Blood Of The Luna

Chapter 4

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I couldn’t believe it. Words simply couldn’t describe how I felt in that moment. Damian was standing right in front of me, and I could feel my heart sinking.

How the hell was he in my house?

He didn’t say anything as he looked at me. His golden eyes were piercing as they pinned me to the spot, and I was so pulled in by them that I couldn’t look away. For all the talks of how intimidating Damian was, I had never realised just how true that was until he was standing in front of me.

His arms were folded across his chest, making his biceps look almost as big as my head. He was way taller than I was, and his shoulders were so broad that it was almost terrifying. He was very well built, and there was an air of dominance about him which I hadn’t really seen with anyone else. There was also a confidence about him, as if he knew that he could walk into any room and be the most imposing figure there. Even before he spoke, I knew that he was a man whose words could hold an audience captive, and you would be compelled to hang on his every word.

“Hi,” he said, his voice so deep that it seemed to touch a very deep part of my soul. It was somewhere between a rumble of thunder and the scraping of metal. It was a very throaty sound, and it took me a very long time before I could stop focusing on the way he sounded and instead focus on him.

“Hi,” I replied, hating that my voice came out all high and timid. I didn’t want him to look at me like I was some weak little girl who needed his help with everything I did. I wanted him to know that, and yet I also didn’t want him to think of me as ‘one of the boys’.

What exactly was wrong with me?

“You’re Alyssa, right?” he asked calmly.

I was lost for words. My mind seemed to have decided that this was the right time to go on a very long vacation and completely abandon me. Every department in my brain was vacant, and I could feel the emptiness pulsing violently, the wheels grinding as I struggled to push out a proper sentence.

“Um… I-I, w-well I um…,”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” he said with a slight smirk, taking a step forward. “May I come in?”

I stepped aside to let him pass, and as he stepped into the house, I caught a whiff of his cologne and it sent my brain spinning out of control. I could have sworn that I began to tremble slightly at the knees, and it was difficult to stop myself from sniffing the air as he walked past.

Dear God, how could anyone be so freaking hot? How could he possibly be real?

I watched him as he walked to the living room, and there was something almost familiar about the way he moved. He seemed to know exactly where the living room was, and it was most likely because he and father must have sat down at one point to discuss the issue of our betrothal.

Oh, that was right. This was the man I was supposed to marry. Ever since father told me, I had spent every second of every day being disgusted by the idea. But now, as I was looking directly at Damian, I forgot why I was even upset in the first place. The man was so unbelievably attractive that I nearly lost my mind. Surely it wouldn’t be that bad if I was betrothed to a man like this. It was as if I was looking at the sculpture of a Greek god, flawless and beautiful.

“Sit,” he said, pointing to the chair beside him, and I found it awkward - and frankly a bit rude - that a stranger was telling me to sit in my own home. Nevertheless, I made my way to the seat farthest from him and I sat down, making sure I put as much distance between us as possible.

He didn’t have the right to tell me what to do after all.

Damian tilted his head slightly, seemingly amused by the fact that I chose to disobey him. I could tell that this was a man who was used to getting things his own way. He couldn’t believe that someone would go against his wishes, but I was not just anyone. I knew my place, and he had no right to boss me around. As far as I was concerned, our rank was equal even though we belonged to different packs.

He cleared his throat, and as he leaned forward, my eyes dragged down to his Adam’s apple which bobbed up and down slowly. How could something so simple be so hot?

“First off, I should inquire about your health,” he said. “Your father has informed me about what happened to you earlier, and that is part of the reason why I came to check on you. He said it was a nasty fever, which I hope you’ve recovered from.”

“As you can see, I’m absolutely fine,” I said. “It was nothing more than a mild fever.”

He didn’t look too convinced, and his eyes seemed to glow brighter as he looked all over me. I felt awkward, and my hands subconsciously came up to cover my chest. I tucked one foot underneath me, but still I felt completely exposed. Was he trying to look at my body? Or did he have some sort of X-ray vision?

“Everything looks fine to me,” he said. “But I will still have to send someone over to check on you and make sure that you are not suffering from anything.”

“That won’t be necessary,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s necessary or not,” he said in a clipped tone. “It will happen, and you must accept it.”

“And who are you to tell me what to do or not do?” I asked, enraged by his audacity. Suddenly, his hotness didn’t matter all that much. I was way too furious to even look at him properly.

Okay, that was a lie. I was totally still ogling him, even though I was very offended by the way he had spoken to me. What gave him the right to speak to me that way? Who the f**k did he think he was?

My reply sparked something in him, and for a moment I saw anger flash in his eyes. He didn’t seem to notice that he was growling lowly, and his fingers were slowly turning into claws.

But then, he drew a sharp breath and leaned back in the chair, allowing himself to calm down. His claws retracted, and he settled his coolest gaze on me. I tried to make myself more intimidating, but it was hard when I knew that he had the upper hand. It didn’t help that I was wearing an extra large t-shirt and sweatpants, looking like I hadn’t taken a shower in weeks while he was so well put-together. Even his boots seemed like they had been polished to perfection, and I envied the fact that he looked so handsome he could have been a movie star.

Life just wasn’t fair sometimes.

