CHAPTER THREE
Damien watched the emotions play on the face of this girl. What was her name again? He couldn't quite catch it, he didn't even ask her.
She looked bewildered, then confused as her green eyes blinked repeatedly at her father.
Damien knew that Philip would not tell his daughter, that man was just too selfish and shrewd. But that didn't matter to him, he would get what he came here for. Which was her.
"Mate?" He heard her ask. Her silky voice coming out in whispers. "What does that mean?"
"It means you're…his. You belong to him"
Jewel stood there, as speechless as ever. She looked at her mother, hoping to see some reaction that would show that this…this whole thing had to be some kind of sick joke. But no, Hilda stood there silently sobbing and unable to keep eye contact with her daughter.
"I belong to…." Jewel stopped and looked back at her father. "I'm getting married in a few minutes…I'm getting sold into marriage in a few minutes.." She said, choking on her words and causing Damien's brows to furrow.
"You're not getting sold—"
"Yes, I am. You're selling me off to some man, father!" Jewel snapped, she didn't care how disrespectful her yelling was, "Now you're coming to tell me that I belong to some stranger who barged into my room to do God knows what!" Her voice wavered with hurt and anger, "So, what? You double booked me?"
"Jewel!" Her mother intervened.
"No, I want to know." She said to her mother before turning back to her father, "You sold m e to two different men, right? Because that's all I'm worth!"
For some reason, Philip didn't yell or chide his daughter for talking that way to him. He was more scared of the cold and menacing frown he received from the Damien who stood behind Jewel.
"What is the meaning of a mate anyway?" Jewel continued, her question directed to everyone in the room. "Oh, is it like…like a mate, in the werewolf books I read? In werewolf fiction?" She asked mockingly but when her father's expression didn't change and when nobody said anything. Jewel's eyes opened wide in disbelief.
"You're kidding…"
"Sadly, it's true" came the voice of Damien from behind her and she instantly shuddered before turning to look at him.
"How stupid do you think I am?" Jewel frowned, "if you all want to trick me, use more convincing lies"
Damien looked at the frown in her face and chuckled lightly. Obviously amused.
"It's true, Jewel" came the voice of her mother. "Damien…is the ummm…he's a werewolf and you're his mate"
Jewel didn't know how to react anymore, everyone seemed so serious.
Was she to actually believe that werewolves were suddenly real and that she was the mate to one of them? Was this really happening right now? What kind of madness was going on right now?
She didnt know what else to say so, she said the first thing that came to her mind. "But I'm human and in the books I've read—"
"You're human and that's why I needed to break the bond with you. I don't want to have anything to do with a human" Damien walked up to her. "And this isn't some fantasy book. This is real life, Princess"
Jewel stared back at him, her eyes blinking repeatedly at him, a sign that he should explain. She watched as he gave out an tired and slight irritated sigh.
"It could have been better if you had explained this to her, Philip" he said, frowning slightly at man.
"She was getting married soon, I didn't want her to be distracted" came the selfish reply from the man.
Before Jewel could say anything else, Damien began to explain, "Look, you're human and that's not a good thing for me. I don't need or want a human mate, no matter how beautiful she is"
Jewel could feel her cheeks go red as her breath hitched. She tore her gaze from his face and asked calmly, "But in the books I've read, werewolves and humans…"
Jewel stopped immediately. What was she doing? Was she trying to make him see that she could…no. Definitely not. Her gaze went back to his face and she saw the amused expression that played across his features.
"So, you want to break the bond. How?" She asked.
"Your father was supposed to take care of that. But since he obviously refused, I have no other option than to take you. I'll probably figure out how to break the bond by the time I reach home"
"Damien, please" Jewel turned to see her father and two other bodyguards that suddenly appeared behind him. Where did they come from? "She's getting married and I can't afford to offend the Audreus'—"
"Is that all you care about, Philip?!" This time it was Hilda who yelled. She couldn't believe how selfish her husband was acting. Their daughter was about to be taken by her supposed mate, taken far away to Heaven knows where. Taken by a werewolf!
Hilda could remember the first time they met Damien, he had told them to try their best to break the mate bond he had with their daughter. He didn't want anything to do with Jewel. Hilda knew that her husband was involved with a lot of people so believing the existence of werewolves were not hard. But Instead of focusing on freeing his daughter, he sought to get her married, to benefit his company.
Tears dripped from her eyes as she frowned at him, "How could you let this happen?"
What in Heavens name was even going through his head?? Did he really think that Damien wouldn't come back? She looked at her daughter who was shivering with disbelief, confusion and hurt and the tears continued to flow. It hurt her to know that she was so useless in this situation. Philip never told her anything, never wanted to hear her opinions.
"Damien, please give us time.." she pleaded.
"I cannot do that. I gave your husband two years knowing he had the means to break this bond but he took my words as a joke. I'm taking her with me, she belongs to me, "Damien said, "I'll try to break the bond and if I succeed I promise to return her back"
"But…but if you don't want me, why are you even taking me?" Jewel interrupted.
