Chapter 44

Anila POV

“Are you serious?” I asked, sounding a little breathy.

He gave me a curt nod, his face still showing indifference. He quickly closed his book that sat on the table before I could see what he was reading as I made my way to his table.

“Yeah, I understand the want to learn about your parents,” he murmured, standing to his feet.

I wondered what he meant by that, and I wanted to ask him, but I also didn’t want to be rude about it. He gestured for me to follow him, and I did so without hesitation.

“You felt the need to learn about your parents?” I asked.

He was quiet for a moment, and I honestly didn’t think he was going to answer me.

“I never knew my parents,” he shocked me by admitting. “I lived in an orphanage until I was old enough to go to school and then I met Sarah…”

I felt a jab of pain in my chest at the mention of Sarah and I tried desperately to hide the irritation on my face. I shouldn’t be feeling jealous, not again. I reminded myself that Xaden was my boyfriend and feeling this way about another was wrong on so many levels.

I shook my head, getting the thoughts to leave my mind.

“Sarah’s family made a deal with the orphanage, and they took me in,” he continued. “I lived with them until I started college.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him, unsure of what to say in response. “That must have been tough; living with strangers.”

Damien glanced at me from the side as we weaved around the many aisles.

“By the time I lived with them, they weren’t strangers,” Damien told me. I kept my head down when we walked, and when I didn’t say anything more, Damien asked, “What about you?”

I looked up at him and saw that he wasn’t looking at me, but from his tone, he was curious. I felt a warmth in my chest, and I bit my lower lip, chewing on it vigorously.

“My mother died giving birth to me,” I told him. “My father remarried, and they had a daughter a few years later. Then when I was 6, my father died.”

Damien paused and he surprised me by looking down at me, his eyes showing something I didn’t recognize from him, but from the threads that tied us together, I could feel the concern that radiated off him.

“So, for most of my life I lived with my stepmother and half-sister,” I continued to tell him. “It wasn’t exactly ideal.”

Damien nodded.

“And you had no idea you were part of the supernatural world?” He asked, raising his brows.

I shook my head.

“My stepmother always told me that I wasn’t special,” I admitted. “I had no reason to not believe her.”

Damien looked like he was going to say something in response to that, but he quickly closed his mouth and continued to walk.

“Must have been a shock when you found out the truth,” Damien finally said so softly that I almost didn’t hear him.

“That’s an understatement,” I said, biting back my grin. “It was a good shock though. I was finally able to get out of that house. It was more like my prison than my home. I had no freedom…”

Damien made a humming sound before he clucked his tongue.

“And now you are entangled with three men that you don’t know all for the sake of being fated mates,” he said, shaking his head with a look I didn’t quite understand. “That’s kind of like a prison on its own.”

My face heated from his words.

Three men?

I wanted to correct him and say four; he had to have felt this bond as strongly as I did. There was no way he couldn’t. It was strong between us, and my heart was going to pound out of my chest the longer we spoke.

But I decided it was probably not a good idea to provoke him and if he wanted to talk about our bond, he would have brought it up himself instead of hiding the fact that he was reading about it in a book. A book that he kept tucked under his arm protectively.

I hadn’t even realized we were back at the front desk until Alfred’s voice cut through my thoughts.

“You again? Didn’t I kick you out earlier? How dare you show back up here!” Alfred said through his teeth; his eyes narrowed in my direction as we neared.

Damien raised his brows and folded his arms across his chest as he paused in front of Alfred.

“Kicking out a student, Alfred? For what?”

Alfred glanced at him as if he hadn’t noticed Damien standing there.

Alfredo grumbled, “She was rude.”

My mouth dropped open to protest, but Damien held his hand up to halt me. He leaned his body against the counter casually and tilted his head at the old librarian.

“Please, Alfred. You’ve had meaner students, I’m sure. I don’t think it would hurt to point her in the right direction to find information about her late mother.” His tone was kind, but stern all at once.

Alfred clicked his tongue as he studied Damien’s face and then he looked at me. After a beat of silence, his expression finally softened, and he sighed.

“What’s your mother’s name?” He asked, sitting in the chair in front of his computer.

“Carmilla Opun,” I told him, trying to hide the grin off my face.

Damien glanced at me and to my shock, he winked at me. Butterflies assaulted my stomach, and I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep from giggling like a schoolgirl.

Stop it, Anila, I mentally scolded myself.

Alfred typed on his computer and moved his mouse around some while clicking. He murmured something under his breath that I didn’t understand just before he took out a small piece of paper and wrote down the actual year of her school attendance, the book she was mentioned in, and the section number.

