“Where are you taking me to? I’m not going back to that dungeon, and if you don’t let go of me, I’ll scream.” She tried scratching, but being bored after days in the dungeon, Delphine had bitten off her nails, and it didn’t cause any pain to Damien; it felt more like an aggressive massage.
Damien gave a short laugh. “Darling, I’m the Alpha of this pack. What do you think is going to happen?” He rolled his eyes, choosing not to pay her any more attention.
“Aren’t you worried about your reputation?” She tried, but didn’t get any reaction from Damien, so she continued, “Kidnapping an innocent girl…where are we going anyway?” She noticed the path that led to the park prison and was surprised Damien wasn’t heading in that direction; she feared the worst. “You are not going to kill me, right?”
“Though you are very annoying, Bluey. But you are still my mate, and no, I can’t kill you.”
“Good, because if you do…my spirit will haunt you.” After that, she was quiet. Delphine couldn’t fight anymore because she was very tired. In fact, she wouldn’t admit it, but she felt very comfortable in Damien’s arms. It wasn’t long till she dozed off.
~
Delphine woke the moment her head touched the pillows; her first sight was the dark figure above her. She screamed, pushing hard at the person. She rolled out of the bed but regretted her decision when her head hit the hard ground.
“Careful,” Damien said. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
“You?” She got up with a groan. “Why have you brought me here? Where am I?”
“You’re in my room, and I’ve brought you here because you…you are my mate, and it’s my job to care for you.”
“I can’t be your mate. It’s impossible. I haven’t even seen my wolf yet; how can I be mated to someone?”
Damien raised an eyebrow, confused. “What do you mean by you haven’t seen your wolf yet?”
“I mean, I haven’t taken my wolf form yet,” she answered, avoiding his eyes. “So, you see why I can’t be your mate? I’m pretty sure the moon goddess probably decided I’m not worthy of being a werewolf. That’s why I’ve been cursed to remain human for the rest of my life.”
He crossed his arm before him, watching her as she kept on looking round the room curiously. “I still find it hard to believe. How old are you?”
Her head snapped back to him when she heard the question. “I’m seventeen… going to be eighteen soon. Why do you ask?”
“Seventeen? You’re still a small girl.”
“Don’t call me that. I’m a full-grown woman, and besides, you’re not much older—” She was interrupted by a small knock coming from the door.
“Damien,” Vivian's voice called. “It’s me…” It was followed by the doorknob being twisted, but Damien had locked the door when he carried Delphine in. “Damien? Why is your door shut? Come on, open up.”
Damien wasn’t ready for another drama that night. “Vivian, leave. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“What, why?” Vivian questioned, trying to open the door again, but it was hopeless. The door was locked tight.
“I’m tired, and you know you shouldn’t be here. I’ll come see you tomorrow.”
“Damien, who is in there with you? I’m not stupid; I hear two hearts beating. Do you have a girl in there?”
Delphine looked confused, staring at the door, then back at Damien, who looked really frustrated, like the mere sound of the person speaking irked him. She opened her mouth to speak, but Damien saw this and quickly placed a finger before her lips to shush her.
“Be quiet,” he whispered.
“Fine. I’ll go back,” Vivian said. “But I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Yeah, sure.” She didn’t leave immediately, though, waiting for close to ten minutes before she finally gave up and walked away.
“Who was that?” Delphine asked after Damien let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s my girlfriend, Vivian.” He eyed Delphine. “You will sleep here tonight; you can go take your bath…you stink.”
Delphine gasped at the insult. “I don’t stink. I just don’t smell pleasant, and that’s your fault anyway. You’re the one who kicked me out of the dungeon and then came back for me again.”
“I thought you hated the dungeon?” he said, walking to his wardrobe. “Anyway, if anything, you should be grateful I brought you here. It is going to rain soon, and would you have preferred it out there?” She didn’t answer him and just looked away. “Go take a bath; you can find a spare brush there to clean your teeth…when was the last time you brushed your teeth?”
