Bonus | Aine: Chapter 25.5

Poll winner: Damien's POV- surprise scene

Note: This chapter contains spoilers. If you don't want to see them, then I would recommend waiting until chapter 25 has been posted to read. If you do read, please don’t spoil anything in the comments of the regular chapter updates!

Damien's POV

“You let her mark you.” She snaps.

I continue to focus on the work laid out on my desk, not interested in listening to the ramblings of my brother’s angry mate.

“We had a deal.” She continues, her voice loud in an attempt to draw my attention.

Without even looking up at her I can visualize her exact position. She’s standing with her right hip cocked and both hands resting on her waist. If she’s outraged, her left foot will begin to tap on the floor. Her hair is probably also tucked behind both her ears as she glares down at me.

It’s odd to think that this woman who I spent years loving as a sister could suddenly turn and rip apart our family with such little remorse.

She huffs before reaching forward to grab at my arm. I jerk away from her touch before finally giving her the attention she wants.

Freya smirks as I look up at her.

“What do you want?” I snap.

She gestures to my marked arm. I glance down at it quickly with a frown. My little mate did an awful job marking me, but I don’t mind. It was admittedly something that I looked forward to teaching her how to do someday, but I’m not surprised that she beat me to it.

A fiery streak lives within her, and I wish to see more of it as she opens up to me further. I still don’t love that my Beast chose a human, but I’ve stopped asking him to pick another. It’s become clear that he has his heart set on her and is unwilling to compromise with me.

Besides, deep down I know that he chose her for a reason. Despite her fear and dislike for me, I sense a personality within her that will suit my own quite nicely. I’ve asked Jenna what she was like back at her human village, and to my surprise she told me that Áine was even more timid and shy than she is here.

That husband of hers must have really done a number on her. The thought alone has me desperate to reverse time so I could kill him myself. She had dozens upon dozens of marks in her file, making me regret sending my men to the ruins of her village to find the documents.

I was unaware just how much would be noted in there and wish that I could have waited until she felt comfortable enough to tell me herself.

Although, as much as I wish that, I know that it would have been wrong not to demand the information from her. All humans that are saved from execution are expected to confess to the crimes that led them there. The Beasts may be strong, but there are humans and children here that need to be protected. I can’t make exceptions for her just because she is my mate.

Freya clears her throat as she realizes that I’m not listening to her.

“We agreed that I would stay silent as long as you kept her from marking you.” She hisses.

I tilt my head to the side as she speaks the words, my body struggling to juggle the feelings of excitement from my Beast and panic from my brain. Alex will never talk to me again if he knows what I let Freya do to me.

Thankfully he was already unconscious when it happened, but I can’t even begin to imagine the betrayal he would feel if he learned the truth.

“I didn’t encourage her to mark me.” I state.

Freya perks up at my admittance. I don’t like her evident enjoyment of the fact that Áine forced her mark on me. I figure that it’s only fair considering that I forced mine on her. Guilt nags at me for taking the special moment from her, but I push it back down inside before turning to Freya once more.

“What do you want?” I ask, desperate to know what else I can offer that will keep her silent.

Despite Áine’s obvious hesitance, I know that she harbors feelings for me. Those feelings would no doubt be destroyed if she learned of my treachery. Not to mention that Alex would hate me. Freya’s sudden return couldn’t have come at a worse time, although I’m sure that it wasn’t a coincidence.

She would have felt when my Beast recognized his mate.

She hums as she mulls over my question. I drop my arms as I wait for her response, twitching as my mark brushes up against my abdomen. My jaw clenches as pleasure shoots down my spine, and I internally curse Áine for her positioning of it.

Despite my threats, I have no intentions to actually torture her with my mark. At least not until she is more comfortable with me. She feels regret and shame whenever I make her aroused, and I will wait until she feels only annoyance before touching it.

“I wish for you to find me an Alpha.” Freya finally answers. Her face is flushed as she voices her demand. “I need somebody strong enough to force my Beast to take their mark.”

I shut my eyes in an attempt to rein in my anger. “My brother is your mate. Your Beast will accept his mark.”

Freya shakes her head, denying my statement.

“No. I want another Alpha.”

She offers no other explanation but I don’t push it. Freya’s lack of mark from my brother was a highly talked about topic before the incident. She refused to mark him and wouldn’t allow him to do so to her. I tried asking him about it a couple of times, but he never wanted to discuss it. A part of me thinks that she offered him no reasoning either.

“It will be hard to find an Alpha who wants you.” I admit.

Given her track record, it would be hard to find even a common Beast to accept her, let alone anybody of high status. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that even the humans don’t want her.

She is of low quality.

Freya shrugs. “That’s fine. I’m more than happy to tell your brother that the mark he cried and begged me to give him was given to his brother instead.” She glances down at her nails in mock disinterest before leveling her stare with me once more. “I wonder what Áine would say if she found out that her mate was already taken by another.”

My body vibrates as I try to suffocate the rage that fills my body. I force myself to keep my emotions away from Áine as I fight with my Beast. He demands that I kill Freya before she speaks of my secrets. I’m moments away from giving in to his wishes when she turns and leaves my office, my approaching shift enough to make her flee.

I drop my head down onto my head with a loud thud. My hatred for her only grows the more she speaks to me. I will find her an Alpha far from here. It’ll be a hard deal to make, but the strength of my pack will allow me to make demands that other Alpha’s would be rejected for.

Alex will be angry with me for pairing her with another, but he will get over it eventually. And Áine will never need to learn of my misdoings. The visible remnants of Freya’s forced mark on me will disappear now that my Beast has accepted Áine’s, and soon the only other person that knows will be far away from here.

I just need to keep Freya quiet until I can find an arrangement for her.