CHAPTER TEN
DAMIEN
Iwake up in an empty bed.
For a moment, I just stare at the ceiling, trying to process it, my mind sluggish from sleep. My hand moves to where she was curled up against me, but all I feel is cold sheets.
My jaw clenches. She’s gone.
I sit up slowly, muscles tense, eyes scanning the room. Her clothes are missing from the floor. Her phone charger, too. My gaze locks onto the slightly open door, and a slow, simmering rage curls through my veins.
She ran.
Again.
I shove the blankets back and get to my feet, every movement calculated, careful. I can feel the anger winding tighter, pushing against my ribs, begging to be let out.
Did she really think I wouldn’t notice? That I wouldn’t wake up and come after her? Stupid fucking girl. I run a hand through my hair, trying to steady the pulse pounding in my head.
She actually thought she could slip away after everything. After begging me to make her mine. After screaming my name, clawing at my back, falling apart in my hands.
The memory makes me smirk, but it’s tainted with annoyance. She thought that was it? One night and done? Like I’d let her walk out without permission?
I grab my shirt from the floor, pull it over my shoulders, then lace up my boots with quick, angry movements. She’s out there somewhere, probably thinking she’s safe, probably convincing herself she’s free.
She doesn’t know shit.
I yank my jacket off the chair, shoving my phone into my pocket. The urge to break something claws at me, but I swallow it down. I don’t have time to waste on a tantrum. I need to find her.
My phone buzzes—a notification from the security app I rigged on her phone when she wasn’t paying attention. I pull it up, tracking her location. A tight, satisfied smile spreads across my face.
“You can run, Little Spider, but you’ll never get far.”
I grab my keys and head out the door, slamming it behind me. The motel hallway echoes with the sound, and I make my way to the stairs, moving fast but controlled. No point drawing too much attention.
As I step out into the cold night, I pull up the location again. She’s not far. A few blocks down, toward the old train yard. Clever girl—no cameras there. But not clever enough to know I’ve been tracking her every move since the beginning.
The anger coils tighter, turning sharp and focused. I can’t believe she thought she could just slip away after the night we had. After I gave her what she so clearly fucking needed.
I keep walking, cutting through alleys, the city quiet in the early dawn light. My breath mists in front of me, and I let it out slowly, forcing my mind to stay clear.
I’ll make her regret running. I’ll teach her that once I’ve claimed something, I don’t let it go.
She’s mine.
The rage simmers just beneath my skin, making my hands itch to grab her, drag her back, pin her down until she’s too exhausted to move. Maybe that’s the problem. I went too easy on her. Made her think she had some control.
I’ll fix that.
My phone pings again—a movement alert. She’s still in the train yard, probably hiding. I take a turn, cutting through the shortcut I know, slipping around the back of the abandoned warehouse that overlooks the tracks.
As I get closer, I spot her. Huddled against one of the rusted train cars, knees pulled to her chest, head down. She doesn’t see me yet.
Stupid, reckless little thing.
I step out of the shadows, making sure she hears the crunch of gravel under my boots. Her head snaps up, eyes wide and panicked, and I see the way her body tenses, like a rabbit caught in a trap.
I tilt my head, letting the anger bleed into my voice, low and dangerous. “Running again, Raven?”
She scrambles to her feet, backing up until she hits the side of the train car. Her hands are shaking, and I take a slow, deliberate step forward. “Thought you could just leave? After everything? After begging me to fuck you, to make you mine? You really think I’d just let you go?”
Her lips part, and she looks like she’s trying to find words, but nothing comes out. I take another step, and she presses tighter to the metal, like she could slip through it and disappear.
I stop just in front of her, my hand coming up to rest on the cold steel beside her head.
“Did you really think I wouldn’t wake up and come after you? Or did you want me to follow? Is that it? Trying to see how far I’d go to get you back?”
She shakes her head, and I see the conflict in her eyes—fear and something darker, something raw.
“I just… I needed space,” she whispers.
I laugh, the sound rough and cruel.
“Space? After how you melted in my hands? After how you begged for more? You don’t get space, Little Spider. You’re mine. You don’t get to run. Not from me.”
Her chest heaves, and I lean in, pressing my body against hers, feeling the way she trembles.
“You know what happens when you run?” I murmur, lips brushing her ear. “I make it hurt. I’ll make sure you never even think about leaving again.”
