Page 60 of Aine

Even when they grab him directly on top of it, there’s nothing.

The man he’s fighting dodges a series of punches before striking forward with a few of his own. Damien locks eyes with me as he sidesteps them, a smirk spreading across his face as he catches me watching him. The smile remains as he connects his fist with the man’s jaw.

The beast stumbles as his body absorbs the hits, his hands moving to cover his face as Damien continues to assault him. I flinch, turned off by the amount of violence encouraged in this village.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for the man to fall to the ground in a heap of uncoordinated limbs.

My eyebrows furrow as Damien turns away from his men and begins walking in my direction. Panic rushes through me, and I start picking at the weeds in an attempt to discourage him from coming over. My attempts appear to be in vain, though, as moments later, I hear the crunching of leaves as he approaches.

“You’re staring at me,” Damien says. “It’s quite distracting.”

I pretend I can’t hear him.

“My men are teasing me about your visual molestation,” he says.

My neck cracks as I snap my head up to glare at him. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I was casually watching him, sure, but was by no means “visually molesting” anybody.

“I was not,” I argue. “You were looking at me, too.”

Damien’s lip twitches as I straighten my back and narrow my eyes in an uncomfortable mixture of anger and embarrassment. My muscles are tight as I glance toward the training fields. A handful of beasts are outwardly staring, some even laughing.

“Of course I was.” Damien crouches, his knees grazing against the plants as he brings himself eye level with me. “Why wouldn’t I stare at my mate?”

My lips purse as I struggle to think of an intelligent response. I don’t like how he always leaves our conversations with the upper hand, and if I weren’t so afraid of him, I imagine he’d be fun to joke with.

He doesn’t wait for a response as he grabs a handful of cherry tomatoes from my bucket. I scowl, my fingers twitching as I resist the urge to move it out of his arm’s reach.

I scold him instead. “We aren’t supposed to eat directly from the garden.”

Damien tosses the small items into his mouth and grabs some more. He looks almost proud of himself as he holds one out for me. I shake my head. Alex made it quite clear that all the food we collect is to be taken directly to the pantry for the cooks.

“Open your mouth, Aine,” he teases.

I shake my head, rejecting his offer.

While I’m willing to admit he does seem to be making an effort to be kinder to me, I’m not about to fall for it. Even attempting a friendship with him seems risky, and I worry he’ll turn around and use it against me the moment it becomes convenient for him.

The sound of feet clomping into the ground has me spinning. A beast I haven’t met approaches Damien with a red face and bends to whisper something in his ear. I try my best to listen, but he speaks too quietly for me to pick up on what he’s saying.

Moments later, I feel a dissociated panic course through me. I don’t know why it’s happening, but ever since marking him, I’ve been getting more flashes of his emotions. It must have strengthened our bond or something, making it harder for him to hide them from me.

Damien tilts his face so I can’t see his lips as he whispers something back to the beast. The man nods before standing and turning to me.

“Good afternoon, Aine! I’m happy to see you and Damien have completed the bond, and I hope to see you at dinner soon,” he rushes to say before returning to the woods.

I stare at Damien, curious what that was all about. “What did he whisper to you?”

Damien licks his lips as he mulls over my question. It seems like he’s actually considering telling me, the thought filling me with an excitement that vanishes when he shrugs and stands.

“Stand up,” he orders.

I do so with only minor hesitation.

My pulse quickens as he steps over the plants separating us and inserts himself into the same row as me. I crane my neck to look up at him, my hands clenching as I force myself to remain still.

Damien slows as he bends and brings his face close to mine, his intentions to kiss me clear. I consider backing away or turning my head but remain stiffly in place as he cups my cheeks and presses his lips firmly against mine.

I like it more than I should.