Page 31 of Aine

Sighing, I reevaluate the mark before hopping in the shower and getting ready for dinner. I’ve wasted as much time as possible, but at some point, I’m going to have to face him again.

I find Damien standing at the bottom of his porch steps when I finally work up the courage to drag myself out of his bathroom. He wears a bored expression as he watches me walk down to meet him. I expect some sort of rude remark about how long it took me to get ready, but to my surprise, he remains silent.

I say nothing as I come to stand next to him, letting him lead the way to the dining hall.

“You’ll be asked a lot of questions tonight,” he says.

I figured as much.

“I’ll try to answer most of them, but you can handle any specific ones about your hobbies and stuff.”

Easy enough.

Damiensighs, clearly exasperated with my silence. “I’m going to lie about our relationship,” he warns, stopping to turn and face me. “Try not to look too surprised or confused by the things I say.”

My eyebrows furrow as I tilt my head to the side in question. It’s obvious we don’t care for one other, so I don’t understand the point of trying to lie about it.

“Why?” I ask, breaking my silence.

“Mates are important to beasts. My people will want to hear that I’m”—Damien pauses, clicking his tongue as he searches for the right words—“cherishing mine.”

I can’t hold back the snort that escapes me at his words and quickly reach up to cover my mouth and hide it. Is he serious? I can’t imagine him “cherishing” me if his life depended on it, and given his inability to even be kind when others are around, I doubt he’ll be able to put on a convincing performance.

Damien frowns at my reaction.

Maybe if tonight goes well, I can convince him I’m not a danger to his people. He hasn’t pushed the topic of my execution since my refusal to share, but I doubt he’s forgotten about it.

Composing myself, I lower my hand from my mouth and gesture for Damien to lead the way. He remains still, looking me over, before rolling his eyes and resuming his pace once more.This reaction alone proves my point that he’ll be unable to genuinely convince anybody he’s “cherishing” me, but I say nothing and follow behind him.

I can hear the rumblings of everybody inside before we even reach the doors, and Damien stops seconds before we enter to place his hand on the small of my back. I jump slightly at his touch, detesting it after the marking, but don’t push him away.

Even if I want to.

This act feels eerily similar to what I had to do with Henry, and I straighten my shoulders as I wait for him to lead us inside. Plastering a smile on my face while standing next to the man who terrifies me is nothing new, and I’m confident I’ll be able to play the part of doting mate successfully.

“We will eat quickly, then leave,” Damien murmurs. “No lingering.”

I nod, more than happy with that. He turns away after my confirmation, his lips transforming from his typical scowl into a wide smile.

I hold my breath as he pushes open the door, fearful all the attention will shift to us, but thankfully, the conversation only dwindles a tiny bit. It’s evident by the occasional glances our way that the entire room is aware of our presence, but the beasts are polite and pretend not to notice. I suppose that’s really all I can ask for.

The room is jampacked, and if I had to guess, I’d say there are at least three or four hundred people present. I didn’t realize there were this many in the village, and my hands begin to sweat as I look over all of them. I don’t spot Jenna or Alex anywhere but figure they’re here hidden at one of the tables.

Damien leads me to one in the back and silently moves ahead to pull out a chair for me. My hands shake as I sit down, and I hide them under the table as Damien takes the seat to my right.

The woman and child who helped me find my way back to my cabin are across from me, and next to her is the man I assume to be her husband. All three of them grin as I push in my chair.

“Aine!” the woman shouts. “I’m so glad Damien was able to convince you to eat with us.”

I plaster a weak smile on my face. I’m not sure “convince” would be the accurate word. “Force” is more like it, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t go over well if I corrected her.

Another woman I faintly remember seeing before comes rushing toward us with two plates in her hand. She’s the woman who worked on me in the hospital with Jenna. It’s odd seeing her without her stern, serious expression.

Her eyes scan the areas where I was injured before she sets the plates in front of Damien and me and clasps her hands behind her back.

“Aine! I’m Avia, Jenna’s mate. It’s nice to finally meet you outside of the hospital.” She laughs, her eyes darting between Damien and me.

I open my mouth to respond, but Damien beats me to it. He grabs my hand below the table, the action causing me to jump.

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