“D-Damon?” The simultaneous call of his name made his body begin to itch. Before him there were two women…. one of which was still knocking at his heart… while the other had slipped into his heart and reeked havoc.
‘How is she standing there alive and well?’
That was the first question he asked himself. And his first solution was… hallucination. Just like that time at the mall, this could be nothing except that. But the harder he thought, the more implausible that sounded. It’d been years since he had beaten himself up about her betrayal and as such, it’d been years since he experienced hallucinations. This woman could be no one but her, skin and bones. But what his mind could not possibly explain, was her change in scent. She didn’t have the scent of a werewolf, this was the scent of a human, a regular human. That could only mean her wolf counterpart had perished… But how? And was that the reason why he couldn’t locate her all these years?
No, how and why didn’t matter. He shouldn’t care about her wolf nor her. What he should care about though, was the fact that she was standing in front of him…. awaiting something that only he had the permission to give her…. DEATH! She should know that betrayal could only mean death, yet she dared to show up here. She was asking to be killed….. and he’d definitely grant her that wish.
While Damon slowly caved into rage, Sarah was busy staring down at her feet. She didn’t want to see it… the look on Damon’s face that is. She was sure that he was undergoing an inner turmoil right now, meaning… he was torn between the two. It was either her or Katie. And from the looks of it, even she could tell what the answer was. Beautiful face, voluptuous body and a strong aura to match his own…. She didn’t have all that, Katie did. The outcome of this dreadful encounter couldn’t be any clearer.
That painful conclusion made her head feel as if it was deteriorating. Her thoughts were taking such a dangerous course that she even began to imagine what would’ve happened if he had caught her that day at the mall when he ran after her. Maybe they wouldn’t have gotten this far because he’d probably already be swayed by the mere sight of her.
Afterall, she was only the second mate, that meant she’d always come in second, no matter the case.
“B-Back–” Katie finally spoke, but Sarah wasn’t sure if that was to be called speaking since she barely heard anything other than the word back. Raw fear was evident in her voice and the whole room could hear it when she gulped as well as when her heels pushed backward against the floor. “B-Back then, I didn’t h-have a choice. I s-swear!” Katie was standing by the couch now…. that was pretty far from where Sarah’s eyes had left her. “My w-whole pack w-was at risk. I c-couldn’t let F-Felix kill t-them all! What s-should I have done? Watch them die?!” She screamed, her breath heavy enough for Sarah to clearly hear her struggle to breathe from where she stood.
Her attempt at being defensive was so vigorous that Sarah couldn’t resist turning to look at her. In Sarah’s opinion, she looked as if she’d collapse any moment. Sweat was all over her face, her lips were wobbling and her eyes were pricked with tears. If Sarah didn’t resent her at first sight then she probably would’ve felt sorry for her.
But why was she behaving like this anyway? It’s not like Damon was going to kill her or anything. If anything, he’d probably embrace her. Wait…. is that he reason why she was acting so pitifully?… to gain his pity. Sarah couldn’t help but narrow her eyes into a glare. That conniving we-
She held that thought when a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her to the left in one swift motion. Startled by the abrupt action, a loud gasp left her lips. Before she could recover from the shock, Damon pushed her behind him and stepped in front of her. Sarah’s eyebrows drew together. What was he trying to do… protect her? But from what? This course of action was definitely not what she expected. He was supposed to shove her away and run over to Katie’s side without a second thought. But right now, he was protecting her?
The thought drew forth a smile on her lips. But she should’ve known better. Of course, Damon wasn’t some stupid nitwit who would return to a woman who betrayed him. That was plain dumb.
Widening her smile, Sarah was about to make it known that she wasn’t hurt one bit, but before she could, a loud, thunderous snarl ripped through the air. Blinking, she reached out and caught a pinch of his sleeve in her hands. Her heart was beating a mile a minute but she stepped forward anyway and ran her worried eyes over him. “D-Damon? What’s w-” her words stopped when her eyes took in the sight of his face. His orbs were golden with streaks of hazel, which meant his wolf was also in control. But that wasn’t what made her jaws slacken in surprise… it was the raw rage that devoured his whole face and the way his fingers curled inwards to form claws as his nails elongated. That rage wasn’t directed at her at all, but at Katie. And even so, fear still cobbled her.
Damon was undoubtedly going for the kill.
