Claimed by the Alpha I Hate – Episode 31
Nolan remained at the bedroom door after Daisy failed to answer him. The empty side of the bed lay between them like an invitation neither was brave enough to repeat. Outside, guards searched for an intruder who had already escaped.
“You should stay tonight,” Daisy said at last. She immediately added, “For security.” The excuse fooled neither of them, but it gave her enough dignity to hold his gaze.
Nolan crossed the room slowly. “On the couch?” There was no couch in the Alpha bedroom, only a chair near the fireplace and a bed wide enough to emphasize every inch of distance.
Daisy moved toward one side and pulled back the blanket. “The bed is large. Just don’t make this mean more than it does.” Her pulse betrayed the calmness she attempted.
“You invited your Alpha into his own bed,” Nolan said. “I wouldn’t dare misunderstand.” His restrained amusement earned him a glare, but the familiar teasing eased the fear left by the night’s breach.
They lay on opposite sides, fully clothed, with a careful space between them. Daisy listened to his breathing until it slowed. Without her enhanced senses, the sound was faint, yet the mate bond made his presence unmistakable.
“Do you feel it?” she asked into the darkness. “The silence where my power was?” Nolan admitted that the bond felt muffled but intact.
“Whoever entered didn’t take you away from me,” he said. The possessive certainty should have irritated her. Instead, it settled the panic that had followed her since waking.
Daisy turned toward him. “You can’t promise that.” Vampires had crossed his defenses once. If the intruder returned, neither of them knew what else could be stolen.
Nolan faced her across the pillow. “No. I can promise that anyone who tries will have to come through me.” Moonlight outlined the old scars at his collar.
She asked how he received them. For several breaths he said nothing, then told her they came from the night vampires attacked his family. He stopped before giving names or details.
Daisy understood why the map in his office was covered with red markers. His vigilance was grief given purpose, just as her hatred of him had once given shape to hers.
“And now your mate may be one of them,” she whispered. Nolan’s hand moved across the space between them, stopping beside hers.
“You are Daisy.” His fingers touched hers. “Whatever else we learn is part of you, not all of you.”
The answer reached deeper than any declaration of ownership. Daisy linked her fingers through his, choosing the contact rather than surrendering to it.
The shared forest rose around them when sleep finally came. This time the mist did not separate them. Nolan found Daisy beneath the moon and held out his hand.
She took it, and the sealed place inside her stirred. A pulse of dark red light moved beneath the dream’s surface, too faint for either to understand.
In the waking world, Nolan tightened his hand around hers. Neither crossed the distance between their bodies, but the careful gap no longer felt like a wall.
Beyond the mansion grounds, Lucien felt the seal resist him. The mate bond was feeding strength back into Daisy, slowly undoing his work.
He looked toward the Alpha’s darkened window and smiled without warmth. If Nolan’s presence could restore her power, then separating the mates would become necessary.