The Alpha's Little Slave

Chapter 77: Rain

"Enjoying the rain, what do you think?" I retorted snappishly. He was the last person I wanted to see. "What are you doing here? And where’s your shirt?"

To think that Damon was entirely shirtless under the rain. Unlikely as it was, I hoped he would catch a terrible cold that would leave his sense of smell in utter shambles. That was the least he deserved after what he did to me and Lydia.

"Looking for you," Damon said. He grumbled under his breath. "Colossal idiot. To think you would get lost so easily."

His voice was low and gravelly against the backdrop of the pouring rain. The rainfall was only getting heavier, quickly drenching my clothes. Beads of water slid down Damon’s broad chest, trailing down his defined muscles. It traced his chest and abdomen before sliding into the band of his cargo pants along the shapely ’v’ shape.

I quickly averted my eyes, pursing my lips tightly together as I did so.

Damon must have noticed my actions — it wasn’t that hard, considering how my neck turned so quickly I thought I had gotten whiplash — for he chuckled a little.

"Since when did you become so shy?" he asked, his voice light and flirty. He continued to tease me as he said, "You definitely weren’t as reserved last night when you were begging to be fu―"

"Can’t you say anything decent for once?" I snapped, cutting him off before he could finish his sentence.

Damon merely rolled his eyes, shrugging. I didn’t stay to bask in the rain with him like an idiot; instead, I turned and headed straight back to House Sirius. The crunch of the grass and the wet squelch of the wet mud beneath his boots told me that Damon was following closely behind me. I didn’t even need to turn to look to know that.

As soon as he entered the front doors of House Sirius, I began to wring the water out of my clothes. What was a light drizzle had quickly heightened into a torrential downpour. The view outside the windows was a misty, blurry mess. I could barely even see past the gates of the pack house.

A frown quickly made its way to my face.

Would Lydia be able to make it safe to House Regulus? According to Elijah, the pack houses should be spaced quite far apart since they each had a small region of land to govern individually. Even if she had a wolf, traveling there should take at least an hour, much more on two human legs.

"You’re ruining the wood with the rainwater."

Damon’s snarky voice quickly pulled me out of my thoughts as I scowled. Lydia’s words flooded into my mind, along with her warnings of how Damon Valentine wasn’t a man to be trusted. I knew, of course, that he wasn’t a good person. I didn’t need her to state the obvious when it was plain to see.

There were about two hundred nerves in a human body and somehow, Damon Valentine managed to get on every single one of mine.

My grip on the edge of my shirt tightened as I channeled more strength into getting the water out. I pictured Damon’s neck in my hands as I squeezed, choking the life out of him. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

His eyes glanced down at my movements, up to my eyes, and down again, before meeting my gaze. He scoffed, smirking as he shook his head.

"Voodoo dolls don’t work," Damon suddenly said. "They’re a scam for angsty teens."

"What?" I reeled back in surprise. "Where did that come from?"

He gestured to my clothes, now wrinkled with how I twisted it as though my life depended on it.

"You’re wringing that cloth like it’s my neck. Voodoo magic is fake. Nothing you do to your shirt will affect me." He leaned forward, the cocky grin still tightly snug on his face.

For a split second, I thought I saw Blaise in his features. They were identical twins but the look in their eyes had always been so different. Blaise was witty and funny, hiding daggers in his humor, while Damon was serious, cold, and cutthroat.

My breath was caught in my throat, my stomach flipping all of a sudden. If it weren’t for the telltale color of his eyes, I might’ve actually thought that the twins had swapped places.

He continued, making use of my stunned silence, "You’re just wasting one of the only few normal clothes you own."

I scowled as he stood a little straighter, folding his arms across his chest.

"Although," he said, "I suppose I wouldn’t mind if you paraded around House Sirius in nothing but some lacy underwear."

"In your dreams," I spat.

"That’s certainly what I dream about most nights, yes," he smoothly countered.

My lips twitched in exasperation, though I had to admit I was mildly impressed by how quickly he followed up with a pickup line of his own. It was cheesy and overused but it still worked a little too well on me.

I had to force myself to gather my thoughts and control my expression so that Damon couldn’t see even the slightest bit of amusement on my face.

I still needed to find a way to agitate him enough so that he would chase me out of House Sirius. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to look for Lydia or Blaise.

"You said you would train me," I said. "When are we starting?"

"Eager, aren’t you?"

"Of course I am," I said. "I need a way to get back to my real mate. Fast." My gaze darkened as my lips curled into an ugly smirk. "So that I can get away from you."

I had hit him where it would hurt. All hint of humor and amusement rotted and died, his expression shriveling into a shroud of displeasure. He reached forward, and before I could react, his hand had squeezed my cheeks together so tightly that my lips were scrunched up.

My hands raised instinctively, swatting and hitting at his hand before clamping down on his wrist, trying to pry him off. However, it was to no avail. I might be stronger but Damon clearly had much more superior strength. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"Don’t test my patience," he seethed. "Your place is here. In House Sirius. With me."

The moment he let go, I immediately coughed, rubbing at my sore cheeks and wincing when it hurt to touch. There was no need to look in the mirror to know that I was no doubt sporting a nasty bruise.

Damon turned to walk away, his shoes leaving footprints on the pristine floors of the pack house. I scoffed. So much for ruining the wood with rainwater. He was soiling the entire place with mud.

"Training grounds tomorrow at sunrise," he said without turning back. "Don’t bother with breakfast, and don’t be late."