CHAPTER 10: The Forest Between Us
1266 Words
Aria's POV
The deeper we walked into the forest, the quieter the world became.
The sounds of the training grounds faded behind us.
The whispers.
The stares.
The judgment.
Everything disappeared.
Leaving only Damien and me.
Which should have made me nervous.
Instead, it made me feel strangely calm.
The path beneath our feet wound between towering pines and ancient oak trees.
Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead, painting golden patterns across the ground.
For several minutes neither of us spoke.
The silence wasn't awkward.
It never seemed to be with him.
That alone should have worried me.
"You handled Ethan well."
I glanced at Damien.
His eyes remained fixed on the path ahead.
"I wasn't aware I was being graded."
The corner of his mouth twitched.
That tiny almost-smile again.
My heart betrayed me with a small flutter.
Traitor.
"He wanted a reaction."
Damien continued.
"You didn't give him one."
I shrugged.
"I'm tired."
That was the truth.
I was tired of crying.
Tired of arguing.
Tired of hearing excuses.
Tired of being hurt.
Damien's expression darkened slightly.
"You shouldn't have had to go through that."
The quiet anger in his voice surprised me.
Not because he was angry.
Because he still was.
Days had passed.
Yet every time Ethan's betrayal came up, Damien looked as though he wanted to tear apart an entire mountain.
A ridiculous amount of protectiveness.
Especially for someone who wasn't related to me.
My stomach tightened.
Dangerous thought.
Very dangerous thought.
I pushed it away.
Immediately.
"So," I said, changing the subject.
"Have you always been this intimidating?"
Damien actually laughed.
A real laugh.
Deep.
Rich.
Unexpected.
The sound sent warmth through my chest.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It wasn't."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Liar."
I blinked.
Then laughed.
For the first time in weeks, the weight on my shoulders felt lighter.
Not gone.
Just lighter.
Damien noticed.
Of course he did.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment.
Long enough to make my pulse quicken.
Long enough to make me look away first.
Again.
Why was I always the one looking away first?
Nyra was having the time of her life.
Because he's handsome.
"Stop."
Broad shoulders.
"Stop."
Silver eyes.
"Nyra."
My wolf laughed.
Loudly.
The traitor.
The path eventually opened into a small clearing.
And my breath caught.
A crystal-clear lake stretched before us.
The water reflected the sky like glass.
Wildflowers covered the surrounding hills.
The entire place looked untouched.
Magical.
Beautiful.
I stared.
"Wow."
Damien's gaze shifted from the lake to me.
Something unreadable flashed through his eyes.
"I thought you'd like it."
"You brought me here?"
A pause.
Then he nodded.
Warmth spread through my chest.
Again.
A dangerous amount of warmth.
"Nobody knows about this place?"
"Very few."
The realization made my pulse skip.
This place mattered.
I could feel it.
The privacy.
The secrecy.
The trust.
He had brought me somewhere special.
Somewhere important.
Why?
The question lingered in my mind.
Unfortunately, I wasn't brave enough to ask it.
We settled near the edge of the lake.
The water sparkled beneath the afternoon sun.
For a while, neither of us spoke.
Then Damien suddenly said:
"You've been having nightmares."
I nearly choked.
"What?"
His expression remained calm.
Too calm.
"You look exhausted every morning."
I stared.
"How would you know that?"
The instant the words left my mouth, silence followed.
A dangerous silence.
Because for the second time in a week, I had caught him knowing something he shouldn't.
Something personal.
Something observant.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"I notice things."
That wasn't an answer.
And we both knew it.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You're avoiding the question."
His gaze met mine.
For one brief second, something vulnerable appeared there.
Gone almost immediately.
But I saw it.
And suddenly I understood.
Not the whole truth.
Just enough.
Enough to know this wasn't recent.
Enough to know he had been paying attention to me for much longer than I realized.
The thought sent a strange feeling through me.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something warmer.
Something infinitely more dangerous.
My voice softened.
"Why?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Damien froze.
The air between us changed instantly.
The atmosphere grew heavier.
More intimate.
More fragile.
As though we had reached the edge of something important.
His silver eyes searched my face.
Looking for something.
Perhaps permission.
Perhaps courage.
I wasn't sure.
Neither of us spoke.
Neither of us moved.
Then Damien finally answered.
His voice barely above a whisper.
"Because you've always mattered."
My heart stopped.
The world seemed to disappear.
The lake.
The trees.
The sky.
Everything faded.
Leaving only those four words.
You've always mattered.
Not you matter.
Not I care about you.
You've always mattered.
As though this wasn't new.
As though this hadn't started after Ethan.
As though it had existed long before any of this.
My pulse thundered in my ears.
Dangerously fast.
"Damien..."
The sound of his name on my lips changed something.
I saw it.
The reaction.
Small.
But unmistakable.
His breathing became uneven.
Mine too.
The space between us suddenly felt much smaller.
A few inches.
That was all.
A few inches and years of restraint.
Years of forbidden feelings.
Years of silence.
Neither of us seemed capable of moving.
The connection humming between us felt almost alive.
Growing stronger.
Pulling tighter.
Nyra had stopped joking.
Stopped teasing.
Stopped laughing.
For once, she sounded serious.
Do you feel that?
I did.
The strange pull.
The warmth.
The comfort.
The sense of belonging.
As though part of me had finally found something it had been searching for.
And somehow...
Damien felt it too.
His gaze dropped briefly to my lips.
Then returned to my eyes.
My breath caught.
The world held its breath with us.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then—
A sudden wave of pain exploded through my chest.
I gasped.
The force of it nearly knocked me sideways.
Damien moved instantly.
"Aria!"
The mate bond.
Ethan.
Another c***k had formed.
The dying connection tore through me like a blade.
Agony flooded every nerve.
I doubled over.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to think.
Damien's arms wrapped around me immediately.
Strong.
Protective.
Safe.
His scent surrounded me.
Wood.
Rain.
Power.
The pain remained.
But somehow it became bearable.
Manageable.
As though his presence was anchoring me.
Holding me together.
His hand pressed gently against my back.
"Look at me."
The command was soft.
Yet impossible to ignore.
I lifted my head.
His silver eyes locked onto mine.
Steady.
Certain.
Unshakable.
"You're okay."
The pain surged again.
Tears filled my eyes.
"No, I'm not."
Something broke inside him.
I saw it.
A c***k in the perfect control he always maintained.
A flash of helplessness.
Of anger.
Of grief.
Because he couldn't stop my suffering.
And somehow...
That hurt him.
The realization struck me harder than the pain itself.
Damien cared.
Far more than he should.
Far more than anyone realized.
His thumb brushed away a tear.
The gesture was so gentle it nearly shattered me.
Then he whispered the words that changed everything.
"I wish I could take your pain away."
My heart skipped.
Not because of what he said.
Because of how he said it.
As though he truly meant it.
As though he would carry every wound himself if given the chance.
And in that moment, staring into his eyes...
I realized something terrifying.
I wasn't just healing because of Damien.
I was beginning to fall for him.
And that was far more dangerous than revenge ever could have been.
- Writer
