Chapter 96: In Her Apartment

When Sofia arrived at the apartment, she paused, seeing Damien leaning on the pillars, patiently waiting for her. For a moment, he didn’t notice her, perhaps because he was in deep thought, staring at the small box in his hand. When the alluring scent of Sofia hit his nose, he jerked his head upward and glanced at her.

​For a moment, neither of them spoke; they just stared. Damien stared at Sofia, who looked like a curvy goddess in that fitted dress she wore, and the diamond on her full neck fit her so perfectly.

​”Mine!” his wolf howled possessively.

​But Damien didn’t react. Despite how much he wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her, he held back. He had decided to start all over again… only if Sofia would give him the chance.

​Sofia studied him too, and noticed that he might have lost a little weight. Although he still looked well-built and strong, there were dark circles under his eyes that hadn’t been there before. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days, a man haunted by the scent of his own uncle on the woman he loved.

​Sofia clutched her torn silk dress tighter against her chest, her heart beginning to race. After the raw, angry encounter with Alaric in the garden, seeing Damien was the last thing she wanted. The mess of her life was standing right in front of her.

​”What are you doing here, Damien?” she asked, her voice sounding tired and thin in the quiet night air.

​Damien stepped forward, his eyes dropping to her neck. When he saw the faint, red marks Alaric’s teeth had left behind, his jaw clenched so hard she heard the bone pop. His wolf was screaming possessively, but Damien forced his hands to stay at his sides.

​”I came to give you this,” he said, his voice unusually soft. He held out the small box she had seen him staring at. “It’s yours; I got it three years ago…” He paused and swallowed hard before he continued. “I wanted to gift it to you on your eighteenth birthday, but…” He trailed off, not finishing his words, but Sofia already knew it. That was when things went sour between them.

​Sofia frowned and didn’t reach for the box. “It’s too late for gifts, Damien. I told you at the mansion. I’m done.”

​”I know I messed up, Sofia,” Damien said, taking another step until he was close enough for her to smell the familiar scent of forest and rain that used to make her feel safe. “I was a fool. I treated you badly. I allowed my anger and pain to cloud my judgment and ended up pushing you into my uncle’s arms.”

​He looked at the torn fabric of her dress, and a flash of pure, agonizing pain crossed his face. He knew exactly what had just happened. He could smell it on her—the heavy, musk-filled scent of Alaric.

​”Does he really love you?” He suddenly asked, seeming concerned.

​Sofia felt a lump in her throat. For a second, she saw the boy she used to love, not the man who had hurt her. But then she remembered the “contract” she had just made with Alaric. She was a mistress now.

​”He protects me… he proved my innocence, Damien,” Sofia spat, her eyes turning cold to hide her tears. “Which is more than you ever did. Go home. Don’t come back here.”

​She moved to push past him to get to her door, but Damien reached out, his fingers barely brushing her arm. “Sofia, please. Just one chance to show you I can be better. I’m not here to fight. I’m here to wait. Even if it takes a hundred years, I’ll wait until you look at me without hate.”

​Sofia looked him in the eyes. Her voice was trembling, but she needed to know. “What did I do, Damien? What happened two years ago that made you hate me? I asked you for a week, but you ignored me. I deserve to know why you turned into a monster.”

​Damien looked at her, his eyes filled with a bitter, old pain. He looked surprised, as if he couldn’t believe she was asking. “You really forgot? Or do you just think I never found out?”

​”Found out what?” Sofia cried.

​”I saw you that day,” Damien said, his voice cracking. “The day of the Young God of War… two years ago.”

​Sofia remembered that day perfectly. It was the day she had finally gathered the courage to tell him she loved him. But after he lost the big fight, she had tried to find him to comfort him, but he had pushed her away and told her never to come near him again.

​”Yes, I remember that day,” she said. “You lost the fight, and then you treated me like trash.”

​Damien shook his head, a dark laugh escaping his lips. “I treated you like a traitor, Sofia. Because that’s what you are. I saw you behind the arena talking to Stevon, the Wood Pack heir. You told him my secret moves. You told him how to beat me because you loved him and wanted to be his lover.”

​Sofia’s jaw dropped. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. “What? Damien, no… I never met with Stevon. I have never talked to that man in my entire life!”

​”Stop lying!” Damien roared, his wolf finally snapping. “I saw you with my own eyes! You were standing in the stables with him, smiling at him. You betrayed me, Sofia. You gave him the victory.”

​Sofia was completely confused. Her head began to throb as she tried to remember. “Damien, listen to me. I was in the arena watching you. Then, one of Lola’s friends came to me and said Lola had fainted. I rushed out to find her… but after that, my mind is blank. I don’t remember anything until I woke up in my bed later that evening. I thought I had just passed out from the heat!”

​Damien froze. He looked at her eyes, searching for the lie. “A blank memory? Sofia, she had your face. She had your hair. She even had your scent. How could it not be you?”

​”I don’t know!” Sofia screamed. “But I would never help Stevon. I loved you, you idiot! I wanted to be your mate!”

​Just then, the air became heavy. A powerful, dark scent of cedar and rain filled the street.

​Alaric stepped out of the car. He looked like a king ready for war, his green eyes fixed on Damien’s hand, which was still reaching for Sofia.

​”Get your hands off her, Damien,” Alaric growled. The ground seemed to shake with his voice. He walked forward and stood between them, his large body a wall that hid Sofia from Damien’s view.

​Alaric looked back at Sofia, seeing her trembling form and tear filled eyes. His protective instinct flared until he was almost growling himself. “Is he hurting you, Sofia?”

​Sofia looked at the two men. One had hated her for a lie, and the other had just made her his “mistress” after a night of angry sex.

​”We were just talking, Alaric,” Sofia whispered, but her mind was spinning. If she didn’t do it… who had her face and her scent? Who had destroyed her life?

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