Page 139 of Aine

That’s all I wanted to hear, and I let my eyes slip shut with a content sigh. I’m not ready for children, and probably won’t be for a long time, but I can’t wait to have them with Damien someday. He’s going to be an amazing dad.

Damien takes a while to fall asleep, his racing mind causing him to shift around more than usual, but the next morning, there’s a noticeable lightness in his face. I didn’t realize just how much he was being affected by what he perceived to be this giant secret.

Now we just need to figure out this Freya situation.

We don’t speak her name as we hop in the shower together and afterward head to Damien’s office, but I can tell we’re both thinking the same thing. He’s been obsessing over it more and more, and I’m starting to worry.

“You don’t need to do this,” Damien reiterates as I kneel next to his office chair and begin pulling out the files stuffed haphazardly in his desk.

I’ve always known Damien’s a busy man, but I didn’t realize just how much stuff he had on his plate until I sat in here and watched him try to work. He spent half his time searching for files and papers he’d lost track of, and I think helping him organize them is a good way for me to assist.

“You know, if you’re looking for work, I have some things I think you’d enjoy doing. The door across the hall leads to an empty office, and I can have it furnished for you,” Damien offers, mindlessly running his fingers through my hair as I crouch by his feet and sort through his loose papers.

Most are crinkled, and I shoot him a silent glare every time I have to sit up and use the edge of his desk to straighten it.

“What kind of tasks?” I ask, trying and failing to keep my excitement at bay.

I love the garden but doing it day in and day out is a lot. Plus, it’s nearly impossible for me to do for any extended periods of time when the weather’s hot and the sun’s beating down on me.

“I have weekly meetings with Jenna to go over the clinic’s needs and with Alex for the kitchen. I also do checks on the meat lockers and pantry to ensure everything’s accounted for. We can start there if you’d like.”

That sounds amazing, and I turn to Damien with a cheesy grin before kissing his knee. “I’d love that,” I admit, excited at the thought of having some actual responsibility.

Damien seems to mirror my joy as he grins and knocks his leg against my shoulder.

The silence between us is comfortable, but I can tell when his frustration seeps into my head that he’s begun his search for Freya. I ignore all his angry huffs, but each one fills me with worry. He’s going to drain himself if he doesn’t relax.

When his knee starts to bounce, I rise and climb on his lap. Damien sighs and wraps his arms around my waist, his stiff muscles softening.

My lips purse as I scan over his now-messy desk, worried he’ll never be able to see past his paranoia and desperation to kill her. It’s not my personal favorite, but the beasts operate differently than humans. They don’t honor life the way we do, their animal side seeing things through a different lens.

Damien lets out a muffled groan as he flips through files upon files of reports from when she lived here and all her sightings from the past few years. I didn’t realize he kept such a close eye on her after everything that happened, but I’m not too surprised to see it.

Damien can be a bit intense.

“We’ll find her,” I say, hoping he can’t sense my doubt.

Damien’s eyes shine as he looks at me, the expression shocking but frequent since his confession yesterday. I know he thinks of me as some sort of saint, but I think he’s just too hard on himself. He’s done so much to prove that he’s changed, and it’s going to take more than that to drive me away.

He’s stuck with me whether or not he likes it.

I feel his annoyance as he turns toward the door, his eyes narrowing as it creaks open and Alex walks in. He closes the door behind him with a frown, his shoulders hunched and body tense as he lowers himself in the chair opposite Damien’s desk.

I busy myself with paperwork, not wanting to intrude.

“Tell me what she did to you.”

Damien falls silent at Alex’s request, his hands freezing where they help me organize. I peek up at him, seeing if he wants me to leave, but he doesn’t so much as look in my direction.

Why’s Alex asking this? He knows Damien doesn’t like to think about it, let alone speak the details. We know all we need to know.

After another minute, I move to get up, wanting to give them privacy, but Damien grabs my waist to keep me still. I gulp, nodding to myself, before sinking back down on his lap. It looks like I’m staying.

“I don’t want details, but I just—fuck, I can’t get my beast to forget her. You’ve never spoken about it, and he doubts she could really betray us like that…” Alex trails off.

Does he think Damien slept with Freya by choice? My fingers curl around and bend the sheets of paper I hold as blind rage courses through me. Damien would never do that, and both Alex and his beast should know that by now.

My anger toward Alex only grows as Damien clears his throat and buries his head in the back of my neck in a sad attempt to self-soothe. I can feel his pain, but the way it’s muted tells me he’s trying to keep it hidden.

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