Free Web NovelChapter 59: The Soft Side II
[Third POV]
This time, it was Blaise’s turn to become silent. His lips were clamped shut, pursed tightly together as he waited for his brother to speak. freewebnøvel.com
"I don’t know why Harper is able to activate it, but if she is able to, then she will never be allowed to leave Fangborne for as long as we’re here," Damon said. "Since the Moon Goddess has paired her with us, it must be for a good reason. This could very well be the reason."
"Harper isn’t just a means for you to reach your goal," Blaise growled. "She is our mate."
"And I have every intention of treating her like one as long as she remembers her place," Damon quipped back. "If she is your mated partner, then she is a member of Fangborne. That makes me her alpha. Her discompliance is also an act of treason."
"And you will have her life for it?" Blaise sharply asked.
"Father would."
"Father isn’t the alpha of Fangborne." Blaise frowned. "You are. Unless... you’re telling me that you intend to follow in his footsteps?"
Damon scowled. "Of course not," he said. "Which is why I am telling you to head to the borders as soon as possible. Unlike that useless, poor excuse of a man, I know when and how to protect my pack from unnecessary dangers."
He took a step closer to Blaise, but the latter refused to budge from where he stood. Instead, Blaise returned Damon’s cold stare, their expressions matching and their faces identical, if not for the mismatched color of their eyes.
It felt as though Damon was looking right into a mirror― however, he couldn’t recognize his reflection any longer.
"Since days of old, werewolves have always struggled between maintaining a balance between their mates and their positions in a pack," Damon slowly said, his voice kept soft enough so that Nicole — busy as she was — wouldn’t overhear. "As the beta of Fangborne, you should know that your position is beyond ordinary wolves. You have a responsibility to the pack."
"Bond before self, Damon," Blaise said. "Our mate comes above everyone and everything else."
"Not in Fangborne," Damon replied. "Find your balance before I do it for you."
Blaise growled, but that was all he could do. He walked past his brother, glaring hard and making sure to purposely knock his shoulder against his twin as he passed him.
Damon could only watch Blaise leave the grounds of House Sirius with just a small haversack and nothing more. When he reached the outer gates of the mansion, he had turned back and looked at the window Damon stood behind. Blaise maintained his wordless stare for a few seconds, tight-lipped and emotionless, before he finally turned away.
Just like every transformation, there was a loud crack and a few guttural groans, before Blaise completely shifted into his wolf. He picked up the haversack of clothes and other belongings between his teeth. Without looking back a second time, he bolted off, headed straight for the borders as per instructed by his alpha.
Damon’s eyes trailed after Blaise until his figure became nothing more than a speck in the horizon. Even after he was long gone, Damon stood still, watching the same spot he saw his brother last. Only after a while did he finally tear his eyes away.
His feet brought him back down the familiar hallways towards the infirmary. It seemed like there was a lot of hesitation in Damon, these days. Ever since Harper arrived at Fangborne, his whole life felt like it had been turned upside down.
It was one tumultuous event after another, and Damon struggled with finding the same balance he had preached to Blaise about just moments prior. He had always understood his place as the alpha. That meant that whoever his fated mate was, or whoever he chose to fully accept as his one true mate, would become the luna of the pack. That was a position that required his partner to be strong.
Harper was far from it.
She was weak, fragile, and delicate. Just like how she looked now on the infirmary bed. Her face was ashen pale, her lips devoid of any color, and her eyelids tightly glued shut.
If anything, Harper was the furthest away from how Damon envisioned his luna would be. Nonetheless, he couldn’t find the strength in him to let her go. He needed someone stronger to lead the pack with him, yet, the Moon Goddess thought it would be funny to pair him with a woman who had no wolf and no strength. freewebnøvel.com
Yet, she was like a drug that Damon found impossible to cure his addiction to. Just one taste of her and he was already thrown into the depths. He didn’t think it would ever be possible to climb out from there ever again. The surge of emotions that had overwhelmed him when he first marked her, then to the time they first had sex― no, first made love.
Those were things that were starting to drive him insane.
Not to mention the way Damon felt his own strength and power grow after their time spent together. It ebbed and dulled away after time passed without spending a night of passion with Harper, and he soon quickly connected the dots.
He had never heard of mates boosting one another’s abilities. However, seeing her sudden growth in strength and agility, paired with his own, Damon was sure― the Moon Goddess paired them together for something more than a joke after all.
Now, it was more than childish, immature pining that caused Damon to want to tie her down by his side. He was also curious as to how far he could push this boost. If there were no limits, he would be able to attain his goal even faster than planned.
Nicole was cleaning up her medical equipment when Damon entered, and she jumped a little in her skin.
"Alpha!" she chirped, her voice an octave higher than usual due to surprise. "A surprise to see you here. Are you visiting Harper?"
Damon’s mouth felt dry. He gulped a few times, unsure where his sudden nervousness came from.
"Yes," he said. "I would like to have some time with her. Alone."
