Caught Between Alpha and Dragon

The full moon ceremony

The days shifted into nights, and the sun had to surrender to the moon on six different occasions before the full moon ultimately arose into the starless dull sky.

That night as Bella sat in her room, she found herself worrying about Damon since she had not seen him the entire day.

Although she had been in denial for an entire week, Bella secretly knew the truth that she and Damon had a special connection that felt weird and normal at the same time.

However, she didn't plan on acting on these feelings because she had only known him for a week, and she wasn't ready for anything romantic between them since she barely knew him.

However, his face kept popping in her head as she gazed at the breathtaking beauty of the full moon.

Suddenly there was a knock on her door and before Bella could respond to it, the maids came bashing into her room with items in their hands.

Confused immediately swept across Bella’s face as she dumbfoundedly stared at them.

“My lady, our master asked us to get you prepared for the ceremony.” A maid announced.

Bella opened her mouth to speak, and yet no words came out. So she obediently followed them as they led her into the bathroom. Then she stood still while they undressed her.

‘I can do this on my own.’ Bella thought before pouting while they escorted her into the shower.

Yet her lips remained sealed as her bare skin got washed and dried up the maid before one of them tied a fluffy towel around her body.

Bella was then led back into the room where she got dressed in a short white transparent nightgown with only a pantie beneath it.

“What kind of ceremony is this?” Bella mumbled, her voice was thick with fear as one of the maids tied her hair into a ponytail.

At this point, she felt so embarrassed that her face became hot, and fresh terror reared up within her.

“Please wait patiently, my lady. Master will be with you shortly.” Another maid said.

Then they all left the room, leaving Bella staring at the closed door in shock.

Finally, when she pulled herself together, she hastily grabbed her robe from the chair and wore it while her hands trembling the entire time.

At that moment, the door opened, and Damon walked in completely shirtless.

When Bella stared at him, she was confused at first. But when he shut the door and locked it, fear began to slowly creep back into Bella’s heart.

“Take off the robe!” Damon coldly said.

There was a moment of hesitation as she gazed at him. But Damon's icy stare and his aloof tone told her that he wasn't kidding. So she obediently removed the robe off her and dropped it to the floor.

“What is going on?” Bella mumbled, fighting her urge to cry.

When she saw the look of thirst in Damon's eyes, the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood up, and her eyes darted from left to right while she tried to hide her fear.

“You are about to pay for your father's debt.” Damon intoned with numbness in his expression.

Those words she dreaded to hear, and as he took a step closer to Bella, she kept moving backward until there was no space between her and Damon as her back hit against the wall.

“I don't want this,” Bella whispered, her voice was numb with shock.

“Neither do I. But this is what my clan wants, and I can't risk having conflicted among my pack at such a troubling time. So I have to do this. Do you understand?” Damon said.

Bella slightly shook her head. But when her eyes met with his yellow eyes, she hastily nodded in fear while wondering about the color differences.

However, it took less than a second for terror coursed through Bella's veins and she burst into tears, sobbing so terribly that snot was coming out of her nostrils, and she had to constantly sniff them back.

The shock on Damon's face was nothing compared to the frustration he felt while staring at Bella. Then he gently rubbed his eyelid and shouted, “Stop making that annoying sound!”

Seeing how angry Damon looked, Bella wanted to pull herself together. But the tears kept flowing, and she couldn't get a grip on herself since fear had her hostile.

In a fate of rage, Damon balled his fingers into a fist and drove them against the wall.

That instant, the entire room became quiet as Bella stared at the slim distance between Damon's fist and her face. Then she stared into his raging yellow eyes while choking back her cry.

“I am going out for a while. When I get back, you should be ready to pay your father's debt or I will have to make him pay for it with his life. Do you understand!” Damon yelled.

As the color drained from her face, Bella hastily nodded her head like a bolt of panic had hit her heart.

With coldness in his eyes, Damon glanced at Bella before walking out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

Feeling completely helpless and hopeless, Bella slid down on the ground, drew her heels towards her chest, rested her head against her thighs, and softly sob.

As Damon walked down the hall, Hunter rushed up to him. Then he stopped and let Damon walk ahead before following closely behind him.

“Master?” Hunter mumbled with his head slightly bowed as he focused on the old-fashioned tiles.

“Speak!” Damon mumbled with less patience in his tone.

Fury twisted inside of him each time his mind recalled Bella's teary eyes, and Damon couldn't get himself to stop thinking about it.

“The hunt is about to start. Everyone is awaiting you.” Hunter softly said, choosing his words carefully.

“I am ready,” Damon mumbled.

“Does this mean that she has been marked?”

“No.”

“But master, the elders are not going to be happy…”

The bloodthirsty look in Damon's eyes when he gazed at Hunter caused him to swallow down his saliva and seal his lips tightly.

“She will be marked after the hunter,” Damon said as he stared away from his beta.

“Is it safe to leave her alone?” Hunter muttered.

“There's nowhere for her to run even if she tries. And if she does attempt to escape, I will track her down and cage her. Just thinking about it sounds more exciting than this stupid hunter. Doesn't it?”

“Yes master, it does.”

The night grew quiet and peaceful as time naturally passed by. But Bella hasn't thought about sleep all this while. Instead, she was waiting for the moment for her escape.

Finally, when the time felt right, Bella hurriedly got up from the floor and without any footwear on her feet, she tiptoed towards the room door, opened it, and sneaked out.

The entire mansion felt abandoned on this night, making it easier for Bella to leave the house without any issues.

When she arrived outside the fence, her fear seemed to subside for a bit as she silently ran down the road underneath the glow of the moon.

The farther she walked, the more intense the pain in her body became until Bella barely had the energy for two more steps.

She was about to give up when she saw the light of a moving vehicle, and without thinking straight, Bella jumped on the road and sketched her arms out to signal the car to stop.

“Are you crazy, young lady!” The driver screamed.

But Bella's ears could hardly make out the words that he was uttering as her vision got blurred and then she collapsed to the ground.

“Sir?” The driver cried as he gazed back at a dapper young man seated in the back.

“Drive around her.” He coldly said with no remorse in his words.

But all of sudden, as the driver placed the car in gear, this dashing fellow's eyes narrowed and his fist tightened when he sniffed the air.

“She has that filthy dog scent everywhere on her body. From what I gathered, he has never mated with anyone. So what's special about this human for her to be conceited with his repulsive aroma.” He mumbled beneath his breath with disgust in his expression.

“What did you say, boss?” The driver asked in confusion.

“Get her in the car.”

“Huh! Ye...yes, boss.”.

Without a single hesitation, the driver hurried from the vehicle, lifted Bella off the ground, and placed her in the front seat, before getting back into the car and driving off.