The Betrayal

Chapter Two

His shoulders caved into each other as his eyes squeezed shut, bracing himself for my rejection.

He deserved it, not only for the pain he forced me into, but also because I tortured him every time I laid with Luca. Selfishness fester inside of me since the day at the diner. All I wanted Damon to go through was pain and suffering like he put me through, but I had put him through enough. I would be furious if I felt him and Alexandra.

I put my needs and desires before everyone else. I ignored the fact that he could feel everything that happened to me. He could feel my happiness with Luca, the torture from Valerio, the rape from Brett.

I shivered at the last thoughts and pushed them away, reminding myself to deal with them later before they become too much.

Taking my hands out of his grasp, I gently rubbed the creases on my forehead.

My heart and my head tore me in different directions. My head told me to reject him, to finally get over the weakness that has held me down. After the rejection, Luca and I could have a happy life. My head told me not to trust Damon with my bruised heart, but a small whisper slipped into the back of my mind telling me not to trust Luca either.

My heart ached for the man in front of me. My newly found wolf craved the beast. She wanted to taste his affection and run free with his heart. A spark of warmth still emitted between us.

I clenched my jaw as I enveloped his hands in mine.

I sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. I couldn't make an honest decision right now. My worries stripped away my judgement and clouded my view of reality.

"Damon, I-I can't reject you," I whispered. A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my cheek.

His eyes widened at my words as his lips parted. "Why?"

I pressed my lips together and looked to the ground, not wanting to stare into his needy orbs, not wanting to plunge into their depths.

He inhaled sharply. "Do-do you still love me?" he questioned. Nervousness hung in his voice.

I clenched my jaw harder as I tried to stop my chin from quivering. This was too much for me.

His fingers brushed under my chin and he lifted them, so I stared into his eyes. "Do you still love me, Mae?"

My eyebrows furrowed together, and I dropped my head into my hands.

I still loved him but leading him on was so wrong. He wrapped his arms around me and I sank into his touch. Yearning for someone to hold me and to tell me that I'd be okay, that'd everything would turn out fine. I gripped onto his shirt. His fingers laced in my hair and he gently scratched the top of my head as his other hand rubbed my back.

Pulling away, I looked up into his eyes. The dullness in his eyes disappeared and a glow replaced it.

"Damon, I-I can't promise you anything will happen between us. I have a lot I'm dealing with right now. I'm not in the right mind-set to be making hasty decisions," I admitted. "I can't reject you now, but I can promise you that nothing sexual will happen between Luca and I until I make a decision. You don't deserve the pain."

He nodded his head at me as his lips twitched.

Closing my eyes, I pulled him into a hug. His arms warmed me as he shielded me from my emptiness.

Once we pulled away, he reached for my hand, but I intertwined my fingers with each other, so he couldn't hold it. A frown appeared on his face, but he nodded, and we walked to his office.