Chapter 9
483 Words
The morning broke with a sharp chill, the kind that seeped into her bones. Evelyn busied herself with routine—making breakfast, folding laundry, anything to keep her hands moving and her thoughts away from the heavy word that still rang in her ears.
Bond.
She hated how it made sense. How the strange heat under her skin when he looked at her suddenly had a name. How the steady pull between them explained why her instincts screamed to trust him even when her mind told her to stay away.
But bonds destroyed lives. She’d lived through it once. She would never again.
She bundled Lily into her coat and announced, “We’re going into town today.”
Lily clapped her hands, delighted. Evelyn forced a smile and ignored the way her chest tightened as she spotted Damian leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing, watching. Always watching.
When she loaded Lily into the car, he approached. “Where are you going?”
Her jaw clenched. “Into town. Not that it’s any of your business.”
His golden eyes narrowed. “It is my business. Rogues don’t stop at tree lines.”
“You don’t own me,” she snapped, sliding into the driver’s seat.
For a moment, his jaw tightened, his scent sharpening like pine crushed underfoot. Then he stepped back, voice rough. “Stay where people can see you. Don’t wander.”
She drove away without answering, heart pounding.
In town, she tried to breathe. She let Lily pick a pastry at the bakery, let her run her little fingers along shelves of books at the tiny shop by the square. For a while, Evelyn could almost believe this was what a fresh start felt like.
Until she caught sight of him again.
Damian stood across the street, arms folded, gaze locked on her. Not even pretending to blend in, not even trying to hide.
Heat flushed her cheeks, anger rising. When Lily skipped ahead toward the fountain, Evelyn strode across the cobblestones. “Are you following me?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation.
Her breath caught. “Do you hear yourself? You can’t just”
“I can’t let you out of my sight,” Damian cut in, voice low, threaded with something rawer than anger. “Not when I know what’s out there. Not when…” He stopped, his eyes darkening. “Not when you’re mine.”
Evelyn’s chest constricted. “I’m not yours,” she hissed, though the words trembled. “I won’t be.”
His eyes burned gold, but his voice dropped to a whisper only she could hear. “Then why does it feel like you already are?”
Her pulse stumbled, betraying her. She turned away quickly, calling to Lily with a voice that shook.
Because no matter how fiercely she fought, Damian Hale was already under her skin.
- Writer
