Dahlia's POV "And this is how you beg?" He rubs his chin with the back of a finger lazily, a dicky smirk on his lips. I grip my fist to fight the urge to smash a bottle on his head. Apparently seeing through my mind, he laughs. "Tell you what, I'll give you the land if you please me." Alpha Damon waves the file tauntingly before he drops it on the sofa with a loud slap. He stretches his arms on the back of the couch and opens his legs, waiting for me. He wants my service as his sex slave, in front of everyone, to trade for my broken home. I hate! I hate so fucking much!!! I hate everything but I don't have a choice. I move my legs but they are heavy as if made by lead. Inches and inches I get closer to him before I kneel between his legs. He cocks his eyebrows, watching with an evil smirk. Someone whistles and then many join. The room instantly boils again, lit up by my personal humiliation show. Close my eyes I bite the bullet and reach out for his belt, but then he catches
Dahlia's POVI failed.I'm not sure whether I even touched Justin's lips when a painful sting occupies my whole mind--Alpha Damon grabs my hair and pulls me away, dipping my head backward deep, my throat exposed. I scream in pain, only to meet the Alpha's anger-twisted face as I reach back for my hair. He won't let go."Alpha Damon, that's no way to handle a woman!" With a serious tone, Justin frowns and walks up to save me. Alpha Damon grabs the back of my neck to dodge him, but at least the sting on my scalp is gone."This doesn't concern you, Vaccaro, but it can!" Alpha Damon warns Justin coldly.I shake to Justin. I don't want to get him involved. I feel bad enough using him to hurt Alpha Damon as it is."Care about him already?! Maybe I SHOULD involve him then!" Alpha Damon glares at my move, pulling my face close with his iron grip on my chin.He's so angry his chest is heaving like an angry sea. His pupils shaking hard as if he's going to bite open my throat. In tears I curse
Dahlia's POVHe was so savage that night I couldn't walk straight for three days.Without a wolf, I can't even heal.He is finally tired of me. If he saved me because he liked my body, now even that urge is gone. He hasn't shown up in the mansion since that night. Three days now. This has never happened before. He takes me every day, sometimes even many times during a day.He left on that night after he scourged me into a mess. He didn't even stay till the morning. He hasn't been doing that for a while.He hates me to the extreme now. Who would like a pricky pet when there are so many tame ones waiting?I just don't understand why he hasn't thrown me back to his savage wolves. To let them continue the crime that was cut short three months ago.To let my fate fall back into the hell it was heading into."Miss Dahlia is resting," Ava's voice rises right outside my door, "Please, you can't go in--please! This is the Alpha's room!"Barke is raising a fuss outside my door, but Ava's last
Dahlia's POVLola licks her canine like a hungry animal, but I know I won because she is hesitating."You are only a slut that stole his attention, for now!" Lola hisses viciously, "He has many before you, and there will be many after. You know who will remain on his side? Me!""Let me guess, because he loves you? Is that why he's not with you?" I snort with sarcasm. He might adore her more than others, but he doesn't love her. He loves no one. That man doesn't have a heart."That's right," Lola answers in a dreamy voice, genuine pride glowing in her eyes, "he keeps himself at distance because he is afraid that he might hurt me."I suddenly pity the girl. She's obviously driven lunatic by her tormenting desire for her Alpha."You wouldn't understand," Lola shakes her head at me, "His father killed his mother with bare hands. He doesn't claim me only because he worries that he has the cruel blood of his father running in his veins."I roll my eyes impatiently, getting tired of the gir
Dahlia's POV"I knew you were bold AND stupid, but to hit a grown wolf?" Alpha Damon leans on the door frame with a cold smirk, his arms folded in front of his chest, "I guess you are bolder and stupider than I thought."Lola bursts into laughter.I grit my teeth to not show my pain, hiding my dislocated wrist in my other palm."Give me," His eyes land on my wrist, Alpha Damon holds out a hand to me and I back away a step by instinct. Even this irritates him.Striding over he leans into my face, his voice low and dangerous: "If I want to hurt you, do you think you even have a chance to resist?"No. If Lola can tear me up, he needs only his Alpha Aura to put me in excruciating pain. I lower my eyes and bear my neck to submit, and he snorts coldly."What happened?" Alpha Damon asks Lola with a frown."She said she doesn't like other women in the house. I guess I feel hurt and talked back..." Lola answers tamely, genuine sorrow in her voice. I want to applause for her brilliant acting.
