Alpha's Dark Desires-Chapter 203: A Little Taste

Damon’s POV

The table before me was a map soaked in centuries of blood.

Each marker I placed represented a royal vampire stronghold. Each red-stained line carved through the paper was the path I would take to paint the world in death and submission. The candlelight flickered over the parchments like dancing shadows of the dead yet to fall.

"Kill the king," I muttered, pressing a dagger into the parchment where the royal court resided. "Slaughter his kin. Burn the bloodline."

A slow, wicked smile stretched my lips. That was all it would take. One decisive, annihilating blow. Vampires were sheep in tailored coats, grazing under the illusion of power. Without their monarchs, without their sacred royals, they’d collapse—spineless, directionless. And when that happened, I’d be the only sovereign standing.

The scent of old parchment, steel, and war hung heavy in the air. The strategies were carved with precision. I’d taken into account their guards, their rituals, their arrogance. They’d never suspect I’d come alone.

Because no one man could wipe out a kingdom.

But I wasn’t a man. Not anymore.

I was the nightmare they thought they had killed at birth.

My fingers trailed over the edge of the map, over the blood-marked insignia of the king. I had no use for thrones. I wanted control, absolute. To rule by fear, not tradition. Peace was a lie told to children. The supernatural world needed terror—a leader that did not flinch at the sound of screams.

That leader... was me.

Alpha King Damon.

I leaned back in the high-backed chair—Kane’s old office, now mine. His memories lingered in the wood. But this place reeked of restraint and sentimentality. Two things I’d already burned out of my bones. The soft, weak man who used to hold this seat was dead.

The war strategies had all been drawn in blood.

Every pack. Every coven. Every name. Every traitor. I knew exactly who to strike and where to make them bleed.

The Vampire King would be the first to fall. His heart would be in my hand before the next moon. And when the royals watched their precious king crumble, they would bend the knee or join him in the grave. Either way, their kingdom would be mine. One by one, I would break every supernatural realm and unify them under one true throne.

Mine.

A kingdom ruled by the monster they tried to destroy. How poetic.

I rose from the table of maps and old parchment. My claws still bore the red of spilled blood from earlier that day. It had dried beneath my nails, and I hadn’t bothered to clean it. It was a crown now. A scent of war. Of dominance.

And now that the war was drawn in ink and carved into the bones of the fools who defied me, it was time for something else.

Her.

My head turned slightly as I felt a presence shift in the house. Her. Even before her scent touched the air, I knew she was awake. My mate. My perfect complication.

Elena.

I hadn’t gone to her since the encounter at the hall way. I’d given her time. A kindness, if one wanted to call it that. But soon, that time would run out. She belonged to me—heart, body, soul. And I would have her. Resistance was a game she was allowed to play... for now.

But I had no intention of ever walking away again. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

I stood slowly, savoring the sensation of power wrapping around me like a second skin. With one final glance at the map—my future painted in blood—I snuffed out the flame of the candle.

It was time.

Time to remind her that monsters didn’t beg.

Monsters claimed.

I moved through the house like a shadow, my steps deliberate and slow, each one echoing through the hollow, abandoned halls. The air was thick with anticipation, my thoughts sharp, calculating. I wasn’t simply a king in waiting anymore. I was an apex predator, and Elena... she was my prey.

I reached her door without effort, standing there for a moment, savoring the silence that fell between us. She was in there, tangled in her thoughts, likely trying to escape the reality of what had just happened. Her mind, her heart, still fractured from the loss of Dean and Kane. But I would put all of that behind her.

I was her future. She just didn’t know it yet.

I opened it without knocking.

Elena sat on the bed, bathed in the glow of moonlight streaming through the open window. Her legs were curled to her side, her flare dress flowing around her like a pool of nightshade. She looked up when I entered, startled at first, but not scared. Not yet.

That would change.

She opened her mouth to speak—probably to spit some insult—but I didn’t let her.

In the blink of an eye, I was across the room. One hand slid behind her neck, the other to her waist. I pulled her up against me, her body flush with mine, as I crashed my lips onto hers.

She gasped.

That was all I needed.

I devoured her lips with ruthless hunger. Her fingers curled into my shirt, pushing—no, gripping—as I tilted her head to deepen the kiss. My tongue slid past her lips, claiming her mouth, drawing a muffled moan from deep within her. Her walls—those precious barriers she clung to—crumbled like ash.

The bond pulsed.

Raw. Primal. Absolute.

She kissed me back.

Gods, she kissed me back with fire.

