Melissa.

The moment we crossed the threshold of his room, everything happened too fast.

Damien didn’t hesitate. He didn’t slow down. His grip tightened once more, and then he shoved me forward with brutal force. My body flew through the air before crashing hard against the floor, the pain ripping through me as my shoulder and knees took the impact. Before I could even draw a full breath, the door slammed shut behind us with a sharp, final sound that echoed through the room like a verdict being passed.

I groaned softly, my palms pressing against the cold floor as I tried to push myself up. My scalp burned painfully, every nerve screaming where he had dragged me by my hair moments ago. My vision swam, spots dancing in front of my eyes.

"Now tell me, Maria," Damien’s voice cut through the haze, low and dangerous, "is this the little escape plan you planned with them?"

I lifted my head slowly, my breath uneven. He stood by the door, his back resting against it, arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at me. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were sharp, calculating, cold, and full of accusation.

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

What could I even say?

My throat felt tight, my chest heavy, my thoughts tangled in fear and confusion. All I could feel was the lingering pain on my scalp and the dull ache spreading through my body from the fall. My silence seemed to irritate him even more.

He pushed himself off the door and took a few slow steps toward me, each one deliberate, as though he was enjoying the way I flinched under his gaze.

"Let me make one thing very clear, Maria," he said, his voice dropping lower, each word deliberate. "No matter what you think you’re doing, you belong to us."

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

"Me and my brothers," he continued, crouching slightly so we were closer to eye level, "we won’t let anyone—anyone—take you away."

I shook my head faintly, tears blurring my vision, but he wasn’t finished.

"You still haven’t repaid your debts completely," he added coldly. "Five years hasn’t even started coughing."

The words landed like chains snapping shut around me.

Before I could react, his hand shot out. He grabbed the collar of my dress roughly and yanked me upward. My body left the ground abruptly, my feet barely touching the floor as the fabric tightened around my neck.

A strangled sound escaped my throat.

The sudden pressure stole the air from my lungs. I clawed at his wrist instinctively, panic surging as my chest burned and my vision darkened at the edges.

"A... Al... Alpha..." I tried to speak, but the word shattered before it could fully form. My voice came out broken and weak, swallowed by my gasps for air.

Damien watched me struggle with detached calm, his grip firm, unyielding. For a terrifying second, I thought he wouldn’t let go.

Then, abruptly, he released me.

I collapsed back to the floor with a loud, hollow thud, the impact knocking what little breath I had left from my lungs. I curled slightly, coughing violently as air rushed painfully back into my chest. My throat burned, each breath sharp and ragged.

I stayed there, trembling, my hands pressed against the floor as I fought to steady myself.

He straightened, looking down at me as if I were something insignificant, something already owned and broken in.

"Watch out, Maria," he said coolly, adjusting his sleeve as though nothing had happened. "You won’t be leaving this place."

The finality in his voice was far more terrifying than any blow he could have delivered. Violence bruised the body, healed with time. But that tone—cold, absolute, unyielding—left no room for hope, no space to breathe. It carried certainty, the kind that told me nothing I did would change what he had already decided. And that certainty sank into me, heavy and merciless.

Slowly, I lifted my head.

My heart hammered violently in my ears, each thud echoing too loudly, too close. Dread seeped into my bones, cold and numbing, until it felt like it had always lived there. The room seemed to shrink around me, the walls inching closer with every breath I took. The air grew thick, weighted down by his presence, by the unspoken warning that hung between us. It pressed against my skin, crawled down my spine, wrapped tightly around my throat.

There was nowhere to go.

No space to retreat into.

I was trapped.

And he wanted me to understand that fully.

The realization settled with brutal clarity, leaving me exposed and cornered, stripped of illusion. His gaze, his stance, the silence, it all spoke the same message. This was not a threat meant to scare me into compliance. It was a statement. A line already crossed.

Before I could stop myself, a low sound slipped from my throat.

A broken chuckle.

It startled even me.

I barely recognized it as my own, the sound rough and unfamiliar, torn from somewhere deep inside my chest. It wasn’t amusement. It wasn’t defiance. It was hollow, edged with disbelief, maybe even despair. The sheer absurdity of everything, the fear, the tension, the inevitability, pressed so hard against my lungs that laughter was the only thing that escaped. As if my body had chosen it in place of a scream.

The sound lingered for a heartbeat too long.

In that fragile moment, I felt exposed in a way I hadn’t before, stripped bare by the weakness of it, by how easily it revealed the cracks forming inside me. I could feel it shaking through me, unsteady, uneven, carrying emotions I didn’t have the strength to name.

Damien stiffened.

In the next heartbeat, his expression darkened, and he lowered himself in front of me with frightening speed. Before I could react, his hand was at my face, fingers digging into my jaw as he forced my head upward. His lips crashed against mine, rough and uninvited, stealing the little air I had just managed to regain.

"How dare you laugh?" he demanded, his voice low and furious, the words pressed harshly against my mouth as he tried to force his way past my clenched teeth.

Panic flared instantly.

I turned my head, fought against him with what little strength I had left, and in sheer instinct, I bit down. Hard. I felt his tongue between my teeth for a split second before he hissed in pain.

But he didn’t pull away.

Instead, his grip tightened.

A cruel sound escaped him, half a laugh, half a snarl, as if my resistance only fueled something darker inside him. He shifted, trying again, relentless, invasive, as though he was determined to prove a point rather than seek a response.

"Tell me," he muttered harshly, his breath hot against my face, "did you kiss any of them this way?"

My heart pounded violently, each beat echoing in my ears.

"Is that why they all want you?" he continued, his voice thick with accusation. "Is this what you give them?"

His hands slid down to my waist, gripping me tightly, fingers digging into my sides as he pressed my body against his. The contact made my stomach churn. I tried to push him away, tried to lift my hands, but my arms felt unbearably heavy, like they no longer belonged to me.

I was weak.

Too weak.

My muscles trembled with the effort, but they refused to obey me. My body felt drained, hollowed out by fear, exhaustion, and pain. Every attempt at resistance faded almost as soon as it began, leaving me shaking beneath his hold.

Damien leaned closer, his presence suffocating, his dominance deliberate. I could feel his grip tighten further, as though he was daring me to fight him again.

Tears burned at the back of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.

Not now.

Not in front of him.

Just when the room felt like it was closing in completely, when the air seemed too thick to breathe, there was a sound.

A sharp noise at the door.

It wasn’t loud, but it was distinct. Real.

Damien froze. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

In an instant, he pulled away from me as if burned, releasing his grip and stepping back sharply. The sudden absence of his weight sent me swaying, and I barely managed to keep myself upright, my hands bracing weakly against the floor.

The room fell into a tense, fragile silence.

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I struggled to steady my breathing, my lips throbbing, my body still trembling from the encounter. Damien stood a few steps away now, his jaw clenched, his eyes flicking toward the door with barely restrained irritation.

Whatever sound had come from the other side had stopped him.

And for the first time since we entered that room, I felt a thin, trembling thread of relief cut through the fear.