Rejected by the Beta, Claimed by the King

Chapter 5

Elara’s POV

I stopped at the edge of the table, gripping the back of a velvet chair to steady myself.

Up close, Damon was overwhelmed. He smelled dangerous, hot, and consuming. His sheer size made the massive dining table look small.

He didn't sit. He waited for me.

"Sit," he murmured, pulling out the chair for me.

I sat. He pushed the chair in, his body brushing against my shoulder.

The heat radiating off him made my skin prickle. I expected him to go to the other end of the long table the way the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack sat miles away from his family to show dominance.

Damon didn't. He pulled his chair right next to mine, scraping the wood against the floor, so close that our knees almost touched.

"Eat," he commanded, gesturing to the feast.

My stomach gave a treacherous growl, loud in the silent room. I blushed, looking down at the plate. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit, pastries. It was more food than I saw in a week back at the Pack house.

"I... I can't pay you for this," I whispered, my hands resting in my lap. "I don't have any money. I don't have anything."

The air shifted. Damon reached out and picked up my fork. He stabbed a piece of melon and held it to my lips.

"Open."

I stared at him, my heart pounding. "Damon, please."

"I don't want your money, Elara," he said, his voice dropping to that rough, gravelly timber that made my toes curl. "And you are not leaving this table until you eat.

You’re skin and bones."

I opened my mouth. He fed me the fruit. It was sweet, cold, and perfect.

"Good," he praised, his eyes darkening as he watched me chew. "Again."

He spent the next ten minutes feeding me like a child. At first, I was humiliated.

But as the food hit my empty stomach, the humiliation faded, replaced by a desperate hunger I hadn't realized I was carrying. I ate the eggs. I ate baconp.

When I reached for the steak knife to cut a piece of ham, my hand trembled. The weakness from the rejection trauma was still there. I struggled to see through the meat.

A large, warm hand covered mine.

Damon took the knife gently from my fingers. "Let me."

He cut the meat into perfect, bite-sized pieces with precise, lethal grace. It was terrifyingly attractive.

Here was a man who Kael said could burn down the world, cutting ham for me because my hands were shaking.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Damon paused. He set the knife down and turned in his chair to face me fully. He reached out, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw, tipping my head back so I had to look into those burning red eyes.

"Doing what?"

"Treating me like..." I searched for the word. "Like I matter. You know what I am. Liam told everyone."

Damon’s jaw tightened. "Liam is a fool."

"He's not," I argued weakly. "He was right. I’m eighteen, Damon. I haven't shifted. I can't smell other wolves. I can't hear the pack mind-link. I’m empty. I’m a defect."

"Empty?"

Damon let out a short, dark laugh.

He leaned in, his nose brushing against my neck, over the spot where a mate mark should be. I stopped breathing.

"Elara," he whispered against my skin. "You are not empty. You are the loudest thing I have ever heard."

"I... I don't understand."

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eye.

"Your wolf isn't dead," he said intensely. "She is sleeping. I can feel her. She is ancient. She is proud. And she is incredibly picky."

He smirked, a wicked, arrogant expression that made my stomach flip.

"She didn't wake up for Liam because Liam is a weak little boy. Your wolf refused to bow to a Beta."

He took my hand, pressing it flat against his chest, right over his heart. I could feel the thud-thud-thud of it, slow and powerful.

"She was waiting for a King."

The words hung in the air. Waiting for a King.

"So..." I swallowed hard. "You think I will shift eventually?"

"I know you will," Damon promised. "And when you do, you will bring this city to its knees."

He stood up abruptly, breaking the spell. He buttoned his jacket, the mask of the cold CEO sliding back into place.

"I have to go to the Tower," he said, checking his watch. "I have a meeting with the Council. They are... unhappy... that I crossed a border to get you."

Panic flared in my chest. "Are they going to hurt you?"

Damon smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the smile of a wolf who was about to eat a sheep.

"Let them try."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Stay inside. Eat. Rest. If you need anything, ask Kael."

He walked toward the elevator.

"Damon," I called out before the doors closed.

He stopped, looking back.

"Thank you," I whispered.

His expression softened, just for a second. "You never have to thank me for taking care of what is mine, Little Wolf."

The doors slid shut.

I sat alone in the massive dining room, staring at the empty plate. I touched the spot on my head where he had kissed me.

For the first time in my life, I didn't feel like a defect. I felt... dangerous.