Page 56 of Aine

“Yes?” I cut to the chase.

He’s still sweaty from the fields this morning, and I watch as he swipes a hand over his temple and gestures again for me to sit. I gulp, stepping forward and lowering myself into the seat. He waits quietly for me to get adjusted, the silence almost as unnerving as his furrowed brows and thinned lips.

Something’s wrong.

“I sent some men to your village,” he says, reaching underneath his desk. “They brought back something interesting.”

He sent men to my village? Vik doesn’t welcome beasts as the other human villages do, and I can’t imagine he’d take kindly to their intrusion. My pulse races as I imagine the beasts tearing apart and ransacking my home. What has he done?

Damien straightens up and drops a large binder on his desk. It lands with a loudthump, the bolded words printed on the top making my mouth run dry. This is my leader’s binder, the thick item full of documentation on everybody who lives in my village.

My fingers curl around the armrest of the chair.

Every move we made was added to our file, and at the end of every year we had to stand in front of the committee and defend any actions they found questionable. If there were too many, we faced punishment.

My charges are most definitely outlined in there.

Damien tilts his head to the side, watching my reaction to the binder.

“Is there anything you want to tell me before I look in it?” he asks.

I glance between him and the binder. It was dumb to think he wouldn’t find a way to discover the information he wants. I open my mouth to respond but clamp it shut just as quickly.

Anything he’ll read about me in there will undoubtedly contradict my truth. They didn’t see Henry’s treatment of me as wrong and will call him out to be a wonderful husband and me an unfit wife.

Damien isn’t going to believe a word I say.

He’s going to kill me.

That’s the only thought in my head as I spring from the chair and run to the door. Alex will defend me. I just need to make it to him.

I hear Damien curse just moments before the sound of his chair hitting the wall reverberates throughout the room.

“Aine!”

I ignore his shout as I rip open the door and run toward the exit. Olivia jumps out of her chair at my sudden intrusion, her eyes wide as I fly past her in a sad attempt to flee. I make it less than five steps before Damien’s arm is wrapping around my middle and pulling me back against his chest.

My feet are lifted off the floor as Damien spins and marches back into his office. I push at his arms and kick my legs in an attempt to break free from his hold, but it’s all in vain as I hear the door slam shut behind him.

“No!” I cry, unable to see beyond my blinding fear. “I’ll leave. I’ll leave and I won’t bother you again.”

Damien refuses to set me down, and I continue to try to fight my way out of his hold.

“Calm down,” he orders.

He sets me on my feet a second later, and I push against him and jerk to the right in an attempt to break free. He grunts as I smash my skull into his side, and the arm not wrapped around me is moved to hold my head in place.

As the skin of his arm grazes my lips, I instinctively open my jaws and latch on to him. I’d never consider doing this if I were in a calmer state of mind, but my fight-or-flight response has been forced intofight.

Damien tenses as my teeth bury into his arm, his chest heaving against my back as he holds me still.

“Aine, Aine, listen to me,” he gasps, his lips grazing my ear as he tries to calm me. “If you break my skin, you’re going to mark me as I did to you, and I can assure you my arm is the absolute last place I want such a sensitive thing placed.”

I struggle to form coherent thoughts. It’s doubtful he’s going to believe my claims that it was self-defense and having a large chunk of his arm between my teeth isn’t helping.

I could mark him. He’ll be pissed but even further tethered to me.

Damien takes advantage of my panic and continues speaking.

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