Chapter 18

Lily POV As the day goes by, I realise Damien won t be returning any time soon. Going downstairs, I find Natalia making dinner and I decide to help. "Do you know when the Alpha will be home?" Natalia shook her head. "No, but he said to tell you to stay at the pack house until he returns" She said, adding nothing else. By eight o clock Damien still hasn t returned, and I wonder where he is. I was starting to become quite bored being stuck in the house and there is only so much Netflix someone can watch. I asked Natalia if she knew where he was or if she heard anything through the Packs mind link. But she denied knowing anything, which I didn t believe. As she was about to leave, I followed her to the door. "You sure you don t know where the Alpha is?" I asked her. Natalia looked around nervously and I could tell she was hiding something. "I m sorry Luna, I m not allowed to say" She breathed, before diverting her eyes to the ground. "Something is up," Layla said as I watched her walk down the driveway toward her car. I also agreed it was a little unusual for him to not return at all during the day. Going upstairs, I chucked on my jeans and hoodie, deciding I would go and see Callie. I might have better luck getting answers from her. Walking to her house, I notice that the streets are completely silent. The forest surrounding the town was eerily silent as well, you couldn t even hear any insects or night creatures. I had this sudden feeling that someone was watching me from the shadows of the tree line. AsI walked down Callie s small street, which was closest to the forest surrounding the town. Looking toward the forest, I kept thinking I was seeing shadows moving amongst the trees out of the corner of my eye. Even Layla was slightly on edge. I could feel her peering through my eyes with a feeling of unease. "It s a little too quiet, don t you think?" She asked and I nodded. Something was amiss. When I see Callie s house come into view, I pick up my pace. The dim street lights casting shadows on the road weren t helping my unease as I approached the front of the house. All the lights were off and it appeared no one was home. Walking up the front porch, I noticed a shadow in the lounge room window. For a second I froze, fear paralysing me. The reflection wasn t too clear since it was so dark, yet I could see the clear outline of a man standing in the yard behind me. The man looked familiar, making my heart race, I just couldn t place where I had seen him. The fear running through my body had me frozen. Layla pushed forward when I wasn t able to seize control of myself. I never felt fear like this and even if I did, I never felt such overwhelming fear where it left me in a frozen state. Layla pushing forward peered out my eyes before a loud growl escaped my lips and she forced me to spin around. Only when I did there was no one behind me. "I could have sworn, I saw a man standing by that tree" I tell her. She agreed. "Yes, I saw him too, he looked familiar" She whispered back giving me back control. When I heard trees rustling, I jumped, my eyes turning toward the forest surrounding the property. Yet I couldn t see anything. Looking toward Callie s neighbour s house, I see the old lady peek out the blind. When she notices me standing on the front porch, she places a hand on her chest and smiles, looking relieved. "We must have scared her when you growled" I tell Layla. Only the rustling gets louder and I turn toward the tree line, looking for a sign of anyone. When the noise moves back behind me, I turn in the opposite direction only to see Max and Callie walk out of the forest. I sigh, feeling relieved I was no longer out here on my own. "Probably just someone from the pack passing through maybe" Layla said as more wolves came out. I nodded. She was probably right. I noticed about five other warrior s walking out behind them, from different parts of the forest. Walking down the porch steps, Callie looks up noticing me. "Lily?" She asks, looking toward the tree line nervously. "Hey Callie, where did you come from?" She looks at Max and I see him nudge her with his elbow. "Just went for a run" She says, her eyes darting away. "With a heap of warriors?" I ask, not believing her answer. She just shrugs, walking toward me. "Does the Alpha know you re out?" She asks, looking around nervously. "He isn t my Alpha or my keeper" I tell her, annoyed that she wanted to know if I had permission to see her. Max pulled his phone from his pocket. "I will let him know you re here. I don t want to get in shit like last time" He says dialling the number in his phone. I cross my arms over my chest. "It is fine Max, I only stopped by to see if you knew where the Alpha was" He continued to dial the number ignoring me. I heard it ring a few times and Callie walked up the steps and unlocked her front door. "So do you know where he is?" I ask, following her, but she ignores my question. Instead of taking her jacket off and hanging it on the coat rack. "I can t say Lily, if the Alpha wanted you to know he would have told you" Her answer pissed me off and I could feel Layla pressing against my skin, not liking that everyone kept blowing us off. "Fine, I will go then" I tell her walking back outside. Only this time I find four warriors standing in the yard. Max had hung the phone up and looked away, not meeting my eyes as he spoke. "Damien sent them, they are here to escort you home" "What the fuck is going on?" I demanded. They all looked at each other before one stepped onto the porch and reached for me. I smacked his hand away as he went to grab my arm. "Luna, we have orders to take you home" He said in a rough voice. He was the biggest out of all the warrior s and quite intimidating to look at with his heavily tattooed arms hanging out, only wearing a singlet and cargo pants. "No, I am not leaving until someone tells me what s going on" The warrior ignores me before reaching for me again and this time I react, stepping