CHAPTER 3: Tea With The Devil
1598 Words
*CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA*
*CHAPTER 3: Tea With The Devil*
The Blackwood estate was worse than I remembered.
Bigger. Colder. More money.
White marble. Glass walls. Roses that were probably imported.
And Elena Blackwood waiting on the patio like a queen on her throne.
Two security guards followed me to the door.
Damon’s orders.
He wasn’t coming.
“Board meeting,” he said this morning. Voice flat.
“Liar,” I said.
“Don’t.”
So I was alone.
The butler opened the door.
“Miss Carter. Mrs. Blackwood is expecting you.”
Expecting. Not inviting.
Elena stood when I walked out. 60s. Blonde bob. Pearl necklace. Dress that cost more than my old apartment.
And eyes that missed nothing.
Especially the scarf around my neck.
“Abi,” she said. Smile sharp. “How lovely you could join me.”
“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Blackwood.”
“Elena. Please. We’re family now, aren’t we?”
Family.
The word made me sick.
She gestured to the chair across from her.
Tea was already poured.
Scones. Jam. Nothing looked edible.
“So,” she started. “My son.”
Here we go.
“What about him?”
“He’s been very... protective of you.”
“I’m an omega. Without parents. Pack law.”
“Pack law,” she echoed. Took a sip. “Yes. But pack law doesn’t require a mark, does it?”
My hand flew to my scarf.
Too late.
Her eyes lit up.
“Oh. So it’s true.”
“I don’t know what you—”
“Don’t lie to me, girl.” Her voice dropped. Sweet and deadly. “I was Alpha female for 40 years. I know a claim mark when I see one.”
Silence.
The birds were too loud.
“Why?” Elena asked. “Why did he mark you?”
“To save me,” I said honestly. “Rogues. Last week.”
“And he couldn’t just kill them?”
“He did. After.”
Elena laughed. It wasn’t nice.
“My son has always been dramatic.”
She leaned forward.
“Let me be clear, Abi. Damon is 39. You’re 19. He’s your stepfather. This is disgusting. To the pack. To the board. To me.”
“I didn’t ask for it.”
“But you accepted it.”
“I didn’t have a choice!”
“Everyone has a choice.”
She poured more tea.
“How long?”
“What?”
“How long is this little arrangement?”
“One year,” I whispered. “Then I’m free.”
“Free,” she repeated. “How generous of him.”
She set her cup down.
“You think he cares about you?”
“I think—”
“He doesn’t. Damon doesn’t care about anyone. Not since his brother died. Not since his father. He uses people. And when he’s done, he throws them away.”
The words hit.
Because I’d been thinking the same thing.
“But,” Elena continued. “The pack needs an heir. And a scandal like this? An omega stepdaughter? It ruins him. Unless...”
“Unless what?”
“Unless it becomes real.”
I choked on my tea.
“Excuse me?”
“A marriage, dear. A real one. Then it’s not a scandal. It’s romantic. Tragic. The Alpha who loved his wife’s daughter to save her.”
“No.”
“Think about it. You get protection. Money. Status. He gets the board off his back. And I get grandchildren.”
“I’m 19.”
“And I was 18 when I married Damon’s father.”
She stood.
“The offer stands. Talk to him. Tell him his mother suggested it. Let’s see what he says.”
I left 10 minutes later.
Shaking.
---
*That night. 9pm. His office.*
Damon was working. Tie loose. Sleeves rolled.
He didn’t look up when I came in.
“How was tea?”
“She wants us to get married. For real.”
His pen stopped.
“What?”
“Elena. She said it would ‘fix the scandal’. That we should make it real. Have kids. An heir.”
He dropped the pen.
“Absolutely not.”
“Yeah. I said no too.”
“Good.”
Silence.
He was angry. I could feel it through the bond.
Not at me. At her.
“She’s going to make this worse,” he said.
“I know.”
“You should’ve told me you were going.”
“You said board meeting.”
“It was a lie.” He finally looked at me. “I couldn’t be in the same room as her and you. Not after...”
