Chapter 138: The Daughter’s Choice
Damian kept his hand braced against the small of Jannah’s back as they navigated the corridors of the Grefo estate, his eyes darting to the shadows every time a distant footstep vibrated through the floor. The air in the villa still carried the lingering, suffocating stench of burnt pheromones from the explosive confrontation in the lounge. Jannah walked beside him like a ghost, her face drained of color, her left hand clutching the plaster cast of her right arm against her chest to shield it from the slight, painful vibrations of their pace.
The moment the door of her room clicked shut behind them, locking out the rest of the predatory household, Damian spun around. His gentle, composed doctor’s facade fractured instantly, replaced intense panic.
"Jannah, look at me," Damian demanded, stepping directly into her path, his hands coming up to gently grasp her shoulders. His voice was a sharp, trembling whisper. "Why did the Grefos say that? Why did Guron stand in front of the Moscows and claim that you are pregnant with Dorrent’s child? Are you... have you been sleeping with him?"
Jannah froze, the blood running instantly cold in her veins as his words hung in the quiet room. Her chest heaved, a suffocating, paralyzing weight pressing down on her throat. She looked into Damian’s frantic, searching eyes and felt a sickening wave of shame wash over her mind. She couldn’t tell him. How could she possibly look this gentle, caring doctor in the eye and admit the horrific truth? How could she tell him that she had become that arrogant S-tier Alpha’s secret sex toy, that Dorrent had been systematically conquering her body, using her as a cure for his five-year impotence? The memory of Dorrent’s heavy weight, his possessive hands, and the shameless things he did to her burned behind her eyelids like branding irons.
She forced her jaw to unlock, swallowing the bitter taste of lie and desperation as she shook her head frantically. "No! No, Doctor Damian, they are bluffing!" Jannah cried out, her voice cracking with a desperate edge as she reached up with her left hand to push at his chest. "Dorrent is a completely mad man! The entire Grefo family is completely insane! You saw how desperate they were to break off that engagement with the Moscow family. They were only using me as a convenient, disposable excuse to shatter the contract. I am not pregnant! You know I’m not!"
As she spoke the words, Jannah’s mind began to race at a terrifying speed. The trap was closing in around her. Dorrent had already vowed to her that he was going to force her into a marriage, that he would claim her permanently as his wife. And now, Guron had made the first move by publicly alienating the Moscows. They were clearing the path to bind her to this estate forever. She knew with certainty that she could never, ever get married to Dorrent Grefo.
I have to escape, she thought frantically, her dark eyes wide and wild as she stared at the handsome, concerned face of the man standing before her. I have to do something right now, before the Grefos finalize their traps.
Damian was different. Damian was a doctor. Over the past days, he had treated her with nothing but gentleness, caring for her body and looking at her with genuine, soft affection. It didn’t matter that he was the son of the notorious Mafia boss Bellero Boren; right now, he was her only viable shield against the monster next door.
Jannah took a shallow breath, stepping closer until her chest almost brushed against Damian’s. She looked straight into his confused eyes, her voice dropping into a soft, trembling vibration. " Doctor Damian... do you like me? Even a little bit?"
Damian blinked, completely caught off guard by the sudden, intense shift in her demeanor. The confusion on his face was palpable, his hands softening against her shoulders. "Jannah... what kind of question is that?" he murmured, a faint warmth breaking through his panic. "Of course I like you. I didn’t come to this estate just to act as a formal physician. I am here because I want to protect you. I am here to win your affection, to take you away from this place. I like you a lot, Jannah. More than you think. Why are you asking me this right now?"
Jannah didn’t answer his question directly. In her mind, the final, desperate calculation snapped into place. If an Alpha marked an Omega, if he sank his teeth into the scent gland and claimed the biological frequency, the bond was permanent. No other Alpha could ever claim her. Even if Dorrent Grefo used all the wealth and S-tier brute force of his lineage, he would never be able to force a marked woman into his bed. It was a permanent lock. She would rather belong to the gentle doctor than let her parents’ murderer’s touch her ever again.
"Damian," Jannah whispered, her dark eyes locking onto his with a terrifying certainty. "Can you bite me? Right now. Make me your mate."
Damian’s body went rigid, his breath catching sharply in his throat. He stared down at her, utterly shocked, his sharp mind struggling to process the monumental weight of what this girl was offering so easily. He had come here prepared for a long, grueling battle of hearts, fully aware of his father’s bitter warnings about the stubborn women of her lineage who never chose the Boren bloodline willingly. Bellero had failed to win her mother Frost’s heart, a failure that had haunted their family for decades. And now, here was Frost’s daughter, standing inside the enemy’s territory, begging him to sink his teeth into her neck and claim her. The biological potential roared in his veins—the rare genetic frequency running through Jannah’s blood meant that she could birth Enigmas for him, the legendary apex entities of the world.
He swallowed hard, his Alpha instincts instantly catching fire, a possessive hunger swirling in his pupils. "Jannah... if you are truly okay with this... I will do it."
"I am ready," Jannah said flatly.
Without a shred of hesitation, she turned and climbed onto the bed, lying down flat on her back against the sheets. She carefully tucked her right arm across her stomach, ensuring she didn’t put any pressure on the right side of her ribs where the bullet wound was still tenderly healing under the bandages. With her left hand, she gripped the collar of her gown and pulled it downward, exposing the long, pale curve of her neck to him. She closed her eyes, her breathing shallow, waiting for the strike that would save her from the Grefo empire.
Damian lowered his body over the edge of the bed, his muscular frame hovering above hers as he stared down at the breathtaking sight of her exposed skin. His heart was hammering like a war drum against his ribs. He hesitated for a second, the ethical weight of his doctor’s training fighting against the primal, mad lust roaring through his Alpha biology.
"Jannah," Damian rasped, his voice dropping into a low vibration as he leaned closer, his hot breath fanning against her collarbone. "Are you certain about this? Once my teeth sink into your gland, you are committing your entire biology only to me. You will never be able to be with anyone else for the rest of your life. Do you understand what you are choosing?"
"I am certain," Jannah whispered through her clenched teeth, her eyes remaining shut. "Just do it, Doctor. Hurry."
Driven by the sudden rush of his primal instincts and the intoxicating scent of her skin, Damian lowered his head completely. He extended his tongue, slowly licking the soft, sensitive patch of skin right over her scent gland. Jannah’ body jolted, an involuntary shiver coursing straight down her spine at the strange, intimate contact.
Damian tilted his jaw, his sharp canines beginning to lengthen, his lips parting as he hovered a mere millimeter above her flesh, ready to strike and seal the bond permanently.
BANG!!!
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