MIRABEL POV.
“Stoppppp!”
“Don’t look,” I hissed, wrapping my arms around my bare body. As if this day could not get any worse—the last thing I wanted was for him to see me like this. Naked. Exposed and humiliated.
His eyes widened, his body going rigid before he slapped his hand over his face. “Turn around, you pervert!”
“I’m not looking, I swear!” he yelped, spinning so fast he almost slipped on the snow.
“Good,” I snapped, shivering so hard my teeth chattered. “Now get lost!”
“I’m not leaving you like this,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm. “You are injured, and I can smell the poison in your blood. If we don’t get that trap off—”
“I don’t need your help, asshole,” I snapped, my teeth chattering as the freezing air bit at my skin. Of all people, why did it have to be him? If Damian hadn’t decided to piss off his psycho girlfriend earlier, I would probably be at school right now, choking down overcooked pasta at the cafeteria. Instead, here I was bleeding and freezing my butt out.
“Can we skip the name-calling?” Damian asked. “It’s not gonna help right now.”
“Well, neither are you,” I shot back, ignoring the sting in my leg as much as I could.
“Can you stop arguing for one second and let me help you?” he said, shrugging off his jacket and holding it out behind him. “Here, take this. I am not looking.”
I snatched the jacket from his hand, too cold and miserable to argue further. His scent was embarrassingly comforting, ugh!!
“Okay, you can turn around now,” I grumbled once I was fully covered.
Damian turned, his expression darkening when he saw the blood staining the snow. “This is bad,” he murmured, his voice low.
“No kidding,” I said dryly. “Do you think you can get the trap off, or do I need to find someone more competent?”
He knelt beside me, carefully inspecting the rusty trap around my leg. I thought I had pushed him too far for a moment, but instead of snapping, he nodded. “Sorry. Dumb question.”
His gentleness caught me off guard, but I couldn’t let him see that. “Do you even know what you are doing?” I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
“Yes, I have done this countless times with my mom when she’s having one of her…..”He paused, his jaw tightening. “I was in the Red Cross for five years.”
For some reason, his answer settled my nerves. Or maybe I was just too dizzy to argue anymore. My head spun, and my vision blurred.
“What the hell…” I mumbled, gripping my head.
“Poison,” Damian said quickly. His hands were steady as he pulled a small bottle from his pocket and brought it to my lips. “Drink this—it will slow the spread.”
I narrowed my eyes at him but obeyed, the bitter liquid burning as it went down. “Who the hell puts a poisoned trap out here?” I demanded. “That’s like… lawsuit-worthy!”
“You are not exactly on public property,” he muttered, his tone almost amused. “You are near the border. This area is restricted. Unless you are the Alpha, you need a permit,”
“Oh my god. You are the dumbass trying to kill me!” I hissed.
“I’m not trying to kill you,” he replied quietly.“It’s meant for rogues to prevent them from trespassing. I never thought someone from the pack would wander this close to the border.”
I screamed as the jagged metal pulled free, the pain shooting through me like fire.
I tried to stand, but the moment I put weight on my leg, a sharp, burning pain shot through me, and I collapsed back into the snow. Tears filled my eyes as the pain became unbearable, the poison spreading through my leg. It throbbed so badly that parts of it started to numb like my nerves were shutting down.
“You must really hate me,” I whimpered, no longer caring about keeping my dignity. “This is it. You have finally won. Big bad Damian takes down the pathetic girl. I’m going to die because of you.”
“Stop it.” His voice was soft, almost pleading. He crouched beside me, his expression conflicted. “I’m not going to let you die. I promise.”
I glared at him, my vision swimming. “Yeah? And why should I believe you?”
He hesitated, then said quietly, “Because you mean more to me than you think.”
For a moment, his words silenced me, the sincerity in his voice throwing me off. But then my head lolled to the side, and the world tilted.
“Mirabel,” Damian said sharply. He didn’t wait for me to respond. In one swift motion, he scooped me into his arms, holding me close against his chest.
“Hang on,” he murmured. “I will get you to the pack hospital. You are going to be okay. I promise.”
*****************
What’s one thing we learned today? Whenever the universe decides to be a b***h, and you ask out loud, “Could this day get any worse?” it absolutely can. Lesson learned. From now on, I’m keeping my mouth shut.
It’s been barely twelve hours since I turned eighteen, and I’ve already gotten the memo: adulthood is a s**m. All those “freedom and independence” promises? Lies. It’s just dreadful. Honestly, I might be too old to believe in Santa, but who doesn’t want to cling to a little fairytale magic? No one? Just me? Great.
Anyway, while trying to figure out what to ask Santa for this year, I thought maybe an easier life. You know, one where I’m not the school’s designated punching bag, where trouble doesn’t find me every other second, and where I actually get to have fun for once. Maybe I’d even get to be free.
But who am I kidding? The only gift I’ve gotten this Christmas is a poisoned bear trap and Damian seeing me cry like an i***t. And I am not a pretty crier. Ugh.
“I see you have stopped crying,” Damian said, casually plopping into the chair next to me like he owned the place. (Which he did btw)“Good, because your crying face? Brutal. Almost gave me a heart attack.”
He was back to being his usual annoying self, and honestly, I preferred this version. At least I knew what to expect. The other version—the one who was all calm and sweet? That was dangerous. It made my stupid heart flutter.
“Do you want something to eat?” he asked, leaning in closer and—what the hell—tucking my hair behind my ear. Excuse me?
“No,” I said quickly, jerking my head away.
“But you skipped lunch,” he said, his voice annoyingly soft. “You must be hungry.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Why?” I blurted.
He blinked, his brow quirking. “Why what?”
“Why did you save me? Why didn’t you leave me to bleed out?”
His face softened, but his words were maddeningly casual. “Because it’s the right thing to do.”
I snorted. “Oh, please. When did you care about doing the right thing? That’s hilarious, coming from the guy who almost killed me not too long ago.”
A smirk tugged at his lips. “Maybe I prefer to kill you with my own two hands. It’d be a shame if you died by accident. Takes all the fun out of it.”
My jaw dropped, and he burst out laughing.
“Relax,” he said, pulling out his phone to snap a picture of my horrified face. “I’m joking. But that face? Priceless. This is going to be my screensaver.”
I hissed, smacking his shoulder. “That’s not funny, you i***t!”
“Sure it is,” he said between laughs, holding his phone up like a trophy. “Look at you!”
“Delete it!” I demanded, lunging for his phone, but he held it high above his head, grinning like a smug bastard.
“Nope.”
We wrestled for a bit—not that it was a fair fight, considering he’s built like a Greek god, and I’m just… me. After a while, his phone started ringing. The name “Vivian” flashed on the screen, and my stomach sank. Right. His fiancée. I’d almost forgotten about her.
“Just answer it,” I muttered, stepping back. The last thing I needed was to get caught in another round of her drama.
He hesitated, glancing at me with something that looked almost like guilt, before walking away to take the call.
Why did I suddenly feel sad?