The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 63

DAMON POV

Elle’s breathing fills my ears as she turns into blissful slumber, her red hair spilling over the pillows as she dreams. I am glad she is getting some sleep before her shift tomorrow, but my mind won’t stop spinning on its axis as I replay Esmeralda’s words trying to decipher their meaning.

‘You know what it means,’ Slade intervenes, ‘the words were clear. Mark her, and she is safe. It’s not f*****g rocket science, human.’

‘Well, hello to you too,’ I mumble; now he wants to throw in his opinions; where the hell has he been?

‘I have been telling you for months to mark her,’ he growls, ‘why haven’t you listened? Touch her and try to tell me you don’t feel sparks dancing along your skin.’

‘I know, but…’ I trail off, not knowing how to respond. ‘What could happen to her if we are wrong? What will that do to her?’ I ask him, curious about the repercussions if we do this and it turns out wrong.

‘Nothing,’ he argues again, ‘because she is OURS. Damn it, human, get it through your skull. We both know that prophecy is talking about us.’

‘No, Slade,’ I say, voice calm, having no energy to fight with him over this for the tenth time in the last few weeks. ‘We want it to be Elle, but we don’t know if it’s true. There is a difference between knowing and wanting contrary to your belief system.’

‘Look at her,’ he begs, ‘and tell me she wasn’t created perfectly for us. She needs our mark, Damon. It’s the only way to keep her safe.’

‘It’s not that simple,’ I remind him, ‘the mark has to be given willingly. I can’t force ours on her either; She has to want it.’

‘Then f*****g convince her, you dumbass,’ he growls, annoyed that I won’t easily bend to his concerns about Elle.

“Have you met Elle?’ I ask him, ‘because if you knew her at all, then you’d know trying to convince her to do something she doesn’t want is impossible.’

‘Fine,’ Slade grumbles; if he had arms, he would cross them over his chest like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum. ‘But if something happens to her because you’re too stubborn, stupid, and insecure, we’ll spend the rest of our lives in eternal agony, Elle included. I thought you loved her enough to take risks, but apparently, I was wrong.’

His words pack a wallop, leaving me stunned as I feel Slade retreat into the furthest recesses of my mind. The longer I sit, the more his words begin weighing down on my chest, and I cannot breathe. The dilemma of deciding is sucking all the air out of the room. The stress of making a choice has my stomach tied in knots.

Turning on my side, I wrap Elle in my arms, letting the tingles overcome my body as I bury my nose in her hair, relishing in her cinnamon scent. Sensing my presence behind her, Elle wiggles closer into my chest, her breathing still even, while a peaceful sigh escapes her lips. As I pull her closer, Slade’s opinions take over my mind, and I can’t find myself disagreeing with him.

Do I let my fear put Elle at risk? Or do I try to convince her that letting me mark her is the best decision for her, us, and me? These aren’t the best options in the world either, is my only option to choose the lesser of two evils?

This can’t be the only way; the Moon Goddess surely doesn’t want these to be the only possibilities for Elle? There has to be an alternate path, right? If there is, what is it? And why can’t I see it? As the clock continues clicking into the wee hours of the morning, I am still staring at the wall weighing the pros and cons, when Elle turns over in her sleep, snuggling herself closer to me to bury her nose in my neck, a large sigh of relief leaving her lips. This action was all it took for me to make my decision.

‘Slade,’ I call out, with no response. ‘Slade?’ I call out again, only to be ignored. ‘Come on, don’t be like this. I made a decision.’ only silence consumes the space between us as Slade continues to sulk in the corner of my mind. ‘Stop acting like a pup, and come talk to me like an Alpha.’ I taunted him, hoping it’d do the trick and get him to stop pouting. After a few more seconds, his presence in my mind becomes more prominent as his voice echoes.

‘What do you want, human?’ Slade asks, the frustration and annoyance dripping from his voice like a deadly toxin.

‘You were right.’ I say, wasting no time and jumping into things. ‘Elle needs us to mark her. If we don’t, she could end up abused and raped. I couldn’t live with myself if something like that happened to her knowing I could help prevent it. I do have a few conditions if we are going to do this. ‘

‘Of course, you would,’ he mumbles under his breath, and I swear I feel his eyes rolling at my request. ‘Well, let me hear what these conditions are.’

‘One, Elle has to want to do this willingly,’ I say, my voice tight, trying to exude my authority over Slade, even knowing it’ll be useless.

‘Fine, ‘ He mutters, ‘How long do you think it will take you to convince her to agree to this?’

‘I don’t know,’ I admit, ‘it’s Elle, so who knows if I’ll even be able to. She has been dead set on waiting for her mate.’

‘If she was that concerned,’ Slade remarks, his voice haughty with pride, ‘she wouldn’t be sleeping next to us tonight, or any other night she has. Next condition?’

‘If I convince her,’ I pause, taking a deep breath to steady myself knowing this will be the hardest condition for him to agree to. ‘I want to mark her the night after my birthday ball.’

“No. Are you insane?’ Slade asks incredulously, baffled that I would suggest a date that far away. ‘It’s a week away. We should mark her as soon as she agrees to it.’

‘Slade, we cannot mark her before the birthday ball,’ I reply, trying to remind him of the rules, ‘we cannot have Elle showing up to my ball with a mark on her neck at age seventeen; the council will get involved, and it can cause serious issues for you and me.’

‘I don’t give a f**k about the council,’ he growls, his anger rising knowing our actions are decided by the council’s laws, ‘I only care about protecting what’s mine.’

‘Yes,’ I reply, my tone dripping with condescension as I explain things to him, ‘And we can’t protect Elle from a council prison, can we?’

‘No,’ he g****s, his voice sounding whiney, ‘I guess we can’t.’

‘Exactly,’ I scold, ‘so use your brain and think about what could happen to Elle if we were to get caught blatantly breaking the council’s most sacred law. We’d be turned into rogues, and then what kind of life could we provide Elle as a rogue, in prison, or even dead? We have to be smart about this.’

‘Fine,’ he sighs, exasperated by my tone, ‘you’ve proven your point. Carry on with your conditions lest I die here of old age.’

Snorting, I continue listing my regulations, ‘Lastly, after I mark Elle, you have to tell me everything you know because you know

more than you’re letting on about this whole situation.’

Slade says nothing, spending a few moments in quiet contemplation before responding, ‘Deal, but I have a counter condition of my own.’

‘What is it?’ I ask him, the skepticism heavy in my words, concerned for what he may ask.

‘I want us to mark Elle at midnight at the Ball,’ he says.

‘Like Cinderella?’ I ask him, a soft chuckle escaping my lips, trying to remain quiet, so I don’t wake Elle.

‘Shut up,’ Slade snarls at my teasing. ‘Do you agree?’

‘Yes, I agree,’ I say, nodding; even though he can’t see my physical response, it’s a reflex.

“Good,’ he commands, ‘now get some sleep. Elle has a big day tomorrow.’ I can hear the excitement in his voice, knowing he will get to meet her wolf in a few hours, and I cannot deny I feel it too.