He pushed his hair back, his long fingers grazing through his hair slowly. Something inside me stirred at the sight, and I found myself sitting up straighter. Damian did things to my head which I just couldn’t understand, and every fleeting glance from him was enough to send me spiralling. I had never known him to be this attractive, neither had I ever come across any man who made me feel the way he did. There was just something about him that pulled you closer, and dared you to see him for something else. His presence was so gratifying that even though he had stepped on my toes already, I didn’t want him to leave.

“Look,” he said with a sigh, “you and I don’t have to like each other. That is a fact. I can already tell that you do not like me at all. But for better or worse, you and I have been brought together by forces neither of us can attest to controlling and there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m sure you can already predict that I didn’t ask for this in the first place. But I am willing to adjust for the sake of keeping the peace between our two packs. And the only way we can do that is by you giving me the respect I deserve. I know nothing about you, but I am willing to respect you. I believe that should warrant some respect in return.”

He made a very good point. I had no problem with it. But what I did have a problem with was the way he spoke to me like I was his subordinate. Respecting someone meant not talking down on them, and that was exactly what I felt he was doing. So I made it very clear that I found that disrespectful.

“You and I are complete strangers,” I said. “But from what I’ve heard about you, I can safely assume that we are complete opposites. There is nothing about us that is alike in anyway, other than the fact that both of our parents are Alphas of our packs. That should mean that you and I are equals. So I don’t appreciate you talking to me like I am beneath you or something.”

He tilted his head slightly, and I wanted to punch the smirk off his face as he leaned back into his seat. He was clearly amused by me, which I found strange since I wasn’t the least bit amusing. Perhaps he was just wondering how he could be paired with someone as ridiculous as I was. Surely that must be the case. A man like him probably had several women lying at his beck and call, ready to answer to his every need swiftly. I wasn’t intimidated by that, but I wondered why he would be interested in me if he could have any woman he wanted.

“I apologise for that,” he said. “Force of habit. But anyway, I will try and do better.”

“Good,” I replied.

“Now,” he continued, “we must talk about the fact that you and I are being forced to marry. Now I have made my point very clear to both my father and yours. I will not be forced to do anything which I am not willing to do. Ignore the fact that he is still superior to me, but a man has to have principles which he lives by. I will not succumb to the pressure. However I will be respectful about it, which is why I have suggested that I should be given the chance to know you at least. All I heard are rumours, and they cannot be trusted. So, after due consideration, they have agreed to give me a month. That should be more than enough time for you and I to get a good understanding of one another, and to form the basis of a relationship. Hopefully this will allow us to work through this union and perhaps find a comfortable middle ground.”

He paused, and it took me a while to realise that he was waiting for me to reply.

“Of course,” I said finally, feeling stupid for not being able to say anything more intelligent. Why did I have to sound so dumb in front of him? Was it merely the fact that I was being heavily distracted by his looks, or was it just that I wasn’t as eloquent as he was?

“So, tell me about you, Alyssa,” he said. “Who is the woman of whom I have heard very little?”

“Who did you ask?”

“A few people,” he replied. “Very few people know about you, and even fewer are willing to talk about it. They all had interesting things to say, however.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Well, for one thing, you are a loner,” he said. “You don’t speak to people unless you’re spoken to, and even then you don’t allow the conversation to go on for long. You’re really focused on school, and you’ve gotten straight A’s since the first grade. And you’re an only child.”

“Is that it?” I asked.

“Like I said, very few people know so much about you. I had to go to your teachers to ask about you.”

I could just imagine him roaming about the school and asking all the teachers about me. The sight almost made me chuckle.

“So, are you going to tell me more about you?” he asked.

“Not today,” I replied. “I’m tired, and I need to go back to bed.”

“Alright,” he said, seemingly not bothered by my short answer. He pulled out his phone, and he handed it to me. “I would like to have your number. That way, I can reach you and find out when you are not busy with school or anything else. Maybe we can go out and get lunch together, and probably have a chance to talk and know each other some more.”

I took the phone cautiously, and as our hands briefly brushed one another, I felt a sudden jolt shoot through me. I jumped, and I could tell that he felt it too because I saw the way he looked at me. I didn’t have any reasonable explanation as to why that happened, other than maybe it was just static electricity. But I knew it was something more than just that. I felt something when I touched him, and it was almost like a sense of belonging, if that made sense.

Those eyes pulled me in once again, and I could have sworn that I could see myself reflected in them. When from across the room, I could clearly see the tiniest flecks of black in his pupils. His scent wrapped around me, like a cool breeze which wrapped its warm arms around me. I almost drowned in the intoxicating scent, and I wanted to keep it with me for longer. I didn’t want him to leave, but I also wanted to be alone. The dilemma was agonising, but I knew I would feel much better when he was gone. That would give me the chance to get him out of my mind completely.

When I handed the phone back to him, he smiled at me and then he stood up. “I’ll call you to set up a date then,” he said. “And please, take care of yourself from now on. We can’t have you running around while you’re still not completely fine, now can we?”

I wanted to tell him how good he looked. I wanted him to know just how he made me feel, and the weird emotions which were running through my head. I wanted to touch him again, to see if the spark was real and I could feel it again. But I refrained from doing that, and I let him walk to the door while I walked behind him.

When he stepped outside, he turned to look at me and smiled once again before he headed towards his car. I shut the door and leaned against it, sighing dreamily. There was no denying the fact that I might just have fallen for the bad boy. He was so freaking hot that I found myself giggling like a schoolgirl. Maybe this union would not be so bad after all.

If only I knew just how wrong things would go, then perhaps I wouldn’t have been so naive then.

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