She's Human but Alpha Wants Her Back.

Chapter Eight

Damien's POV

The space fell silent under the cold night as I watched them bind her hands and feet with those chains.

Not enough.

A single day wouldn't be enough to make her regret choosing to step into hell on her own. And not just any kind of hell—Darkclaw.

Craziest thing I'd seen in years.

She was brave, yes. but not as much as I thought. Not as much as she pretended to be. A fragile-looking human with a pretty face had the boldness to walk into Darklcakw to ask for a stupid plant, and she thought I'd ever let her walk free? Or leave with the said plant, much worse after sharing a mate bond with me, unapologetically.

She hadn't only invaded my privacy when I never wanted her; she was fighting—deliberately or not—to break my focus. Unknown to her, the mindfulness and discipline I'd built for years cannot be broken down by a mere human. Not while the Remington bloodline still runs in me.

I had watched my fathers despise and punish humans for invading and stealing. The fact that every member of the Darkclaw hated humans wasn't something that began with me—it was ancestral. Humans came as hunters and travelers, stopping at our borders to either hunt, kill, or steal.

The end had always resulted in a deadly, bloody war, wolves brought down, and packs brought to the ground, until alphas took caution; hence, the hate.

So no—my action against them would never stop. I would never disgrace an ancestral rule by sparing a human. Least of all, a human who dared to bend me.

I had spent years wondering why the bond felt wrong. Why every connection felt unsettling. As if the moon goddess had chosen a punishment for me by binding her to me.

Since she came here willingly, then she has to pay for it. For the intrusion. For the bonds. For the unsettling effect she had on me.

I had to make her pay for the sins of her father before she became mine.

I stared piercingly at her, as though my eyes were arrows, striking where it hurts the most. She weighed nothing in my men's grip, the same way she weighed nothing on me when I dumped her on my vinyl bench and f****d the hell out of her.

The private gym in the cabin was my favorite place to be. A place I derive so much pleasure in and a heritage of the pack. The perfect place to situate her cell, a cage that made her watch me work out, buy herself enough time to watch me too.

The gate slammed shut, and I caught her peering through the iron bars. When I proceed, I'd begin with the oversized winter clothes she had on. Tear them apart with a sharp knife slowly and make her watch herself unravel. Tease the blade along her skin and press her on my body until I felt her shudder.

I want that hot body bare, bound not in the cage but to my bed.

My wrist monitor buzzed softly against my wrist. It was time to retire to bed. I pushed back my seat and got on my feet; she curled away from sight. No need; let her sleep, rest...for now. Until tomorrow.

I walked away from the gym, slamming the door shut behind me.

The heavy oak door swung open as I walked into the room, a scowl carved deep into my features as my eyes caught the Remington sculpture by the wall, and the realization shook me to the core.

I might be the one who breaks the alpha rule.

Me, sharing a mate bond with a human who had no place in Darkclaw. Now a rule passed through generations stood at the edge of being broken by a single human girl. If I allowed it, Dameien, the most feared, would be reduced to a mere pacified alpha who let a human ruin him.

Impossible

Without the mate bond, she'd have been dead by now.

Rage twisted hard in my guts like it would snap anytime soon. I moved through the room and set my wrist tracker by the nightstand. Champagne sat there, forgotten; a cigar lay beside it.

I took the cigar to my lips, flicked a lighter, and ignited it. Taking a long pull before exhaling in a rush. I thought I needed something; I needed to calm the storm in my head. But it didn't help.

Not my lucky day.

Everything acted stupidly, setting a hard twist in my gut.

I flicked the cigar. In the ashtray when it wasn't helping in any damn way and walk over to the end of the room. My eyes cut straight across the room.

There she lay, curled into the sheets like a prey who had already accepted the day of her kill.

Good for her.

Time for a quick sponge down before deciding what the next day holds.

I tug my boxing shorts away and just walk into the bathroom... naked, like a frustrated mtherf***r about to get dealt with by fate.

I slipped into the bathroom, turned the heater to moderate, and let the warm water rinse away her haunting look—frightened yet captivating—from my memory because tomorrow, she won't only stare at me helplessly; she'll learn that Darkclaw is not the best place to walk into with a sinful body and sexy eyes that invite trouble.

The shower was done, and I got out, pulled a towel from the rail, and wrapped it around my waist.

Out of the bathroom. The cashmere robe came next. I threw it over my shoulder and let it settle on my body, then walked over to the bed and just sat there, thinking, calculating, and feeling the storm brew quietly in my head.

Her slender body lay peacefully and innocently on the bed, like she had forgotten where she was.

I nodded.

Then I lay back and closed my eyes for a while, hoping the alarm would buzz by 7am and drag me up.

Copy code

The alarm never rang. I got up. on my own, unable to sleep—long before it was time.

My stretchy gym wear and Nike training footwear were the first things my eyes met; thankfully, the butler had always come up so early and had chosen those for today. Freshened up, no time. Threw them on, ignored the coffee beside, and headed for the gym.

There he was—my trainer, already waiting. Never late.

We exchanged a quick handshake and got to work. Started with a light cardio, then moved to the dumbbells, arms first. A hundred counts. After that, the treadmill, did a few light jogs. Then my trainer whistled; it was time to go into the ring.

I stepped in, breathing hard. He strapped the pad over his hands while I pulled my glove on, tightening them until they sealed. Then I positioned myself close enough to strike, chin to my chest, eyes straight at him.

"Go," he said.

I did. He felt the impact heavy and sharp and smiled—a quiet approval.

"Common." He barked again.

A lazy, knowing smirk rested on my face; the rest of me stayed calm. Today wasn't going to be like yesterday. The human had caught me off guard and infuriated me with her presence. I'd taken time to plan; now it was time for action.

I fired again with a grunt—he caught it sharp. We went over and over and over, jab after jab.

He switched position, testing my reflexes. Throwing punches meant to be dodged.

My gaze slipped for a moment to the cage. She wasn't in sight. The bed lay in disarray like a child's abandoned play space. How she leaves everything she comes in contact with undone, including a mere bed.

A jab cut crossed my vision, and I dodged—fast, flexibly. Too close. His stare hardened.

A Warning.

I'd lost focus for a second, searching for the girl in the cage. That was stupid—when I knew she couldn't have escaped with those chains on her legs.

Another jab.

I dodged it clean. perfect.

We both smirked.

He signaled for push-ups. I stepped out of the rink, and there she was... in her cage, of course, soft eyes locked on me, curious, always curious, blue, matching the color of the skies outside.

I held her gaze for a while, my face lethal and calm, with no hint of what she's about to get, just a stare, for now. Then slid off and began to do a hundred push-ups.

It was time to disembark. I shook my trainer's hands, and he left.

Back to her.

I turned, and she froze.

I knew she had been watching.

Time to get her out of the cage and make her work for me... a little bit.