Bonus | Aine: Chapter 48.5 - Flashback

Poll winner: Damien’s POV- When Damien first found Áine

A/N: Ugh I hate myself this was so hard to write. He's a changed man now I promise :(

Damien's POV

I ignore the concerned stares from Alex as I push past him and storm in through the back door of my home. His weariness is unnecessary. I’m just having a bit of fun.

The two human women I’m with laugh and giggle as I usher them upstairs towards my spare room. I’m annoyed that they were late to arrive, but am excited about the excuse to punish them both for it. I’m still undecided on whether or not I’ll allow them to travel home or kill them off when I’m finished, but figure that I’ll determine that when I see how well they pleasure me.

I hate inexperienced women.

“You shouldn’t be bringing women back to your home.” Alex scolds from the doorway, his tone poorly hiding the anger he holds for me.

I turn on my heel to look at him, wondering when he became so soft. Not too long ago we were teenagers passing human women back and forth between one another, and now he has the audacity to lecture me for bringing one home.

“Would you rather I fuck them in yours?” I retort.

Alex sighs.

“How do you think your mate will feel to know that the home she is to raise your children in has been tainted by other women.”

His words have me clenching my jaw in anger and physically stepping back. This home stopped being special the moment that Freya snuck inside of it and sunk down on me.

As much as I want to spit it in his face how much of a desperate bitch his mate was, I instead bite my tongue and stare silently at him. His hurt over the incident still rages through him like wildfire, consuming everything in its path until nothing is left.

I had to remove him from the training fields after he accidentally killed another Beast, his inability to see past his anger leading to him starting real fights within the practice ones. He was by no means happy about it at first but seems to be slowly realizing that it was the right decision.

Besides, he enjoys the gardens. They look better than ever, and our pack has more food than we know what to do with.

The humans timidly approach me as they realize that I’m no longer following them. Behind their arousal is a thick scent of fear, the pheromones tantalizing me far more than any of the others. I gesture the shorter brunette one over with a wide smile, watching as she perks up under my gaze and rushes over to me.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her into my chest before dropping my lips down on top of hers. She immediately moans into my mouth, the noise doing nothing for me. What turns me on is the knowledge of what I’m going to do to her next.

Raising my hand to her throat, I squeeze the muscle softly and pull back to look in Alex’s eye. He hardly flinches as I snap her neck and drop her down onto the ground. She falls like a sack of potatoes, her motionless body and wide eyes causing the other woman to begin to scream.

My ears sting at the loud noise and I turn to glare at her. Her noises turn silent as she notes my angry reaction, fat tears streaming down her face and dropping quietly to the ground.

I gesture her over as I did the first human.

“Come suck my cock.” I order, kicking away the first girl’s body so she has room to kneel down in front of me. “My brother doesn’t seem to think it’s appropriate that I fuck you in here.”

She looks between him and me with wide, terrified eyes. I can practically see the cogs turning in her head as she moves towards me, her steps shaky and uncertain. She knows I’m going to kill her when I’ve finished, the thought alone of seeing her body stiff on the floor sending a wave of blood down to my cock.

Her long, dark hair hangs naturally down to her waist and I bundle it up in my hand before pushing her down to her knees. Alex scoffs as she begins to undo my belt, his disgust at my actions quite clear.

Freya really ruined him.

My head jerks up at the sound of a Beast howling a couple of miles away, the tone indicating that they have found a human execution. Alex laughs out at the timing, finding enjoyment in the fact that I have to leave and accompany them.

As unfortunate as it is, I can sense whenever a human is the mate of one of my Beasts. The pull is slight and weak compared to the ones I feel for my people, but it helps ensure that we don’t accidentally kill one of our own.

After the Beasts almost accidentally killed Jenna a couple of years ago, we instilled a new rule that no executed human can be murdered before I have the opportunity to examine them. Poor Jenna was mangled to pieces by the time that Avia arrived and recognized the sad sack of meat to be her mate.

My people were furious with me for weeks afterward. Even though it was them who attacked her, they still felt that I let them down for not having enough awareness of what's happening within my pack.

Another howl rings out within the forest, my people eager for me to arrive so they can finish what they’ve no doubt already started.

“Ah, fuck.” I groan, releasing the human’s hair and pushing at her forehead until she moves away.

Alex continues to laugh as I storm past him and back out the door I just entered through. If that human has any brain she’ll be long gone by the time I get back. A small smile touches my lips as I place a silent bet with myself on whether or not she will be there when I return home.

I hope so. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been with her and she’s starting to get stale. I think I’d quite enjoy watching the life leave her pathetic excuse of a body.

My hands make quick work of my zipper as I make my way towards the woods, immediately pushing both my underwear and jeans down my legs and stepping out of them before shifting. My Beast enjoys the freedom of being released, and I allow him to take charge as he runs towards our people.

He can tell that something is wrong before I can, a loud whine falling from his lips as he begins to run at an almost frantic pace. It takes me a couple of seconds to understand what’s happening, but once it does I’m panicking just the same.

My mate is here. And she’s bleeding.

My thoughts are a jumbled mess as I hear her scream out, an intense mixture of pain and terror that almost has me falling to my knees. My pack members jump to the side as I barrel through them in a desperate attempt to get to my mate and help her.

