She saved his life and now he wants her soul.
The kind of morning that lies, pretending peace exists after a night like that.
The storm had finally broken and the morning welcomed the sunlight which bled through the cracks in the cabin walls; cutting across the wooden floor in slanted beams.
Outside, birds dared to sing again but inside, the silence pressed heavier than ever.
Even though the night was a rough one, Aria was the first to knock off bed. She was already by the small hearth, stirring the fire back to life. Her body ached from all the tedious work the night brought.
From dragging a half-dead Alpha through the woods to fighting those packs, her instincts and then resisting her wolf. Every nerve still trembled with the memory of his gaze which she found intimidating at a point.
Lost in thoughts, a low rumble of his voice instinctively jerked her out. "You didn't sleep." The words hit from behind.
"You're supposed to be resting." She replied without turning to the source of the voice.
"I heal fast." Damien muttered, his tone laced with authority; steady and calm, yet threaded with danger. "Especially with my mate nearby."
Aria's hand froze in midway. Her wolf instantly stirred, responding to that word like a pulse. But then, she managed to shove the feeling down and turning sharply to what she was doing.
"Don't call me that." She warned.
Damien leaned against the wall, shirtless with only a bandage loosely tied around his ribs. The morning light traced the scars along his chest; and each one told a story of war and dominance.
His golden eyes met hers—steady, unflinching. "Why not?" he asked. "You felt the bond. You know it's real."
"I don't care what I felt," she snapped, tossing another log into the fire. "I don't belong to anyone." The words ended, his lips curved with a faint smile.
"You think it's about belonging?"
"What else would it be?" she shot back. "You Alphas think the world bends to you. You mark, you claim, you take and you call it destiny? Huh?."
Damien's smile quickly vanished. Before she knew, he was standing in front of her, close enough for her breath to remain caught up in her throat. "You think I want this?" he growled softly. "You think I chose to be bound to someone who flinches every time I speak?"
Aria's throat tightened. She tried to move, but his presence pinned her still; not with force, but with something heavier- emotion and Power.
The tether between them thrummed, alive but dangerous; like lightening trapped under skin. "You're crossing a line," she warned. His gaze softened in a heartbeat.
"No, little wolf. Fate already crossed it for us."
She swallowed hard, her wolf pushing beneath her skin, torn between fight and surrender. "Stop calling me that." She insisted. But Damien wasn't in for any of her threats.
He tilted his head as he studied her. His hand brushing over her lips while he held onto her jawline. "You'd rather I use your name, then?" His voice dropped lower and rougher. "Aria."
He whispered but her name in his mouth sounded like sin. She instinctively stepped back but his hand shot out in an instant, gripping her wrist firm but careful.
"Let go," she hissed.
"Say you don't feel it," he murmured. "Say the bond isn't clawing at you the way it's ripping me apart." His fingers gently and warmly traced her lines which made her pulse thunder beneath his every touch.
Her wolf howled in response, a sound only she could hear; wild and desperate. "Let. Me. Go."
He did but not before his thumb brushed the mark just below her ear which shot a spark through her entire body with heat curling low in her stomach. She stumbled back, panting, furious at herself for reacting.
Damien's eyes darkened. "You can fight it all you want, but the Moon doesn't make mistakes."
Aria's breath hitched. "The Moon doesn't know what it's doing," she spat. "It bound me to the one thing I swore I'd never touch again—an Alpha."
His jaw tightened. "What happened to you?"
She turned away sharply. "Nothing that concerns you."
"It concerns me if it's the reason my mate can't look at me without fear."
Her chest constricted. The word mate again; too heavy, too intimate. She forced herself to meet his eyes. "You're not my mate. You're a mistake."
She shouted but even as the words left her mouth, her heart ached like she'd just torn out something vital.
The air between them snapped and Damien's expression hardened; the temperature in the room seemed to drop. His wolf surged, raw and unrestrained, a golden glow flickering in his irises. But he didn't lash out. Instead, he stepped closer, lowering his voice to a deadly whisper.
"Careful, Aria," he said. "You're testing instincts even I can't leash."
"Then leash your damn instincts," she fired back. "Because I'm not some prize you get to claim."
He froze for a long moment, then slowly, something inside him broke. The rage in his eyes dimmed, replaced by something else. Something almost human.
"I don't want a prize," he said quietly. "I want you. And I don't even understand why."
Her heart faltered. That confession; so raw and so real. It cut deeper than the threats ever could. She looked away, struggling to steady her breathing.
"You should go," she whispered. "Before your pack finds you and this gets worse." But even as she said it, she wasn't sure which part of her wanted him to leave; the woman or the wolf.
He didn't move. Instead, he stepped close enough that the space between them felt electric again. His breath ghosted against her cheek as he murmured, "It's already worse."
Aria's fingers clenched at her sides. Every instinct screamed at her to push him away, to end this before it consumed her. But her wolf—the traitor inside her—was already arching toward him.
"Get out," she said finally, though her voice trembled. Damien studied her for a moment longer, then nodded once. "If that's what you want." He turned toward the door, but before stepping out, he added quietly,
"You can deny me, Aria. You can run. But the bond doesn't fade; it hunts."
The door slammed behind him, leaving her alone with the echo of his words and the burning mark on her wrist where his hand had been.
Outside, the forest was silent again but within her, her heart wasn't.