Page 58

SASHA

I never wanted to see Damon again.

They kept me captive in his house on bedrest to heal.

The healer, Balin, had checked on me daily, and according to him, my wound was mending, as it should.

Faster than he would’ve predicted, even.

He surmised I would be able to leave within the next two weeks, and I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.

After flicking through TV channels, I tossed the remote on the bed with a frustrated moan. A knock at the door sounded. His scent pricked my nose.

“You cannot come in,” I growled.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Absolutely.”

“Perhaps use your nose, then reconsider,” Damon said from the other side of the door.

I lifted a brow, then sniffed.

Oh, God.

“Are those… sugar cookies?” I asked.

Damon pushed the door open and stepped in. Balanced atop his hand was a plate of freshly baked sugar cookies. I could only stare at Damon, slack jawed.

With a smirk, Damon said, “Your favorite, right?”

“H-how do you know they’re my favorite?”

“When you first invited me into your office. That day I saw the half-eaten sugar cookies on your desk. There was also the faint odor of cookies that clung to your skin a few times since then, signaling you ate them a lot.”

I swallowed past the ball of emotion lodged in my throat.

Moisture gathered in my eyes, but I blinked them away.

I couldn’t make sense of it. If he was so disgusted with me being a latent—if he regretted touching me, then why bring the cookies?

I licked my lower lip, too scared to ask.

Damon placed the sugar cookies on the nightstand and tiptoed back.

He looked me over, his brow furrowed. I blinked up at him.

“I’ll…leave you to rest then.” Damon gave me a nod.

Yet, he didn’t move. He remained, his gaze fastened on me. I cocked my head to the side. As if I slapped him, he shook his head and turned, heading for the door.

“Damon?” I called after him.

He cast a glimpse over his shoulder.

I wet my lips. “Thank you.” I gestured at the plate. “For the sugar cookies.”

A slow smile spread to his cheeks. He nodded, then slipped out of the room, closing the door behind him. I allowed a grin to crease my lips. Maybe I could forgive him. After all, who could say no to sugar cookies?

I discovered I was no longer bored while being confined to four walls.

But I guess I had Damon to thank for that.

When the alpha male wasn’t investigating the murders, he came to keep me company.

I tried to ignore him by watching TV while he sat in bed next to me, but avoiding him was like ignoring a rhinoceros in the room. His presence demanded acknowledgement.

One day, I kept the channel on an Asian drama.

My gaze riveted to the show, enraptured by the plot.

It was a romance drama with the main protagonists skirting around their true feelings for each other for most of the season.

The current scene was the climax where the female had confessed her love, leaving the male shocked.

I clasped my hands in front of my chest.

Please don’t reject her, please don’t reject her, I chanted in my mind.

Damon shifted in place beside me. “You know, I’m figuring out why you love these sappy shows so much.”

“They’re not sappy.” I cut him a narrowed look. It piqued my curiosity. “Why do you think I love these shows?”

Damon popped a kernel of popcorn in his mouth from the bowl resting between us. His eyes remained leveled on the TV. “Because you live through the characters falling in love…”

My blood turned to frozen slush. The breath fled from my lungs as I gaped at him.

Damon continued, “I can sense your joy. It’s deep and eternal, like the sea.” His gaze slid toward me, blue eyes covering me. Pity shone in their depths.

Pity for me…

He’d gotten too close. Could see into me… seeing too much! Anger whirled with fear like a maelstrom.

“Get out,” I said, my voice low, deadly.

Damon rolled his eyes. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Get. Out.”

He glared at me. “Is that all you can say, ‘Get out’? You need to work with some new material.”

I scrambled out of the bed and in my rush, the popcorn bowl tipped over; the kernels showering the sheets. “Fine! If you won’t leave, I will.”

I marched toward the door. A blur stirred the hair at my temples. Then Damon stood in front of me. My brows snapped low over my eyes and noticed he was blocking the exit. Damon raised his hands. The placating gesture only fueled my anger, making it even more volatile.

