Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Theo left an hour ago, and Damon has yet to return. He didn’t care that he left me sobbing on the couch, or that I begged him to stay. How can I care about someone so much, and they care so little about me in return?

Moments of the waterfall flutter through my mind. He seemed to care for me then, or maybe it was all a show, just to get what he wanted from me. No matter how many times I reach out to Tala, she refuses to tell me more about what happened between her and Theo. So, I am left with the fragments of memories she gives me glimpses of.

The apartment is quiet, except for the bass thumping from the club below. My cheeks are sticky with tears, and I press my palms into my eyes. No matter how much I try to ignore Theo’s words, they keep slicing through me. “Choose one of the wolves. Just not me.” Then he vanished, leaving me shaking and alone.

The door clicks. Damon strides in, smelling like whiskey and the faint tang of the crowd. He stops mid–step when he sees me curled on the couch, clutching a throw blanket like it is a shield.

“Where is the demon?”

I swallow hard, begging my voice not to crack. Gone.”

He locks the door behind him and crosses the room. I am unable to look into his eyes, knowing what I am about to ask him. What if he rejects me just like Ronan and Theo?

“Charlotte?” His voice is rough with concern. “What happened?”

I don’t look up. Tala surges forward for the first time since Theo left. Tell him. Tell him to mark us. He’s strong enough. He’ll do it.

I look at Damon, trying to picture us together forever. He is a rogue, angry, and headstrong. He flirts too much and not enough. I don’t trust him, but in the same breath, I do. I can’t picture us living happily ever after. What I do picture is us fighting tooth and nail to the end of our days. We would never see eye to eye, but there is a passion that lies beneath our disagreements. Maybe we could make it work. Maybe.

He waits for me to tell him what happened between Theo and me, but I don’t want to tell him; I’ve been rejected yet again. “Charlotte,” he urges me to speak.

“Nothing is wrong,” I whisper before changing my mind. “But at the same time. Everything is wrong.”

Damon’s boots scuff the floor as he kneels down in front of me. His big hands slide up my arms, trying to gain my attention. “Did someone hurt you? Did Theo hurt you?”

“No.” My throat closes around the word. “Not exactly.”

He rakes a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand.”

“Theo said,” I choke. “He said if I don’t choose a mate soon, people are going to die.” A sob heaves in my chest. “They’re already dying”

Tala whispers. Ask him. Ask him now.”

“How is choosing a mate going to cure the sickness?” He asks.

“I don’t fully understand,” I admit. “But my wolf, Tala, she is the cause of all of this. Her power is too strong.

I lift my head and meet Damon’s eyes. “Mark me,” I blurt out.

He drops his hands from my shoulders and blinks. “What?”

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“Tala,” My voice cracks again. “She says you’re strong enough. Please. Mark me. Anchor me. Stop this before it spreads further.”

Damon’s hands curl at his sides, and he rises to his feet. He steps away with a flicker of hurt in his eyes. That hurt soon changes to fury. “Did you ask Theo the same thing? Are you asking me to be your second choice? Or is it your third? Is this why you are so upset, because he rejected you, just like Ronan did?”

“No,” I grab for him. “It’s not like that.”

“Yes, it is.” His muscles are tense as he stands before me. “I’m not some stand–in because Ronan and Theo didn’t want you. I love you, and I deserve that in return from you.”

The words slice through me. “Damon.”

His eyes flash angrily. “Do you even hear yourself? You don’t want me. You want someone to plug the hole. To stop the sickness. That’s not a bond, Charlotte. That’s desperation.”

I shoot to my feet, trembling. “Desperation is all I have left! You should want to end this just as much as I do. It involves us all.”

We’re nose to nose, heat filling the space between us. His breath is ragged, and his pupils wide. For a moment, I think he’s going to grab me, kiss me, and mark me anyway. Tala howls in my mind.

But Damon steps back. “No,” he says quietly. “I won’t do it like this.”

“Damon,” I whisper his name. “I want this. I swear I want this.”

He paces the floor, growling beneath his breath. His eyes flicker over to me before he scoffs loudly. Snatching his jacket off the back of a chair, he doesn’t bother to look at me again. “I need a drink.” He jerks his head to the door. “Stay here. Lock it. Don’t answer it for anyone. Leah is just down the hall. Call for her if you need anything, not me.”

“Damon,” I beg. “Don’t leave like this.”

But he’s already gone, the door slamming behind him. I race to the door just as he clicks the lock from the outside. I slam my fists against the door and scream his name, though I doubt he can hear it over the thumping of the bass.

“I won’t be a prisoner,” I scream.

I press my back against the door, twisting my fingers together in a panic. “How can I fix this if they won’t mark me?”

Tala presses forward in my mind. “There is still one more. He loves you more than the others. He will do it.‘

“Jake,” I murmur his name. But as I do, something like guilt rises in my chest. Perhaps Damon is right; they deserve to be bound to me by love, not by obligation. Still, it is my responsibility to end this sickness, and I can’t do it alone.