Betrayed by My Chosen Mate: Claimed by the Forbidden Alpha

Chapter 9 - Will to Fight (2)

“I have a slight problem with the plan though,” I looked at Damon, “it’s about the timing really. You said to come in everyday around the same time so I’m thinking maybe very late, sometime around like midnight or past midnight.” I asked.

Marius looked at me puzzled, “Why?”

“That’s not so believable and will go against the whole blending in narrative. What type of a wife would you be going out till midnight or after midnight? Unless that’s already a routine for you….” Damon raised an eyebrow.

“No… no it’s not. I’m usually back home by 9 or 10pm at the latest. But…. Forget I said anything.” I shook my head.

“No, go on. What’s the problem with the timing? Why do you want to come in so late?” Damon pressured.

“I work multiple jobs to kind of stay ahead of Aiden’s debts. We’re sinking in it, we can’t afford the house if I don’t get paid and then he has a number of gambling debts as well. I work almost round the clock. I just thought it might be better if I came to the safe house after ending my last shift so that puts the journey at around 11 or say 12 midnight because I don’t have time in the day.” I replied, shame already enveloping me.

Marius stood in the corner, his arms folded and his eyes narrowed slightly as I finished speaking.

I mean I knew it was pathetic but I didn’t want Damon to see me that way, for some weird reason. He thought so highly of me and I didn’t want him to see anything less.

There was silence and in that moment, I felt even smaller.

“So you’re paying his debts for him, but he doesn’t contribute towards it?” Marius queried.

I didn’t respond.

He scoffed. “You were one of our best, one of the best in the field,” he muttered. “Even with pack politics and all, You should have made Captain by now and he hasn’t even seen any action other than behind a desk.”

Damon just looked on, he didn’t say anything.

I braced myself for the disappointment I was sure I’d see in his eyes.

“No…” His voice was quiet and measured.

I tensed up. “No?”

“You have to know that going to the warehouse at midnight would raise suspicion. No matter how self centered Aiden is, he’ll notice. Your scent might change, your rhythm as well. He might not notice those changes but the late nights might have him snooping and we don’t want that. He doesn’t have to know anything….”

I folded my arms. “But I can’t lose the house, he’ll suspect even more then. He knows I won’t suddenly stop working because I won’t jeopardize the house. So what do you suggest is the way out?”

He stretched his hand to Marius who pulled out a narrow wristband from his coat pocket. It was a simple leather wristband but I could swear I felt the hum of enchantment radiating from it.

“This enhances our mind link,” he said. “It will help us amplify your sensitivity to my mental calls and also to help me locate your precise location if anything goes wrong.”

I didn’t move.

His next words were soft, “And as for the work and timing, I’ll cover the lost wages from one of the jobs personally. So make a choice from the jobs Aiden doesn’t know about, walk away from it and probably just act like you’re a cleaner or something at the safe house.”

Behind him, I could see Marius’s look of utter shock, I guessed this was not a usual suggestion from Damon.

“Are you serious about that?” Marius asked. “You’re going to pay her for doing this. You didn’t even ask how much the wage is?”

Damon ignored him.

He stepped forward, holding the wristband out.

“I’m not paying for it because I pity you,” he said. “I’m doing it because I trust you.”

I hesitated before holding out my arm.

His fingers were cool and sure as he fastened the wristband around my wrist. He was careful… not slow but.. careful. Like, he understood how to respect my boundaries.

Still my breath caught the moment our skin brushed.

I felt something deep in my chest, it wasn’t romantic, it wasn’t even s****l… it was just like I was seen… felt.

There were no words to really explain, I didn’t move away but I didn’t look at him either.

Kira stirred faintly inside me. "What is happening?”

I didn’t know.

Damon pulled his hand back as soon as the band’s clasp clicked shut. He said nothing about the way I had flinched, he simply stepped back.

The silence after wasn’t uncomfortable.

It was safe.

Damon felt safe, safe to talk to and safe to trust.

And that terrified me more than I expected.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, my voice brittle. “Quitting the job I mean.”

I looked down at the wristband, the leather was warm against my skin.

“I know Aiden won’t notice,” I added, laughing softly, it was a bitter laugh. “He never asks where I go and I know he won’t smell that anything’s changed.”

“You’d be surprised what even the worst of wolves start to notice,” Damon said.

I met his gaze and for a second, I thought I saw something flicker behind it.

Concern, maybe or maybe something heavier.

I wasn’t sure.

I stepped out of the safe house into the night, knowing that this was the start of something big, something bigger than me.

The rain started again, light and steady.

As I walked back towards the empty hollow I called home, Kira spoke again.

“He didn’t ask to touch you.”

“I know.”

“But you felt something too, right?"

I didn’t respond.

Because as I stood in front of the house, all I could think about was the heavy scent of s*x, the sounds of skin on skin.

And Aiden.

The omega.

Laughing.