She swallows hard, and I grab her chin, forcing her to look at me.
“You’re not going anywhere,” I say, voice dropping to a growl. “I’ll tie you to the fucking bed if I have to. Make you remember exactly why you belong to me.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off, pressing my lips to hers—hard, possessive—reminding her who’s in control.
She fights it at first, hands pushing against my chest, but I don’t give her the chance to resist. I bite down on her lower lip, just enough to draw a gasp, and push my tongue past her lips, swallowing the sound.
When I pull back, she’s breathing hard, eyes wide, and I smirk, wiping the tear from her cheek with my thumb.
“Next time you try to run,” I whisper, low and menacing, “I’ll make sure you can’t walk for a week. Do you understand me?”
She nods, eyes locked on mine, and satisfaction surges. I brush a strand of hair from her face, letting my hand trail down to her throat, thumb pressing against her pulse.
“Good girl,” I murmur. “Now, you’re coming back with me. And we’re going to have a long talk about what happens when you try to leave me.”
I grip her wrist, pulling her close, and I feel her resistance falter—her body giving in even as her mind fights it.
She’s mine and I’ll make sure she never forgets it.
I grip her wrist tighter, dragging her closer, feeling her pulse pounding under my fingers. She’s trembling, but there’s something else in her eyes—something calculating.
“You’re not running again,” I growl, voice low and rough. “You’re coming with me, and we’re going to fix this little problem of yours—thinking you can just slip away whenever you want.”
She says nothing, just swallows hard, eyes darting to the side like she’s looking for an escape. I jerk her chin back, forcing her to look at me. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, Little Spider. You’re not going anywhere.”
Her lips part, and I see the fear mingled with something sharper—like she’s forming a plan. I narrow my eyes, squeezing her wrist harder. “Don’t even think about it.”
Her breathing evens out, and she tilts her head, trying to soften her expression. “Damien,” she whispers, and I almost falter at the way she says my name—soft, almost pleading. “I’m sorry. I just… I panicked.”
My jaw tightens, but hearing it satisfies something in me. “You should be sorry,” I mutter. “Running from me like that. What the fuck were you thinking?”
She looks down, biting her lip, and I loosen my grip just a fraction, curious about this sudden change. “I was just scared,” she murmurs, voice trembling. “You… you scared me. I needed to breathe.”
I scoff, shaking my head. “You don’t get to breathe without my permission. You don’t get to just leave.”
Her free hand lifts, fingers brushing my chest, and I freeze—caught between suspicion and the way her touch makes my skin burn. “You’re right,” she whispers, eyes lifting to meet mine. “I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you.”
My mind blanks for a second at the softness in her voice. She presses her palm to my chest, right over my heart, and for just a moment, I think she’s finally breaking—finally giving in.
That’s when she digs her nails into my skin, raking them down hard enough to sting, and in the split second I flinch, she shoves me back with all her strength.
I stumble—just a step—but it’s enough. She bolts, slipping under my arm and sprinting down the length of the train yard, kicking up gravel as she runs.
“RAVEN!” I roar, the sound echoing off the metal cars. Rage bursts through me like wildfire, and I take off after her, heart pounding.
She’s faster than I thought, weaving between the abandoned train cars, darting around corners like she actually thinks she can outmanoeuvre me. I slam my fist against a rusted metal door as I pass, the sound reverberating through the yard, but it doesn’t slow her down.
“Fucking clever little bitch,” I mutter, pulse throbbing in my temples.
I speed up, tracking her by the sound of her footsteps and the way her breathing comes out in harsh, terrified pants. I can’t believe she pulled that shit on me—playing sweet, playing submissive.
“You’re just making it worse for yourself!” I shout, cutting through a gap between cars, trying to head her off. “When I catch you, you’re going to pay for that stunt!”
I catch a glimpse of her darting right, heading for the broken fence at the far end of the yard. My blood boils. She actually thinks she can get out that way. I speed up, but she’s quicker, and before I know it, she’s slipping through the gap, cutting her hand on the jagged wire.
I snarl, grab the fence, yank it open wider, and force my way through. I lose a few seconds disentangling my jacket from the wire, and when I make it to the other side, she’s already across the empty lot, sprinting toward the alleys that cut through the industrial district.