to the side. I grabbed his hand, yanking him forward before kneeing him in the stomach. He grunted before I saw the other three men take a step toward me, but I growled at them, making them freeze. Max stares worriedly and I hear Callie race out the door, alarmed. The man gets up and grabs me around the waist and I throw my head back, head-butting him, but his grip doesn t waiver in the slightest even though I definitely heard the sickening crack of his nose. I fight against him and manage to get out of his grip. I can feel Layla on the verge of shifting, not liking the way we are being treated. "Please Lily, the Alpha doesn't want you out here at the moment. Just go with them," Callie pleads with me. "No, not until someone tells me where he is and what s going on" I scream frustrated.I suddenly hear movement behind me before I hear his voice. "I m right here, next time you're told to do something Lily, fucking do it" He growls, making me turn around. The sight of him makes me step back. He is shirtless, only wearing some shorts, and he is drenched in blood. He walks up the steps and grabs my arm, I shake him off. "What the fuck happened to you?" I ask, stepping out of reach. He growls before grabbing my elbow, pulling me down the stairs. "Don t question me, you know not to leave the Packhouse after dark Lily and I know Natalia would have told you not to leave" "You have to be kidding, right? You have been gone all day and night I just went looking for you" "Well, you found me now let s go" He says, pulling me toward the street. "The rest of you go home" He orders the men that were trying to take me earlier. I dig my feet in, forcing him to come to a stop as everyone darts back into the trees. "What is going on Damien?" I ask. He growls before tugging my arm. "Not now Lily let's go home" "Not until you tell me what happened. Why are you drenched in blood?" I tell him, pulling my arm from his grip. "That is none of your business, now let s go" He says, reaching for me, making me step back. "Lily. Now. My patience is running out" "Tell me what happened" He growls this time lunging forward and seizing me around the waist he then throws me over his shoulder and starts marching down the street back towards the centre of town. "Put me down Damien" I tell him, smacking and hitting his back. I hear him growl. Feel it vibrate through his chest. I stop when I recognise the stench coming from the blood he is drenched in, his skin sticky and blood is getting on my clothes. "Rogues, you have been out killing rogues" I scream before pushing myself up. Damien readjusts me, making me bounce on his shoulder. "Is this anything to do with Tabitha s mate?" I hear him growl and his fingers digging into my thigh. "Seriously Damien put me down, you are getting blood on me" He ignores me and continues walking home. When we reach the house, he walks into the living room and dumps me on the lounge. "You don t leave this house after dark, understood?" He yells, leaning over me. "Geez overreacting much" I spit back. His eyes darken and I can see his anger behind them . "You disobey me and you will find yourself locked in that room, permanently" "No, not understood asshole, how can I understand when you won t even tell me why I have to remain in this fucking house" I scream before trying to get up. He shoves me back down before I feel his hand go to my hair and he rips my head backwards. He runs his nose along my cheek to the crook of my neck and growls low. Before he suddenly lets go and steps back. I can see his hands shaking in anger, but I refuse to be intimidated and glare just as fiercely back. Getting up, I walk out, before I hear him sigh. "Lily, wait," He says. "No, I am going to bed" I tell him walking out of the room and up the stairs, I hear him following me. "It s for your own safety Lily, that s all I can say right now" "Rogues are no danger to me, Damien. I can handle a fucking rogue" I tell him walking into the bedroom before heading to the bathroom. "Why must you question everything?" "Because you don t tell me anything and don t tell me to follow orders, you are not my Alpha" I scream frustrated before going to slam the door only for him to catch it and shove it back open. "This is my Pack; therefore my rules stop fighting against me, Lily. You won t win" "Whatever" I scoff, and he steps forward. "Lily," he warns. "Don t Lily me. You re not my father and I wasn t the one out killing innocent rogues" "They aren t Lily, they stepped on my territory. You don t need to like how I do things, but you will obey my rules. I let the other one live, I won t allow rogue s on my territory. They know the consequences". "I m a Rogue" I said defiantly crossing my arms across my chest. "Keep talking to me like that and I will mark you where you stand" He warns. Stepping closer till his chest is touching mine and forcing me to look up at him. His breathing is hard and loud. I can tell he is trying to keep his wolf at bay, as his eyes keep flickering between him and his wolf. "You might want to find a way to distract him Lily, Darian is furious," Layla says, making me jump. Her words laced with concern as she watches our mate try to reign in control of his wolf. "What?" My voice echoing in my head like a squeak. "Darian is sick of waiting to mark you. I know you don t want them to yet. Do something" She replied urging me to do anything as his breathing got more out of control. I couldn t help but feel like Layla also didn t want to be marked yet. Lifting my hand, I place it on his chest, my hand moving rapidly with the rise and fall of his chest. Damien closed his eyes for a second, trying to fight against his beast. Moving my hand higher, I place it on his face and rub my thumb against his cheek. He leans into my hand and his breathing slows. When he opens his eyes, he has control back and I was no longer staring down the obsidian eyes of his wolf. Once he is calm, I turn toward the shower, turning it on. Damien