Chapter 6

Elenor POV

The heavy, bulletproof door of the Maybach clicked shut, sealing us inside the soundproof cabin. The transition from the freezing steps of City Hall to the plush leather interior offered no comfort. Instead, it felt like stepping from an open execution ground into a gilded cage.

The air inside the car was instantly suffocating, thick with Damien's overwhelming scent-sharp cedarwood, a raging rainstorm, and rich Cuban tobacco. It was the scent of an apex predator, and it wrapped around my throat like a physical leash.

Damien reached into the mini-fridge, his massive shoulders shifting under his tailored suit. He pulled out a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and held it out to me.

"Drink, Mrs. Blackwood."

The title hit me like a physical blow.Mrs. Blackwood. It wasn't just a name; it was a brand. A collar. I took the bottle, but the sheer weight of those two words caught in my throat. I choked, coughing violently as water spilled onto my chin.

When I finally caught my breath, I wiped my mouth with the back of my trembling hand and forced myself to meet his bottomless, charcoal-gray eyes. I needed a boundary. I needed to hold onto the last shred of my identity before he swallowed me whole.

"Elenor," I rasped, my voice shaking but defiant. "Call me Elenor. There's no need to act when it's just the two of us. This is a contract."

Damien didn't argue. He didn't even blink. He simply withdrew his hand, resting it on his knee. But I saw the subtle, dangerous tightening of his chiseled jawline. Instantly, the Alpha aura in the confined space grew heavier, dropping the temperature until the air felt like ice against my skin. It was the dead, terrifying silence right before a hurricane makes landfall. He saw this as his territory; I saw it as my prison.

Before the crushing silence could break me, my phone vibrated sharply in my clutch.

I flinched, pulling it out. It was an unknown number. Desperate for any distraction from the lethal man sitting beside me, I answered. "Hello?"

"Is this Elenor Harmon?" a gruff, strictly professional voice asked.

"Yes. Who is this?"

"This is Officer Davis from the NYPD 19th Precinct. I'm calling to inform you that your brother, Jamison Harmon, has been detained. He's currently in custody for aggravated assault. You need to come down here immediately."

The words didn't make sense. They scrambled in my brain, refusing to form a logical sentence. Jamison? Aggravated assault? My brother was a straight-A pre-law student. He was gentle, focused, and avoided trouble at all costs.

"No, no, you have the wrong person," I stammered, my heart slamming against my ribs. "That's impossible, he doesn't fight!"

"153 East 67th Street. Get here as soon as you can," the officer barked, completely ignoring my panic, and hung up.

The dial tone buzzed in my ear. The world tilted on its axis. My past, the fragile life I had tried so desperately to protect, was crashing down around me.

Panic, raw and blinding, hijacked my nervous system. I dropped the phone and lunged forward, frantically slapping my palms against the glass partition separating us from the driver.

"Stop the car!" I screamed. "Pull over! Let me out!"

My fingers scrambled for the door handle, desperate to escape, to run to my brother. But before I could even touch the metal, Damien moved.

His large, calloused hand clamped around my wrist with inescapable, terrifying strength. He didn't just stop me; he effortlessly yanked me backward, pinning me flush against the leather seat.

"Let me go!" I thrashed against his grip, tears of sheer terror pricking my eyes. "This has nothing to do with you! He's my family, it's my problem!"

Damien ignored my struggling. He leaned in, his charcoal eyes locking onto mine with a chilling, absolute authority.

"When the brother of the Blackwood Pack's Luna is in trouble, it becomes the entire Pack's trouble," he stated, his voice a low, rumbling command that vibrated through my bones. "It becomes my trouble."

He didn't wait for my response. Damien closed his eyes, and the air around him hummed with a sudden, invisible surge of energy. He was using the Mind-Link. I couldn't hear the words, but the sheer power radiating from him made my skin prickle.

A few seconds later, his eyes snapped open. He looked at the driver through the rearview mirror.

"NYPD 19th Precinct."

I slumped back against the seat, my wrist still trapped in his unyielding grip. My will had been entirely overridden. Yet, as the Maybach smoothly changed lanes, diving deeper into the chaotic Manhattan traffic, a sickening realization washed over me. Beneath the terror of his absolute control, I felt a strange, undeniable sense of safety.