Evelyn
Damian's proximity bothered me, no matter how much I wanted to ignore it.
Fuck the mate bond.
His scent hit me first. Cold coffee smell, icy Chilly and sharp. It shouldn't have been appealing but somehow it was, demanding filling my nostrils and making me want to breathe deeper.
I hated that.
Eva, my wolf-no lovesick wolf wasn't helping me either. She was pacing in my head like crazy, fighting me for control so she could burst out and shove her big wolf head into his broad chest.
What the hell happened to "let me out Evelyn so we could kill that bastard vampire"?
But I guess it wasn't her fault. Her animal instincts were bound to feel this way about a mate. That's how the Moon Goddess made the bond. Stronger than any other emotions. Stronger the fact that vampires and werewolves are sworn enemies and Damian threatened us.
"We have to go with him, Evelyn. Please. I need my mate, we were waiting for him."
Eva was begging me now. When Damian demanded I come with him to Shadow Land, she practically rolled over.
I asked him, Why did he want to take me with him?
He didn't answer. Just stare with those cold and unbothered eyes.
Did he not feel the mate bond like I did?
I didn't know much about vampires, but I knew they also had mates. And vampire males were supposed to be possessive as hell.They claimed their mates and marked them right away.
So why wasn't Damian doing that?
Maybe it didn't matter to him.
That thought pained my heart .
"I'll come with you," I said. "Only for Six months."
Eva whined but I ignored her. Damian's face didn't change much, but his eyes narrowed a bit.
"No."
He said rudely.
I shrugged my shoulder.
Fine.
"Then let's fight," I said, meeting his gaze. "Right now. We kill each other and end this. But start with me, kill me before you touch others."
Eva was screaming in my head. She had already submitted to him, already accepted him, mate. But I wasn't going to accept his every demand he made. I wasn't some nonliving thing he could just take.
I thought he'd laugh or get pissed. Or just grab me anyway since he clearly had the power to do whatever he wanted.
He didn't. He studied me for a long moment.Then he nodded.
"Six months."
See? Our mate doesn't want to kill us. He cares.
My lovesick wolf was making excuses for him already. But I knew better. His ways were brutal. I'd heard the stories.
I wasn't forgetting that just because Eva wanted to cuddle.
Damian turned to the room then, his voice cutting through everything.
"We are ready to set our alliance with the werewolves."
It wasn't a question. It was an order.
My father had other plans though.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.
"I'm not letting my daughter go with you."
The room got colder. I could almost see my breath. Damian's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched hard. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. Dangerous.
"What did you say?"
His eyes started bleeding red. The anger he'd been holding back was slipping and I knew if Dad pushed harder, people were going to die.
I turned to my father fast. "Dad, I know what I'm doing. Trust me." Without looking at Damian, I added, "I need to talk to my parents first. Alone."
"Alpha Samuel." Damian's voice cut through like ice. "I hope you understand that Evelyn is mine now. Don't do something that makes me lose my temper. Trust me, you don't want that."
The threat was clear. My father growled low but I squeezed his hand hard to make him stop.
"I'm not yours," I said, looking at Damian finally.
His lips curved. Not really a smile. More like a predator showing teeth.
"You are mine, Evelyn. Whether you accept it or not. For six months, you belong to me."
The way he said possessively, it sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn't tell if it was fear or something else. The second we got outside, my mother's eyes filled with more tears.
She grabbed me and hugged me tightly, her whole body was shaking. Dad stood next to us, fists clenched, face hard with rage.
"I won't allow this," he said. "I'm not letting you go with that bloodthirsty monster. I don't care who he is. I'm not afraid of him."
I pulled back from Mom enough to look at him.
"He's my mate, Dad."
Silence.
Then my father's eyes went wide. "What?"
Too loud. Way too loud.
Mom's crying got worse, her hands clutching me. "No. No, this can't happen. My daughter can't be mated to that... that thing. This is so unfair, Moon Goddess."
"Are you sure princess?"
"Yes Dad"
"I felt it when he stepped to the hall," I said quietly. "Eva recognized him right away. He's our mate."
Dad looked like someone punched him. "How is that even possible? Vampires and werewolves don't... It's never happened. Not once."
"I don't know how, Dad. But it's true. And I'm going with him."
"No." Mom's grip got tighter. "I thought my mother had a bad fate, but this? My princess is the worst fate mated to a monster?"
Eva snarled and didn't like to hear him as a monster.
"You can't go, Evelyn." Dad's voice dropped low. "He could use your powers to gain his selfish desire. If he finds out about your witch power, if he realizes you're his mate." He shook his head. "You don't understand."
I frowned. "How did you know dad, he didn't recognise me, that I'm his mate?"
Dad's face went grim. "His bloodline is cursed princess. They could not recognise their mate, They'll never know, even if she's right in front of them, this was limited to men however women could find mate."
That stopped me. "What?"
"Damian's grandfather rejected his fated mate years ago. Refused her. The woman killed herself after that rejection." Dad's voice was heavy.
"The vampire god Zudious was furious after that, and cursed their whole bloodline.
It hit me hard. It's really hard.
He didn't know. Damian had no idea I was his mate. That's why he wasn't claiming me. He could never find that, this thought alone felt like a punch on my gut, I could feel Eva sadness too.
"Doesn't matter," Mom said. "You're still not going."
I looked at her and tried to find the words.
"Mom, you always said I was like Grandmother. That I had her confidence and courage." I took a breath. "I can't back down. People will die without this alliance. If one person can save hundreds, then that's what has to happen."
"You're not a sacrifice," Dad said.
"Maybe not. But there's another reason." I paused. "He's the only one strong enough to help me unlock my abilities. And him not knowing I'm his mate? That helps us. If I go there I can learn his plan, his power and weakness and shadow land secrets, and how strong they are. After get stronger, and if it comes to it..." I swallowed. "I can challenge him. Kill him if I have to."
The words felt wrong in my mouth filled my heart with guilt. The thought of killing Damian made my heart race and my chest tight.
Eva went silent.
"What if he hurts you?" Mom's voice cracked. "What if something happens?"
"If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead already. I literally told him to fight me and he agreed to my terms instead. That means something."
"Could be a trick," Dad said.
"Maybe. But I have to try. This is right, I can feel it." I looked between them. "Please. Trust me. I will go."
They didn't want to. But slowly, they nodded. Truth was, the war wasn't my only reason.
The mate bond was there, pulling at me since I first saw him. And some stupid part of me thought maybe there was more to Damian than the monster everyone feared. Under all that cold brutality, there was someone worth knowing ,someone who deserved to be loved.
I hoped I wasn't wrong. Because if I was, if there was nothing under that ice but more cruelty, I didn't know what would happen. To me. To us. To everything.
Eva stirred in my head, quiet but still there. Still hoping. We were both hoping. Hoping that the Moon Goddess hadn't screwed up. That this impossible bond meant something.
Dad's hand landed on my shoulder, giving me strength. "If he hurts you, Evelyn,let me know us, there would no alliance. No treaty. Only war. Understand?"
"I understand."
Mom kissed my forehead, her tears warm on my skin. "Come home to us. Promise me."
"I promise mom."
I didn't know if I could keep the promise. What will happen there with me? What Damian wants with me.? But sometimes you have to lie to the people you love.