Delicate

Chapter 28

Please read message at the end, so that you don't find yourself lost and confused in the future.

-------

Damon's P.O.V

"Is it painful?" Will asks, his eyes flicking between my canines and my eyes. "It looks painful."

I retract my canines, happy to put them away after sating his curiosity once more. His head tilts from side to side on my chest, chin resting on his hands as he looks up at me, awaiting an answer.

"It doesn't hurt after the first couple of times," I reply as I continue combing his hair with my fingers. "It may sting every now and then as I grow but nothing unbearable."

Will's expression turns at this, in that way it did every time I shared something about wolves that hinted towards pain.

He'd been curious these last few days, asking every question he could possibly think of. Some were expected, others hadn't even crossed my mind, but I answered them all with unbound honesty.

I didn't have anything to hide from Will.

Not because we were mates, but because it was Will. The only person to ever stay instead of running, listen instead of blaming and seeing instead of believing.

Will chose to try and understand parts of me I was yet to completely understand, so I couldn't lie to the only person who saw me in a light greater than the shadow I deserved.

I never thought I could be so completely open with another person, never dreamt that I could share my thoughts, my past, my habits without fearing judgment or retribution of some kind. But Will defied all my previously constructed fears, listening to everything I had to share with interest and an unprecedented level of understanding that honestly scared me.

Will... confused me.

I couldn't, yet, wrap my head around the way he tried to take it all in, his seemingly neverending acceptance to all things foreign to him. It went beyond the mate bond, his ability to calm the storms in me, to listen and act accordingly.

They were qualities I'd seen in betas, the calm reassurance of their presence for an alpha but also qualities which were said to shine through in lunas, the need to comfort.

Theo marked these moments as a build to the metaphorical wolf that rested within him, development to a strength that laid in him if he chose to follow the path that waited for him with me.

Will would be an amazing leader to our people, I didn't doubt that for a single moment. If he chose to take the role alongside me, he would be cherished by all, I knew he had it in him, even if he didn't know it himself.

"Were you born with them or they just appeared one day?" He continues when his discomfort as transparent as his eyes.

"Do you have a teeth fetish I should know about?" I tease, raising a questioning brow that makes him roll his eyes as he pulls my hand from his hair to bite a finger in warning. "You're more of a wolf than I am."

"Maybe I am." Will teases making me snort. "I could be, you said there are dormant bloodlines!"

"They are." I admit with a nod, trying not to laugh in his face as he watched me expectantly. "But the stench of human in literally soaked into your bones babe, there's no way you're mixed with anything outside of your species."

"You're hatred for 'my species' is both understandable and annoying." Will replies slowly as he bends my finger back to the point that I was wincing. "And stench?"

"No." I groan as he continues his attempt to breaking my index finger. "Stop, for fuck sake."

He lets go with a proud smile, pressing a kiss to the pulsing finger before resting his face into my palm.