Dahlia's POVWhen I enter the dining room he is already in the most honorable seat. In front of him, the fine silvers line neatly, and he sits there with his elbow on the arm of the chair, two fingers supporting his temple. He is reading a file in his hand.Elegant. That must be the first word that pops into anyone's head when they see this man.I'm in a strapless black dress, his favorite style. On my wrist, I warp a strap cut out of the 2.5 million dollar piece to cover the bruise.He puts down the file when I stop at his side, his eyes land on the red bow on my wrist, waiting."I'm sorry for ruining the dress," I start with the tamest opening I came up with after an hour-long drafting.I have come to accept my fate in the three-hour-long bath this afternoon.He is not the best choice for a mate. In fact, he just might be the worst. But he IS my mate, and there is no way to change that. That, and the fact that I'm left all alone in the world with no one to help me, and no chance to
Dahlia's POVI take my time with my meal, not sure where to go from here.There is no way left to go.I sat for so long I start to shiver. Winter is coming, and the room gets freezing cold fast after the fire is extinguished. Of course no one came for me. Not him. Not even a maid.I stand up with a deep breath, making up my mind. So his interest in me ran out, so what? I won't live in fear. What's there to fear, at this point?I already died once. I watched everything I had burned to the ground. Even the last piece of my old life, our land, is now lost.What more can I lose?I rub my arm for warmth as I stomp my numb feet till I can feel my body again. I stride out with my chest up high. No matter how much he hates me right now, I have the mate bond on my side.So long as he still wants my body, I would have a chance at making peace with him.To my surprise, he is waiting for me in the bedroom.Though not dripping, his hair is visibly wet. He has showered. Yet the man is now fully dre
Dahlia's POVI didn't need a shower, but I stood under the water for an hour.I have never felt this way to anyone.Being a wolfless, I have known since I was a child that I can never feel the magical "mate pull" that every kid is excited about since they can understand the word "love". I have always actively avoided getting close to any opposite sex because the higher chance is, that they belong to someone else, or soon will be.Mom said experiencing a relationship is important, but I never understood why until now--The result of lacking experience is that I can't even distinguish whether I really felt something toward that ruthless devil, or I'm picking up Stockholm syndrome.The longer I stand there, the less real it feels. In the end I started wondering whether he really chuckled. That's how I know I can't postpone anymore.I don't know why but I slip out on tiptoe, knowing he is hearing everything no matter how light I am.He is lying on the bed, almost solemnly with his body st
Dahlia’s POVHome is too strong a word for me now. Let’s just say, I agreed to go with Dad.Damon is gone, and Justin left soon after. Kayle disappeared from my sight, and so did Lola. My life suddenly became a vacuum. One thing to my solace is that Dad became the perfect dad in my memory after we left the headquarters.Sometimes I feel like the few weeks during the trial of Damon was just a nightmare, just like my memory of Dad before I was five.It was on the plane that I finally got the whole story of what happened to Dad after I was taken.Dad found out that the attack on our pack was a well-planned scheme. Damon gets me, the land of the pack, AND mom’s title for his friend. Well, by the time when this was planned, Justin was still Damon’s friend. And the rogues he hired got all the money they could scrap from our home.Dad had no choice but to flee the land. He ended up in a new city with the help of an old friend. And that’s our new “home”.Like I said, this is not home.Dad is
Dahlia’s POVA rejection is the worst experience you could have as a werewolf.The mate bond is what connects two souls together. The humans can’t feel their souls, but to sensitive creatures like us, our souls are almost tangible, and so are our mate bonds. To break something like that is like cutting us open, except the wound is not on our body, but on our souls.You won’t be able to even imagine the pain if you have never lost a limb.The rejection tears. It tears apart something that should not be apart. It leaves one bleeding, hurting, and itching for all their conscious time, as well as in their sleep. It’s like your flesh is cut open, and left open in the air, and unlike a physical wound, you can’t faint due to blood loss. You will always feel that something is broken in you, and you have no way to heal it.It’s hard to understand the concept of one’s soul being complete by itself, is also complete when it’s combined in the most intimate way with someone else’s soul, while keep
Dahlia’s POVThe van is quiet. No guards anywhere near it, not even a driver. Not exactly what I had in mind for a jail of “the devil”.Not daring to hesitate, I pull open the back door and slip up. Though it looks like a trap off the textbook, I don’t really have any other move left.It isn’t a trap. Damon is in the trunk, alone, hands not even cuffed. He is smiling at me as I close the door behind me with a thumping heart, panickedly looking for a proper place to sit when my move is so limited by the handcuffs I hid under the shirt.I feel like I’m the prisoner, not him.Damon remains silent, but I see taunt in his eyes.“Hi...” I break the silence, frowning lightly. This is not exactly what I expected. I thought he would be angry, desperate, regretful, or sad. But not this. Not this calmness with a shred of taunt.He curves his lips.“Hi yourself, Dahlia.”His voice is the bass I always indulge in, and his tone is not exactly aggressive. I’m confused now. I rise my eyebrows questio
