DAMIEN'S POV
The doorbell rang, and I rushed to get the door to see it was Nathan.
Without a word, he walked past me into the apartment, his eyes scanning the room before landing on me.
He didn't even greet me, just pushed right past me and made his way down the hallway toward the bedroom. I sighed, already knowing what was coming. He was pissed, and I couldn’t blame him.
I followed him, feeling the tension in my muscles, the nagging guilt settling in my stomach.
Nathan reached the door of my bedroom, his sharp gaze immediately locking on Anna, still sleeping soundly in the bed.
The way his jaw dropped as he took in the sight of her, the confusion, the disbelief, it made my heart beat a little faster.
“Damien,” he said, his voice tight with disbelief. “What the hell did you do?”
“I didn’t have a choice,” I muttered, stepping into the room and closing the door behind me. I wasn’t ready to have this conversation in front of her, not when she was so vulnerable. She needed rest, not to be caught in the middle of this.
“You bit her,” Nathan spat, his words heavy with accusation. “Without telling her anything. Without even telling her who you are or what you are. Do you know what you’ve done?”
I couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, I stared at Anna’s peaceful face, trying to block out the guilt gnawing at me. I had been so consumed by the need to claim her, by the bond that had flooded my senses when I first laid eyes on her, that I hadn’t thought it through. I hadn’t considered the consequences, not the way I should have.
“She’s my mate,” I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper. “I didn’t have a choice.”
Nathan scoffed, turning away from me, his arms folding across his chest. “Alpha, this is exactly what I’m talking about. You didn’t think. You acted on impulse. You marked her without explaining to her what this means. Do you even understand the position you’ve put her in? She’s a human. A complete human.”
I winced at his words. The weight of it hit me harder than I expected. Nathan was right, damn it. I had acted recklessly. And I could already feel the burden of what I had done pressing down on my chest, tightening around my throat.
“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I just... couldn’t stop myself.”
Nathan’s eyes softened, but only slightly. “You don’t just bite your mate without telling them, Damien. You don’t just drag them into this world without explanation. It’s your responsibility to let her understand who you are, what you are. You don’t force it on her. You don’t—”
I dragged my hand through my hair, unable to bear his lecture any longer. “I didn’t force anything. You don’t understand. I’ve been looking for her for years. Years! I’ve never felt anything like this before. I found her, Nathan. And when I saw her, when I... I knew. The pull, the bond, it was undeniable. But I wasn’t prepared for how strong it would be. I couldn’t control it.”
I turned away from him, pacing in the small space. The last thing I wanted to do was have this conversation while Anna was lying there, oblivious.
“You should have controlled yourself,” Nathan said softly, but there was no heat behind his words now. His voice was tired, resigned. “You should have thought before you acted. You should have talked to her before marking her.”
I swallowed hard, the guilt threatening to drown me. “I didn’t think. But it was her, Nathan. It had to be her. She’s the one I’ve been searching for.”
Nathan’s gaze softened further, but there was still a lingering disapproval in his eyes. “And now you’ve dragged her into this. Now she has to deal with it, whether she’s ready or not. And we both know she might not be. The council might not approve of her. You do realize that, don’t you?”
I felt my chest tighten. He was right. Anna was human. A complete human. I’d marked her as my mate, but that didn’t mean the council would accept her.
It didn’t matter that I wanted her, that I had claimed her. The council was strict about the rules of who could be a Luna, and being human was a serious problem.
“They won’t reject her,” I said, my voice firm, but even I could hear the uncertainty that flickered underneath my words. “I won’t let them. She’s mine. No one will stop me from claiming her as my Luna.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “Damien, you can’t just ignore the rules. The council has the power to override you. And if she’s not accepted, if she’s rejected because she’s not one of us, it could destroy everything. You can’t think of just yourself in this. You need to think about her too.”
I let out a long breath. The deed was done. There was nothing I could change now. I had marked her.
And now, the most important was for me to figure out how to explain it to her. How to explain to Anna who I was, what I was.
But the fear that gripped me wasn’t about the council’s disapproval—it was about Anna’s reaction. Would she accept me? Would she even believe me?
I stood there, running my hands through my hair, my mind racing. I couldn’t keep avoiding this conversation. Sooner or later, Anna would wake up, and I’d have to face her.
Face the woman who now carried my mark, who was now my mate. I couldn’t hide from this forever.
I exhaled sharply, turning back to Nathan. “I don’t know how to tell her,” I said quietly, my voice thick with the weight of my fear. “How am I supposed to tell her I’m a werewolf?”
Nathan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his eyes shifted past me, and I could see the change in his expression.
He wasn’t looking at me anymore. His gaze was fixed on something behind me.
Before I could turn around, before I could make sense of the shift in the atmosphere, I heard her.
Anna’s eyes were wide, her face pale, and she was right behind me, her gaze locked on me.
“You’re what?” she repeated, her voice rising in disbelief.