Damien sighed, "You don't understand how this bond works. I have no choice"
Jewel looked back at her mother and saw the sadness in her eyes. This felt like a dream, no… it wasn't real. This didn't make sense to her.
She was still lost in her thoughts when she felt herself being pulled into Damien's arms and felt it wrap strongly around her waist. Before she could turn to look at him she heard him utter in the most frightful voice she had ever heard.
"Drop the gun, Philip"
Immediately she looked up to see the bodyguards and her father, aiming their guns at her….at her or at Damien? She couldn't tell.
"She needs to get married, it's important that she does. Our business will crumble if she doesn't and I took a loan from Seth and—"
"Wait!" Hilda immediately stopped her husband. "You took a loan from Seth? As in…the Seth?"
"Yes and her marriage to Brandon was supposed to clear my debt or else, Seth will come after us and…her.."
Jewel looked at her parents, who was this Seth again? What does he have to do with this? What was her father talking about?
Jewel felt her head start to spin and almost immediately, she felt Damien's palm on her forehead from behind. This little action startled her, the coldness of his hands in contrast with her warm skin..
Immediately a scream was heard and She watched as her mother tried to wrestled the gun from her father's hand,
"How could you do that to our daughter?," The woman yelled.
"Hilda, let go!" Philip shouted back angrily. They both fell down as he tried to aim the gun at Damien.
"Jewel, get out of here!" Her mother yelled to her. "leave!"
Before Jewel could even understand what was happening. Gun shots were heard, she felt herself being carried up in the air by Damien before they both landed close to her window. Her pounded furiously in her chest, not just because of the inhuman speed as to which Damien jumped with her but at the sight of her mother, laying motionless on the floor.
Her breathing became harder, had….had she been hit? Oh, God.
"Mother!" Jewel screamed but it seemed that the woman couldn't hear her. She tried to wiggle out of Damien's grip but he held on firm to her.
It seemed that her father and his bodyguards didn't stop firing and Damien kept moving. All she could feel was the air swooshing around her as they moved around her room.
"Stop this, right now Damien!" She heard her father shout as they landed next to the window again.
Damien didn't say a word, he eyed the man again. His gaze fell to the already weeping girl in his arms and with one final jump, he leaped out the window with her.
With the air passing so fast around her and with her sight becoming blurry all of a sudden and with the realization that she had just jumped—alongside this Damien, out of a freaking window made Jewel to feel as if she would pass out. But soon, she felt her feet land on solid ground.
Before Damien could let go of her, she had already pushed him away, not only that but she began to hit him furiously and claw at his face as he tried to calm her down.
"Don't touch me!" She screamed. "I need to go meet my mother! I need to go see if she's okay!" She pushed him off and began to run away. She knew they just fell right out of her window, but her thoughts were centered on her mother. Was she okay? Had she been shot? She didn't get far she felt her wrist being grabbed from behind. Being forced to turn around, she met the calm face of Damien. He seemed so unbothered by everything.
"You can't go back there" he said, calmly.
Jewel tried to twist her wrist away his grip but he was to strong for her, "Why not? Didn't you hear what I said? My mother—"
"Listen to me, Jewel" he said, loving the feeling of her name on his tongue. Jewel. The name befitted her. "You're in danger, your life is in danger"
For a second, Jewel stopped struggling and just looked at him. She was panting now, from both the stress and the shock. Her chest was rising up and down and Damien's tried hard to tear his gaze away. "What do you mean?"
"Stop struggling and follow me and I'll tell you"
"Follow you to where?!" Jewel snapped angrily, "Who even are you?"
Damien heaved a sigh and answered, "I'll explain everything to your understanding once you come with me," he said his brows furrowing, "Whether you agree or not, you're coming with me, so I'm giving you the luxury of complying"
Before Jewel could argue he added swiftly, "Also remember your mother wanted you to run away, and obviously she meant with me. So you should know the situation you're in"
Jewel gulped down the lump that seemed to appear in her throat. Why was all this happening? She was being mated to a stranger who claims to be a werewolf, her marriage to Brandon was to help her father pay off the debt he owes to some man named Seth, a man who would hurt her family and her…
"You don't need to cry" Jewel heard Damien say and she immediately noticed that her cheeks were wet. She hadn't even realized she was crying, she looked up to see Damien looking past her, she also realized that he wasn't holding her wrist anymore.
Turning around in the hope of finding a possible way to escape, she was shocked to her bones to see two large wolves right in front of them.
They didn't look like normal wolves, because Jewel has seen wolves before…this….they looked so much bigger and more…powerful, their fur were as dark as the word and their eyes glistened.
Jewel could feel the fear bubbling inside her. Damien didn't seem to move out say anything and Just when she thought it wouldn't get stranger, she saw a spiral of dark smoke go round the wolves simultaneously and before her very eyes….in the place of the huge wolves were two very good looking men.
Jewel's jaw dropped.