He slid it across the table for me to take.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, trying to give him a polite smile.

It didn’t take long for me to find the section and as I scanned the books, I found the book he wrote down. My heart raced as I scanned the pages, but my heart soon fell deep into my stomach.

There wasn’t any information about my mother other than the year she graduated and the fact that she was a witch. Information I already knew.

This was a waste of time, and I couldn’t help the groan that escaped my lips.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” Damien’s voice startled me.

I hadn’t been expecting him to be standing behind me and when I whipped around to face him, he was staring at me with curiosity.

Did he follow me?

“No. Unfortunately,” I muttered; I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice.

Damien frowned, his face looking sullen, which surprised me.

“I understand the feeling, trust me. But don’t give up search,” he said softly.

I was surprised by the soft tone he was suddenly using with me; it was filled with compassion. I nodded, smiling my thanks to him, but I knew the smile didn’t reach my eyes.

“Have you eaten yet?”

I raised my brows at his question and lifted my gaze to meet his. Then, I shook my head.

“I was planning on eating once I got back to my dorm,” I told him.

He glanced at the watch he wore around his wrist and then motioned for me to follow him. I wasn’t sure where we were going, but I didn’t hesitate to follow him. We walked by the front desk and Damien gave Alfred a head nod before saying his goodbyes and leaving the library.

We made our way outside and across campus until we reached the dining hall. Damien wanted to have dinner with me? I must have looked as shocked as I felt because he glanced at me, and I saw a half smile on his lips; it was the first time he’d ever smiled at me, and my heart started to beat rapidly against my ribcage.

“Don’t read too much into it,” he said, trying to hide the humor in his voice. “I haven’t eaten either and figured we were both heading in the same direction.”

“Oh.”

I wasn’t about to tell him I was just going to grab a sandwich from my dorm kitchen. I just remained quiet as we entered the dining hall. I was surprised that it wasn’t very busy; in fact, it was practically empty. From the clock on the wall, it was just after 7 pm.

I raised my brows at Damien as he headed toward the kitchen area.

“We just missed dinner,” I told him.

He didn’t answer me, he just walked into the kitchen and over to one of the kitchen workers. I followed closely behind him, tugging at my fingers nervously. I was ready for them to kick us out because dinner was over. They were cleaning up all the food and there didn’t seem to be much left.

One of the workers turned and when she saw Damien walking toward her, a smile spread across her face.

“Oh, hello, Damien,” she practically gushed. “Late for dinner again?”

He nodded.

“Sorry, Angie,” he replied, running his fingers through his hair almost sheepishly. “Is it okay if we grab something to go?”

“Anything for my favorite wizard,” she said in return. “I’ll turn the stove on and make you something fresh. What would you like?”

“Can I do a pecan and cranberry chicken salad?” He asked.

She nodded.

“Of course,” she answered.

Damien then looked at me and the kitchen worker, Angie, noticed me for the first time. She offered me a polite yet uncertain smile as she looked between Damien and me.

“And for my friend?” He asked.

“Sure,” Angie said, smiling. “What can I get you dear?”

Damien thought of me as his friend? I was astonished by that until I realized they were both waiting for me to place an order. I shook the thought from my head and cleared my throat.

“I’ll just do the same,” I told her.

She nodded and went toward the stove to fry up some chicken. Once the food was ready, she placed them in to-go containers and handed us the food. Damien thanked her and we headed out of the dining hall.

“I’ll walk you back to your dorm,” he offered as we walked toward the dormitory castle.

I stared up at him.

“I don’t need an escort,” I told him, only half teasing.

He smirked.

“As a friend, not an escort.”

“So, we are friends now?” I asked.

He shrugged.

“Why not,” he replied.

It would be nice to have another friend at this school, especially one as powerful and talented as Damien. I made a mental note to talk to Xaden about it later and make sure that he was okay with my newfound friendship. Xaden’s opinion mattered the most to me and I didn’t want to do anything to make him uncomfortable.

My cheeks warmed but I didn’t say anything. Most of the walk was silent. He even got into the elevator with me and walked through my dorm section's living space and up the stairs until we reached my dorm room.

I paused outside the door, fiddling with my fingers and staring down at the salad in my hands.

“Thank you, Damien. For helping me, I mean,” I said.

He nodded.

“Anytime, Anila,” he said.

There was a part of me that wondered why he was so adamant about walking me back to my dorm and what exactly he was waiting for. It wasn't until I opened my door and stepped inside that I realized what was on his mind.

I glanced back at him before shutting the door and I saw that he was looking into the room with a timid frown.

Realization struck me suddenly; he was trying to see if the room matched the dream.