I love her. And I’m gonna get her, whether you like it or not”
He tilted his head and looked at me up then down, then smirked.
“What’s the matter? Feeling threatened?
Love her?
The words hit me like a blow, sparking a possessive rage I could barely control
Julian didn’t know her.
Not the way I did.
He hadn’t rocked her through nightmares, hadn’t witnessed her smile break the morning, hadn’t known the sorrow of missing her.
He was taking advantage of her, I was certain of it,
He was aimed at using her, playing with her emotions, getting under my skin, and trying to resolve whatever score he thought we had
I leaned near, my voice dropping to a snarl. “I know what you’re trying to do Julian, You’re using her against me, and I’m not going to take it back off.”
He let out a full laugh a sharp,mocking noise that reverberated through the empty quad
Using her? Man, you’re paranoid.
Maybe I just noticed what you’re too dull to see. Elara’s wonderful, and I’m not the one who keeps messing up with her.”
He straightened and stepped toward me, his voice low. “Tell me, Damien – do you love her? Is that what you’re so worked up about?”
I snorted, hiding the truth that was aching in my chest. “It’s none of your business how I feel,” I shot back, but those words felt hollow
I hated how effortlessly he saw through me, how he took every moment and used it to serve his advantage.
Julian’s smile turned wily, and he bent in, “Yeah, it’s my business if I love her. And because you want her so badly, I’ll make it my mission to claim her first” He stopped, his eyes flashing with malice. “What’s wrong. Damien? Afraid she’s leaving for good?”
That was it
+25 DONUS
It felt like his words were cracking something open inside me, bursting something loose in me that could no longer hold back the flood of my jealousy, because of my feelings, my desperation.
I’d lost Elara once–seen her die because of my mistakes–and I’d be damned if I let Julian take her from me now
My vision narrowed, my wolf restless beneath my skin and demanding I act
I didn’t think so.
I didn’t hesitate.
My punch swung forward, aimed directly at his smug face.
