"We do not know if he believed he'd lose. We can only guess that he didn't want to risk losing you to another. The same reason lycans can read their mates' minds is that losing one will drive their beast crazy. The men who were tasked with guarding you on earth are dead. My warriors have confirmed this, Leah."

"What?" Jerking away from Damon, I stare at Ezekiel. "He killed his own men?"

Ezekiel's eyes lose their orange. The haunting silver converges into every spec of his eye. "He is their alpha, what he says goes. No one dares go against a male who killed thousands of supers here on Catier. They know this. They know what living under his rule means. They fuck up, they die."

A ripple of dread slides down my spine, making me shiver. "What has he done since I left him?"

Ezekiel cocks his head, his eyes searching. For what, I'm not sure. "He was notified within ten minutes of you leaving. He must have sensed something was wrong and had his guards barge into the dressing room. When you weren't there, he sent every lycan under his command out searching.

"One of them saw you boarding the shuttle, but Damon used his control to shut the door and prevent the wolf from entering. By the time reinforcements arrived it was too late. You were soaring into the atmosphere. There was nothing Derrek could do. Or so Damon thought. A shuttle was landing when his took off. Derrek sent twenty-four warriors on that shuttle."

Fear spikes inside me, constricting my chest, making me hyperventilate. "I wasn't imagining being watched then, was I? Someone on my street was watching me before Fire Starter picked Irel and me up."

"My men found sixteen bodies. Catier won't allow anyone from Earth on her land unless they have a fated mate here. When they disregarded her warnings, she killed them. They were clearly a threat and she takes care of her own. To a point." Ezekiel steps away from the cooking food, allowing Irel and Elea to finish.

"There are eight warriors out there watching me." Ezekiel doesn't have to nod or answer. I understand what this means. "Can they communicate with Derrek?"

"There are ways," he says, not easing my fear.

"And since I'm Derrek's mate, he's allowed to step on Catier." The air becomes too hot to breathe.

"Damon asks that you all close your eyes," Persephone's voice is commanding.

I don't listen. I don't know what to do. Panic has me wanting to escape. To run far away and hide in a tiny hole where Derrek and his warriors can't locate me.

"Mine." A calmness slides down my body, covering me in a cocoon.

It's not until I feel the smooth silk caressing my skin that I realize why Damon wants everyone's eyes shut. He stripped me naked to replace my clothes with his dress. But it's not the same dress.

"Do you accept his mating gift, Leah?" Persephone asks tenderly. "It won't slip beneath your skin unless you run your hands down it in approval."

"What does it mean? Truly, Persephone?" I gasp, the room's air still too hot and stifling.

"It means you're his and he's yours. Your bond will grow with every piece of mating clothing he dresses you in. It's the first step in becoming a demon's catuca. Once that well is filled up, step two will be revealed." She doesn't touch me. No one does. Not even Damon.

"And if I accept his gift?"

The deathly silence is all-consuming. I can feel Damon's breath against my neck, but he doesn't inch closer. He doesn't take advantage and bring me to my knees with his mouth, fingers, or cock.

"If you reject his clothing, you reject him as a person and mate, Leah. With how fiercely he loves you, the loss will either kill him or he will haunt your every step without you knowing it. He will become your shadow, your silent protector. Seeing you laugh with others when you shun him will kill him slowly. If you ever take another lover, there are only guesses as to what Damon will do. Depending on how far gone he is, he may slaughter every male who gets near you. And unless he takes his own life, no one other than blood relation or bonded, like me, can see him. To stop Damon from slaughtering every male in a hundred-mile radius, Ezekiel will have to kill his brother. He will have to rip out his brother's heart and burn it to kill him. Unless..."

I'm numb inside. This is my life. Is our relationship even real if I give into this bond between Damon and me? Persephone says if I reject Damon, he will go batshit crazy. Is that love? How can I live not knowing if it's the stupid bond he cares about instead of me?

"Unless what?" I fall for it. I know I do, but I need to know every brutal aspect of my life.

"Unless you kill him yourself. It will splinter your soul, killing a part of yourself. If that is what you want, Damon won't stop you. He will even help you if you want to be free of him after he's ridden both worlds of Derrek."

I snap my eyes at Persephone. She disobeyed her king's order. Sad emerald irises plead with me not to reject Damon.

"If you want time to think, do so after accepting his clothes, Leah. This set won't fill the well. You have many more instances to figure out what you want. All I ask of you is to think over everything before you make the final decision." She tries to reach out to me but is prevented.

No doubt Damon's doing. He doesn't want anyone to influence my actions.

Shifting in my seat, I gaze into who will be my sister-in-law if I agree to be with Damon. I want to see if she will lie to my face. "Does the connection I feel with Damon force him to love me? I need to know if any of it is real, Persephone. If I'm worthy of true love or if this is all just a sick joke, a stupid bond holds over my head."