I barely had time to step aside before I felt his presence.
Xavier was standing in the doorway, a silver tray in his hands. He said nothing at first. His gaze darted between me and her, lingering on the curve of her bare shoulder, the hastily draped dress, and on me again. Although he’d bonded with her, he still felt the urge to claim her. In front of me.
I didn’t need to explain why bonds behaved like that. He knew. I knew. It was the effects of being mated to someone you already wanted before. The constant need to be in their presence, the jealousy, the anger, the intensity.
“I didn’t touch her,” I said quietly, my jaw tight. “Not like that. I came to speak to her… and I saw…”
“I can see what you saw,” Xavier cut in, his tone still unreadable as he put the tray on the desk. He took a step toward Gwendolyn, his gaze softening as he brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“It’s fine, baby, you don’t have to be ashamed.” He pressed soft kisses against her knuckles, as if she were something holy. And I couldn’t lie if I didn’t think I should have been the one claiming her first.
The silence stretched between us, unbearable.
She looked away, her lashes trembling. I could see the red marks scattered along her neck, her chest… Xavier’s marks. It wasn’t just the scent that told me they’d been together; it waswritten all over her skin like a brand. And something inside me cracked.
I let out a bitter breath, the fury in my chest flaring.
“You let him touch you,” I said, my voice quieter than I meant it to be, but sharp enough to cut glass. “You didn’t even know who I was. And yet…”
Her eyes snapped to mine. She was confused.
I took a step forward, another, closing the distance between us. The dress I had slipped over her body moments ago suddenly felt like a lie, like a thin Veil trying to cover something far too complicated.
“You don’t know, do you?” I murmured, almost laughing at the absurdity of it all. “You don’t feel it the same way I do yet. But it’s there. You’re mine too, Gwendolyn.”
She flinched. Not out of fear, but because shefeltit. The truth. The pull.
“I’m Damien,” I said finally. “And I’m bonded to you. Just as Xavier is. Just as…” I hesitated, my jaw tightening. I didn’t want to mention Malakai when she barely knew me. “I’ve known it since the first moment. And watching you with him… feeling you with him…” I ran a hand through my hair, trying to swallow down the storm inside me. It felt like I was being torn in two.
She opened her mouth, but no words came. I didn’t want her to be afraid of me.
I stepped closer and took her face gently in my hands, and she let me. I should have told her sooner. I should’ve been the first totouchher like that. Not because I wanted to possess her… but because my soul had already been burning for her. When I rescued her in my dragon form, I wanted to reach out and tell her about us.
“You danced with me at the ball, right?” she stated, her gaze following mine.
“I did,” I replied with a small nod. I knew that the dancelingered as much in her head as it did in mine.
“Then you left me, why?” She was hurt.I deserved it.
“Unfortunately, our dance caused unwanted attention, and I couldn’t risk putting you in any more danger,” I explained. I didn’t want to worry her, but while we danced, I sensed a lot of hate and jealousy from the sirens, and if I would have kept on talking with her after the dance, I would have endangered her if I kept showing my attraction towards her.
“What unwanted attention?”
“The woman who gave you the faerie wine…”
“Yes?”
“They were sirens… and they gave it to you because of me.”
“What do you have to do with them?”
I wasn’t sure whether to tell her about my connection to the sirens—how they relied on my power, especially in my water dragon form, and how they heightened my abilities. Some of them had developed romantic feelings for me, despite knowing I would never love them. Seeing me with Gwendolyn now made them realize I would never want them the way I longed for her, and so they saw my mate as their greatest rival.
“It’s complicated...”
“Tell her,” Xavier demanded.
“Because of the powers I possess, they kind of pray to me,” I explained vaguely. I didn’t want to bother her with too much information.
