The Male Luna (MxM) (Complete)

Chapter 29

Brayden

Damien's arrival doesn't go unnoticed.

The once bustling clearing of excited werewolves and loud conversation has come to a complete stop. Every person present was aware of the appearance of an Alpha and everyone turns to give him their attention. On both sides of the small clearing, the werewolves cast their eyes to the ground, bowing at his arrival.

Damien slowly surveys over the tops of the bowed heads of his followers, scanning the crowd. His eyes are hard, and it's obvious there's a purpose to his searching. He looks around for only a couple of seconds before his gaze finds its target.

Our eyes meet.

It's a little jarring exactly how much Damien's presence affects me. It had been nearly a week since I had last seen him, which is the longest time we'd been apart since I first met him. I can't help but feel an uncomfortable jolt shoot down my spine. While I want to say that I have the upper hand, that he doesn't affect me, or that I'm completely indifferent to his presence...I can't.

I hated it, I hated everything about the bond. As much as I wanted to deny I couldn't feel anything towards Damien, there was something there. Nothing I would label as attraction, relief, or a void only he could fill; rather, it was a physiological pressure that seemed to build in my chest the longer we were apart. As if, an invisible line tied us together and over the last few days had slowly gotten tighter and tighter, straining against me.

And just from looking into his brown eyes, I could feel that string loosen to a more comfortable level.

My reaction to the bond fell more on my human genes than my werewolf ones. As in, what I was feeling wouldn't be any different from that of a full-blooded human. From what had been explained to me, the physical tightness in my chest was even worse for a werewolf as it was also tied to an emotional yearning. Which meant that Damien should have felt suffocated with need for me during his time apart.

Hopefully, the bastard has been suffering the last few days...

Damien starts walking closer to me, and everyone begins to raise their heads as he passes them. I don't break our eye contact as he approaches my direction. His movements are almost in slow motion as I take everything in. Each step is calculated and purposeful and every breath seems deliberate in his mission to come as close to me as he can.

I take the time to assess my mate. The first thing I notice is that he's surprisingly wearing casual clothes. It was just some loose sweatpants with a plain t-shirt, and while such clothes would normally make someone look a little more normal, they ended up just looking out of place on him. His back was a little too straight and his shoulders too rigid. His walk was too determined and authoritative. He looked like he was wearing a costume rather than simple loungewear.

Damien stops right before the line dividing the field.

Neither of us speaks and there's a moment of silence as both of us seem to be struggling with what to say.

I want to yell and scream at him. I want to shout out how unfair this whole situation is. I want him to know exactly just how much I hate him. How I loathe the tense feeling he forced upon me the last few days, and how I especially hate how that feeling goes away in his presence. I want to say something, anything, the exact right words to make him regret ever meeting me.

But I remain silent.

It becomes obvious that Damien is also having inner turmoil. The way his eyes dart across my face, and his lips continue to downturn into a hard frown. The Alpha is at a loss of words for me just as much as I am him.