Chapter 70

Clara

I missed him so much! Damon left last night, and we spoke on the phone this morning, but I’ve been calling him for the past four hours, and he hasn’t answered. I was told not to worry; he was busy, and I wasn’t worried. My husband could take care of himself, but I missed him terribly and just wanted to hear his voice.

I tried his number again; it went straight to voicemail.

“Ugh, this is so stupid,” I muttered, falling back onto the bed. I stared at the ceiling, thinking of Damon.

“Want this to be real?” His voice echoed in my head, and I grinned. I never expected him to suggest it; I thought it would be me. But, as always, he was full of surprises.

“Okay, get up. No more sulking,” Delilah said, entering the room.

“I’m not sulking. Has Damon contacted you?” I asked, turning to her. She shook her head.

“Of course not, but Luca has. He said they’ll be back soon. They’ve accomplished their mission,” she murmured, sitting on the bed.

“Damon said he had a war to win. What did he mean by that?” I asked. She zipped her lips.

“Can’t tell you anything. You can ask him yourself,” she muttered. I glared at her, then sighed.

“Leave me to sulk. I don’t have the strength to leave this room,” I murmured. She was quiet for a while. I immediately regretted it when my whole body ached.

“I have a crush on Luca!” she blurted out. I gasped, sitting up quickly.

“Are you okay?” Delilah asked, moving closer to help me.

“You like Luca?” I asked, staring at her with wide eyes. She sighed.

“Yeah, I thought it was pretty obvious,” she said. I shook my head. It wasn’t obvious at all.

“Why haven’t you made a move then, if you like him?” I asked. She groaned.

“I’ve tried several times, but he either brushes it off or tells me he doesn’t see me that way—like a little sister. But I know he has feelings for me,” she murmured, genuine hurt in her voice.

Delilah and Luca? They were polar opposites. He was cool; she was loud. A good combo, though.

“Then why do you think he’s holding back?” I asked. She scoffed.

“Why else? Because of Damon. I’m sure Damon made him promise not to date me. Luca’s loyalty is to Damon, and I get that, but I want him so much. Luca is everything a man should be. It was easy to fall in love with him. Trust me, I’ve tried dating other people to forget him; I’ve even tried finding my mate to get rid of these feelings, but I can’t. My feelings are genuine. I love him, Clara,” she revealed. My eyes widened. She loved him?

“If you truly love him and feel like he has feelings for you, then you shouldn’t give up on him. Good men like him are hard to find these days,” I murmured. She nodded.

“I wasn’t planning on giving up. Man, it feels so good to finally tell someone. My parents won’t mind me dating Luca. After all, he’s going to become the Alpha King’s beta, but I don’t want Damon finding out. I don’t know what he’ll do to Luca. I don’t want Luca getting in trouble because of me,” she said, sighing. I placed my hand on her shoulder.

“I don’t think Damon would ever want to get in the way of your happiness with Luca. He cares about both of you too much to do that. But, if it makes you feel better, I can subtly ask him. He won’t suspect a thing, don’t worry,” I murmured. She grinned.

“That would be perfect, thank you,” she said, and I smiled at her.

“Alpha Damon has arrived!” someone announced from outside. My eyes widened. He was back? Really?

Without thinking, I jumped out of bed, ignoring Delilah’s yells to be careful. I hadn’t fully healed, but at that moment, I couldn’t feel any pain. I was just so excited to see Damon.

I went outside and stood before the mansion doors, watching my perfect husband climb out of his car. Our eyes met, and the loving smile on his face warmed my heart. He opened his arms wide, and I didn’t hesitate. I ran to him, and he embraced me before kissing my forehead, then my lips.

“See? You missed me,” he said, smiling as he caressed my face.

“Yes, I missed you a lot. You didn’t answer my calls,” I murmured with a pout.

“I’m sorry, I was busy, but you were all I could think about. I couldn’t wait to get home to you. How are you feeling—better?” he asked. I shook my head.

“No, because you left me. Don’t you know the only way I can heal faster is if my mate is close to me?” I murmured. He chuckled, rubbing his nose against mine.

“You’re acting too cute, little devil. I don’t think I can take it,” he murmured. I don’t know why his words excited me, but they did, and I could feel myself becoming aroused.

“What do I do with the intakes, Alpha?” I turned to the voice and saw Luca standing beside three handcuffed boys held down by a guard, and a crying girl. They all seemed to be around Damon’s age.

“Who are they?” I asked Damon.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce them. What’s your name, girl?” he asked. The girl remained silent, staring at the ground.

“Her name is Gwen,” the most collected of the boys spoke, anger in his voice and eyes that frightened me. What had Damon done to them?

“Gwen is going to be your personal maid. You can do with her as you please. These three men will be your personal bodyguards. Your life is their priority; their lives are in your hands,” he murmured. I frowned.

“But we have enough maids and bodyguards,” I said. He sighed.

“I heard about what the maids and bodyguards I assigned to you did after what happened between us, and I never want that to happen again. This time, their loyalty will be to you, not me. They hate me, so I doubt they’ll ever be loyal to me,” he muttered casually, and I winced.

“What did you do to them? Who are they?” I asked. He shook his head.

“They’re nobodies, at least not anymore. Get them settled in and dressed, Luca,” he said. Luca nodded and led them away.

“Who are they? They’re too young to be maids and guards, Damon. What did you do to them?” I asked. He cupped my face.

“I spared their lives, and not only that, they get to work for someone as amazing as you. To me, that seems more like a blessing, doesn’t it?” He tried to lighten the mood, but their faces suggested otherwise. Damon didn’t seem inclined to tell me.

“Damon…”

“You should be happy I didn’t kill them. I wanted to, but I didn’t because of you,” he murmured, caressing my face. I sighed, about to speak when we heard a loud growl that shook the ground.

Damon wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. We both stared at his furious father as he stomped toward us. I’d never seen the Alpha King this angry before.

His power was so overwhelming I bowed my head, nearly falling to my knees. The Alpha King was unbelievably powerful.

“Damon, what have you done?!”