Chapter 2
Arielle's pov
Damian Blackwood, the man I had always been wary of.
He was everything Asher wasn't — cold, distant, and untouchable. His forest-green eyes glowed like dying embers in the dark against the midnight black of his hair.
My mind screamed at me to walk away and I should have listened but for some reason, I couldn't. Because the second his gaze locked on mine, the world tilted.
His scent – lavender and wildberries, rich and intoxicating, wrapped around me like a second skin.
My blood chilled when one word began to ring through my mind. It was loud as clear as the full moon above us.
‘Mate!’
I staggered back, my breath coming in and out in short, ragged gasps.
‘No.’ I screamed inwardly. It couldn't be him. Not Damian. Not the cold, ruthless, terrifying brother of the boy I had spent my entire life loving.
Suddenly, my father's words echoed in my head — ‘The bond between mates is a sacred gift. It is unbreakable and undeniable.’
This wasn't fate. It couldn't be. Fate was kind to those who waited and I've spent all of my life waiting for Asher not Damian.
I took another step back when he took a step closer.
‘The Moon Goddess who decides those are to be bound never make mistakes.’ Father had said.
This was a mistake.
I kept telling myself that but when Damian’s lips parted and a shuddering breath left his lips, I knew.
The Moon Goddess had not just made a mistake, she had also destroyed me.
I couldn't follow him.
Unlike Asher who was warm, open and safe, Damian was darkness wrapped in flesh.
No one disrespected the eldest son of the Alpha. No one dared to challenge the ghost of a man who walked the line between power and destruction.
He was my mate?
The realization should send me butterflies but no. His presence alone sent shivers down my spine.
No one gets close to Damian Blackwood.
And I won't.
He must've seen the fear in my eyes because he turned on his heels and started to walk away.
“Wait!” I called out.
Why did I do that? I was stunned by my own behaviour. I was supposed to be afraid of him but why do I suddenly want to follow him?
My feet moved before my mind would and I chased after him. “Wait!”
By the time I began to run, the festival music had long faded and it was just us, the moonlight and the rustling of leaves around us.
“Wait!” I called out again.
But Damian didn't stop for me.
He didn't slow down. Well, not until I grabbed his arm.
“Why…” My chest rose and fell as I gasped ragged breaths. “Why were you running away from me?”
He turned towards me, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “You aren't scared of me now?”
I stiffened. He knew? He knew I was terrified but that was a moment ago. I wasn't scared and I wasn't terrified now. Matter of fact, I didn't know what I felt at the moment.
He turned fully to face me, graving me with his presence.
The Moonlit enveloped us in her chilly embrace, highlighting his chiseled jawline and the flicker of his deep green eyes.
I found myself taking a step forward. Damian was… He wasn't handsome in the way Asher was. Asher was sunlight and laughter but Damian was the rainstorm that came after it.
And I was…
“The bond…” he whispered, cutting through my thoughts.
“I felt it too.” I whispered back, staring into his eyes.
Damian was the storm that came with ruin and I was drowning in him. His eyes darkened and a shiver ran down my spine.
He took a step closer and his scent filled the air. It was the familiar scent of lavender and wildberries but it was laced with something primal, a force that made me weak at the knees.
He closed the distance between us. But I didn't look away. I watched as he lifted his hand and brushed his fingers against my cheek, then trailed it down my throat. I didn't stop him.
His touch was warm, slow, deliberate as though he was testing me.
He wanted me to run.
He wanted me to pull away.
He wanted me to go back to the festival, back to the life I had spent years praying for.
But I couldn't.
“Take me.” I said without thinking.
Damian stiffened. His fingers were still on my skin, the heat of his touch burning whatever memory I had of the festival.
Being with Asher was what I wanted but this – this moment — was what I needed. It felt more real than anything I had ever known.
“Arielle…” he whispered with a shaky breath.
“Take me, Damian.” I repeated.
A low, guttural sound vibrated in his throat and he leaned his forehead against mine.
“If I take you, Arielle, there's no going back.”
It was a warning.
He was warning me.
I knew that. No one needed to tell me that, but Damian's touch was something I had never felt before — a fire settling in my veins, a fire awakening an ache in my bones I never knew was there.
It had never been Asher.
It had always been him.
I looked into the eyes of the man everyone feared and said.
“There's no going back so take me anyways.”
The first touch.
The first taste.
The way he devoured me like he was starving, like he had been waiting for me just as long as I have been waiting for him – my mate.
Damian was on fire and I was on gasoline. And when we ignited, there was no stopping the blaze.
Passion burned between us.
Feral.
Unstoppable.
He moved with purpose, like he needed this, like he needed me. His touch set my body on fire. Even his kiss made me forget my own name.
And when I whispered his name, he groaned.
When he whispered mine, I shattered into a thousand pieces.
I wanted more. Needed more. And he gave it all to me.
After our night together, I had never felt more alive in a long time.
His warm embrace was the safest I had ever been. At least that's what I told myself before I woke up.
I woke up to the morning sun creeping through the windows of the cottage.
Cold wind swept against my bareskin and I turned to snuggle into his warm arms when I realized the space behind me was empty.
I jolted upwards, my eyes widening in shock.
Damian was gone.
“Damian?” I called out. But no one replied me.
The room was a cocoon of silence, the tranquil seeping into my bones.
I wrapped the sheets around my petite body and slipped out of bed.
“Damian!” I called out again but got the same response — nothing.
My heart began to beat wildly against my chest as I roamed around the room and then the forest where we had met. Everywhere was empty, void of his warmth like he was never here.
Reality crashed into me like a tidal wave and my knees wobbled.
“No.” I said in a croaking voice.
Damian was really gone. Just like that.
There was no goodbye. No note. Not even a damned excuse.
Damian was gone and he had taken what he wanted – my dignity.
My chest tightened and humiliation wrapped around me.
I was wrong.
Again.