My body shifts back to its human the moment I spot her, my Beast pushing me forward and onto my knees in front of her bloodied frame. Crushing disappointment fills every inch of my body at the realization that she is the executed human that my Beasts called me here for, but I have no time to dwell on that as I watch her eyes roll back slightly and her body slump over.

“End her village.” I demand, lifting my gaze for just a moment at the Beasts who surround me.

Rage courses through me at the knowledge that her people have sent her here to die, and my people are more than happy to take advantage of the opportunity to tear apart some humans.

I’m sure that most if not all of them were able to tell instantaneously that she is my mate, my reaction to her unlike any I’ve ever had towards an executed human before.

Quiet yips fall from their lips as they turn and run in the direction she came from, their attention solely on punishing the people that hurt their Luna. They will make their deaths painful, the thought settling me only slightly.

Every muscle in my body is tight as I drop my gaze to her once more.

She looks so pathetic and small as she lays crumpled up on the ground, the sight stealing all the air from my lungs as I shuffle forward and lift her into my arms. My Beast screams at me for the disgust I visibly show towards her as I turn and push her into Alex’s arms.

He catches her in a panic, his own expression mirroring mine but for a much different reason. I am disgusted that my mate is a weak human. His is in the fact that I am so publicly rejecting her.

“Take her to the healer.” I order, turning away as he begins to drag her back to my pack.

I open my mouth to snap at him to carry her properly but stop at the last minute, reminding myself that I don’t care what happens to her. I’ll keep her around just long enough to give me children before sending her off to live with the humans.

Alex continues to carry her until she’s entirely out of sight. The lack of visual connection to her has my Beast on high alert and, before I can stop myself, I’m solemnly following behind him to keep her in my line of sight.

She looks so pathetic hanging off of Alex’s arm in the way that she is, her body unable to heal itself at a reasonable pace.

My eyes roll back slightly as Avia and Jenna come running out of the small hospital and grab my mate from Alex. Avia urgently rushes her inside while Jenna runs up to me and grabs at my arm.

I jerk away from her touch, resisting the urge to lash out at her as she looks up at me in confusion.

“I’m just trying to take your blood for her.”

Scoffing, I pull away and glare down at the small woman. Quite presumptuous of her to assume that I would want to give that weak human my blood. I refuse to be used as a blood bank by anybody other than my people.

And that woman is not my people.

“She’ll be fine without it.” I argue. “Give her Avia’s if you’re so concerned about it.”

Avia won’t give her her blood. I already know that as I throw the suggestion out there. It’s an awfully intimate action among us, and I’m well aware that she would rather let the human die than share such a thing with her.

Jenna frowns and sighs quietly to herself before leveling her stare with me once more.

“Áine is going to be in a lot of pain.”

My jaw clenches.

“Áine?”

Jenna nods.

“That’s her name. She’s going to be in a lot of pain when she wakes, Damien.”

I shift uncomfortably under her stare, unwilling to change my mind and give the greedy human any of my blood. I don’t owe her anything. It is her fault for getting executed in the first place. My Beast fights with me as I continue to reject Jenna, his fury consuming at the thought of his mate in pain.

“I’ll just have Alex give her some then. Her body should take his nicely since you two are twins.” Jenna finally murmurs with an exaggerated sigh.

I know what she’s trying to do. My fists clench by my sides for a moment before I extend my arm in her direction.

Fucking bitch.

Jenna holds back a triumphant smile as she runs inside to grab the supplies, her movements quick as she rushes to get my blood as soon as possible. I already know that my Beast isn’t going to let me leave the area until he is sure that his mate is safe and no longer in danger. When I’m assured of her safety I will be retiring to my home and avoiding her until she is ready to give me a child.

I doubt it will take long, and hope that in a year’s time she will have delivered my pup and be on her merry way out of my pack. Humans are so desperate for us. I give it only a week or two before she is begging me to take her.

Jenna comes running back out and moves quickly to slide the needle in my arm. I observe carefully as she starts to extract my blood, stopping her once the vial is half full. That will be more than enough to ensure that the human remains alive.

My head begins to ache as I listen to Jenna run back inside and give the blood to Áine. My injured mate begins to scream out as my blood brings her enough awareness as to what’s happening to her, her noises loud and unbearable.

Without thinking, I begin to move forward to comfort her, my Beast forcing me to console the woman he has infuriatingly chosen as his mate. He’ll come to regret that mistake as he realizes just how weak and inadequate of a fit she is for me. I need a woman who will challenge and help me grow as a leader, not one who is timid and small-minded.

My walking comes to a halt as Avia gives Áine some drugs and knocks her out. I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I was holding as the woman stops her screams.

Exhaustion seems to take over me as I move to the side of the building next to the door and slide down it. I’m sure I’m a sight to see right now as my butt makes contact with the ground, my Beast forcing me to stay here until I have confirmation that the human is going to be okay.

I keep my gaze locked on the ground as Alex moves and plops down next to me. His arm wraps around my shoulder before pulling me into his side.

“She’s going to be okay.” He murmurs after a tense moment. “Just because she’s a human doesn’t mean that she’s going to end up like mom and Jess.”

I scoff, shaking him off and rising to my feet.

“Fuck off, Alex. This has nothing to do with them.”