It practically sang. The blade was curved slightly, balanced for speed, and had a faint iridescence.
She was montarily speechless. "This... this is magnificent. Damien, are you trying to out-gift everyone forever? Because this is how you do it."
He chuckled. "I rembered the night we t. You were being attacked by two rogue vampires. You were impressive but also vulnerable. For a werewolf, fighting vampires is tricky. So if ever you’re outnumbered again, before you shift... use this."
Luna studied him.
"It’s forged with silver and volcanic glass," he continued. "It can mortally wound werewolves, and disorient vampires, long enough for you to rip their heads off."
Luna let out a breath that was part awe. "You thought of this. You really thought about this."
"I think about you all the ti, Luna," he said softly, and this ti he wasn’t teasing.
She gave him a look, but couldn’t stop the smile tugging at her lips. "Thank you. This... ans a lot."
Damien reached for her gently, his fingertips brushing her cheek tenderly. His thumb traced the curve of her jaw as though morizing it. "I’m sorry," he said quietly. "If I hurt you the other night... with Seliora."
"You have nothing to be sorry about, Damien," she said after a pause. "You didn’t hurt . The situation we found ourselves in hurt . You were just doing your duty, doing what had to be done. I just... I was too much of a coward and a hypocrite to accept it."
Damien’s brow creased, and for a heartbeat, it looked like he might say sothing. But instead, he did sothing more dangerous, he leaned in, close enough that Luna could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips.
"I love you," he whispered. The words spilled from him like a confession and a vow all at once.
Then he kissed her.
Luna let herself fall into it for a heartbeat. Her hands ca up to his chest, not to push away, but to hold him there. She kissed him back, soft and slow and aching with everything she couldn’t say.
But reality didn’t like to be ignored for long.
She pulled away with a sharp breath and took a step back as if the distance could unmake the mont. "Damien..."
He held up a hand before she could say anything else, though his eyes never left hers. "I know... I know," he said, nodding with a resigned little smile. "But I’m not giving up."
Luna exhaled sharply and shook her head with a chuckle, her heart a confused ss of longing and guilt. "I didn’t expect you to. Your stubbornness is quite legendary."
"Oh?" Damien lifted an eyebrow, that arrogant twinkle back in his eye. "You sound impressed."
She tilted her head, feigning deep thought. "I wouldn’t go that far. Your head’s already big enough. If it inflates any more, we’ll have to store it in a separate room."
Damien laughed and it made Luna’s stomach flutter despite herself. "You wound , Princess."
"Good. Soone should."
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her in like a man who knew exactly what he wanted and didn’t need to apologize for it. Luna hesitated for a fraction of a second before lting into him, her cheek pressed to his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist.
Damien closed his eyes as he held her. This wasn’t just magic. This wasn’t just fate. This was her. Her laugh, her fire, her stubbornness that rivaled his own.
Unnatural bond or not... Luna had always been his.
"Don’t give up on either," Damien whispered. The night seed to pause with him, the stars blinking overhead as though listening in on secrets not ant to be spoken.
Luna’s gaze flicked to his. "You know... Kyllian advised I make a bucket list."
Damien’s brow quirked instantly. "I guess the son of a bitch has given up too."
Luna gasped, slapping his arm with a scandalized grin. "Damien!"
He gave her his most angelic guilty face, which was almost offensively adorable. "I’m sorry. Go on..."
Luna narrowed her eyes. "As I was trying to say... the first thing that ca to my mind for the list was... well..." Her voice trailed off and she glanced away, suddenly fascinated by the pattern on the dagger’s hilt. "I won’t marry you, Damien. We’ve made that clear."
The words ca out more brittle than she intended, but it was truth.
Damien gave a dramatic, exaggerated wince, and clutched his chest as though mortally wounded. "By all ans, Luna, drive the knife further in, emotionally first, then perhaps literally."
She sighed. "Will you stop interrupting ? I’m trying to get sothing out here!"
He straightened up, all mock theatrics gone, and nodded solemnly. "I’m sorry. I’ll behave. Go on."
Luna rolled her eyes in a practiced move, but her cheeks flushed a warm pink as she exhaled. "What I’m trying to say is... I want to be with you."
"I don’t understand."
Luna bit her lower lip, then looked him dead in the eye. "On my bucket list, I wrote that I want to... you know..."
Damien stared at her, then threw his hands in the air with exasperation. "Oh, spit it out, Luna! You aren’t that much of a coward!"
Without hesitation, Luna snatched the sheathed dagger from where it hung at her side and waved it inches from his smirking face. "Do you want to test drive this thing on your ego?"
But Damien was clearly enjoying himself far too much. His eyes glinted with a dangerous amount of anticipation. "Co on," he teased.
Luna felt her cheeks go from warm to blazing, but she didn’t back down. Not tonight. Not when her heart was already halfway off the cliff. "I want to be with you... more intimately." The words stumbled out of her mouth.
Damien’s brow arched, his lips curving into that slow, knowing smirk that drove her to both madness and fantasies she refused to admit out loud. "You an..." He stepped closer, dropping his voice to a sinful murmur. "You want to fuck you?"
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