Claimed By An Alpha

Chapter 6: Under My Protection

The morning after the pack meeting, the house felt different.

Tense.

Lila could feel it the second she walked into the kitchen. Maya was whispering with another maid. They stopped when Lila came in.

“Morning,” Lila said quietly.

Maya nodded but didn’t meet her eyes.

By lunch, Damon still hadn’t come home.

At 4PM, Maya finally told her. “Elder Council called him. They’re not happy about yesterday.”

Lila’s stomach dropped.

She was in the library at 7PM when the front doors slammed.

Damon.

He looked furious. Shirt wrinkled. Hair messy. Like he’d been running his hands through it for hours.

“Lila. Office. Now.”

His voice was Alpha. No room to argue.

Lila followed him.

His office was dark. Big desk. Wolf statues. And on the wall behind him — a massive window looking out to the woods.

Damon shut the door.

“They want me to send you away,” he said without turning around.

Lila froze. “What?”

“The Elder Council. Kade’s father. Half the pack.” Damon finally looked at her. His silver eyes were tired. “They said a human in the Alpha house during a war season is a liability. They said I’m being reckless. They said I’m dishonoring my dead mate’s memory.”

Each word was a knife.

Lila nodded. “I understand. I can go—”

“No.”

The word was sharp. Final.

Damon walked to her. Stopped an inch away. Close enough that she had to tilt her head up to see him.

“I said no,” he repeated, softer this time. “You’re under my protection. That means something.”

Lila’s heart was pounding. “But Damon, if it’s causing problems for you—”

“It’s not your problem,” he cut her off. His hand came up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The touch was so gentle it made her breath catch.

It was the first time he’d touched her like that. Not to grab. Not to stop her. Just... touch.

“You don’t have to fight them,” Lila whispered. “Three months and I’m gone anyway.”

Damon’s jaw clenched. “Is that what you want?”

The question hung between them.

Lila looked at his mouth. Then back at his eyes. “I don’t know what I want.”

Damon exhaled. He looked frustrated. With her. With himself. With the bond.

“Come here,” he said.

He walked to the big leather couch and sat. Patted the seat next to him.

Lila hesitated, then sat. Careful to leave space between them.

They sat in silence. The only sound was the wind outside.

“I hate this,” Damon said suddenly.

Lila turned. “Hate what?”

“This.” He gestured between them. “The bond. Wanting to keep you safe and also wanting to push you away. Wanting to touch you and hating myself for it.”

Lila’s chest ached. “You don’t have to—”

“Yes I do,” Damon snapped. Then he sighed. “Because if I don’t say it, I’ll go crazy.”

He turned to her. Really looked at her.

“You smell like home,” he said quietly. “Even though you shouldn’t. You look at me like I’m not a monster. Even though I am. And when Kade touched you, I wanted to kill him.”

Lila’s breath hitched.

“Damon—”

“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t make this harder.”

But Lila did.

She reached out and took his hand.

His skin was warm. Calloused.

Damon went completely still. He stared at their joined hands like she’d burned him.

“Lila,” he warned.

“Just for a minute,” she whispered. “Please.”

A long pause.

Then Damon’s fingers tightened around hers.

They sat like that for 10 minutes. Not talking. Just breathing.

Finally Damon stood. He let go.

“Curfew is still 10,” he said, voice rough. “Don’t make me come find you.”

He walked out.

Lila sat there, staring at her hand. Where he’d held her.

That night she couldn’t sleep.

At 11PM there was a knock.

Damon.

He was holding a blanket.

“The heating in this wing is bad,” he said. Not meeting her eyes. “Didn’t want you to be cold.”

He set it on her bed and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Lila said.

Damon stopped.

“Thank you. For today. In the office.”

Damon nodded once.

“Lila,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“If Tyler shows up, you tell me first. Okay? Don’t go to him. Don’t talk to him. Come to me.”

It wasn’t a request. It was a claim.

“Okay,” Lila whispered.

Damon looked at her for a long second. Like he wanted to say more.

Then he left.

The next morning, everything changed.

Lila came downstairs and the entire pack staff stopped to bow their heads when she walked in.

Maya smiled at her. “Morning, Miss Carter. Alpha said you should eat breakfast in his office today. He has paperwork.”

Lila blinked. “His office?”

“Yes ma’am.”

In Damon’s office, he was on the phone. He hung up when he saw her.

“Sit,” he said, pointing to the chair across from his desk. Then he pushed a plate of food toward her. Eggs. Toast. Fruit.

“You didn’t have to—”

“I know,” Damon said. He went back to his laptop.

But 5 minutes later, he slid his coffee over to her side of the desk too. Without looking up.

Lila smiled into her cup.

Outside the window, Kade was watching. And his smile was not friendly.

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