After the bite. After the bond.
“After what?”
“Nothing.”
He stood. Poured whiskey.
“Elena doesn’t get to decide your life, Abi. I do. And I said one year. No marriage. No kids. Nothing real.”
The word _real_ cut.
“Right,” I said. “Nothing real.”
I turned to leave.
“Abi.”
I stopped.
“Did she hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did she say anything else?”
“She said you use people. And throw them away.”
His jaw ticked.
“She’s not wrong.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
I left.
---
*Day 9*
The bond was worse.
I’d wake up with his nightmares.
He’d walk in with my sadness on his face.
We were avoiding each other.
It wasn’t working.
On Day 9, the pack meeting happened.
Monthly. Mandatory.
All Alphas. All families.
Damon told me I didn’t have to come.
“I do,” I said. “If I’m yours, I have to show it.”
The hall was packed.
50 Alphas. 100 Betas. Omegas in the back.
And Elena in the front row. Smiling.
Damon walked in. Me behind him.
The room quieted.
“Before we begin,” Elena stood. “I’d like to address something.”
Damon’s hand fisted at his side.
“Mother.”
“My son has taken an omega under his protection,” Elena said to the room. “A very young omega. His stepdaughter.”
Murmurs.
“Some of you have concerns. As do I. So I propose a solution.”
She looked at me. Then Damon.
“A formal engagement. To legitimize the claim. To show the pack this is not... temporary.”
The room exploded.
Damon didn’t move.
But I could feel him. Through the bond.
Rage. Shame. Panic.
“Mother, that’s enough.”
“Is it?” Elena asked. “Or is it exactly what you need, son? A wife. An heir. A way to shut the board up?”
All eyes on me.
On the scarf.
On the mark they all knew was there.
I stepped forward.
“My name is Abi Carter,” I said. Voice shaking but loud. “Damon Blackwood marked me to save my life. That is all. There is no engagement. There is no romance. There is pack law. And in one year, I go free.”
Silence.
Then Damon.
“She’s right,” he said. “This is protection. Nothing more. Anyone who has a problem with it can take it up with me. Personally.”
Threat. Clear as day.
Meeting ended early.
In the car after, neither of us spoke.
Until Damon pulled over.
Random street. Middle of nowhere.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“You lied. For me.”
“I told the truth.”
“You protected me.”
He looked at me. Really looked.
Golden eyes. Tired.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
It was the first time he’d thanked me.
The first time he’d looked at me like I was a person.
Not an omega. Not a problem.
Just... me.
The bond pulsed. Warm.
“Abi,” he said.
“What?”
“Don’t ever do that again. Put yourself in the middle like that.”
“Why? Afraid I’ll ruin your reputation?”
“Afraid they’ll hurt you.”
Oh.
“Get in the car,” he said.
We drove home in silence.
---
*11:30pm. My room.*
Knock.
Damon.
With a box.
“Here.”
“What is it?”
“Clothes. For pack events. You can’t keep wearing that scarf.”
He set it down.
Inside: Dresses. Turtlenecks. Things to cover my neck.
But expensive. Designer.
“You didn’t have to—”
“I know.”
“Why did you?”
“Because Elena will talk. And I’d rather you be comfortable than give her more to say.”
He was at the door when I said it.
“You’re not as cold as you pretend to be.”
He stopped.
“Don’t,” he said.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t make me into something I’m not, Abi.”
“Then what are you?”
“Your stepdad. Your Alpha. For one year. That’s it.”
He left.
I opened the box.
On top was a note.
Handwriting I didn’t recognize.
_‘For protection. -D’_
I touched the mark on my neck.
It didn’t burn tonight.
It warmed.
Bound by his name.
For one year.
And I was starting to think one year wouldn’t be long enough.
Or it would be too long.
I didn’t know which was worse.
---
*END CHAPTER 3*
THE DRAMA 😭 Elena trying to force a marriage, Abi defending Damon in public, the clothes gift??
- Writer
