MIDNIGHT THREAT
1168 Words
Chapter 7:
12:03am.
I hadn’t slept.
The new phone Damien gave me felt heavy on my chest. Secure. Encrypted. Only his number.
But sleep wouldn’t come. Not with Vanessa’s text still burned into my eyes. _You’ll regret it._
Not with his words still burned into my skin: _You’re mine. Mate or not._
A knock. Soft. 12:17am.
“Favour?” Damien’s voice. Rougher now. Tired.
I opened the door. He stood in the hallway in black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt. No shoes. Alpha of Blackwood Industries looking... human. Hair messy like he’d been running his hands through it.
“Security just pinged,” he said. No ‘may I’ this time. Too urgent. “Vanessa’s car entered the tower garage. She’s not supposed to be in Lagos. Her father grounded her in Abuja.”
My blood went cold. “She’s here?”
“She’s in the lobby. Claiming she needs to see me. Now.” His jaw clenched. “She won’t leave. Says she has documents to sign for the merger.”
Lies. It was 12:17am.
“I’ll handle her,” I said. Grabbed my hoodie. “She wants me, not you.”
“No.” Damien stepped in front of me. Hand on my shoulder. “You don’t fight her battles for me. Not anymore.”
His thumb brushed my collarbone. Same spot as dinner. My wolf woke up instantly. _Mate. Danger. Protect._
“Damien, if she sees us—”
“Let her see.” His eyes flashed silver. “I’m done hiding you like a secret.”
Before I could answer, Kemi’s voice came through his earpiece: “Alpha, she’s bypassing reception. 2 minutes to elevator. She has her father’s clearance code.”
Damien cursed under his breath. Then looked at me. Really looked at me.
“If I order you to stay here, will you?”
I shook my head. “No.”
He exhaled. Almost a laugh. “Stubborn girl. Come on then. But you stay behind me. Always.”
The elevator ride down was silent. His shoulder touched mine. Warm. Steady.
My heart hammered. Not fear. Something worse. Hope.
The lobby doors opened.
Vanessa stood there. Red dress. Red lips. Red eyes full of fury. Her father’s lawyer beside her holding a briefcase.
She saw me behind Damien and smiled. Sharp. Predatory.
“There she is,” Vanessa said. Voice sweet poison. “The little secretary who thinks she can replace me.”
Damien moved. Put himself fully between us. No space. No gap.
“She’s not a secretary tonight,” he said. Voice low. Alpha command rolling through the marble lobby. Every guard straightened. “She’s my guest. In my home. Under my protection.”
Vanessa’s smile cracked. “Your guest? You rejected her, Damien. 3 years ago. In front of everyone. I have the video.”
“I was wrong.” He didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. “I chose wrong. I’ve spent 3 years paying for it. I won’t spend one more day pretending she doesn’t matter.”
Gasps from the guards. Damien Blackwood didn’t admit mistakes. Ever.
Vanessa laughed. High. Unhinged. “She’s a nobody, Damien. A rejected omega. What can she give you? Status? Children? A future?”
Damien’s hand found mine behind his back. His fingers threaded through mine. Tight.
“She gives me peace,” he said. Simple. Deadly honest. “Something you never could.”
Vanessa lunged forward. “You’re making a mistake—”
Security blocked her instantly. Kemi stepped forward, tablet in hand.
“Miss Adebayo,” Kemi said coolly. “Chief Adebayo’s clearance code was revoked 30 seconds ago. You’re trespassing on private property after midnight. Would you like to leave, or should I call the police?”
Vanessa’s face twisted. Then her eyes landed on our joined hands.
“Oh.” She whispered. Then louder: “OH. You’re pathetic. Both of you.”
She threw her clutch. It hit the floor. Lipstick rolling across marble.
“This isn’t over,” she spat. “The pack council won’t allow this. The merger dies without me. You’ll come crawling back, Damien. And when you do, I won’t take her as your secretary. I’ll make her watch while I take everything else.”
She stormed out. Lawyer scrambling after her.
Silence.
Damien didn’t let go of my hand. Not until the lobby doors closed behind her.
Then he turned to me. Alpha mask gone. Just Damien. Tired. Scared.
“You okay?” he asked.
I nodded. Couldn’t speak. Because his words kept replaying: _She gives me peace._
Kemi cleared her throat. “Security doubled, Alpha. Tower locked down. She won’t get past the gate again.”
“Good.” Damien finally dropped my hand. Missed the warmth immediately. “Escort Favour back to 45. Two guards on her door. Rotating shifts.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
In the elevator up, neither of us spoke. But his pinky brushed mine. Once. Twice.
On my floor, he stopped me before I went inside.
“Favour.” He leaned against the doorframe. “I meant what I said down there. Every word.”
“I know.” My voice came out small. “That’s what scares me.”
“Why?” He frowned. “Because I’m telling the truth?”
“Because truth hurts more than lies.” I hugged myself. “Lies I can survive. Truth… truth makes me want things I can’t have.”
Damien was quiet for a long time. Then he reached out. Tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Same as dinner.
“Then let me give you those things,” he said. “One by one. Until wanting them doesn’t scare you anymore.”
He pressed something into my palm. A keycard.
“My private floor,” he said. “If you ever feel unsafe. If you have a nightmare at 2am. If you just… want to talk. Come. Any time. No guards. No questions.”
I stared at the keycard. At his name engraved under mine.
“Damien, I—”
“Don’t answer now.” He cut me off gently. “Just keep it. That’s all I ask.”
He walked away then. Back toward the stairs. Not the elevator. Like he needed distance. Fast.
I watched him go. Clutching the keycard. My wolf wasn’t whining anymore.
She was purring.
And at 12:59am, right before midnight ended, another message lit up my new phone.
Unknown number: _Cute speech. But mate bonds break, Damien. I’ll make sure of it. -V_
Attached: a photo. Me at 16, climbing that oak tree. Laughing. Damien below me, arms open to catch me.
A photo only he and I had.
Someone had been watching us for 3 years.
I dropped the phone. Ran to the window.
Lagos lights below. But across the street, on the roof of the building opposite Blackwood Tower…
A red laser dot moved. Across my window. Across my chest.
Then vanished.
Midnight ended.
The threat didn’t.
*[End Episode 7]*
- Writer
