Page 27 of Howl For A Kiss
Was this some nightmare? Would she wake up back at her rebel base with Tyler still alive, making his terrible jokes while they planned their next mission? Would everything go back to the way it was before that fateful night when they'd infiltrated the Council headquarters?
But even as the desperate hope flickered through her mind, Elena knew this was reality. Tyler was gone. Her base was gone. Her father had lied to her for twenty-eight years about her true nature. And now, apparently, her entire existence was tied to some ancient prophecy about restoring harmony to the four territories.
The only good news—if it could even be called that—was Zoe's translation of the ancient records. Finally, they had actual intel. One Council elder was behind the genetic experiments at the Granite Ridge facility. Either High Elder Thorne or Elder Isolde. At least that gave her something concrete to focus on, something she could actually control.
Find the evil elder. Make them pay. Figure out their endgame.
Those were tangible goals. Achievable objectives that didn't require her to be some mythical bridge between worlds or force reconciliation between tradition and progress. She was a tactical leader, not a prophetic savior.
The cabin door slammed behind her, and Elena spun around to see Damon emerging, his green eyes immediately assessing her state with that unnerving precision she was recognizing as one of his defining traits.
"Elena." His voice carried that same calm authority that seemed to steady her wolf even when her human mind was in complete chaos. "You're going to freeze without a jacket."
She opened her mouth to tell him she was fine and that she didn't need his concern. But before she could speak, he was already moving toward her with that predatory grace that made her pulse quicken for reasons she didn't want to examine too closely.
Without asking permission, Damon wrapped his powerful arms around her, pulling her against his chest. The thermal fabric of his white henley was warm from his body heat, and Elena found herself suddenly aware that she was shivering violently.
When had that started? She hadn't even felt the cold until this moment.
His scent enveloped her—something clean and masculine with hints of pine and leather that made her wolf purr with satisfaction. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her cheek seemed to slow her own racing pulse, and despite everything chaotic and terrifying happening around her, Elena felt content for the first time in days.
This is absurd. You barely know him. This isn't the time to be thinking about how perfectly you fit against him.
But her traitorous body had other ideas. Instead of pulling away like her logical mind insisted she should, Elena found herself melting into his embrace, her hands fisting in the fabric of his henley as if anchoring herself to something solid in a world that had become completely unstable.
"I'm here for you," Damon murmured against the top of her head, his voice rough with an emotion she couldn't quite identify. "If you need to talk about anything—about the prophecy, about what this means—I'm willing to listen. But only if you're comfortable with that."
Elena's throat tightened with unexpected emotion. No one had ever offered her comfort like this. Not her father with his paranoid overprotectiveness. Not Tyler with his brotherlyconcern. This was different—intimate and accepting in a way that made her feel truly seen.
She didn't trust herself to speak yet, so she simply leaned deeper into his touch, letting his strength support her when she felt like she might shatter into a thousand pieces. And then something inside Elena finally did shatter. Twenty-eight years of holding everything together, of being the strong one, the leader, the survivor—it all shattered at once.
The tears started as a slow trickle, but within seconds they became a torrent that shook her entire body. Great, heaving sobs wracked through her as she clung to the thermal fabric of his white henley.
God, when was the last time she'd cried like this? Had she ever cried like this?
Every loss, every betrayal, every moment of feeling utterly alone crashed over her in waves. Her father's lies. Her friends' deaths. Never knowing her mother. Having her sister ripped away from her. The weight of being some prophetic chosen one when all she wanted was to save her sister and reform the pack laws. The terrifying reality that she wasn't even a full shifter—that she was some hybrid aberration the Council would kill on sight.
"I can't—I can't do this," she gasped between sobs, her voice breaking completely. "I'm not who they think I am. I'm not some bridge between worlds. I'm just—I'm just broken."
Damon's arms tightened around her, one large hand moving to cradle the back of her head while the other pressed firmly against her lower back, holding her together when she felt like she was falling apart completely.
"You're not broken," he murmured against her hair, his voice rough with fierce conviction. "You're the strongest person I've ever met, Elena. You've survived everything that life has thrown at you, and you're still fighting for what's right."
His words only made her cry harder. No one had ever seen her like this—not Tyler, not her father, certainly not any of her rebel fighters who looked to her for unwavering leadership. She'd built walls so high around her heart that she'd forgotten what it felt like to let someone in.
But somehow, this man she'd known for barely two days had found every crack in those defenses.
"I won't let you face any of this alone," Damon continued, his thumb tracing soothing circles against her scalp. "Whatever this prophecy means, whatever the Council throws at us—you have me. Always. I'm not going anywhere."
The absolute certainty in his voice made something deep in her chest flutter with dangerous hope. How could he promise her forever when they barely knew each other? How could he look at her—really see her—and not run in the opposite direction?
Because he's your mate,her wolf whispered with smug satisfaction.He's ours.
Elena pulled back just enough to look up at him through her tears. His green eyes blazed with an intensity that stole her breath, and she realized with startling clarity that she trusted him completely. Not just with her safety or her mission, but with this—with her vulnerability, her fears, and her broken pieces.
Without thinking, without analyzing the consequences or tactical implications, Elena rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. The kiss started tentative and questioning—a thank you, an apology, a desperate plea all wrapped into one. But the moment their mouths connected, something electric ignited between them. Damon's sharp intake of breath sent heat spiraling through her core as his hands framed her face with reverent precision.
What began as gratitude quickly transformed into something hungry and desperate. Elena's hands fisted in his shirt as shepressed closer, needing more of his heat, more of his strength, more of everything he was offering her. His lips moved against hers with devastating skill, coaxing responses from her body that she'd never experienced before.
