Page 89 of Watch Me Burn
“And how do you feel about me?”
The question comes out steady, but there’s a fragility lurking beneath the surface, like he’s bracing for a blow that might shatter him.
“I care about you. More than I should. More than is fair to either of you.”
“But you can’t choose.”
“I don’t know how to choose. What I feel for each of you—it’s so different. It’s like choosing between breathing and having a heartbeat. I need both to survive.”
A dozen emotions flicker across his face. Pain, understanding, frustration. Then his expression settles into determination, hard and unwavering.
“I have feelings for you too, Luna. Deep feelings. They’ve been growing stronger every day.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I really am.”
“I won’t ask you to choose right now.” More tears well in the corner of my eyes. “But I can’t do this indefinitely. And I won’t be anyone’s second choice.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?” He cups my face in both hands now, his touch like a balm. And so familiar it makes my breath hitch. “Because I need you to know that what I’m offering you is real. A real relationship. A real future. Not just stolen moments in the dark.”
“I know that too.”
“Then figure out what you want. What you really want, Luna. Not just what feels good in the moment, but what you need to be happy.”
“And if I can’t choose? If I can’t choose between you?”
“Then maybe you don’t have to. I should go. Give you time to think.”
“Damien—”
He steps back, dropping his hands to his sides, before I can ask what he means.
“It’s okay, Luna. I’m not angry. I’m hurt, yes, but I understand. You can’t help who you love.” He pauses at the barn door, snowflakes catching in his dark hair. “But don’t take too long to decide. Some opportunities don’t come twice.”
I step forward. “Damien, what does that mean?”
Pain fills his eyes. The look of someone who’s offered everything and watched it get rejected and torn apart. And there’s knowledge in his gaze, knowledge that shouldn’t be there, and my stomach plummets.
“Sometimes the choices you’re afraid to make aren’t choices at all.”
Damien vanishes into the white curtain of swirling snow, leaving me alone with Cotton and his final words repeating in my head. The conversation went nothing like I expected. I was prepared for anger, for ultimatums, for the explosion that comes when hearts collide. Instead, he gave me understanding I don’t deserve.
But his final words sit heavy in my chest. A promise or threat wrapped in riddles that I’m terrified to solve.
Chapter twenty-two
Damien
Iadjust the plastic sheeting on the floor of my basement. Everything is in perfect order, as always. Everything is clean. Controlled. This is my domain, far beneath the pristine facade of Damien Wolfe. Down here, I am the wolf.
My target tonight struggles against his restraints, eyes wide with terror above the duct tape covering his mouth. Travis Miller. Dog breeder. Or rather, the piece of shit who starved his animals when they didn’t win shows and who beat them when they failed to meet his standards.
“Do you know why you’re here, Travis?” I select a scalpel from my arranged tools.
Muffled screams tear from his throat, high-pitched and desperate. The table rocks as he struggles against his restraints. Tears stream down his cheeks, soaking the edges of the silver tape that seals his mouth.
“Don’t bother trying to answer.” I walk in a slow circle around him. His eyes lock on my face, on my wolf mask, and I reach up and adjust it. It weighs down on my face tonight. “The way you present yourself to the world as a respected breeder while creating suffering behind closed doors.”
