Damon (Alpha Daddies #3)

Prologue

“Olivia…”

Olivia nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that firm, commanding voice drawl out her name. She wasn’t surprised he could scent her. After all, the entire reason she’d approached him was because she’d scented him . But she was hiding around the corner of the house. He couldn’t possibly see her, and how did he know her name?

“You might as well show yourself, Little rebel.” Was he laughing?

She inched around the corner, keeping herself flat against the siding, and faced her intended mate for the first time. Pushing up her thick glasses, she made out his features as best she could. Damn eyesight .

He was several yards away, standing guard outside the home of one of her classmates, Suzette. She knew why. She’d overheard her parents speaking about the two Alpha Protectors who were providing protection for Suzette because she had a stalker.

Olivia couldn’t breathe. She also couldn’t believe she was standing here. It was forbidden for Fated mates to confront each other before their mating ceremony, and that wasn’t for another year. Olivia was nineteen.

“Does anyone know you’re here, Olivia?”

She slowly shook her head. “No. How do you know my name?”

“I know everything about you, Little rebel.” He was chuckling.

“That’s not fair.” She chewed on her lower lip. The only reason she knew anything about her mate was because curiosity had caused her to sneak out here and snoop around.

He laughed. “Lots of things in life are not quite fair, Little rebel.”

“Why do you call me that?”

“Because it suits you. You knew better than to come out here, didn’t you?”

She couldn’t get any flatter against the side of the house. “Yes, Sir.”

“Then that makes you a rebel.” Another chuckle.

She was freaking out and more nervous than she’d ever been in her life, but his laughter calmed her. He wasn’t mad. “I… I was curious.”

“You heard two Alpha Protectors would be lurking around protecting Suzette, and you wondered if one of them might be your mate.”

She nodded. He understood. “I didn’t realize it would be so obvious.” It was, though. As soon as she’d gotten close to the house, she’d scented him and hadn’t been able to stop herself from continuing to approach. His scent was intoxicating. It drew her like a magnet.

She wished she could see him better. Fate had chosen differently for her, though. She’d been born with a degenerative eye disease, and her vision had continued to grow worse throughout her life. Even with the thick glasses, she could only make out his extreme height—almost seven feet—and his dark hair.

The sun was going down. Dusk was never her friend. It only amplified her visual problems.

Instinct caused her to take a step forward.

“Stay there, Little rebel,” he ordered. “We’re breaking all kinds of rules already. Let’s not add to them.”

She sighed and leaned back against the house. “Do you really know every thing about me?”

“Yes, Olivia.”

She pushed her glasses up again, straining to see him. This wasn’t fair. He could see her fine. She was at a disadvantage. She wondered if he could feel the same magnetic pull toward her that she felt toward him. She hoped so. Her mother had always insisted that the mark on her wrist indicated she was Fated to be claimed by one of the Alpha Protectors and that he would think she was perfect no matter what anyone else thought.

Olivia was shy and quiet. She assumed that was partly because of her vision. Her glasses were unattractive. As a wolf shifter, all of her other senses were heightened, but she suspected that because of her poor vision, she had an even more pronounced sense of hearing. She’d heard the whispers behind her back for years. Snickers because she was different.

Different was an understatement. She had a tendency to run into things. She held books close to her face. She didn’t participate in outdoor activities because she’d likely end up with a concussion.

The truth was she’d always wondered if her mother had simply said those things to her to make her feel better. She’d always worried that her mate would find her lacking or unattractive.

“I need you to listen to me, Olivia,” he said in a kind voice. “You need to go home before it gets dark. I know it’s only a few houses away, but it’s not safe out here. Whoever is stalking Suzette could decide to stalk you next.”

She shuddered. He was right. She should have thought of that.

“I…” She swallowed back her fear and licked her lips. “I needed to know…”

His voice was even softer when he spoke again. “I know, Baby girl. If I’d been in your shoes, I probably would have done the same thing. Curiosity is powerful. But this is frowned upon. We can’t see each other. And I need you to be safe. I worry about you every day. If anything happened to you…” His voice trailed off before he cleared his throat and continued, “One year, Olivia. It will fly by, and then you’ll be mine.”

Her head was spinning as she processed his words. He’d called her Baby girl. It made her chest tighten. She wanted to run toward him. She wanted to touch him. She wanted to know what it would feel like to be held in his arms.

“I might not even be able to see you at all by then,” she murmured, mostly to herself. “And I’m going to be a burden.”

She flinched when he responded as though she’d spoken much louder. “Little rebel, you will never be a burden. You are exactly perfect, and if you can’t see me with your eyes, you will see me with your hands.”

She sucked in a breath. Her heart was racing. She was stunned by how kind he was and how strongly she was affected by this encounter.

“I’m going to follow you home now, Olivia. I want you to be careful and stay safe. I need to know you will obey me and not take chances like this again so I won’t worry about you all the time.”

She stood taller and nodded. “I’ll be good. I promise.” She would do this for him. She would do it because even though the next year would be the hardest year of her life, and even though tracking him down like this might make her long for him even more than ever, she would have the memory of this encounter to get her through the lonely times.

She would go to bed every night hearing his voice in her head.

Baby girl …