Chapter Ten

"I like how that sounds, Your Majesty", Damian says to me as he puts his finger under my chin and tilts it up as he leans down and kisses me gently.

The kiss feels so good. The moment our lips touch, they begin to tingle and almost burn, but not painfully. Damian is so large and intimidating that it truly surprises me just how gentle his touch is when he's with me. He pulls back and releases my chin, sliding his hand down my arm and to my hip, and places his forehead against mine.

"You're mine," he whispers to me and I nod. "I was angry that you were walking out with that unmated Alpha," he says to me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think anything of it, but I'm sorry it upset you." I tell him honestly.

"Please, don't be alone with anyone until you're marked. I don't want anything to happen to you," he says, running his fingers gently across the spot where his mark would go, sending shivers through my body.

"I won't, I'm sorry." I apologize to him again. "I was so excited that someone wanted to see what I've created that I forgot the rules."

"The rules?" he questions me and I realize that in his anger, he missed everything behind him.

"Yeah. You must not have noticed Alpha Ronald and Alpha Samuel behind you, but you beat them to me." I said with a small giggle.

Damian raises an eyebrow in confusion. "You mean your dad and brother?"

"Yes, but they were angry and were coming at me full Alpha," I tell him. "They seemed to relax some when you came with us, and no one has mind-linked me to yell at me," I smirk.

"I would very much like it if you would show me the gardens in the morning. I'd heard that you put in some serious work here but if I'm being honest, I didn't quite realize how much it was. Systems like this could help some of our smaller and less affluent packs someday." it's touching that he was listening and interested.

"Yeah, we can go through the gardens in the morning if the King approves." I offer with hope.

"I'm sure he will. I think he's quite excited just to be able to spend some time with you. We both are." he returns and it makes me feel good that they are interested in getting to know me even though I'm not the ideal mate.

We hear the horn and I realize that we must have lost track of time and have been down here for quite some time. The horn signals the full moon run where the whole pack, well those in the pack who can shift, run outside in their wolf form. It helps strengthen their wolves and helps them bond. Werewolves can shift any time when needed, but there's something special about the full moon run, and it's not common to have so many Alphas in one place together, especially with the Royal family as well.

"You should get outside," I tell him.

"You don't want to miss out".

"I don't want to leave you," he breathes out while tightening his arms around me.

"I'll be fine Damian. You can walk me to my suite, l just need to grab a few ingredients first." I tell him and he releases me, taking a step back and allowing me to stand. I lead him first to the pantry and fill my arms, then to the fridge and fill his arms as well.

"What exactly are you planning to make tonight?" he asks while looking at the mess I've piled on him.

"My dad's favorite muffins. Don't worry, " 1 assured him with a smile. "There will be plenty for you, too."

We're about to walk out when I pause and head back to my office, returning with the rest of the open bottle of wine. Damian laughs and shakes his head.

"What? It'll be a long night." I tell him. We walk down the hall to my suite and I open the door and walk in, but I realize Damian has stopped at the doorway. " is everything okay?" I ask as I turn to him.

"Yeah, I just wasn't sure you were OK with me being here."

"Of course I am!" I say to him and he finally crosses the threshold and looks around. "It's very calming here," he states.

"Thanks. I was going for that." I tell him, appreciative that someone else finds it calming, not that I let many people in here. When I moved into rooms with no windows though, I decided to go with the darkness and make it as soothing as I could. The walls are grey so it doesn't show the shadows as much and I have plants about, with plenty of grow lights.

Damian follows me into the kitchen and places the items he's holding on the counter beside me. He seems to be struggling when he reaches over and pulls me against his chest. "Are you

SURE you're OK being alone?" he asks me and I can tell he is worried about me.

"I'll be fine. It's not my first full moon, and my family has a whole plan in place. If anything, ANYTHING happens I'll link my dad and Samuel immediately. I think one of them tends to stay fairly close to the pack house just in case." I tell him and place my hands on his chest. "It's sweet that you are worried, but I promise, I'm fine. I'm honestly pretty excited about drinking the rest of that wine and making breakfast for you for tomorrow. I will be asleep before you all are even back, too."

"OK, but I need you to lock the door before I walk off. Good night, Annie. It's been wonderful meeting you today", he says and leans down to kiss me again. This kiss isn't quite as gentle as the last one, but it's full of emotion. He pulls back and whispers to me "If you ask me to stay, I will".

"You should go, Damian. Go be with the other wolves." I tell him, with a pang of sadness.

He releases me and walks to my door as I follow. He steps out and turns to me. "I'll see you in the morning," he says.

"I can't wait," I tell him honestly. "Good night," I state as he leans forward and kisses me once more.

"Good night," he says and releases me so he can close the door. I lock the door as he requested and I can hear his steps as he walks away when the horn blows again, signaling that the run is about to begin. I stand at the door waiting for his scent to disappear completely before I walk back to the kitchen.

Another Full Moon alone, but this time it's not so bad. When I was small, they would bring all the kids to the pack-house and the older kids would watch us. When Samuel and I were the older kids watching the smaller ones, we'd get sodas and candy, make popcorn, and just have a whole party each time. Full moons haven't always been awful, we had some really fun ones as kids. But as I got older and realized I would never shift, it became a time of loneliness for me.

At first, my mom tried to keep me with the kids, but as I continued to get older and still had not shifted, she finally agreed to let me stay in another part of the pack-house alone. I used to live in the room next to my parents and I would go out on the balcony for a while and watch them all happy and energetic, just spending time as a pack. It became more and more difficult to watch though, as each full moon left me feeling more removed from them.

Once I moved it became a bit easier to deal with as I have no windows, so I can not hear or see them now. I know that I'm being left out, but it stings less than seeing what I'm missing each time.

I started baking a lot during this time. It helps me feel connected to the earth, even if I'm not shifting like everyone else. It's my way, I guess. I begin to get everything together to make muffins for the morning and think about the entire day.

I shouldn't have run away when Samuel came to get me. Damian seems like a nice guy and I should have listened, but I was so afraid. And he keeps telling me that he's not going to reject me. He even called me his. But there are so many ways that I'm not equipped to be a mate, much less the future queen. But when our lips first met, I started to forget about all of those things and feel that he was truly my mate. Perhaps I should just go ahead and list the problems so he can make an informed decision and I'm sure he hasn't even considered that I can't even mark him, which seems pretty problematic for the King.

My dad hasn't always been super supportive of my love of cooking but he eventually came around. I know he was trying to understand, and I'm thankful that my mom helped me understand. Dad's the Alpha and runs the pack, but my mom is the one running our family. No matter how we get into arguments Mom is always right there to help.

I finally finish my baking and decide to go to bed. I hop in the shower and then throw on some pajamas and curl up in bed. I quickly fall asleep but after a few hours, I wake to the smell of Damian. It's gone quickly after I wake and I realize the bond may be stronger than I realized. Maybe, just maybe, it's strong enough for him that he'll accept me.