Captive

32 // If Only You Knew

I stepped cautiously onto the grass in front of me. My eyes didn't leave the snarling lips of Damien's wolf. His gaze shifted from Xander to me the second I stepped onto the ground. Ace cried out but my vision blurred as he rampaged across the field. Before I knew it, his front paws had pinned me into the ground. 

"Damien, get off of her," Ace growled, pushing him. He rolled off of me, whining as he scampered to the side. 

Ace whisked me away into the car, out of breath by the time he closed the drivers side. 

"W-why did he attack me?" I muttered, entirely out of breath. "He's never done that." 

"You broke the mark, didn't you? You convinced the Moon Goddess to remove it?" I nodded, ashamed. "He felt it. He woke up feeling like his body had been placed in an incinerator. It wounded him, but more importantly it wounded his soul. Werewolves believe that your mate is the other half of your soul. When Damien lost you..." 

"He lost that half of his soul again. Is what why he's so vicious?" 

"He won't rest until you're marked again." 

"He marked me without my consent!" I whined like a child. I watched Ace's fingers curl around the steering wheel. 

"You kissed Xander before you had the mark removed. He felt that too. Alphas are possessive, Cyan. They aren't to be messed with, we've been over this." 

"I never asked for this, Ace. I never asked to be placed in the middle of a war. I just want to be tucked up away in that cottage at the top of the hill, and never be bothered by your kind again," I begged. 

"We both know that either way, you're going to be the future Queen of this species," Ace sent the softest smile he could muster. 

He was right. 

When we got back to the palace, I was escorted back to my old room and I waited. I stared at the paints, but the thought of painting made me nauseous. The thought of being back in this place with Damien acting the way he was, made me nauseous. He was turning into the gruesome and vicious ruler that his father was, and it was all my fault.

I heard a soft knock on the door, and my eyes flashed up in fear. Instead of seeing Damien, I saw Lyon. He looked like a cross between pissed off and concerned. 

"Hello," I said meekly. 

"He's back," the words sent chills up my spine. As he stepped inside, I expected Damien to be fuming with smoke out of his ears behind him. Not because I left, he would understand that much. He thought it was a political move as much as I was; he didn't expect me to kiss his brother, and then proceed to get my mark removed. 

"I'm guessing he's demanding to see me? I'm surprised he didn't just blow the door down on his way in." 

"I'm letting him cool down before he sees you, and I'm going to be here when he does." 

"How mad is he?" I could barely squeak out the question. He was silent for an oddly long amount of time. 

"Mad." 

He left the room, telling me that he would return with Damien. I felt my pulse rise in my chest. When I saw him in the doorway, I felt pure fear, not the elated happiness I had felt only weeks ago. 

"Cyan," he hardly breathed the words. It was like that night we first met, all over again. He was angry when he first laid eyes on me, but it seemed to melt away at the sight of me. 

"Hi," I shifted uncomfortably on the edge of the bed. 

He looked over at Lyon, who tried to look as authoritative as possible. Just the gaze of Damien told him what he needed to know. He looked at me, almost as if he was apologizing, and then slipped from the room, leaving the door slightly cracked. I smiled at the gesture. Even though he left the room, I knew he was right outside. 

He sat down beside me, and I could feel his muscles stiffen. 

"If I say sorry, will it mean anything to you?" 

"I don't give a damn what the Moon Goddess says, Cyan," he gritted through his teeth. "You're my mate, and you won't be leaving this palace ever again. Are we clear?" 

I know that I should have stood up for myself. If Ace was right, if Damien could grow to be as violent as his father was towards his mother, I could end up dead. I valued my life more than my pride, and the last thing I wanted this to cause was a war between him and the rogues. 

"Of course," I watched as my hands began to shake. I begged in my head that he would leave.

"Why did you do it?" The anger in his voice turned into pain. "Why did you kiss my brother, Cyan? Not only that, but why was one kiss good enough to get your mark removed?" 

"I was just trying to do what The Council asked and give you both a chance--"

"You could have given him a chance without kissing him the first second you got alone with him!" He roared. 

I flinched away from him, scooting to the far end of the bed. I tried pacing my breathing, but he yanked me back to his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair, looking down at me in adoration. 

"You have no idea how much I want to mark you right now," he mumbled. 

"Please, wait until I agree this time," I whimpered. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to breathe. I didn't know what he was capable of. I couldn't risk making him any angrier than he was. 

"My wolf will be satisfied enough for now with you by my side. There are new rules if you want me to keep my promise, Cyan." 

"What kind of rules?" I inquired. I grew uneasy as my gaze shifted up to him. 

"For one, you won't leave my side. You'll do nearly everything with me, from eating to sleeping, to following me to my meetings. You don't leave my sight unless I give you consent to do so." 

I wanted to yell out, to tell him I wasn't an object; I wasn't his property. The only words that came from my lips were, 

"What else?"