Daughter Of Darkness

Chapter 4

Hunter

I enter the common room,Ares padding quietly beside me, nails clicking against the worn hardwood. The air smells faintly of disinfectant and damp fur–clean but lived-in. Damon’s at the small table by the window, sleeves rolled up, a black towel spread beneath a meticulous arrangement of piercing tools–forceps, clamps, needles, rings. He moves with intent, each motion steady and sure. The faint sound of metal clinking against glass slices through the quiet.

Ares circles once near the couch before lowering himself to the floor with a soft huff, his head resting on his paws. He’s doing better, though his energy dips fast. Our walks are short–just around the garden, enough to rebuild what he lost. I reach down to give his ear a quick scratch and he sighs, eyes already half-closed.

“Where have you been?” Damon’s voice cuts through the stillness.

I pause, caught mid-step, the words heavier than they should be. “Just checking on her.”

He doesn’t look up, a lock of his dark hair falling onto his forehead. He swirls his tools into a bowl of clear liquid, the metal glinting under the low light. “Did she know you were there? Did you announce yourself?” His tone is lazy, but there’s a bite beneath it. “Or were you creeping again?”

I exhale through my nose. “Why do you care?”

He shrugs, mouth curving into that familiar, mocking half-smile. “Just wondering when you’re going to stop watching and do something about it.”

I grunt–the only answer I can give. DK doesn’t get it. He assumes the distance is part of some kink, like an obsession with edging, and maybe on the surface, that’s true. But it’s more than that. He doesn’t know what happens when I let myself cross that line–when I touch, when I take. It never ends clean.

“What about you? Still avoiding her?”

“As long as I can,” he says without hesitation. “The farther she is from me, the better.”

“She’s still our Baroness. I don’t think you’re going to be able to stay away from her forever.”