Chapter One Hundred and Eleven - Claimed - Maya's POV

I have no idea what I'm doing. One moment I was at home, and I thought I had everything figured out, but then regret crept in. I realized all too quickly that I love him and that I shouldn't have run away. Now I'm standing here in the middle of the woods, looking toward the pack with Damian tied to a tree. He turns his head and mouths something to me that looks a lot like ‘save me'. But I don't know how I'm supposed to save him. Then, it all happens too fast. The chains binding him, suddenly break with a loud crack and Damian is just gone.His shift happens so fast that I can't even track it. A wolf stands in his place, and then he lunges. The pack backs away, most with wide eyes from what I can see. At first I'm frozen to the spot, then my feet slowly move me toward him as the growls and barks grow louder. When I get to the tree where he was tied, I turn and look off to the right, only to find Damian on top of what I assume is his brother. Blood sprays everywhere and goes flying onto trees, the ground, and fallen limbs. My mouth falls open as his head jerks once more. He backs away, only for someone to get too close and he turns on them. I realize too late that it is Simon and Luce he gets next and rips them to shreds. My eyes go wide as I watch him tear them apart and toss body parts in different directions. One of the pack members comes toward me. I catch them moving quickly, so I pull my knife Damian gave me a while ago and dare them to come closer. 'Come on. I've killed before. I can kill again." They lunge for me and I shove the blade wherever I can, causing them to yowl in pain. Before they can back away, I take one last plunge and drive it straight into their heart. When they fall, other pack members start toward, but Damian is finished with the other two and comes flying in between us. He takes out the remaining ones that threaten us, then he stops, eyeing the rest of them. I stand there, panting for breath, waiting for someone to move. But then, one by one, the remaining members fall to their knees and raise their hands. Damian growls and almost goes for them, but I realize that I need to stop him. 'Damian," I say, causing his whole body to freeze. He turns his head, growling at me too, and in his gaze, he's just gone. Those golden eyes are glowing, but Damian isn't there. 'Damian, I'm your mate, remember?" For a moment, he continues to growl at me like I'm the enemy. He even goes as far as to step toward me and almost lunges. I raise my hands, dropping the knife. 'I told you I love you and I want to be yours. Please, Damian." His wolf blinks up at me, then it's like he recognizes me. He shifts back into his human form, nearly wobbling on his feet. I run to him, catching him and helping him lower himself to the ground. For a moment, I'm not sure what to do, but then he looks up at me with those eyes that make my heart beat fast. 'You love me?" 'I do. Very much. I want to be your mate." He sits up, his hand sneaking around to the back of my head. As he pulls me closer, I almost think he's going to kiss me in front of everyone, but he pulls me until his nose is in the crook of my shoulder. He inhales deeply, causing me to shudder. 'I'm sorry it's like this, but I don't have much of a choice at this point. The darkness is -" His words cut off. 'The darkness is what?" He strikes before I have time to react. His fangs sink in my flesh. My eyes flutter and close. My lips part as a yelp of surprise escapes. Then my entire world spins on its axis. All I hear are his whispers of how sorry he is as my world fades to black. The next time I open my eyes, I'm on something soft and all I can see is the ceiling. I feel something at my side. It's warm and large, then I remember everything. I sit up, looking around the room. 'Damian?" When the large thing beside me moves, my head jerks to the side, only to find him next to me. He's looking up at me with wide eyes and like he's unsure what to say. 'Did you?" I ask, then stop myself. I reach up, touching my throat lightly and feel the marks there. They're not open or bleeding. Just little pin pricks that feel raised. 'You bit me." 'Yes. And when you shift, you'll bite me back," he whispers. 'I'm sorry. That wasn't how I planned to do this." 'Then how did you plan to do it?" His eyes widen as he sputters. 'Well, I thought I would make it romantic and it would be while we -" His cheeks turn a bright red as he tries to explain himself and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant. 'So, you were going to wait and -" I trail off. I can't even finish my sentence. 'Yes. I thought it would be more romantic. We could get married and then on our honeymoon. It would just be perfect. But I tapped into something I wasn't supposed to," he says, then looks off. 'I told you about the darkness, but I didn't tell you that it was always at the back of my mind. All I had to do was welcome it to speed things up. And well, that is what I did." 'What about the pack? What about your brother and father?" 'Dead. Well, except those that submitted. You stopped me from murdering them. Otherwise, they're all dead. My wolf was completely feral and took them all out until I heard your voice. That was the only thing that broke my concentration and I was able to fight back to the surface," he says, letting out one long breath. 'But then, once I was back, I had to claim you before we lost."