Page 18 of Claimed By the Damned

She knew that she should probably explain just how complicated her life really was, what her father was like, but she was ashamed. She didn’t want them to see or treat her any differently. An adult woman being abused by her father was rather unheard of. If they knew the truth about what her father was like, they’d never let her go back to him, and that would just cause even more problems.

The room was quiet for several moments before Knox got up and out of bed. He stormed past her, rage emanating from him in thick waves, and exited the room. It was only a few moments before another door slammed loudly, making her flinch.

“Great,” she muttered to herself, sighing heavily in defeat. “Real fucking smooth, Amara.”

Back on the bed, Zeke sat up and scrubbed the back of his head. “He’s just feeling a little rejected. He’s never chased a girl before, let alone had more interest in them than just sex.”

“I wasn’t rejecting him,” she huffed out. “It’s not like I can do that anyway. I just…” She shook her head as she pulled her dress on. “If you guys knew what it was like for me, you’d understand.” After pulling her hair out from beneath her dress, she turned and looked at him. “I do want this, you know. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. But the fact that I’m pack and you guys are rogue causes issues. Issues I don’t think any of us are prepared to deal with.”

“Then explain it to me. Help me understand.”

Tears involuntarily pooled in her eyes, but she blinked them away. She turned away from Zeke so that he couldn’t see how much this pained her, how hard it was for her to admit. “It’s not that easy,” she whispered, her voice cracking ever so slightly.

She heard Zeke get up from the bed, and a few moments later, his muscular arms wrapped around her middle. She leaned into him, graciously accepting the comfort while silently wishing that she could stay this way forever.

“Whatever it is, we can work it out together,” he whispered, his breath hot in her ear. “That’s what mates do.”

Amara turned in Zeke’s arms and buried her face in his chest to keep herself from bursting into tears. “I can’t. If you knew, if I told you, it would change everything, and I… I can’t. Not yet.”

Zeke pressed his lips against the top of her head and was silent for a beat. “Is someone controlling you, Princesa?” he asked after a while.

Stifling a sob, Amara clung tighter to his chest. She didn’t trust herself to speak. Once she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop, and she couldn’t tell them yet. She wasn’t ready. And neither were they.

He must have taken her silence as confirmation because she heard him sigh, and his grip tightened on her. “Let us help you. Let me help, at the very least.”

“There’s nothing you can do, Zeke. He’s my alpha and my father. I can’t defy him.”

It finally seemed as though Zeke was beginning to understand the severity of the situation because his body stiffened at her words. That was good. Maybe she could get through to him, and then he could explain it to the others.

“What would happen if he found out you were mated and marked?”

“It’s not the mated and marked thing he’d have an issue with,” she admitted, still holding onto him as tightly as she could. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him though. This was the most she had told anyone about her father before, and it was terrifying. However, she couldn’t deny that it also removed a little bit of the pressure that was constantly weighing on her chest.

“Because there’s three of us?” Zeke asked, running his fingers up and down her back comfortingly.

Amara shook her head. Even her father would understand that part because they were fated. “It’s the fact that you are rogues, Zeke.”

His hand stilled at her lower back. “So, he has a problem with rogues.”

“We both did for a while. I grew out of it. He didn’t.”

“Now I’m starting to understand,” he told her, once again kissing the top of her head. “You’re right when you say it’s complicated. What would he do if you just… disappeared?”

Amara considered his question for a little while. She had thought about leaving the pack before, had dreamed about doing so much more than that too, but in reality, she didn’t think it was an option or a possibility. She had always thought that she’d be with the pack for the rest of her life.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “He could either just write me off as a lost cause, or he’d tear the town apart to find me for defying him. I just don’t know.”

“Hmmm. Tempting,” he murmured. “We would do that, you know. We’d hide and protect you if you asked it of us.”

Finally looking up at him, Amara gave Zeke a watery smile as she took his face into her hands. “I know you would. But this is my problem to handle, not yours. I do want this, Zeke. I swear I do. I have never wanted anything more, and I will tell my father. I have to now that Knox marked me. I just need a little bit of time to figure out how to tell him and how I’m going to get away.”

She didn’t want to admit it out loud, but there was a very real possibility that, if she told her father what was going on, he’d keep her locked up at home just to keep her from seeing them. In turn, she had little doubt that the guys – Zeke and Knox anyway – would then tear the pack apart in order to get to her. She couldn’t do that to them or herself. She needed to come up with a plan, and she needed to do this right.

“Just, don’t give up on me yet, okay?” she added quietly.

Zeke smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Give me a second, and I’ll get dressed and walk you to your car.”

Amara took a step back and watched as Zeke pulled on his jeans, forgoing shoes or a shirt. He then smiled and took her hand before the two of them made their way out of the room, down the hall, and out of the apartment.

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