Page 48 of Caged Between the Beta & Alpha
Damon glanced between us both before blowing out a sharp breath. Threading his fingers together, he placed two fingers on his gorgeous plump lips.
“When you left, it fucking hurt. Everything seemed to have fallen apart and I felt guilty... I knew that you always loved Raven, and then I was thrown into the mix. I know you hate the fucking idea, but if you did agree… I promise that I will take it at your pace. I won’t take her from you or expect more than you are ready for her to give me.” He looked down. It hurt that he was yielding to Liam, but it also warmed me. Obviously, there had to be a way the Moon Goddess wanted this to work, right? They needed to be opposites.
I stood up and walked around. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gave it a gentle squeeze. I looked at Liam, who was watching him coldly. His jaw ticked but he didn’t speak, allowing Damon to carry on.
“I do love her, regardless of Robyn. I needed to cope, and that was the easiest distraction,” Damon said. I could sense his guilt. Those images returned to me, and I felt a pang of pain.
“Anything else?” Liam asked calmly, but his calmness made me uncertain too. Right then, I couldn’t read him, but his eyes seemed to look darker than his wolf eyes. That same dark navy I saw yesterday…
My heart was thundering. Damon looked up at me sharply, then at Liam, who was once again playing with the knife, his eyes hidden from my view. What was that?
“I love you as a brother, as well as my Alpha and best friend, Liam. I don’t want to ruin that. I’m holding out hope that you’ll remember that this brother of yours never wanted to hurt you,” Damon finished looking at Liam, who didn’t even bother looking over. He simply nodded, licking his lips.
“Fine, so you messed around as you needed a distraction? When I left, I told you to do what the fuck you wanted. Why didn’t you two mate and mark each other? You had that chance,” he asked us both. Despite thehatred in his tone, his voice was steady.
“I couldn’t betray you. I wanted you to be okay with this,” Damon said quietly.
“And you, darling?” Liam asked, yet the mocking tone in his voice made me frown.
“Neither of you bothered to pursue me, and I didn’t know what to do. I felt shocked, numb, confused- neither of my mates wanted me. Back then, I felt I was the extra in your relationship, so I ran away… after you left, Damon avoided me because he couldn’t just forget you. Neither of you bothered to even try to talk to me-”
“Hold up, let’s not play victim, love,” Liam said dangerously. A frown creased his brow as he pointed the knife at me. “I tried to mind-link you that night, and you didn’t answer.”
“I had drunk a lot that night, I was completely knocked out!” I said, my heart aching. “It was night. You could have tried to-”
“Really? Then how about when I came to your house and your dad said you didn’t want to see me?”
Did Dad say that? My heart was thundering. What was going on? Why would Dad do that?
“And what about those texts? Those fucking messages that you read but never replied to,” he growled, his eyes blazing. I frowned, my heart skipping a beat.
“What messages Liam?”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and unlocked it. After a moment, he held it up to me. I stared at the three messages that were clear on the screen and, sure enough… the word ‘SEEN’ was as clear as day under the final text…
Ultimatum
Raven
Istared at his phone, unable to focus on anything else but the words on his screen.
LIAM: Raven, can we talk? Please, I really need to see you. I get that you are hurt that I walked off, but please give me one fucking chance.
LIAM: Please, Bite-size, don’t ignore me. We’re mated for a reason. You’re meant for me. Please, talk to me.
LIAM: Just one chance? Five minutes of your time. I’ll show you what you mean to me, please. That’s all I’m asking for. I don’t want to do something I regret. If after this you want me to leave, I will.
I never got those messages… fuck, I never got those messages…
I ran my hand through my hair, barely registering Damon’s hand on my shoulder. I looked between them, trying to focus, before turning to Liam.
“I didn’t get them. I swear, I never received them,” I said truthfully. He seemed uncertain, but he should know that I was not a liar. Well, in serious matters, anyway.
“Is there a possibility someone else got onto your phone and deleted them?” Damon asked, instantly raising his hands in surrender the moment Liam’s eyes fell on him. “I swear it wasn’t me.” My stomach twisted even when Liam scoffed,
“You’re the only one that would benefit from it.”
“Come on, man, I wouldn’t do that shit. If you didn’t manage to see her, how could I have managed that?When I went the following day-”
