ANNA’S POV
When I woke up, I was immediately hit by a sharp, aching pain. It wasn’t a headache, but a dull, gnawing throb that seemed to settle deep in my neck.
I groaned softly, trying to push away the feeling, but it was stubborn, like it had decided to take permanent residence in my body.
I blinked my eyes open, trying to focus, and immediately realized I wasn’t in my apartment.
The sheets were different—silkier, smoother, and they didn’t smell like the lavender I always used. The room was unfamiliar, the walls painted a color I didn’t recognize, the furniture arranged in a way that felt foreign.
Panic surged through me as I sat up in bed.
Where was I? How did I get here? My heart raced in my chest, and my hands trembled as I looked around. Was I kidnapped? Did someone take me? Was I... was I in danger?
I tried to steady my breathing, to push away the panic, but everything was hazy. My mind was a blur. I couldn’t remember much.
My last clear memory was the elevator, the moment when everything went dark. The lights flickered, and my heartbeat had quickened.
I’d been trapped inside the elevator with Damien. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think straight. Then he’d—what had he done? I could almost feel it again, the sharp pain, the coldness digging into my neck.
My eyes widened as the fog began to lift, and the memory of what had happened came rushing back. Damien had been there.
He’d been holding me, comforting me through the panic attack, his voice calm, his presence steady.
And then... then he’d done something. Something sharp. I reached up instinctively, my fingers brushing against my neck, but there was nothing—no wound, no mark, nothing.
Confusion made my stomach twist. What had happened? Was it all a dream? A nightmare? Had I imagined it?
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, wincing as the pain from my neck flared again, and stood.
I didn’t know what was going on, but something felt off. As I moved toward the door, I heard voices coming from just outside the bedroom.
I froze. I was almost afraid to go out there, not knowing what I would find. The voices weren’t loud or angry, but they were too familiar.
One of them was Damien’s voice. The deep, and unfamiliar.
Without thinking, I moved forward, my body reacting faster than my mind. But every step I took made my head spin more, and I winced. I didn’t want to fall, didn’t want to lose my balance. I had to stay steady. I had to find out what was going on.
And then, I heard it.
“How will I tell her I am a werewolf?”
I stumbled, my feet almost betraying me as my gaze locked on the doorway. I wasn’t sure if I had heard him correctly.
Did he just say—what? A werewolf? I was so confused, everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.
The words repeated in my mind, echoing over and over, growing louder and louder. A werewolf?
My breath caught in my throat, and I suddenly felt light-headed. The pain in my neck wasn’t helping.
What the hell was going on? Was this a joke? Was I dreaming? There was no way.
There was no way Damien could be a werewolf. That didn’t make any sense.
I leaned against the doorframe to steady myself, trying to make sense of the words I had just heard. And then, almost instinctively, I pushed myself forward, and stepped out of the room.
The moment I stepped out, I saw Damien with his back to me. And with him was another man.
A tall man with dark hair and sharp features, looking almost as confused as I felt. I blinked, trying to place him. His face was familiar. I had seen him before... somewhere.
Yes, he had been in the conference room with Damien, the one who always seemed to have an aura of authority around him.
I took a step back. My heart began to race again, but this time it wasn’t because of the pain in my neck. No, this was real fear. Real confusion. My mind was spinning, unable to catch up to what my body was experiencing.
I opened my mouth to say something, but the words caught in my throat.
They didn’t make it out. I felt stupid standing there, my mind trying to catch up to the reality unfolding in front of me. But then, before I could even process what was happening, I blurted it out.
“You are what?”
The question escaped me before I could stop it, my voice louder than I intended.
The words hung in the air, and for a moment, everything stopped. Damien turned slowly, his face pale, and I saw the guilt on his face.
“Anna,” he began, his voice low, hesitant. “I didn’t want you to find out this way, but—”
But what?
I felt a rush of emotions—shock, confusion, disbelief. It was all too much. I couldn’t process it. He was looking at me, his eyes dark and intense, as though he was trying to gauge how I was going to react, waiting for me to say something.
“You—you’re a what?” I asked again, the words still seeming ridiculous as they left my mouth. I glanced at the man beside him, the one I vaguely remembered from the conference. His expression was neutral, but there was something in his eyes, something knowing. I couldn’t take it anymore.
Damien sighed and rubbed his temples, clearly frustrated. “Anna, I didn’t want you to have to deal with this. I never wanted you to know this way. But... I’m a werewolf. I’m an Alpha. I lead a pack, and you... you’re my mate.”
I blinked. I was certain I hadn’t heard him right. There was no way.
A werewolf? I stared at him, unable to comprehend what he had just said. This wasn’t real. This was some sick joke. Some absurd fantasy. This couldn’t be happening.
“No, no,” I muttered, shaking my head. “This is crazy. You’re—what? A werewolf? You’re telling me that you—”
“I know this is a lot to take in,” he interrupted, his voice softer now. “But it’s the truth. You’re my mate, Anna. You’re the one I’ve been searching for, the one the bond has chosen for me. And we’re supposed to be together. Always.”
I didn’t know what to say. How could I? My mind was a swirl of confusion, fear, and disbelief. My thoughts kept racing back to that conversation I had overheard in New York, the two women talking about Damien not being “completely human.” They had been right. They had been right all along. I hadn’t believed them then, but now... now I was standing in front of Damien, who was admitting something so far-fetched, so unbelievable, I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
I snorted, my head spinning. “This is a joke, right? Some kind of sick joke?”
Damien took a step toward me, but I couldn’t make myself move. I couldn’t let him close the distance between us. Everything he had just told me was too insane. This was... this was impossible.
But it wasn’t. He wasn’t kidding. The sincerity in his eyes told me that much. The man who had been my boss, the man who I had known as a professional, was telling me he was a werewolf. And not just any werewolf—a goddamn Alpha.
I stumbled back, my body moving on its own. “I can’t... I can’t do this,” I muttered. “This is too much.”
I turned and rushed back into the bedroom, my breath coming in sharp gasps as I tried to make sense of everything. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think.
How could I process this? My mind was shutting down, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
The last thing I heard before I slammed the door behind me was Damien calling out to me, his voice desperate.
“Anna, wait—please!”