Chapter 281: In his arms

"I missed you," I whispered, studying his face carefully, searching for even the slightest change in his expression.

The Alpha jerked as though I’d struck him.

His dark eyes widened, and his hands immediately returned to the back of my head, carefully feeling around the area where my hair had become tangled with dried blood.

"Someone must have hit you pretty hard, sweetheart. You’re saying some very strange things. Are you really the Amelie I’ve been looking for?"

There was desperation in his voice, and I couldn’t blame him for doubting me. Not when, until just recently, I’d remembered absolutely nothing.

"Hard enough to finally make me remember the daisies you gave me."

My fingers slowly moved from his jaw to his tense shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. I could feel how rigidly he was holding himself, how every word seemed to make him more apprehensive.

Then, in the depths of his usually unreadable eyes, a tiny spark of hope appeared.

"You...?" he breathed, sounding almost afraid to believe it.

"I remember everything," I whispered, offering him a shy smile.

And the next instant, my world exploded.

His lips crashed against mine in a desperate kiss, his warm, steady breath mingling with mine as he pulled me closer. It was as though every coherent thought, every lingering fear, simply vanished from my mind.

The fucking basement, those disgusting bastards, the nightmare of being kidnapped... All of it disappeared, fading into some distant universe.

There was only him and me.

Two people who had finally found each other again after years of emptiness and pain.

It felt like healing. Like something broken inside me was finally being filled with warmth and life.

A sudden, unmistakable chuckle came from the front seat. A moment later, the car lurched forward so abruptly that we were both thrown sideways.

"Hey, lovebirds! How about I take you straight to a hotel instead of home?"

A mocking voice drifted toward us from the driver’s seat.

It was Matthias.

I blinked, still somewhat dazed, trying to process what he’d just said. Why on earth was he even here? And what was he doing driving us?

"Hey, Matthias. Just drive this fucking car and get us home already," Damian growled, reluctantly pulling away from my lips. He sounded thoroughly irritated.

"Sure thing. Amelie, get ready for an unforgettable introduction to the family. Mom’s going to be absolutely thrilled!"

Turning my head, I caught sight of Matthias winking at me through the rearview mirror.

"Mom can meet you a little later. Only after our family doctor has examined you."

Damian’s voice softened slightly as he covered my trembling hand with his.

Perhaps sensing my apprehension about meeting the woman who had raised my mate, he added gently, "There’s no rush. We’ll take things one step at a time."

Hearing that, I felt a genuine wave of gratitude and relief wash over me.

The last thing I wanted was to meet a woman like that looking the way I did now. I was hardly in any condition to make a good first impression.

Still, somewhere deep inside, I desperately wanted to know how he’d lived all these years. Who had taken him in? Who had given him a family when I’d been torn away from him?

But not today. Today, I just wanted to stay in his arms.

All it took was a moment of weakness, resting my head against his reassuring shoulder, for the world around me to finally fade away.

I drifted into darkness, but this time, there was nothing frightening about it. It was warm, comforting, and peaceful.

For the first time in years, I could finally surrender to the feeling of being safe.

And utterly, completely happy.

***

Carefully prying my swollen, bloodshot eyelids apart, I nearly screamed at the sight before me.

My heart stopped for a beat, then took off at a frantic gallop, pounding painfully against my ribs.

Damian was lying right beside me, so close our noses were almost touching. He was propped on his side, watching me intently, his dark eyes studying every little detail of my face as though he were trying to memorize it all over again.

A heavy silence hung between us, broken only by the sound of our breathing.

Finally, when my heart stopped threatening to leap out of my chest, I noticed something else. One of my hands was resting in his broad palm, our fingers tightly intertwined.

"Good morning," the young man said first, his voice low and husky. A shiver ran down my spine at the sound.

"Good morning," I whispered back, swallowing against my painfully dry throat.

We were completely alone in what appeared to be a dimly lit bedroom. Tearing my gaze away from him, I cautiously examined my unfamiliar surroundings. The room was fairly spacious, furnished in understated gray tones. But the heavy curtains covering the windows were barely open, allowing only a narrow strip of light to slip inside. I couldn’t make out much else.

"You scared me, you know," Damian murmured.

He shifted onto one elbow, leaning over me. His free hand rose to my cheek, and his thumb gently traced my cheekbone.

"I nearly lost my mind when I went looking for you and found nothing but your blood on the stairs. Your parents didn’t even know where you were. I gave myself twenty minutes to sit down, breathe, and calm the hell down before going after you."

"What?" I frowned, staring at him in confusion. "I thought you’d left..."

My thoughts were still a tangled mess. I couldn’t understand how any of this had happened.

"How did they get past you?"

"They went over the roof. Your apartment building has no barrier blocking access from above," he explained, his jaw tightening. "They dragged you up there and escaped through the neighboring entrance. The one on the opposite side of the building. They jumped into a waiting car and disappeared."

He paused, his expression darkening.

"I was too late."

Looking at his tense face, I struggled to remember what we’d been talking about before the blow to my head, before that frantic kiss, before everything had dissolved into a blur.

All I could recall were the conflicting emotions that had torn through me after he’d kissed me.

And then... nothing.

"But you found me in the end," I said with a weary sigh, briefly closing my eyes. "I somehow managed to get myself into that mess. I wonder if you ever suspected I’d disappear like that. Or if you’d have any idea what to think about the strange man I saw in the parking garage..."

I lifted my free hand and slipped it around Damian’s neck. Gently, I drew him closer until our foreheads touched, finding comfort in that simple contact.

"You shouldn’t have had to go through any of this. None of it," he whispered on an unsteady breath. His voice cracked. "It was my fault. My mistake."

He brushed his nose down my cheek toward my neck, then suddenly went still. His warm breath swept over my skin like steam from boiling water.

"But I’ll never let anyone hurt you."

"Never again?" I asked softly.