Damien's Dilemma (Ch 28)

Damien shoved his clenched fists behind him. “Give me one good reason why not.”

“What if they attack here too?”

“Then we’ll fight.”

“It’s not as simple as that.”

“It is, Sweetness. I protect what’s mine.” He let his wolf’s growl come through, loud and clear, so she’d know he meant her, and not just his pack. This time when he approached, she didn’t move.

Light-green eyes pleaded with him. “I don’t want anyone else to die because of me.”

As he cupped her face in his hands, he traced a thumb over her lips. “The shifters in the morgue and your pack… You didn’t touch a single one of them. That was all the WSSO’s doing. I’m not letting you go, Tess. So get that through your head. Nothing you do or say will change my mind.”

Her lips thinned, and Damien had a feeling he’d overplayed his hand, but he’d spoken the truth. Even if she wasn’t ready to admit it, she would be his, in every sense of the word.

“The Running of the Moon is coming up. I expect you to be there with the rest of the pack.”

“Wh-what if I can’t shift?”

“You’ll be able to shift. It’s a week away, and your wolf will feel the power of the pack. She’ll want to join in, even if she’s not quite ready.”

There it was again, doubt in her face. He had to admit he didn’t feel as confident as he sounded, but he wouldn’t let her know that. She had to believe her wolf would emerge. Her expression, that doubt about her wolf, her future, her very worth, crushed him. He couldn’t help Tess in the way she needed. The idea that she would never shift again caused a fear in him so deep his bones started moving and reforming on their own.

“Damien?” She stepped back.

Bones popped and slid, exceedingly slowly, because he was fighting the shift. Such immense pain. He hadn’t known this type of pain since his first shift at puberty.

“Don’t fight it! Focus, Damien!”

He was fighting his wolf, which was a problem. A big problem. An alpha who couldn’t control his wolf was dangerous. Each time he gave in to his wolf, his wolf grew stronger. Give in enough times, and eventually the wolf seized full control, making returning to human form impossible.

Feral shifters were put down.

A gentle hand touched his snout. “Focus, Damien,” Tess’s soft voice urged. How anyone could think she wasn’t shifter was beyond him. No one else would have risked interfering, let alone understood what was happening and how to help him.

It took some effort, but he forced his wolf to submit. He hated treating his wolf like a damned dog, but as with any other challenger, the wolf had to know who the alpha was.

Damien found himself kneeling on the floor, sweaty and exhausted from having forced his wolf down. Damien had only shifted part way, but the fight for control had taken a lot out of him.

Tess’s hand sifted through his sweat-soaked hair and he let his head fall against her stomach.

“You can’t leave, Tess.”

With a hand on either side of his face, she tilted his head back. “I’ll stay for now.”

As he rose, he took her scent in and let his hands glide up her shapely hips, arms, shoulders, until once more he was peering into her lovely green eyes. He cradled her head in his hands, as he leaned in and kissed her.

He couldn’t imagine letting her go, but he needed to blood-bond a female with shifter abilities, to stabilize his wolf. Could he risk that enough of Tess was still shifter for a successful blood-bond? It was a dilemma that he feared had no solution.

Hard as it was, he broke the kiss and held out a chair for her. “How many pancakes do you want?”

“Are we going to ignore what just happened?”

“I kissed you. I can continue kissing you, if you insist, Sweetness.” He grinned, for her. Always for her.

“Before that. That partial unintentional shift back there.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m tired, hungry and my wolf tried to take advantage, that’s all it was.”

“If you say so.”

With a rather loud thump, he set a glass of water down for her. “I don’t like being called a liar.”

“Then don’t lie.”

He wanted to let out a growl, but she was right. He hadn’t exactly told her the truth. She let it drop, thankfully. She read him almost as well as Hayden, but she pushed harder, and sometimes it wasn’t wise to push an alpha. Not that he’d ever hurt her, but what if he lost control around her? Without a blood-bond to ground his wolf, to fully bind him to Tess, his wolf could fail to recognize her.

“I can’t believe you’re going to have pancakes at this hour. It’s eleven pm.”

The griddle sizzled as he poured six ladles worth of batter. He took out a second plate for her, but she waved him off as she drank her water. She was utterly gorgeous sitting there, with his t-shirt slipping off her shoulder. He liked having her in his clothing, as it reinforced his scent on her, though he’d like having her naked in his bed even better.

Luscious red lips molded to the side of her glass. Two swallows and she had him hard, his imagination running wild. The angst he felt from within could not be contained by merely pushing his wolf down. His wolf wouldn’t give up, not until he found another way to exert control, if not over him, then over her.

Damien had been staring at her mouth when he heard her breath quicken. The outline of her nipples, hard and ready to be sucked, pressed through the thin shirt. He stepped forward and let his finger glide over one breast. Her eyes remained on his as his finger circled the hard peak.

“Your pancakes…”

“I could make something else for you to eat if you prefer.”

“Eat whatever you like.”

Her words went straight to his cock. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

He shoved the dishes aside, hearing them crash to the floor, as he lifted her up onto the table and pushed her legs apart. Her eyes flared at the same time he scented her pussy, wet and waiting for him. He lowered his head between her legs.