Wilona's P.O.V
"Okay, you've got me," Damon admits, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'm just afraid of how you're going to react."
"Can't be any worse than you being a werewolf can it?" I tease with a small chuckle that quickly fell when I heard my own words. It was starting to feel less like a dream and more like reality the longer this carried on.
Damon offers me a gentle smile that seemed to be more for him than for me. He runs a hair through his tousled hair that was flopping all over today and released a heavy breath.
"I'm not going to dump everything on you today because it would be too overwhelming and I'm also pretty sure you're in a state of shock," Damon says making me nod my agreement. "So I'll tell you the important parts now and you can decide after if you want to know more after, and if you still want to be with me."
I feel my eyebrows pull together at this, confusion sweeping over me at his words alongside a bit of fear. What could he possibly say that would make me not want to be with him?
"I'll listen to the end," I say firmly, repeating the words I'd promised him early and meaning them just as much as I did before. Damon smiles at this, eyes holding mine for a long moment as he studies my face before carrying on.
"For you to understand the rest, I have to explain a few things first." He starts, watching me closely before continuing. "Werewolves are family creatures, we stick together in something called a pack." He says glancing up once more to see if I understood. I nod once for him to continue. "Now packs vary base on heritage, previous and present leaders, the practices and the types of wolves that live there."
"They're different types?" I question and he nods. "What type are you?"
He laughs, actually laughs.
"We're getting there." He promises before carrying on the way he had. "So in a pack, there's a sort of hierarchy system based on rank. Some ranks can be earned through hard work but the highest ones are what you're born with, there's no changing what you are. At the top, there are alphas, they lead the pack. An alpha protects the pack and does what's in their best interest, the pack listens to their alpha by instinct but also by choice."
He looks up at me then and I frown, feeling like if I should have something to say. He studies me for a moment longer before revealing what he wanted to say.
"I am an alpha." He confesses sounding a little sad about it.
It's my turn to stare now as I watch him, catching the way his body sagged as if ashamed of a title that sounded pretty important to me. I rub his hands a little to bring him back to me, not letting him spiral in whatever negative thoughts took his gaze from mine.
"That sounds nice," I say, unable to say anything else. I felt like I was underselling it but I could tell, somehow, that if I sounded even a bit more excited about it, it'd completely crush Damon.
The question was, why?
"So you have a 'pack' was it?" I ask unsurely but he nods slowly. "You lead them?" He doesn't nod.
My chest contracts as I watch the light fade from Damon's eyes, like some part of him was put to rest with just those words. When he tried to pull his hands away, I grip onto them tighter and tug him a little closer to me.
Being close always repelled whatever darkness tried to take either of us, space was our kryptonite, I knew that now.
Damon comes easily but his gaze remains cast down at our hands, the sight of him in such distress tearing me apart from the inside out. Every cell in me screamed for me to bring him into my arms, but he didn't want to be held now, not with this.
"Did I get something wrong?" I ask desperately, bending my head down to try and catch his line of vision but he doesn't look at me. "I-I'm sorry Damon."
Damon shakes his head as if to dismiss my apology, but he doesn't reply right away. He just keeps staring at our joint hands, watching the way I held his tight in between my own, letting my thumbs rub at his rougher skin to try and smooth his worries.
"We can talk about this another time." I offer, wanting to banish any mention of whatever was making him so sad. I lift our hands and take the time to press a kiss to each of his knuckles, hoping the administrations would quell his troubled waters.
"It won't make it any easier to leave it to a later date," Damon admits, I open my eyes and look up to find him already looking at me with the kindest gaze that completely took my breath away, melting my heart in the way only Damon could.
"Are you sure?" I ask, not wanting to push him to do something that clearly bothered him.
Damon nods and leans over the small distance to press a gentle kiss to my lips. The soft connection sends a ripple of electricity through my veins and my heart soaring within an instant.
"Thank you." He whispers against me with a small smile.
He pulls back enough to look at me, letting one of his hands escape mine to brush my crazy, bedhead out of my face. I wanted to do the same for him but stop myself knowing I'd probably kiss him if I did and not stop after that.
"I have a pack but I don't lead them." Damon clarifies, his eyes holding mine despite the clear agony coursing through them. "Most packs shift to new alphas when the next in line turns eighteen, but the process and age vary for some packs. For mine, the firstborn child gets the role when they turn of age."
"You just get it? Just like that?"