Page 16 of Damon
My brother runs out of his house, straight toward Damon, but he stops a few feet away from him. Maybe he is holding back because of the expression on Damon’s face.
One by one, the other guys come out of their houses. Damon looks at me as I approach him. He takes my hand and pulls me close to him; then he stands in front of me. I take his cue and let go of his hand. I press my hand to his back. It is my way of giving him my support but letting him take the lead, as the alpha.
Damon waits until the very last person is in front of us. Maverick stands beside me, behind Damon. I can tell Maverick is confused at what is happening.
Damon takes a deep breath; it’s like he grows in size. I shiver right down to my bones. He is the most powerful alpha I have been around.
He is intense.
Damon looks every person directly in the eye until they all drop their gaze. I am still touching Damon, and I can feel him shaking. He is pissed, but I don't think that is a strong enough word for it. “One of you among us has betrayed us. You turned off the fence and led the hyenas straight to Olive and Randall’s house.”
I hear growls, most of them coming from Randall. This is one of the worst offenses you can commit. Betrayal is usually punished by death or something worse. If you are cast out of your pack, you can’t be accepted by anyone else. Starving to death is painful, slow, and just pure torture. You can’t survive without a pack unless you go rogue. You lose your mind, and you are dangerous to yourself and others. Being cast out by an alpha breaks you right down to your soul, and you can never come back from that.
But I don’t think anyone will be cast out today. I doubt Randall will allow the traitor to leave this property. I am not sure I can control my own anger.
“Who did this?” Damon roars. I swear I can feel the ground shake. My legs buckle, but I stand upright. The others are lying on the ground, cowering. “NOW!” Damon demands, and this time the power coming off of him is crippling. Damon touches my arm and I relax as the power is lifted off of me; then he does the same thing for Maverick.
“I did it,” someone squeaks out.
The others let out a deep breath. We all look at Johnathan, one of the newer members, who has always kept to himself. He is lying on the ground, overcome by Damon’s power.
“Why would you do something like that?” Damon asks, disgusted.
Johnathan picks himself up off the ground. The other packmates have formed a wide arc behind him so he can’t escape. He stares at the ground and doesn’t say anything for a few beats. Damon walks closer, staring him down, and I know Johnathan is feeling his wrath. We are all feeling bits of it, but not like Johnathan is. He clutches his throat and chest.
A few beats later he sucks in a sharp breath as Damon lets up. “Now,” Damon growls and I shiver, once again, from head to toe. My mate is so fucking sexy.
Johnathan looks up; he doesn’t look at Damon but at me. “It was a distraction, the person who was actually supposed to be taken was her.” Damon’s nails lengthen as he starts to lose control. Then Johnathan smiles. “My brother Ken wants me to tell you hi.” He falls to the ground as he starts to shift, and Damon takes a step back. I can’t believe this.
Brantley runs toward me. I just can’t move. Johnathan charges at me, and Damon’s hand flashes out, gripping the wolf by the throat. He lifts the wolf off the ground, and he snaps at Damon, trying to bite his face. “Big fucking mistake,” Damon whispers as he squeezes his throat. I hear pops and cracks and his throat snaps. The wolf goes limp, and Damon throws him to the ground. Johnathan changes back to his human form, dead.
We are all in awe of what happened and in awe of Damon. He just killed Johnathon with one hand. No one will ever underestimate him again. Damon is a kind alpha, but he is not someone to be fucked with—that is for sure.
“Do not ever fucking betray me,” Damon snarls at everyone; then he looks at me. He pulls me into his arms, and we walk together toward the house. I can feel everyone’s eyes on our backs, and I am in pure shock that something like that just happened.
All of this happened because of fucking Ken.
I had forgotten about him. I was just being hopeful, thinking that he would be out of my life. I was wrong, of course.
Damon shuts the door, leaning against it. His body is trembling.
My mate needs me.
I lay my head in the middle of his chest, my hands running up and down his arms. He lays his head on top of mine, breathing in deeply.
“My Moon,” he says, his voice rough and deep with emotion.
“I am yours,” I whisper back. I kiss his chest and just be with him.
Minutes later he finally calms down, and you know what I want right now? I want to take that final step. I look up at him. “I am ready.”
His looks surprised. “Are you sure?”
I nod, a huge smile upon my face. This is what I want. It’s time, and you never know what could happen—shit keeps on hitting the fan.
I need this moment.
He stares at me for a few beats, to make sure I am certain about it. He takes my hand, kissing the back of it, and leadsme up the stairs. My heart is pounding so hard, and my poor stomach will never be the same because it’s in knots.