“I’m sorry, your highness, you don’t exactly provide your prisoners with mouthwash.” She got up from the bed and began storming angrily in the direction Damien said the bathroom was. But then stopped just before she entered. “You won’t come in and look at me, right? If you do, I’ll scream.”
“You must suffer from a short-term memory, because it seems you keep forgetting that I’m the Alpha.”
Delphine scoffed. With her head high, she entered the bathroom, but the moment the door closed behind her, she let out a heavy breath, gripping her chest, she went down to the ground.
Delphine didn’t intend to stay at the pack and be mated to someone she considered rude and arrogant, but she was grateful that she wouldn’t have to sleep outside, especially with the loud claps of thunder which came every now and then. Delphine had always had a great fear of thunder. It also didn’t help that back at Roseblood pack she slept alone and had no one to comfort her. Her mind went back to the woman who she had trusted, but ended up betraying her. Delphine had tried not to think about it since then because it hurt her deeply.
She slowly stood up, walking further into the bathroom, which she now took notice of. Her jaws dropped open in amazement as she took in the interior; everywhere was shining gold. “How rich is this dude?” she muttered. Then taking a look down at the dirty clothes she had on, she raised her arm and took a sniff of her underarms, then recoiled back at the stench. “Ok, maybe I do stink.”
Making sure the door was shut once more, she began stripping, taking off her clothing slowly, until she was bare. Then she moved to fill the tub. She had wanted to take a quick shower and rush out, but standing in the bathroom, she didn’t think she would have another chance to step her feet in a place like that, so she wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.
~
Damien was deep in thought as Delphine took her bath. He sighed, looking up to the roof. “There are billions of girls in this world. Why her? Why is she the one person you chose to be my mate…and she said she hasn’t even taken up her wolf form yet, she’s seventeen. How is that even possible?”
The familiar tune of his ringtone brought him out of his thoughts. He hissed, picking it up. The screen showed that it was Luca, he picked up immediately. “Hey.”
“Damien…I, I feel really guilty for what I just did. I mean, that poor girl is out there alone; she’s your mate, dude.”
“She’s not out there, Luca—”
“What do you mean?” Luca asked.
“I went to look for her. I brought her back home. She’s currently in my bathroom having a bath.”
“Wait, really? Are you being serious?” Luca was surprised by this, and it showed in his tone.
“Yes. I mean, I don’t feel anything for her at all, but she’s still…” He sighed like the words pained him to say. “She is still my mate, and I don’t want her to get hurt; it’s dangerous out there.”
“Good man, I knew you would come around. That behavior out there wasn’t like you. So, how are you feeling now?”
“Good. See, I have to go. We’ll talk tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sure.” He ended the call. A few seconds after that, Delphine's door came open again.
“Are you finally done? I was starting to think you had drowned yourself in there.” He got up, heading to the door with the spare clothes he had gathered for her.
“Ha!” She gave a dry laugh. “If you haven’t heard of me, you should know I am a survivor, and I’m going to live for a very long time.” Damien couldn’t help but smile at that. He couldn’t help but admit to himself that he had been given a feisty mate, though the minute the thought ran through his head, he pushed it aside immediately. “I’ll open the door slowly, and you’ll hand me the clothes…I don’t want you to see my nakedness.”
“Don’t worry, Bluey, I don’t want to see your nakedness. I’d rather look at a thousand other things.”
Delphine frowned, but she didn’t say anything. She opened the door, not waiting a second before she dragged the clothes from Damien's outstretched hands, then shut the door behind her quickly.
When Delphine came out from the bathroom, Damien choked on his spittle and hit hard at his chest to get relief. The dirt and dry mud were gone from her skin now, her hair—though still wet—had gained back its shiny color, now rid of the dust, and she was looking more beautiful than Damien would have thought possible. “Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t try anything funny, I’ll scream.”
Coming back to himself, he scoffed. “Trust that if I wanted to do something, I would have done it a long time ago.”
She rolled her eyes, looking round the room. “Wait, where would I sleep?”
He laughed at her question. “In bed with me, of course.”