It did not stop there. The true challenge came when a woman with eyes the color of an enraged sea, walked up to me. She looked powerful, and although stunning, she was furious. She was the woman who had taught that she would be the Luna.

She ignored me totally, leaning in with her scent like musk and jasmine. She was a fierce she-wolf, and she aggressively pushed against me as she purred, ‘’Alpha Damon.’’

‘’The pack needs it’s Alpha to be present on the night of Solstice. We were worried you wouldn’t come.’’

‘’Riannon, you are always worried,’’ Damon said with an aloof expression. ‘’I am here with my future Luna.’’ When he said that, he looked at me possessively, deliberately trying to taunt Riannon.

Eventually, Riannon looked at me. Her eyes became narrow and formed into slits as the storm in them continued to rage. ‘’Alpha, she smells of nothing but fear. She is too human and wreaks entirely of them. The Luna’s blood becomes cold when she smells fear.’’

Before I could say anything witty and formal to Riannon, Damon shielded me from Riannon with his body as he stepped closer to me. He violated our contract where I said he should never touch me without my consent and slipped his hand across my waist in front of everyone.

‘’Riannon, the Mate Bond comes before anything and anyone,’’ Damon stated. His voice was nothing but a terrifying growl, low and steady. It vibrated across the hall, through the crowd that surrounded us.

‘’I can already feel Elara’s loyalty as it is deep in her soul.’’ His lips brushed my ear on a sensitive spot as he lowered his head. I quickly felt the wave of possession. Sexual possession and dominance surged through me. It submerged the former ache that the bond had on me with a heavy jolt that made me gasp and cling to Damon’s arm.

‘’As for her scent, her scent is mine.’’ His hot breath fanned my skin as he finished speaking. ‘’You will either respect her, or I will exile you. Choose one.’’

Damon had projected his power, raw and unleashed, making Riannon’s face become pale. Defeated, she curtseyed and backed off.

Damon had left me exposed and dizzy as he publicly dominated me. I was trembling against him. Even though he had protected me against Riannon, he had also violated our terms of contract.

I was left trembling against Damon, exposed and dizzy from the public display of his dominance. He had protected me, yes, but he had also irrevocably broken our first term.

‘’Little birdie, just for one minute and you started failing, ehn?’’ He said this with a gaze that held onto mine. Well, since you don’t know how to be deceptive, you now owe me.’’

The illusion of a happy power couple was destroyed as soon as the doors of the elevator at the penthouse closed behind me and Damon. Instantly, Damon removed his hand from my waist, but I could still feel his heat.

It was supposed to be a mere touch, but the Mate Bond heightened it to agony.

We walked through the living room, both of us silent. We were headed for our separate suites. I could feel rage oozing from Damon, though he tried to contain it. It was what he would suffer after the display of dominance he was forced to do earlier.

Even if it was merely a human mate, Alpha’s did not like to be challenged, and Alpha Damon was not an exception.

I stopped and turned to face him when I got to the entrance of my suit. The dress I had on, which boosted my confidence just a while ago, now felt bare to me.

I said to Alpha Damon, ‘’you broke the contract.’’ My voice was shaking, but it was not because I was afraid, it was because I was angry.

I could still feel his lips against my ear from earlier on when he kissed me possessively, and I folded my arms, trying to create a mental distance between me and him.

Damon Thorne turned with a glacial expression. He casually took off his suite jacket and threw it on a chair close to him. His chest was now in front of me, broad and intimidating.

‘’Elara, what I did was save you from the strongest Beta line of Shadow Pack, okay?’’ His eyes burned with reason, cold and logical.

“Riannon and her family feel entitled to the position of Luna. If I had not publicly claimed you, you would have been tested, little birdie, and you would have failed hopelessly.’’

‘’I didn’t need you to protect me.’’

‘’You needed me, my strength. You needed it.’’ He corrected me with a certainty that was brutal to the last. And as soon as you let fear cover your scent, you failed the rule of obedience. Everyone smelled your fear, including Riannon. I just had to remind them that you are mine, and my property will be protected.’’

I breathed heavily, a steady breath that fought my natural need to submit to his possessiveness, his dominance. I had come to a crossroad, and I had to make the best decision because at this point, anger won’t work, but logic.

I accepted defeat and forced a word out of my throat, ‘’fine.’’

‘'You made sure they knew the claim, you protected me, but now you are in debt. The term was no physical touch, and you violated it. That was the only boundary I had against you. Then, you said I owe you. Can you tell me what I owe you? Now.’’

When Damon tilted his head to look at me, I saw that the anger in his eyes had been replaced with some sort of assessing. He loved the challenge, the fact that I was trying to beat him at his own game.

‘’I’ll have to commend you. You are quick,’’ he murmured and stepped close to me. I didn’t move an inch as I held on to the hope that he would uphold his promise concerning my privacy.

‘’What you owe me tonight is not physical. You owe me work.’’

He had a dangerous look of anticipation in his eyes. ‘’You have a sharp and intelligent mind as a former financial analyst. Even if your mind is now occupied by the foolishness of being a human, I need that mind of yours now, Elara.’’

‘’You need it for what?’’ I asked.

‘’Thorne Group wants to take over a rival company. We are planning it. As we may have it, the company is run by Riannon’s father.’’ Damon’s voice was low and screamed of conspiration as he revealed this to me.

‘’The deal is a complex one, and dirty I must say. What I need is someone to infiltrate their corporations and find their weaknesses. Trace their illegal money that they have been using the Pack’s financial institutions to run. Their assets must have weaknesses.