Dahlia’s POV“Where are you heading to, miss?”I maintain my smile and clear my throat, stalling because I didn’t come up with a good excuse.Aiden managed to put together a plan at the last minute. Well, sort of. He found out where the prison van for Damon was parked, AND he took on the job to distract the guards. All I needed to do was to make it to the elevator to parking lot G and see Damon.Who would know they’d put a guard in front of the elevator door on each floor?!“I--uhhh, my Alpha told me to go meet him in the parking lot,” I open my mouth, only to realize Damon’s case definitely made the “news” here. Revealing my identity might not be the wisest move.“Which section of the parking lot, ma’am?” The guard asks with extreme patience, sympathy even. I would have taken him as caring if I was the old me. But recently I have realized that the colorful fog around people that I can see, is not something that everyone can.I can’t quite explain it, but I can more or less tell the p
Dahlia’s POV“Do you even know what you are doing?! He is the monster that destroyed our home!” Dad presses on, but Aiden steps up and he stops a few inches away. He is furious and panting, as if he just hurried over when I decided to visit Damon. Two seconds ago.Could it be? Did Dad plant surveillance on me? This thought gave me a chill down my spine. Or maybe I feel cold because of how easy it is for me to suspect my own father now.I guess I can’t just forget everything like I was little just for a few days of kindness from him anymore.“You still haven’t shown me any evidence that pins what happened on Damon, Dad,” I remind him calmly. He is hiding something from me, I can feel it. And it annoys me. If Dad was using the stress of the case to explain why he avoided letting me in on anything before the trial, he is definitely failing to explain himself for still not showing me any of his investigations now.“You have no idea how brutal they are. Do you really want to look at the pi
Dahlia’s POVIn the end, Damon was found guilty.Something about him refusing to give the court Jared and stuff. I guess that explained Dad’s sudden change of attitude -- After five months, he finally got the justice he wanted.I wanted to visit Damon, but I couldn’t find a good reason.To see my old owner who kept me as a sex slave? To see the evil who was found guilty of the crime over my fallen pack? To see the man whom I betrayed and had a bad fallout with the last time we saw each other? Or...Just to see my mate.That word feels so strange to me now.I don’t have a wolf to feel the mate bond, and with Damon gone from my life, I have totally forgotten that I have a mate. Who is in prison now, for the most horrifying crime one can do.I can’t justify visiting him, and luckily, Dad and Justin helped me from struggling myself into halves.Dad has been unprecedentedly nice to me ever since the trial. Even nicer than before the incident, I would say. He insisted on having EVERY meal w
Dahlia’s POV“She’s lying!” My Dad growls at the judge, “She’s fucking lying! How dare you, you little useless brat?! You--”“Liam Palmer!” Damon suddenly raised his voice before the judge could react to my Dad’s outburst. He turns to Dad with a calm smile yet his eyes are cold as ice, “She is an Alpha now, as much as you are. I don’t want to see you disrespecting her again.”“She is MY daughter! And I won’t take orders from a murderer! You! You murdered my wife!” Dad spat at him. Frankly, I find it shocking that he dares to shout at Damon. No one else in the Leagues seems to have the courage to do so, not even Kayle.But I guess by suing Damon, Dad already put him on Damon’s bad side permanently.Damon shoots a worried look at me. I blink in confusion.Did he think that Dad’s mentioning of Mom’s death would change my mind? I hate the murderer and I want a thousand deaths of him, but that doesn’t mean I would jump and bite anyone who my Dad accuses without proof like I’m his mad dog.
Dahlia’s POVI’m daunted in the face by this life or death question.“Dahlia Morgan, please answer my question,” The lawyer urges, his tone getting cocky, “Did Tom Sanders call out Alpha Damon’s name in the last phone call you shared with him, 10 minutes before he showed up dead in front of you?!”The truth is, Tom did. But somehow I feel wrong to answer yes.Too many things feel wrong.First of all, Tom lived in Damon’s mansion for weeks, and yet never has he showed any particular fear toward him. He is timid in front of Damon, but any Omega does in front of a fearful Alpha.Secondly, when Tom told me about that he heard the man who captured him calling the man behind the attack on that night “Alpha Damon”, he only mentioned that as highly suspicious of Damon, unlike the night at the train station when Tom shouted “It’s him! Alpha Damon is here!”If I’m trusting my gut, I would say that something made Tom recognize the man from the night of the attack on my pack, not Damon this perso
Dahlia’s POVI never got to see Dad again in those 48 hours, and it was pretty clear that even if I could, it would be fruitless. Even after two days of thinking, I still don’t understand how a simple inquiry on the case turned into such a bad fight with him.I can’t see Damon either. Apparently, the 48 hours is all they have to get anything out of him, and they are not allowing any visit until the hearing.I got a subpoena to attend as a witness, hence here I am, in the witness waiting room with a bunch of people that I have never seen in my life. Aiden can only appear as an audience.“This way, ma’am,” After what felt like an eternity, the guard came for me. I’m the last one to appear in court.The moment the guard pushes open the courtroom’s heavy door, I instantly feel Damon’s hot sights landing on me. But when I look over, he is already looking at the file in front of him on the defendant’s stand as if he never looked over.He looks the same as I remember him. Handsome, neat, sha