Chapter Three
1074 Words
(Adeline's POV)
Damian leaned against his desk, arms crossed, looking really strong. His eyes scanning me, checking me out, like he was deciding if I was worth stressing about. I stood up straight, trying to look confident.
I stood up straight, forcing myself to look confident. Show no weakness.
“Start talking,” he said. “Why are you really here?”
I had been expecting this. He wasn’t stupid. He knew something was off.
I needed to play my role perfectly.
I let out a slow breath, lowering my gaze slightly. Not too much—just enough to sell the lie. “I told you. I’m a rogue. I have nowhere else to go.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Nonsense.”
Damn it.
I squeezed my fists. “Believe whatever you want to. I’m not a threat to you.”
His lips curled slightly. “Not a threat? "Why were you sneaking in like a thief through the servants' entrance?"
“I was afraid,” I lied smoothly.“Your pack is known for killing rogues without asking questions. I knew that if they saw me before I could explain, I would be dead before I could even ask for assistance.”
He turned his head, giving it a thought. "That is correct," he said. "Most rogues don’t make it across the border."And yet… you did.”
His eyes burned into mine, waiting for me to break.
I refused to.
Damian sighed, pushing off the desk. “Fine. You want sanctuary? You’ll have it.”
I blinked. What?
“You’ll stay here,” he continued. “Under my watch. My warriors will track your movements. "If you disobey me," He said moving closer, his scent filling the air. "—I’ll tear your throat out myself.”
The threat in his words sent a shiver down my spine.
I held his gaze. “Understood.”
Another step. Now he was too close.
“One more thing,” he murmured. “You’re mine now.”
My breath hitched. No.
“Excuse me?” I bit out.
He stretched his hand out, holding my chin and forcing me to look up at him. The mate bond pulsed between us like it was alive, a joke from the gods.
“You’re under my protection,” he said slowly. “That means you belong to me. No one touches you without my permission. No one harms you unless I say so.”
His fingers tightened just slightly. Not enough to hurt—but enough to remind me exactly who he was.
My blood boiled.“I don’t belong to you!,” I said.
He smirked. “That’s cute.”
I drew my chin away and stared at him. “If you think I will listen to you, you’re wrong.”
His smirk grew wider. “We shall see.”
He turned toward the door, opening it.
“Killian!”
A tall man appeared almost instantly. His scent told me he was a Beta. Dark hair, sharp eyes, a cold expression that made it clear he wasn’t my friend.
Damian nodded toward me. “She stays in the east wing. Guard the door. If she tries to leave—stop her.”
Killian’s eyes blinked with something unreadable before he gave a stiff nod.
I stiffened. Trapped.
Damian glanced back at me one last time. “Welcome to Bloodmoon Pack, rogue.”
Then he was gone, leaving me standing there, a prisoner in the enemy’s den.
And worst of all?
I could still sense the warmth of his touch on my skin.
The door shut quietly, confining me within. My heart pounded as I turned to face Killian. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—curiosity, suspicion, maybe even amusement.
“You heard the Alpha,” he said, resting against the doorframe.“Try to run, and I will stop you.”
I exhaled slowly. “I wasn’t planning to run.”
Yet.
Killian smirked. “Good. Saves us both the trouble.”
I ignored him and turned toward the room Damian had assigned me. The east wing. Far from the warriors’ quarters. Far from the packhouses.
Far from escape routes.
Smart. Damian was holding me captive, exactly where he wanted me.
The hallway was silent except for the faint crackling of the torches lining the walls. I unlocked the door to my room and entered.
Simple. Cold. A bed, a window with iron bars—not that I was surprised.
It felt like another cage, just like the rest.
I shut the door behind me, leaning against it and pressing my fingers to my temples.
This was bad.
I had expected Damian to be ruthless. Had expected him to throw me into the dungeons, interrogate me, maybe even kill me on sight.
Instead, he did something far worse.
He took me in.
He had no idea who I was—no idea what I had planned. And yet, something inside him had recognized me.
Not for what I was.
But for what I was to him.
I took a sharp breath, trying to push away the tug in my chest. The bond.
It wasn’t real.
It wasn’t stronger than my purpose.
I had spent three years training for this moment, preparing for the day I would bury my blade in Damian’s heart.
And I would do it.
Even if the mate bond burned me alive.
I pushed off the door and walked toward the window. The iron bars were thick, but I traced my fingers along them anyway.
Tested them.
They didn’t budge.
Damn it.
A knock sounded at the door. I tensed instantly.
“Eat,” a warrior’s voice came through the wood. “You’ll need your strength.”
I turned to see a tray on the floor outside my door. A plate of food with vegetables, meat, and bread.
Poison?
No. If Damian wanted me dead, he wouldn't waste time with toxins.
I picked up the tray and closed the door, setting it on the small wooden desk by the window. My stomach growled, but I ignored it.
I wasn't here to eat. I was here to kill an alpha.
I needed a plan. A way to get closer to Damian. A way to make him trust me.
And then?
I would destroy him.
Even if it means dragging him into the hellfire that burned my soul.
- Writer