“Go back to bed, Sasha. You need rest. Your wounds still need to heal.”

“The only thing I need…” I growled, “is for you to get the hell out of my way!”

With my arms raised, I gave Damon a forceful shove.

He didn’t budge an inch. I stepped forward, snarling in frustration, and threw my body into the motion.

I thrust out and then my world spun; the floor reaching up to meet me in a wave of dizziness.

A powerful arm encircled my hip, another arm catching me around my chest, stilling my fall—careful to avoid my wounds.

“Are you okay?” Concern filled Damon’s voice.

I thrashed in his arms, kicking out like a wild animal. Damon’s hold slipped somewhat before he tightened his grip on my writhing form.

“Calm down!”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” I snapped. “Damn you!”

I landed a blow to his ribs with a backward swing of my elbow. A low grunt satisfied my ears. “You’re all talk! Nothing but lies.”

Damon heaved me upright, his arms trying to wrap around me without disturbing the wound, but my rage granted me strength and I broke out of his hold.

I whirled on him, snarling, “You’re no different from the other males at the were-bar.”

His eyes snapped wide.

Tears of anger burned my eyes. “Saying that a man shouldn’t treat a female poorly just because she’s latent, but you’re no different from those werewolves. You know I ache for love, so you throw salt into the wound differently, only to torment me.”

Damon threw up his arms. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

I jabbed a finger at the TV, at the drama still unfolding.

“By saying all that shit about how I live through the characters!” One tear slipped down my cheek unbidden.

“Isn’t it enough to know it, to know that I know it?

” I punched a finger into my chest. “But no… You have to give voice to my darkest thoughts.” More tears filled my eyes, and I sniffled. “You bastard!”

Damon remained still and watched me. His eyes grew hard like flints. Then he moved with predatory speed and grabbed hold of me, lifting me into his arms.

“Let go of me!”

His grip only tightened, and he stormed out of the bedroom, hanging a left, and stalked down the hallway.

“Where the hell are you taking me?”

He didn’t give an answer, just swung the front door back, causing it to thwack against the wall from the force.

Damon stepped down the porch steps and headed across the yard.

I gasped in mortification as the werebears milling about turned their attention toward us—but more toward me.

I was being carted away in Damon’s arms like a sack of potatoes.

Many eyes glittered with confusion, others in amusement.

Damon paid no mind to the looks. He just weaved around log cabins.

Heat crept over my cheeks and down my neck. I writhed in his arms. “Put me down,” I hissed.

Still, he ignored me. Just when I felt tempted to slam a fist into his jaw, we arrived at a cabin. Damon rapped a fist against the door.

“Damon, I swear to God?—”

The door opened. I swung my head toward the person on the other side.

It was a female. She had dark black hair, a shade lighter than Damon’s, that fell to shapely hips.

A peach dress molded to her form. My brows rose as my gaze dropped to her abdomen.

Her very rounded belly. The female was heavy with child.

Her eyes glittered, lips twitching at the corners. The female glanced up at Damon.

“What is this?” she asked Damon. Her voice was soft like wind chimes, at odds with the brash behavior and characteristics one associated with bears.

Damon jerked a chin toward the female as he told me, “Sasha, meet Nara.” He gestured toward me. “Nara, Sasha.”

I gaped up at him.

A brow arched in Nara’s forehead. “Glad we got the introductions out of the way. Still don't tell me why you’re here, baby brother.”

I blinked. Baby brother? This is his sister?

“Can we come in, Nara?” Damon asked, his eye twitching in annoyance.

Nara rested a hip against the doorframe and pressed a finger to her chin as she looked upward. “Hmm, let me think about it….”

“Nara…” Damon growled.

Nara threw back her head, tinkling laughter erupting from her.

Another figure slipped into view from inside the cabin, padding toward her.

The figure had a strong build, muscles stacked upon muscles, though the male’s frame appeared leaner than Damon’s.

