Damien pushed me off his lap and marched towards the door, I couldn't see who it was but then I heard his voice,
"What do you mean the vampires are back?"
I went a little closer, to hear about what they were saying,
"Keep everyone ready, we'll face them."
I turned my attention to the pillar as if it was the most interesting here, he stopped before me.
"I will be back, till then stay here. Beta Xavier will stay with you."
Oh no. Please not him.
–––⸻✧⸻––
I sighed looking at the gray head man before me who did not give a damn about me.
"You know, if you're going to sit here like you'd rather be anywhere else, please leave."
He looked at me with his usual bored expression before rolling his eyes at me.
"That's because really, I'd rather be anywhere else than here. I'm only here because my brother told me to keep an eye on you."
I scoffed shaking my head,
"Why though? Not like you people will let me run anyways."
His face twisted into a disgusted expression as he pointed his index finger at me.
"I never talked about you running, I am talking about you getting caught. What do you think the vampires are here for?"
Me.
I gulped hard before looking down the window, I saw the uninvited war between skin tearing werewolves and bloodthirsty vampires. Damien wasn't in my sight.
I hope he's okay—
"Do you like him?"
I almost choked on air as soon as the words escaped his mouth. I looked at him in disbelief not believing my ears.
"W-what?" Xavier shrugged pointing towards the window as if it was Damien.
"I asked if you have feelings for the Alph—"
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I paused, my heart raced with the worst possibilities. Xavier stood up slowly walking towards the door, his weapon ready in his hands before he finally opened the door.
"Damien!"
I yelled before I could think, he was in a bad condition, almost breathing, several wound marks decorated by blood. Someone from the pack helped him inside.
"The war has ended but Viktor left Alpha in a serious condition saying he betrayed him."
The person spoke to which Xavier nodded, helping Damien to lay on the bed on the other side.
"But hey, this is not his room—"
"That's okay. I will take care of him." I cut off Xavier without hesitating. Right now, Damien needed medical attention, plus he treated me earlier too. I need to pay him back the same way.
"Are you sure? Lady Selene won't like this." Xavier said.
Lady Selene can go and fuck herself.
"I don't care. I'm not scared of her at all." I saw a glint of some pride in his eyes which I'm sure I had imagined.
Soon, everyone was out of the room leaving me and Damien behind. He was still unconscious. I touched his forehead to check his temperature and he was burning hot. Bringing ice packs from the icebox downstairs, I started to dab the ice pack on his forehead and cheeks.
I kept changing the clothing all night and I didn't even know when I fell asleep. Sunlight peeked through the blinds as I rubbed my eyes to adjust to the light. Before I could get up, I was yanked down by a strong force.
"Hey, you're awake." I said, Damien looked at me before looking away.
"Thanks for uh, caring for me." He said, trying to get up. I helped him sit straight before giving him pain killers.
"That's fine. You got hurt because of me, afterall." His eyes softened before he shook his head.
"That's not true. You're overthinking," he took my hand, making me sit on the bed beside him, "I know it's hard for you to be here without knowing what's going on, but I want you to know that I will protect you at any cost."
His words made my heart race, silly how he was raging at me just yesterday.
"Do you feel it?" he asked, voice low and rough.
I blinked, my pulse quickening again. "Feel what?"
"The pull. This… thing between us." His eyes searched mine like he already knew the answer but needed me to say it.
I looked away, my throat tightening. "There's no pull," I said quickly—too quickly. "It's probably just… tension. Weird circumstances. I'm in a strange place, you're injured, we're both—"
"Don't lie to me, Eva," he cut in gently, brushing his knuckles along my cheek. "You flinch when I leave, and you tremble when I touch you. You don't look at me like you look at anyone else."
"That doesn't mean anything." I pulled back slightly, needing space to breathe, to think. "You're attractive, sure. You saved me. You confuse the hell out of me. But this isn't some fairy tale. Don't make it one."
He tilted his head, his expression unreadable. "You'd rather lie to yourself than admit you want me?"
"I'd rather stay sane," I snapped, crossing my arms. "Because wanting you? That leads to danger. You're chaos in a crown, Damien. And I don't do chaos."
His jaw tensed, but he didn't speak for a long second. Then, softly: "You do. You just don't realize it yet."
I laughed bitterly. "Right. Must be the fever talking."
"Maybe," he murmured, and for a moment, the way he looked at me—like I was something rare, something he didn't understand—made it harder to breathe.
"Just get some rest," I said, forcing calm into my voice. "That's the only thing you should be worried about."
He didn't stop me when I moved away, but his eyes followed me the entire time. Silent. Intense.
And I hated how part of me wanted to look back—
Knock. Knock. Knock.