Damien woke up disoriented, his head throbbing with a splitting headache. His vision was blurry, and his body felt heavy as if he had been drugged. The dim light in the room told him it was early morning, but he had no idea how he’d ended up back in his hotel bed.
He rubbed his temples, trying to force the fog out of his mind. Flashes of the previous evening ca to him in bits and pieces—eting with the human businessn, that unsettling sense of fear and agitation he’d felt through his mate bond with Anne, rushing to call her, and then... Jessica. She had been at the hotel bar. His heart clenched as he tried to rember what had happened after that, but it was all a blur.
Suddenly, he froze. Soone was besides him in bed.
Damien sat up, his breath catching in his throat as he turned to see Jessica lying next to him, the sheets draped over her bare shoulders. His stomach lurched, and panic surged through him. He threw the covers off himself and leapt out of bed, his heart racing, anger quickly replacing the initial shock.
"What the hell is going on here?" he shouted, his voice raw and filled with fury.
Jessica stirred, opening her eyes lazily as if she had just been woken from a peaceful sleep. She propped herself up on her elbow, her gaze eting his with a sultry smile that made Damien’s skin crawl.
"Morning, handso," she purred. "Don’t you rember what happened last night?"
Damien’s eyes widened in disbelief, his body going rigid with anger. "What are you talking about?" His voice was dangerously low, a growl bubbling beneath the surface. "What happened last night?"
Jessica’s smile widened, and she sat up, the sheets falling to her waist. She acted as if they were in the middle of so intimate mont, but all Damien felt was disgust.
"We spent the night together," she said casually, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. "You were all over , Damien. You couldn’t keep your hands to yourself."
Her words hit him like a punch to the gut, but he quickly shoved the feeling aside. No. No, that couldn’t be true. There was no way he would’ve done anything with her. Not when Anne was waiting for him, not when his heart belonged to his mate. Sothing wasn’t right here.
"Don’t lie to , Jessica," Damien snarled, his voice ice-cold as he took a step closer to the bed. His fury was palpable, radiating off him in waves. "I would never—never—betray Anne like that."
Jessica’s smile faltered for a mont, but then she recovered, leaning back against the pillows with a coy expression. "You seed pretty eager last night, Damien. Maybe the pressure of being away from your mate got to you." She shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. "But don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. It can be our little secret."
Damien’s mind was racing. His mories from the night were fragnted, but he knew one thing for sure: he had never wanted to be anywhere near Jessica.
He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. His wolf was growling inside him, a deep, dangerous sound that reflected the rage bubbling beneath his skin.
"You attacked ," he hissed, the realisation finally clicking into place. "That’s the only way this makes sense. You followed here, didn’t you? You planned this."
Jessica’s smile twisted into sothing darker, more sinister. "Planned it? Damien, you make it sound so dramatic." She sat up fully, the playful act vanishing from her face. "But what if I did? What if I wanted to remind you of what we had before you threw it all away for her?"
Damien felt the blood drain from his face. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. "You’re insane," he spat. "What we had was nothing. You an nothing to , Jessica."
His words seed to hit a nerve, and Jessica’s expression darkened, her eyes narrowing in anger. "You think you’re so untouchable, don’t you? That just because you’re the future Alpha King, you can walk away from anyone without consequences?"
Damien’s jaw clenched. He had heard enough.
"We’re done here," he said through gritted teeth. "I want nothing to do with you. Get out of my life, Jessica. And if you ever co near or my family again, I will make sure you regret it."
He turned on his heel, heading for the door, desperate to get away from her and the suffocating scent of deceit that clung to the room. A sharp pain rose in his neck; he touched his neck and discovered a bite mark. He looked at Jessica in horror.
"You marked ?" He growled, his voice low and dangerous. His eyes blazed with the fire of his wolf, barely contained beneath the surface.
Jessica didn’t flinch. In fact, her smile only deepened, her eyes gleaming with a sickening satisfaction. She rose from the bed slowly, as if savouring the mont, throwing the sheets aside and standing in front of him, naked with an air of triumph.
"Yes," she said softly, her voice dripping with smugness. "I marked you, Damien. Now, you’re mine. You’re tied to , whether you like it or not."
Damien took a step back, his entire body trembling with rage. The wolf inside him howled in protest, rejecting the bond that wasn’t ant to be. His connection with Anne—his true mate—pulled faintly, but it was clouded now, tangled by this false mark Jessica had forced on him.
"You have no idea what you’ve done," Damien spat, his hands balling into fists at his sides. The urge to lash out was strong, but he fought it, knowing he needed to keep his head clear. "This won’t change anything. I belong to Anne. I will always belong to her. You can’t break our bond. I have already marked her."
Jessica’s smile faltered slightly, but she masked it quickly, her confidence returning as she moved closer to him. "You may believe that now," she said, her voice low and dangerous, "but marks have power, Damien. The more ti you spend with , the more you’ll feel the pull. Anne won’t be able to stop it, and eventually, neither will you."
Damien’s jaw clenched, his fury burning hotter with every word that spilt from her lips.
"You’re wrong, Jessica. I’ll tear this mark from my soul if I have to. You’re nothing to ."
Jessica’s eyes flashed with anger at his words, but she quickly masked it with another coy smile.
"We’ll see," she said softly, stepping closer, her fingers lightly tracing the bite mark on his neck. He flinched at her touch, repulsed. "In ti, you’ll see that I’m right."
"Chris ! Co here !" he called out to him through the ntal link.
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