He pressed behind Nara and placed an arm around her hip, a protective hand over her swollen belly.

His gaze narrowed on me. It was obvious that he was her mate, his protective instincts ramping up with me being near his female. I was a werewolf. Even latent, I was still the enemy.

“What’s going on?” the male werebear asked.

Damon’s mouth opened, but Nara answered, “I was just contemplating whether I should let my little brother inside.” Nara glanced at her mate. She flashed a smug grin at Damon. “I’ve decided. Enter.”

With that, she pushed away from the doorframe and toddled further into the cabin.

Her hand rested on her back to balance the weight from her protruding belly.

The male eyed me again, before stepping back to allow for our entrance.

Damon swept inside, striding into the living room with me still perched in his arms. He was tender as he lowered me onto the couch.

I pushed myself into a sitting position and peered around.

The cabin had a homey feel. Pictures of landscapes featuring rolling hills and lush clearings framed the walls.

Little trinkets and knick knacks, such as ceramic dolls, and flowers perched on the floating oak bookshelves.

A soft amber glow illuminated from the living room chandelier.

Soft downy pillows flanked the couch I sat on, the fine leather plush.

My toes curled into the padded, soft rug beneath my feet.

She’s nesting. I stared in wonder. The final stages of a female’s pregnancy involved her making the home acceptable for receiving the young. The scented candles throughout the house brought nutmeg and cinnamon wafting through the house. It completed the coziness Nara was aiming for.

“Your home is lovely,” I told Nara and smiled. “Your cubs are well loved already.”

A warm smile touched her lips. “Thank you.” She cast a glance at her mate. “This gruff male is my mate, Garl.”

Garl gave a jerk of his chin, his gaze never straying from me. I shoved away the urge to lift my chin in challenge and dipped my head in respect instead. The male was just warring with instincts to protect his mate and unborn cubs from another predator—me.

“Pleased to meet you,” I told Garl.

He gave a noncommittal grunt. Damon narrowed an eye at him, to which Garl replied, “A pleasure.”

Damon turned to his sister, pointing at me and told Nara, “Tell her what you are.”

Nara’s eyes widened. Garl was at her side in an instant. “What? Why?”

“Tell. Her.” Damon’s voice grew hard, brooking no argument.

Understanding sparked in his sister’s eyes. She gave a solemn nod.

“Nara,” Garl growled a warning.

Nara turned to me and dipped her head. She raised a hand and placed it over her heart. “I am a latent.”

Shock raced through my veins. My head whipped toward Damon. I read the answer in his eyes.

Garl’s upper lip peeled back. “And there’s nothing wrong with that.” He stood by his mate’s side like a proud statue, a hand resting on her shoulder.

A slow smile curled my lips. “No,” I intoned. “No, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Nara watched her brother, familial love brimming in her eyes, a mirror reflection in Damon’s.

I wasn’t an idiot and could see the love both siblings had for each other.

Through the window of the bedroom I was resting in, I saw it.

Damon had crossed paths with Nara before, and his countenance always seemed to soften a tad with her.

At first I had mistaken her for a potential love interest, and my heart had endured pangs because of it.

But then I understood. What I had witnessed between the two earlier was a sibling’s affection for one another.

That Damon held such a bond with Nara could only mean…

“You’re not averse to Latents,” I said, watching Damon.

A flash of indignation raced across his features. He rolled his shoulders back, lips set in a hard line. As if that were an answer enough.

My thoughts flashed back to the forest when I had first encountered the alpha male. The distance that bled across his face, the revulsion. His words.

I will never take a werewolf as my mate.

I swallowed hard. At that time, I had assumed he didn’t want a werewolf latent as a mate. But now…

“W-Why did you reject me then?” I asked him, hating the slight wobble in my voice.

Damon’s brows slammed over stormy blue eyes. “That I don’t hate latents is all you need to know.” He stepped past me and headed for the door, calling over his shoulder, “Enemies don’t need further details.”

The words lanced through my heart surer than any blade ever would.