removes his shorts and I avert my eyes, feeling my cheeks heat up. Going to walk out, his hand on my wrist stops me. "Stay," He says, and I look down at his hand that has gripped my wrist. Layla is also watching and alert if he suddenly loses control. "He seems calm enough," She says and I agree. I step closer only for his arm to snake around my waist, crushing me against him. Damien shoves his face into the crook of my neck inhaling my scent, I rub my hands up his arms and my heart races because a few seconds ago he was close to marking me. Not liking him that close to my neck, I kiss the side of his face which distracts him, making him pull his face from my neck as he kisses me back. Plunging his tongue into my mouth almost frantically as his grip on me gets stronger. He groans loudly before I feel him tugging my shirt up. I step back away from him, unsure of his change in behaviour. "I have control Lily, I just want to be close to you" He says when he sees my confused expression. Stepping closer, he tugs on my shirt again. This time I let him peel it off before removing my pants. Damien steps into the shower before tugging me in with him. Blood running down his body turning the floor red and the steam from the shower makes the air fill with the scent of rogue making me crinkle my nose. I know I don t smell like that to Damien, but it does make me wonder if that s what the rest of the pack smells on me. Grabbing the soap, I wash him; the smell burned my nose until it washed down the drain. Once he is clean, I wash myself while he washes his hair. The room starts to smell like the scent of soap and shampoo, leaving no hint of what it was Damien had been doing during the night. Getting out, I grab a towel before walking into the room. Damien walks into the walk-in before tossing me one of his shirts, which fit more like a dress on me. I slide it on before drying my hair with the towel. Feeling the bed dip, Damien climbs in before pulling me over to him and tossing my towel on the floor. I nestle into him and relax against his familiar warmth before succumbing to sleep. Damien POV Waking to the vibration of my phone that lay on the bedside table, I quickly grabbed it before answering, making sure not to speak until I was out of earshot. "Hi Aria" "Alpha Damien, I was just ringing to find out if you got my message yesterday?" "Yes, I meant to call you back, but we had a situation with Rogues entering the territory yesterday. I didn t get home till late" The phone goes silent for a second, but I know she is there because I can hear her breathing. "How is she?" Aria asks. "Lily is fine, a pain in the ass sometimes, but that s just Lily" "Have you marked her yet?" She asks, making me sigh. "No, she won t allow it yet" "You might not have a choice soon, she will forgive you. Any luck with her wolf" "Yeah, her and Layla seem to get on better, Layla attacked me the other night for upsetting Lily so I suppose that s a good sign" Aria chuckled and I couldn t help but laugh with her. "That sounds promising, you need to hurry up, and mark her, at least that way you will know where she is all the time" Aria tells me. "Yeah, about that, Lily is a little reluctant with the idea" "Why?" "Because before I met her, I was fooling around with another she-wolf and got her knocked up" I admitted. I felt Darian growl loudly at my words. Aria didn t speak for a few seconds and I waited to hear her scream at me, only she didn t. "You re sure it s yours?" "Pretty sure we did a paternity test, we will find out I suppose in ten weeks" "Ten weeks? You can t let her wait that long to mark her. The sooner the better, especially since Kade has escaped. My father has been trying to track him. I worry he may come for her" "I just don t understand, why you all left him alive it has been twelve years Aria" I said frustrated, my voice coming off harsher than I intended. I didn t like the idea of the man that destroyed Lily was now running around free. "I know, we should have killed him when we had the chance, but we hoped if we waited we would finally get some answers about what is wrong with her" "Where has Abel tracked him so far?" "I can t get a hold of him. Last I heard he was in Russia checking some of Kade s links there. As soon as I know more, I will let you know. She can t find out Damien, I worry she will run. Took us years to get the nightmares to stop, I don t want to see her back track when she is finally improving" I hear movement upstairs and look toward the stairs. "I need to go, I think she just woke" "Okay fine, but hurry up and mark her Damien, we haven t got time on our side not with that monster out there" I hang up the phone just as Lily walks down the stairs rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Who were you talking to?" She asks. "Just my Beta, hungry? Natalia is cooking breakfast," I tell her. Lily nods before walking down the steps and taking my outstretched hand. I pull her against me, wrapping my arms around her before lifting her up and crushing her against my chest. "Put me down Damien, I can walk" "No, you are mine" I tell her, pressing my face into the crook of her neck before rubbing my stubble along her face. She cringes. I know how much she hates it, but I continue to do it while she tries to push my face away, making me laugh. "Can we go for a run today, Layla wants out?" She asks, looking up at me and wrapping her arms around my neck. "After lunch? I have a few things to do" I tell her, and I watch her eyebrows furrow. "Like what?" "I need to speak to the Rogue" Lily nods her head. "You aren t going to kill him, are you?" I growl softly. I would love nothing more than to kill him and it irritated me that she was concerned about another man. "No, you can come and wait with Tabitha though, she asked to see you yesterday" I told her. Lily didn t hide the surprise on her face at my words, but nodded her head. I put her on the ground before grabbing her hand and taking her into the kitchen.