Mine to protect
1033 Words
Aria hadn’t expected to move in the same night.
She should have.
But nothing about Damon Wolfe seemed patient.
The black car waiting outside her apartment looked expensive enough to buy the entire building she lived in.
Two men stood near it.
Watching.
Not casually.
Intently.
Her stomach twisted.
“This is unnecessary,” she muttered as Damon stepped out behind her.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, his eyes scanned the street slowly.
Calculating.
Assessing.
Dangerous.
The air felt wrong.
Thick.
Like something unseen was pressing in.
“You packed?” he asked.
“I didn’t have much to pack.”
His gaze flicked to the cracked paint on her apartment building. The flickering hallway light. The broken railing.
His jaw hardened.
His wolf hated this place.
Hated that she had lived here unprotected.
Unclaimed.
He stepped closer to her.
Too close.
“You won’t be coming back here,” he said.
Her chin lifted. “It’s still my apartment.”
“Not anymore.”
“I didn’t agree to give up my independence.”
His eyes flashed faintly — gold threatening to break through.
“You agreed to my protection.”
His tone wasn’t loud.
But it was absolute.
Before she could argue, a low growl vibrated from his chest.
She froze.
“That wasn’t normal,” she whispered.
Damon’s head turned slightly toward the dark end of the street.
His body went still.
Predatory.
One of the guards stiffened.
“Alpha,” the guard said quietly.
Aria blinked. “Alpha?”
Damon ignored her.
“Show yourself,” he called into the shadows.
Silence.
Then—
A man stepped forward from the darkness.
Tall. Smirking. Eyes gleaming faintly in the streetlight.
And unmistakably not human.
“Didn’t expect you to claim a human, Damon,” the stranger drawled.
Claim?
Aria’s heart began to pound.
Damon stepped in front of her instantly.
Blocking her completely.
His shoulders broadened.
His posture shifted.
Not businessman.
Predator.
“She’s not claimed,” the stranger continued mockingly. “Not yet.”
A sound ripped from Damon’s throat.
Not human.
Not fully wolf.
A warning.
Aria’s fingers curled into the back of his suit jacket without thinking.
The contact sent something electric through him.
His wolf surged forward, furious.
Mate. Threat. Remove threat.
“Leave,” Damon said, voice distorted slightly — layered with something deeper.
The stranger’s eyes slid toward Aria.
Curious.
Assessing.
“She doesn’t even know what you are, does she?”
Aria’s stomach dropped.
“What is he talking about?” she whispered.
Damon didn’t answer.
The stranger took one step closer.
And that was enough.
Damon moved so fast she barely saw it.
One second he was in front of her.
The next, he had the stranger slammed against a car across the street.
Metal dented.
Glass cracked.
A snarl tore through the night.
Golden eyes blazed openly now.
Not hidden.
Not subtle.
Fully wolf.
“Touch her,” Damon growled, voice deep and inhuman, “and I will end your bloodline.”
Aria’s breath left her lungs.
The stranger smirked despite being pinned.
“So it’s true. She’s your fated mate.”
The word echoed in her skull.
Fated.
Mate.
Damon’s grip tightened.
Claws — actual claws — pierced fabric.
“Leave. Now.”
For a second, it looked like the stranger might fight.
Then he laughed softly.
“This will not sit well with the council.”
Damon’s eyes burned brighter.
“I don’t care.”
The stranger slipped free with unnatural speed and disappeared into the darkness.
Just like that.
Silence returned.
But it wasn’t normal silence.
It was charged.
Damon stood there breathing heavily.
His back tense.
His hands shaking slightly.
Aria stepped closer carefully.
“Damon…”
He turned.
And for a second, she saw it clearly.
The wolf.
Gold eyes.
Sharpened teeth.
A dominance that felt ancient.
She should have been terrified.
Instead—
Her pulse raced for a different reason.
“You’re not human,” she said softly.
“No.”
The single word carried weight.
Truth.
Power.
Fear.
He stepped toward her slowly.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“Before it mattered.”
Her laugh was shaky. “It seems like it already matters.”
His gaze dropped to her throat.
Her pulse.
His control was thinning.
The bond between them pulsed violently now.
She was too close.
Too exposed.
He cupped the back of her neck suddenly.
Firm.
Possessive.
Not gentle.
“You are not safe here,” he said.
“From who?”
“From everyone.”
His thumb brushed just below her ear.
His wolf wanted to bite there.
Mark her.
Claim her publicly so no one would dare approach again.
The urge was overwhelming.
“Damon…” she breathed.
He inhaled her scent deeply.
And lost the last thread of restraint.
His forehead pressed against hers.
“You are mine,” he growled.
Her heart slammed.
“This is a contract,” she whispered weakly.
His eyes flashed.
“No.”
The word vibrated between them.
“This is fate.”
She should pull away.
She should run.
But instead—
Her fingers tightened in his shirt.
And something inside her responded.
Not fear.
Not exactly.
Something warmer.
Dangerous.
“Take me home,” she said quietly.
His wolf purred at the submission in her tone.
Damon stepped back slowly, regaining composure.
He signaled the guards.
The car door opened.
But before she could enter, he stopped her.
His hand slid around her waist.
Firm.
Claiming.
“From this moment,” he said low enough only she could hear, “no one looks at you without my permission.”
Her breath caught.
“That’s not how this works.”
A faint smirk touched his lips.
“It is now.”
He guided her into the car.
And as the vehicle pulled away from her old life—
Aria realized something terrifying.
She hadn’t just married a billionaire.
She had married a monster powerful enough to destroy cities.
And he had just declared her his.
Not publicly.
Not officially.
But instinctively.
And instinct, she was beginning to understand—
Was far more dangerous than any contract.
- Writer
