My nose wrinkled in confusion. Ever since I had known them, Damon and Blaise had used their powers in front of me. However, I still didn’t know where and how they achieved such an ability.

As if sensing my confusion, Damon turned to me and smirked. I caught a glimpse of the old him in that smile, but it quickly disappeared.

"I can’t remember if I told you before," he said. "But in Fangborne, no one will speak of my parents."

"I know your father is a touchy subject," I said, and he nodded.

"He is nothing short of a scumbag who couldn’t make the right decisions," Damon said. "But my mother. She was the true idiot for leaving the Forest for my father. The pull of a mate, she claimed. That was stronger than even her devotion to the Goddess."

My eyes widened with surprise. I had thought that Damon and Blaise seemed to have an odd connection with the Oracles when we were in the Forest of Selene, a connection that no other werewolf seemed to have. I hadn’t expected this to be the reason.

"Your mother was an oracle?" I asked, stunned.

"She was," Damon said. "And in her blood, Blaise and I each gained unique abilities on top of basic magic the Oracles could command, but to a smaller degree. I merely thought this was more convenient than ruining every good clothing item I had."

He looked down at his hands as he flexed and clenched his fists― I could clearly see the veins showing up against his skin when he moved, and as ice danced across his skin, my body chilled in both awe and fear that it would harm him again like his suit of ice did.

Damon, however, seemed to not care.

"Guess I should be grateful that she was an oracle," Damon said. "Otherwise, I would be nothing more than a mere human now."

I shifted my weight from one leg to another. Stepping forward, I closed the distance between us as I spoke.

"Even if you were, you can still be the alpha of Fangborne," I said softly. "Blaise has been saying how he much prefers the position of beta, and that you can run the pack better than he ever could―"

"He just lacks confidence and experience," Damon said, cutting me off. "I have no wolf. I can’t be the alpha."

"Neither does Darach," I pointed out.

"It’s different," Damon argued.

"How is it?" I pressed. "Just because he doesn’t have a successor and you do? Even without a wolf, you are arguably a better fighter than Darach still― and he is already insanely powerful with all the power-ups you guys have been providing him with!"

I placed a hand against my chest, clawing at my clothes as I felt my heart race. Damon’s mark on my neck seemed to burn even though the connection between us through the bond was dead and gone. Yet, the fire in my heart had not been quelled.

"If I can train to become the luna of Fangborne even though I had no right to be if it weren’t for my connection to you, then―"

"Is this what it is?" Damon questioned, cutting me off once more. My eye twitched in irritation as this was the second time he had stopped me halfway through a sentence in the last minute. "Is this because of what I said at the infirmary the last time?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"Yes," I said through gritted teeth. If Blaise could feel what I was going through right now — and he could for sure — he would be wondering what had made my blood pressure rocket in such a short span of time.

Damon shrugged, pretending to act nonchalant despite his emotions being displayed clearly in the minute expressions he made. The wrinkles between his eyebrow, the twitch of his lips, and the staggering of his breath.

"My wolf is gone," he stated. "That means that our mating bond is gone too. You are free to be with Blaise."

To add salt to the wound, he then added, "I suppose there’s no need to officially accept the rejection you tried to give me now that I have no wolf."

"What?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"When we first met," Damon clarified. "Back then, you were all too keen to reject me and forcefully break the attraction of the bond. I didn’t let you."

He stepped forward, obliterating the distance between us so that now our faces were inches apart. I had to crane my neck to look up at him, and once I did, I felt myself pulled into the swirling blue of his irises.

"I was immature, possessive, and toxic," he said. "You were an object to me back then. But when we exchanged marks, when you marked me as yours―"

He stopped himself short, sucking in a deep breath as if to calm himself down. It took him what felt like an eternity to regain his composure, but when we locked eyes again, he gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as a result of the action.

"I said it was only for your safety," he said. "But even so, I wouldn’t stop convincing you to make me yours."

I pursed my lips, at a loss for words the more Damon spoke.

"I have fallen in love with you, Harper," he murmured, his words a whisper carried by the wind and the rustling leaves that still stubbornly clung onto the near-empty branches of the trees. "Irrevocably, fully, wholly. I mean what I said― ever since you have marked me as yours, my heart has belonged to you. Even though we are no longer mates, even though the fated pull between us is gone, I still feel you here."

He held my hand in his and placed it over his chest. Beneath my palm, I could feel the strong, rhythmic thud of his heart.

"You were right," he said. "I was avoiding you. How could I compare to Blaise now that my wolf is gone? Now that we no longer have the Goddess’s blessings to be one? I can’t stand to be in the same room as you when you are all I yearn for, especially knowing that you don’t feel the same for me―"

This time, it was Damon whose words were cut short. A sharp slap echoed through the clearing, and Damon’s cheek was left with a bright red imprint of my hand.

"Goddess," I said, breathing out heavily. "I’ve been wanting to do that since we’ve met, honestly."

Damon’s jaw hung wide agape as he held his burning cheek in surprise. His eyes were wide open, two round blue orbs staring straight at me in disbelief.

"But I’ve also been wanting to do this."

Without giving him a chance to react, I pulled him by the collar of his shirt to my height, while I closed the gap left between us by standing on the tips of my toes. I pressed my lips against his, sparks seemingly flying as they sealed together in a kiss.