Page 39 of Branded By Shadow
“If I haven't figured it out, how would Alexander?” Cora mused. “What does he know that even I don’t?”
It was a good question, and one that stirred the fire of my silent rage. “This is House Zeus we’re talking about. Somehow, they always fucking know.” The profanity came out harsher than usual, laden with more venom.
Ever since this whole mess had started, he’d always been one step ahead of me. Meanwhile, I was left cleaning up the wreckage of my own making. It was infuriating.
Had my father felt like this, whenever he dealt with House Zeus? Was this what had triggered his ultimate downfall? I wish I knew. Or… Did I?
Alexander was a ghost I couldn’t yet throttle, but he wasn’t here right now. Cora was the one in front of me. My clever, beautiful Omega, who’d figured out the answer to our dilemma.
I reached out, brushing my fingers against her cheek. Her skin was warm, impossibly soft beneath my touch. Her pulse jumped visibly at her throat, a frantic flutter that echoed the sudden acceleration of my own heartbeat. She looked up, away from her prized notes, her body answering a call her mind might deny. “Damon? Are you feeling alright?”
“I feel fine,” I answered. Lied. I wasn’t fine, and I’d known it for some time. But I couldn’t bring myself to step away, to leave her alone.
“Did I ever tell you, Cora, that you’re beautiful?”
She really was. Even now, pale and tired, she was the loveliest Omega I’d ever seen in my life. Her face flushed, and she became even prettier than before. “I-I don’t think that matters right now,” she stammered.
“It matters.Youmatter.”
It was one of the things she’d thrown in my face in the Shadow Chamber. She’d been furious at my apparent disregard, at the way I’d dismissed the heart and soul of her life’s work. I’d made a mockery of that question then. I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
I didn’t expect her to accept my silent apology. But there was still something heavy and unspoken between us, something thatnothing could ever break. She leaned into my touch, her amber eyes fixed on my face.
The pull between us intensified, a primal instinct overpowering rational thought, shattering the fragile peace of her makeshift laboratory. Her quickened breathing mirrored my own, shallow and fast. The scent of arousal, sharp and unmistakable, hung between us. My own had been changing all day, growing thicker, more demanding, and I could see her responding to it whether she realized it or not.
“I need you to…” she murmured, before finally trailing off.
“That’s not the best thing for you to say right now, Cora,” I admitted, my voice rougher than I’d heard it in weeks. I was barely holding back, with the memory of her still body in the Chamber being the only thing keeping me at bay.
“I don’t think I’ve done or said a lot of good things lately,” she croaked out, “and for some reason… Right now, I can’t bring myself to regret it.”
The distance between us shrank with each beat of my heart, the atmosphere heavy with the building storm of desire and revelation. All I needed to do was lean in closer, to claim what was mine. What had always been mine, since the moment I’d set eyes on her.
And then it happened.
My awareness shifted mid-breath, a flicker of something external breaking through the haze of longing. There was movement at the western perimeter. No alarms sounded, no electronic warnings flashed, but they didn’t need to. The shadows knew. They sensed everything. And what they said today was nothing short of damning.
Someone was approaching the estate.
Every muscle in my body went rigid, my protective instincts sharpening into something lethal. A cold wave spread from inside me, battling the heat that had been building, and my inner Alpha snarled in outrage.
“What is it?” Cora asked, her voice sharp with concern. “Damon, what’s wrong?”
“Someone’s coming.” I extended my senses beyond the chamber, tracking the intruder I’d sensed. My breathing was coming faster now, harder. “They just entered House Hades lands.”
I didn’t normally have the ability to feel attackers this way, but here on my turf, everything was different. This was my little piece of the underworld, and it was foolish of any Olympian to descend in it.
Someone had dared, regardless.
Cora went white. “Alexander? You don’t believe…”
The mere possibility sent rage through me so sharp it was almost blinding. If he’d dared to set foot on House Hades territory, he was more arrogant than I thought. I almost wanted the intruder to be him, just so I could tear him apart with my bare hands.
But I’d made the mistake of focusing on my dispute with Stormwright before. I wouldn’t make it again. “It doesn’t matter. Just know this, Cora. Whatever Alexander knows, whatever he thinks, whatever he’s guessed, it changes nothing. Even if he came here today, it’s irrelevant. He’s not touching you.”
I wrapped my arms around her and brushed a kiss over her temple, inhaling deeply. She looked like she wanted to say something else, but I didn’t give her the chance.
Taking a step back, I cloaked myself in shadow and willed myself to follow their call. Whoever had dared violate my territory, whoever had trespassed on what was mine, was about to understand exactly how House Hades responds to threats.