Her hands tangled in my hair, and I growled low into her mouth, dragging her even closer, pressing her against the wall as my hand lifted her thigh, hooking it around my waist. She didn’t resist. Her breath came out in ragged pants against my mouth. Her body arched into mine, seeking friction, chasing that forbidden heat that curled between us.

I moved to her neck, lips trailing down her jaw, my fangs grazing her skin—not enough to pierce. Not yet.

She whimpered.

"I thought you didn’t want a monster," I growled against her throat, kissing, biting gently. "But look at you, Elena. Burning for me."

Her fingers fisted into my shirt, her body trembling, and for a moment—for that one perfect moment—she was mine.

And then it shattered.

Her hands shoved hard against my chest. "No—wait—stop!"

I froze, but I didn’t move back. Her chest heaved, her lips swollen from my kiss, her eyes wide—horrified at herself.

"I... I didn’t mean to..." she choked. "That wasn’t supposed to happen."

I tilted my head slowly, a smirk forming on my lips. "But it did."

"You—You got into my head—this bond—" She pushed past me, wrapping her arms around herself, trembling as if she could shake me off her skin.

I advanced slowly, the shadows following my steps.

"You can blame the bond. You can scream and fight and lie to yourself," I said, voice cold as winter frost. "But your body tells the truth."

"I don’t want you," she hissed, but the quiver in her voice betrayed her. "I will never want you."

I chuckled darkly, moving closer, my fangs barely visible now, my eyes burning—one red, one gold.

"You think that was rejection?" I leaned in, lips at her ear again, just like before. "That was surrender."

She tried to speak again, but I silenced her with a single word—drawn out in a low, rumbling growl.

"Mine."

Then I stepped back. I let her see the fury burning behind my smile.

"You can pretend, Elena. You can run, scream, cry. Try every trick in the book. But I’m not Kane. I’m not Dean. You don’t get to reject me because I’ll never accept it."

Her eyes widened.

"You can scream the Moon Goddess’s name from the rooftops," I continued. "But even she can’t save you from me."

She stood there, frozen, breathless, frightened—and worse, conflicted. Because despite everything... she felt it.

The mate bond had chosen. And I was done pretending to be a man. I was the storm that swallowed the world whole.

"Rest now," I said finally, voice rough, eyes still locked on her lips. "Because you’re mine, Elena. And when I come for you again, I won’t stop halfway."

"Elena," I said, my voice low, controlled. My gaze swept over her, taking in every inch of her form. The soft flare of her dress only heightened her beauty, but it also made her look like something precious that I wanted to break.

She stiffened. I could see the tension ripple across her shoulders, feel the surge of defiance in her aura. But there was something else—something deeper. A part of her that wanted to run toward me.

That was the bond. That was the power I had over her.

She turned her head away, her hair spilling over her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to create some semblance of distance.

"You’re sick," she muttered, her words barely audible. "You’re a monster."

I smiled, the curve of my lips cruel. "If you think I’m a monster now, just wait until you see me when you finally accept what I am." I took a step closer, and she instinctively recoiled, her back pressing further into the mattress.

She had nowhere to run.

"I’m not going to make you do anything, Elena. But you’ll want this. You’ll want me."

Her eyes flashed with defiance. "I’ll never want you. Not like that. You’re not Kane. You’re not Dean. You’re just a... a shadow. A twisted thing that doesn’t belong here."

I laughed softly, the sound dark and devoid of warmth. "You think I care about your rejection?" I approached her, my hand sliding along the edge of the bed as I leaned down to her level. "You think you can keep me at bay with your stubbornness?"

She wasn’t looking at me now. Her eyes were shut tight, her lips pressed together in a thin line, as if she could will me out of existence.

I cupped her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. "But you’re wrong, Elena. You’re my mate. Your soul knows it. Your heart knows it." My thumb brushed across her lower lip, tracing the curve with tenderness that didn’t match the cruelty in my eyes. "You don’t get to choose me. I choose you. And you’ll come to understand that."

Her chest rose and fell with shaky breaths. I could see the way her body responded to me, despite the fight in her. The pulse of her heartbeat beneath my fingertips was frantic, and I could taste the fear and confusion swirling within her.

But there was also something else. Something deeper. A part of her that wanted to give in. To let go.

I wasn’t blind. She might deny me all she wanted, but her body betrayed her.

I leaned in close, my lips brushing her ear, my voice dark and menacing. "I’m not going anywhere, Elena. You’re mine."

I pulled away just enough to watch the terror and frustration flare in her eyes. Her lips trembled, the fight still raging inside of her. But in that moment, I knew she’d never be able to break free.

I gave her one last wicked smile. "Soon, my love. Soon."

With that, I turned my back on her and walked out of the room. I didn’t lie beside her that night.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