“I’m sorry but I didn’t have a choice.” Katie’s voice filled the air again. “If I didn’t do it, my family would die. I knew for a fact that even if you lost the fight he wouldn’t be able to kill his own brother! Anyone would’ve done what I did! I g-”
“So you’ve been breathing the same air as me all this time?” Damon’s voice was laced with nothing but rage and with one crook of his neck, he took his first step toward her. “How dare you!”
“You think I had it easy? I wasn’t roaming around the world eating ice cream and fucking around with some lowlifes!” She glanced at Sarah when she said that. “I’ve been rotting in Maxim’s dungeon all this time! It was only a few days ago that I got to see sunlight. Back then, I thought you’d understand…” Her first tear slipped down her face. “I thought you’d eventually come rescue me, but while I’ve been rotting away in Maxim’s dungeon, you were here with another stupid mate. Lucky you… I didn’t exactly get a second mate.”
When Katie shot her words at him, Sarah saw it… the way he wavered, the way he stiffened for a second. The realization made a stab of pain erupt in her chest. This wavering, could only mean that she had gotten through to him… somewhat.
“Why did you come here? Did you think I wouldn’t kill you? I’ll rip you limb from limb!” Damon said those words, but Sarah knew that it was a lie. His nails had already retracted and the rage in his eyes had lessened considerably.
Katie shook her head. “They’re after me, Damon…. the rogues. Even if you don’t kill me, Maxim will never let me live after I killed his son and fled.” Tucking her black hair behind her ear, she took a shaky step closer, then another and another. “You loved your brother more than anything. What would you have done if he was the one in danger? Forget all that he did and think about it. I’m sure you would’ve done the same…. And if I didn’t make that choice, you wouldn’t be the Alpha King right now. If anything you should be thanking me.”
Sarah agitatedly fiddled with her fingers and stood silently in place. Seeing as she was daring enough to step forward, it was obvious that she had realized that she was getting through to him.
“Please help me, Damon.” Katie dropped to her knees when she neared him and creeped forward to his feet, her hands slowly moving to grasp his pants. The look in her eyes showed pure fear, fear that even managed to tug at Sarah’s heart strings despite her dislike for her. With that being said, imagine how badly she was messing with Damon’s emotions.
He looked down at her. His hands by his side were visibly shaking, his shoulders were tense and his aura screamed nothing but indecision and uncertainty. The obvious turmoil that he was going through made another twinge of pain erupt in her chest. If she thought about this rationally then right now Damon was in a more problematic spot than she was. His mate coming back to seek refuge here after having betrayed him ten years ago… his mind was probably close to exploding. Yet she was here thinking of herself and the problems that lied hereafter. Right now, the future didn’t matter. What matters is the present. And that meant that she needed to fix this situation, as well as Damon. Even though he might hate Katie, there was no doubt that he’d feel remorse if she ever ended up dying out there.
With that in mind, Sarah pressed her palm to her chest and breathed in slowly as she tried to muster up the determination to convince him, but she was saved from the arduous task when Damon moved his eyes away from Katie and turned his head to look at her. His eyes were finally looking as how she expected… those orbs were calculative and filled with uncertainty. It was as if he was deciding on whom to chose.
That immediately made Sarah feel lightheaded. Between the two there could be no comparison. She won in everything, every single thing.
“Get out!”
At first, Sarah was certain that he was talking to her, but then, his head abruptly snapped towards Katie and he coldly gestured to the door with his chin. “Get out… before I kill you myself.”
“No please! I can’t die now!” Katie held his jeans tighter as she pleaded her heart out, her eyes bleeding with tears of desperation. “I know where their hideout is! This won’t only benefit me! As soon as they’re out of the picture, I’ll leave…” She glared at Sarah resentfully for a split second while she sniffled on the floor. “… if you want me to.” The hatred in her eyes was the same as the hatred in Damon’s eyes when she freed Maxim. Sarah was obviously the one whom she wanted out of the picture… that much was obvious.
But aside from that, anyone could tell that she wasn’t faking her fear. She was definitely in trouble. And after having noticed that, Sarah’s conscience wouldn’t allow her to leave her to die. But then again, the choice wasn’t exactly hers. Even if she said something, it wasn’t a must that Damon would consider her words. He was the only one who could lend a help in hand…
So then, the question is, will he save her or leave her to die?