Page 50 of The Reaper's Vow
“That being said, I have to do something tonight for Anselm.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. I still have a job to do. There's a meeting. Businesses that are considering switching their allegiances.” His jaw tightens. “I need to remind them why that's a bad idea.”
I think of the man I saw executed at the club, the casual violence with which Damien put a bullet in his head. That's who he is—what he does—and no amount of electric chemistry between us can change that fundamental truth. He’s a killer, though my discomfort with that idea isn’t as black and white as it was before all this happened.
“I want you to stay here at the cabin,” Damien says, leaving no room for argument. “I’m going to have Elias come stay with you.”
“Elias?” I blink, surprised. “After what happened at breakfast, you trust him?”
Damien’s mouth curves slightly, but it’s not amusement, it’s more like he’s remembering the scene in detail. “That was Matthew and Leo running their mouths, not Elias. He kept quiet for a reason.”
I think back to the table, the way Elias had simply watched while his brothers provoked and needled. His silence unsettling in its own way.
“I trust him more than his brothers,” Damien continues, leaning back in his chair, stretching out like he’s claiming every inch of space between us. “Elias won’t let anything happen to you.”
“And what if something happens to you?” The words slip out before I can stop them.
His head tilts, that faint smirk appearing like he’s caught me in a truth I didn’t mean to reveal. “Worried about me, kitten?”
“I’m worried about being stuck here if you get yourself killed. What happens to me if you don’t come back?”
“I always come back.”
“That’s not an answer.”
His smirk fades. He leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “You’ll be protected if I don’t come back. Elias is a good guy. He will get you out if it comes down to that.”
I want to argue, to tell him that’s not good enough—that it’s not the same as him walking back through that door—but my throat feels tight. His certainty is unshakable, but I’ve seen enough to know that even men like Damien aren’t invincible.
He must see something in my expression, because his voice softens, losing its edge. “I’m coming back to you, Karina. There is nothing in this world that would keep me from you.”
God, I hope he’s not wrong because I’m not sure I can survive this new world without him.
Damien
After our talk, Karina excused herself to my bedroom, exhaustion from everything, and the lack of sleep this morning finally catching up with her.
I'm pacing the small confines of my cabin like a caged animal, pausing only to check on her every few minutes. Each time I enter the bedroom, I'm hit with the intoxicating blend of our scents mingling together. My wolf purrs with satisfaction at the sight of her curled up in our bed, her curls spilling across my pillow, her face peaceful in sleep.
It's better this way. Sleep is the only reprieve she has from the constant ache that I can feel in her. The same ache that hasme prowling restlessly, checking windows and doors, my senses hyper alert to any threat.
Hours pass until I can’t stay any longer. The meeting with Lockhart’s potential recruits is an hour. With one last look, I leave the confines of my bedroom and head back out to the living room, where my go bag is waiting for me on the kitchen table. Fuck. Leaving her like this is killing me, but violating the agreement made by my father with Alpha Anselm is non-negotiable. All I need to do is get through tonight, do my fucking job, and then maybe I can take a few days. Just long enough to get her through her cycle, the full moon, and whatever comes after that.
I reach into my bag and pull out my sidearm when a noise comes from behind me.
“You look like shit,” Elias remarks from the doorway of my cabin, leaning against the frame with that casual arrogance only the heir to an empire can pull off. “Are you sure you can handle this tonight?”
I continue checking my weapons, sliding an extra magazine into my pocket without looking up. “I've killed men in worse condition.”
“That's not what I meant.”
I know exactly what he means. Our incomplete bond is tearing me apart from the inside out. Every part of me aches to stay with Karina, to shield her from the wolves already circling her scent. But I have a job to do—one that might keep us both alive if I play it right.
“She'll be safe with you.” It's not a question because it can't be. If I allow doubt to creep in, I'll never make it out the door.
Elias steps into the cabin, closing the distance between us. “You know my brothers won't stay away for long. Matthew's pride is wounded—literally. He'll be looking to even the score.”
