Captive

8 // Forgive & Forget

"Damien, she doesn't want to see you." 

A week. That's how long it had been since I had seen him. I hadn't even been under the same roof as Damien for three days, and he had already marked me without my consent. I originally thought it had been a caught up in the moment mistake, but according to werewolf culture, it was synonymous to rape. Although I didn't think they had the authority, Beta Lyon and Ace had prohibited him from seeing me. They told me that the Council was having a meeting to determine Damien's "fate". 

And I was supposed to Testify. 

"I just want to apologize," I heard his voice croak. For a minute, I felt bad, but then I shifted in bed and the pain in my neck rippled down my spine. "This separation is hurting both of us now that she's been marked, and you know it." 

"The Council meets tonight, then you can see her." 

"I need to hold her, please, Lyon." 

For those brief moments, he didn't sound like an Alpha. He sounded broken. Lyon sighed as he closed the door and set down beside me. 

"He's only begged you three times today, he's really starting to restrain himself," I joked. 

"You don't have to be in the same room as him for the hearing tonight, the Council said they'll come to you," he attempted to persuade me. 

"The Council is not meeting the Luna of all Luna's in her jammies," I scoffed. 

Lyon knew the truth that everyone was too scared to say out loud. If I got in the same room as Damien, the effects of the mark would take place, and I would forgive him for everything he had done. I knew The Council had something against the way that Damien ran his race, but that wasn't something I was going to get involved in. Despite what he had done for me, I couldn't let him lose his kingdom. I wasn't cruel like him. 

On her cue, Alessia graced through the door with dresses on her arm. 

"You can go now, Lyon," she kept her eyes on the floor. Once the door had closed, she looked up and met my eyes for the first time in seven days. She didn't know how to handle what happened, nobody did. This was heard of in human to wolf pairings, but she didn't know what it felt like to never want Ace. 

After I had been dressed, she guided me down the hall to Damien's office. I stopped abruptly as she continued forward, laying her hand gently on the handle. 

"Is he in there?" I mumbled. 

"I won't leave your side," she promised, walking over as she placed her hand firmly in mine. 

She creaked open the wooden door, and my world froze. All I saw were those big blue orbs, and I felt my heart leap in my chest. My heart rate buzzed, and all I felt were nerves. It nearly made me dizzy. Alessia repeated my name over and over again, until it pulled me out of my trance. The group of men and women in suits perched at the corner of the office looked at me worriedly. 

"It's just the pull of him marking you, try to ignore it. You actually can because you're human." 

But not having him near me for a week hit me like a flood. All I wanted to do was leap across that room and kiss him. 

"Take a seat, Miss Sinclair," a member of the council gestured t the chair in front of Damien's desk. It had been taken over by a fairly stressed-out looking woman, who kept her suit pressed against her legs as she crossed them tightly, keeping her gaze boring into my head. "We're here to take your account of what happened." 

"He marked me," I murmured. 

"Without consent?" 

"No," 

Everyone looked at me dumbfoundedly, but out of all of them, Damien's look was the most priceless. If I had looked harder, I probably would have seen the glint of pride in his eyes. 

"It was reported by Beta Lyon that Alpha Damien was restraining you in order to proceed with the mating process, is this allegation incorrect?" The woman's eyes glanced to Lyon's nervously. They knew that what I said next would determine whether or not Damien was removed from his position. 

"I didn't say no." 

"But did you say yes?"

"I didn't not give him consent," I kept my voice steady. I was aware of how many enemies I was making right now, but I held true to my word. I didn't lie. 

"Tell us the truth!" She rose with a slammed fist on the table, and I flinched. My subconscious attention was placed on Damien right now, but it quickly averted back to her. 

"I think we're done here, Louise," Lyon muttered in defeat, coming beside me as he began to guide me out. 

"We're done when she tells us the truth!" she hissed. Damien lost it. Before anyone could make a move, he had Louise by the throat in her chair. 

"My mate said I didn't mark her without her consent, Louise. Drop it." 

I felt my form recoil into Lyon's as I hid behind his towering figure. Damien's fierce eyes quickly looked up from the woman and searched for mine, but regardless of the mate pull, Alessia was right. I was still human, so unlike him, I could resist it. Right now, I was afraid. Love was stronger than fear, but fear was a captivating devil.

I headed out the door of the office quickly, and he was right on my heels. His fingers interlaced with mine and my breath hitched as I turned to face him.

"You came," he said joyfully. 

"To the hearing that could have gotten you turned into a rogue, Damien. Why are you so happy?" 

"Don't you feel it?" he said, his brow furrowed as he looked at me confusedly. 

"Unlike you, I can resist it, and I will." 

"You don't need to, though," he pleaded, taking a step closer. He swept the hair that I had carefully placed in a braid over the mark and smiled at the scar that had been left behind. As he lifted his fingers to touch it, I swatted his hand away. 

"If you ever touch me like you did that night, I'll scream bloody murder, and I'll desert you with the rest of your species in the woods." 

"How dare you speak to me like that," he hissed, his grip on my wrist turning into iron. "After that hearing, I'm untouchable princess, and that means you're mine for good now. If you ever go back on your word, they'll just look at you like the girl who cried wolf. As far as The Council is concerned, you're the happiest Luna in the world, just as you should be." He paused, took a deep breath, and ran his hand through his hair. 

"I don't want it to be like this, Cyan, do you?" he murmured. "Do you want to fight all the time? Do you want me to hurt you?" 

"It clearly doesn't matter what I want. You took me from my home, and my studio, and the people I loved," I spat. I felt tears welling in my eyes. 

"Things aren't working out here. The pressure of the palace, the pressure of me. Let's go home." 

"What?" I furrowed my brow. 

"Your home, for the weekend. I want to see your world. There will be no pressure, no guards, no neighbors," he took a final step closer and left only a sliver of air between us. "Believe me, doll, there are many things I would prefer to be doing with no neighbors around, but I'll settle for watching you paint. In minimal clothing, of course," his husky whisper made me shiver. 

An entire weekend, alone in my house, with him? 

"Get packing, love."