Page 55 of Heat Me

"Not much," I said softly. "I can handle it." I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and Damien trembled at the touch. Like I’d cast a spell, he leaned forward, resting his forehead against my chest near the injuries.

"Are you tired? After such an adrenaline rush?"

"Not really, the rut helps to nullify the exhaustion."

"No regular alpha would survive this," he whispered. "They would be dead on the spot."

"I told you—I’m pretty hard to kill."

"Is it painful when the bone plates shift under your skin?"

"A bit," I admitted with a faint smile. "But it happens quickly, like an explosion. The pain doesn’t last long."

"I can't help but be amazed at how those bones can take it. I mean… the bullets are fast, and the points are sharp."

"Well, they aren’t like regular human bones, as you surely know. Neither are yours, by the way. They’re made of dense mineral prisms and collagen fibrils. Very tough, very resilient."

"We really are different, aren’t we?"

"We are." I paused, letting my gaze soften. "I’m glad you weren’t scared when you saw me like that—in my… monster form."

Damien tilted his head up, meeting my eyes. "No. Not in the slightest. And… you're not a monster on the inside. That's the only thing that matters."

For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then my gaze dropped to his mouth, naturally pouty in its soft curve. Slowly, I let my finger brush against his lower lip.

"You're such an electrifying, cute little omega," I murmured, smirking.

"Are you gonna stick your dick in this electrifying omega?" Damien asked playfully.

"Wow, straight to the point! You bet I will. Let's put this…um… plug into the electrical outlet."

The cringy talk was back in full force, but Damien loved it, and not only that…

***

An hour later, when the wave was finally under control, Damien and I left the room.

Unfortunately, the police were still on-site, securing the crime scene. There was also a team collecting—probably—explosive residue samples, at least that’s what I guessed theywere doing. They wore specialized suits and were combing through the rubble in the corner of the conference room.

Mr. Ragu was still there, sitting on a stretcher and talking to an officer while a medic tended to his scratches. Thankfully, they weren’t too many or too serious.

In the background, I spotted Jun Ragu discussing something with one of the officers.

Jordan was nowhere to be seen, but Blue Lowen was still present, his pale sapphire eyes locking onto us as we approached.

"How’s it going, Uncle?" Damien asked.

"How do you think?" Blue replied with a sigh. "The whole team that attacked us has been apprehended. Thankfully, Detective Arnold is on the case now. We might have something solid to work with. During the previous attacks, the perpetrators always slipped away—it was all done very professionally and very… remotely," he added with a tinge of bitterness.

"But surely there were leads—some evidence pointing to the Ferro family?" Damien pressed.

"There were," Blue admitted, "but the police were dragging their feet, collecting evidence too slowly. This time, though, they have witnesses. Those guys will definitely talk. Not all of them are mafia soldiers—some will want to save their own skins by throwing the others under the bus."

"Why’d they choose this place?" Damien glanced around.

I snorted in amusement. "Even I can answer that. Mr. Ragu underestimated the seriousness of the situation, thinking that since the meeting was secret, the secrecy alone would be enough to keep them safe. I warned him it could be an assassination attempt, but he shrugged it off, thinking the worst that could happen was sabotage aimed at his business."

Blue grimaced bitterly. "Well, once again, I’ve learned the hard way that I can’t trust anyone in my securitydetail. Evidently, my bodyguards were bought off too. No one knew about this meeting—I didn’t inform anyone. I arranged everything directly with Mr. Ragu, but clearly, some of them got an offer… they couldn’t refuse."

---