The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 31

Damon POV

Elle’s shallow and peaceful breaths let me know she is fast asleep next to me, my arms wrapped around her while the rest of my body recovers from what happened. Even my wildest fantasies cannot compare to reality; being with her like that causes the entire world to fall away, leaving only us.

‘Slade, what were you thinking?’ I ask him as I start to reason, and the haze of my l**t slowly fades away.

‘You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy making her c*m,’ Slade snickers as if that answers my question.

‘That’s not the point, and you know it,’ I argue with him, annoyed that he cannot see the shitstorm this decision will cause. Now that I have had Elle in my bed, the thought of her not being here every night because she is with another Alpha makes me sick.

‘That’s exactly the point,” Slade retorts, and I can hear the superiority in his voice because, as much as I hate to admit it, I am grateful that he did what he did.

‘You did it because you knew it’d make it impossible for me to stay away from her as my father wants,’ I remind him, and I can feel the sense of pride at knowing his plan worked—stupid mutt.

‘We aren’t meant to stay away from her, regardless of anyone else’s wants. She is ours,’ Slade huffs, and I can tell he is tired of repeatedly trying to explain this to me. ‘The sooner you come to terms with this, the better it’ll be for everyone, including Elle.’ The way he says it, it’s like he knows more than he lets on.

‘What aren’t you telling me?’ I ask him; skepticism sprinkled in my tone, which I can tell bristles him in the wrong way as if I am keeping secrets in this relationship. A wolf and human connection cannot work cohesively if they don’t trust each other, and right now, I am not trusting Slade’s thinking.

‘You need to trust me,’ Slade says, and then is gone, locking himself away in the deepest recesses of my mind. Now I am pissed that I am being asked to trust him when he isn’t telling me the whole story. Of course, the a*****e walks away from the conversation instead of explaining what he knows so I don’t feel left out. We’d probably bicker less if he just told me what he knows, but no, that’s asking too much.

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After three hours of staring at the ceiling, Elle’s head rests on my chest, my fingers making their way through her hair. The vanilla scent of her shampoo and her typical cinnamon mingle nicely, calming my frazzled nerves. I could get over her being in my bed once, I finally got her smell out of my sheets, but after tonight, the only way I’d get rid of her signature scent is by burning them. I don’t know how I will ever sleep again without her right next to me.

“Damon?” Elle’s soft and groggy voice startles me out of my thoughts as she looks up at me with her big emerald eyes staring at me intently. Goddess, she is the most stunning woman I have laid eyes on. The early morning light is bleeding in through the curtains making her red hair blaze like a forest fire.

“Go back to sleep,” I whisper, kissing the top of her head, not wanting this peace to end. I know I’ll have to push her away once she wakes up.

“Can we talk?” she asks, I wanted to avoid her asking it, but now that she has, I know she won’t let it go until we do. “What’s happening between us?”

“I don’t know, Elle,” I fluster, meeting her eyes with an intensity I never had before, so she knows I am telling the truth. “All I know is that the harder I try to stay away from you, the more I want you, and I shouldn’t.”

“I know what you mean,” she mumbles, and I have a distinct feeling that she does understand the dilemma I am facing. “Slade said this feeling, this desperation, will worsen once I have my wolf.”

“Elle, whatever this attraction is to one another, we have to fight it,” I stammer, terrified of losing myself in this relationship, only to have it all come crashing down around us when a mate makes their appearance.

“Why?” she demands. I can feel the anger in her rising, but her eyes also show disappointment.

“What if I am not your mate?” I ask her, my annoyance rising to match hers, “Or have you not noticed the countless men my parents keep parading in front of you?”

“And? I don’t care about any of them! There is something between us! Deny it all you want, but I know it, your wolf knows it, and the whole damn pack knows it too! Something has changed since you’ve been back. Are you going to tell me it hasn’t?”

“Biscuit, I-” I try to explain, but I can tell she knows I am trying to think up some bullshit on the spot.

“You what, Damon?” she demands, the fire in her eyes scalding my skin. Damn, how does she look sexy when pissed at me? I need to focus before digging a deeper hole I may never get out of, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult with her naked body pressed against mine.

“I am trying to protect you, okay?” I say, grabbing her chin to make her look me in the eyes, so she knows I tell her the truth. I do want to protect her, there are reasons witches put a spell on Elle, why my parents made an unbreakable vow with hers, and I cannot risk messing up whatever plan her family has in store for her. I cannot risk losing Elle permanently, not until I know the battles we are facing.

“Seriously, that same s**t?” She pushes away from getting up from the bed to walk around my room, searching for any wearable remnants of her ruined clothes. “When will you learn I am not some damsel in distress?”

“It’s more complicated than you or I understand,” I ramble, trying desperately to make her see my side. I want to keep her out of this for as long as possible. It’s the only way I know how to keep her safe.

“Then explain it to me!” She yells, exasperated by my stubbornness and refusal to tell her what I know, which is nothing. I can’t tell her a thing until I know what we are dealing with. “Damnit, Damon, it’s not helping either of us for you to keep me in the dark constantly!”

“I cannot tell you. Not until I know more, I’m sorry,” I say, putting my foot down, stubborn in my resolve. She doesn’t need to know anything until I have more concrete information. I can tell from the look on her face and how she is angrily tugging on clothes, some hers and some mine, that she is pissed.

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, “one day, you will regret not looping me in sooner. I can promise you that much.” With her final words, I watch her storm out of my room, angrily slamming the door behind her.