Chapter 57: Ties (3)

Gabriel exhaled slowly, trying to calm his racing heart. He needed to get away and take a moment to collect himself before Damian could press any further. But Damian, like earlier, anticipated his every move.

Damian's hand tightened slightly at his waist before Gabriel could step back, preventing him from pulling away.

Golden eyes fixed on him, unwavering. "Where are you going?"

Gabriel kept his voice polite, even though his insides were churning. "This conversation is too public, Your Majesty. We'll draw attention."

'Please take your hand off. Please.' Gabriel pleaded mentally with the man before his eyes. Yet his own body betrayed him. The warmth of Damian's palm against his waist sent a shiver down his spine, a sensation foreign to him. His skin burned beneath the weight of Damian's touch, his pulse erratic. It was the first time in his life he had felt anything like this—this pull, this unwanted longing, like something inside him was breaking open, yielding to the presence of the man before him.

Damian's lips curled slightly; he was aware of Gabriel's thoughts but chose to ignore them. "Do you think anyone here would dare to interrupt us?" His tone was calm, almost amused.

Gabriel's gaze shifted to the distant crowd below. They were still in the midst of the grand ball, laughter and murmured conversations floating upwards, but it only took one sharp-eyed noble to notice the connection. If they saw them like this together, it would raise too many questions. Yet he couldn't force himself to step away. The warmth of Damian's touch had already rooted itself deep inside him, setting his nerves alight. His mind screamed at him to reject it, to push back against the pull, but his body had other ideas.

Damian could feel it. He always did. His grip on Gabriel's waist remained firm, his stance unyielding as he blocked any possible escape. He was testing him, not just in words but in presence, pressing into the space between them with calculated ease. The more Gabriel resisted, the stronger his possessiveness grew. Now that he had Gabriel this close, he would not let him slip away so easily.

However, Damian knew that no one would dare to approach them, not when the Emperor's gaze could silence an entire room.

"I can take you right here, and no one will move an inch. This much won't hurt more than your quarrel with the princess."

The weight of it settled in Gabriel's chest. He was afraid his knees would fail him. He was trapped, caught in a web he did not fully comprehend, with no obvious way out. Worse, his own body was betraying him. The touch of Damian's fingers over his mark sent an involuntary shudder through him. He hated how his body reacted, how the warmth of Damian's fingertips left behind something almost unbearable.

Damian had thought himself prepared. He had expected to be intrigued, maybe even entertained, by the challenge Gabriel presented. But none of it compared to the visceral reaction he felt upon meeting him in person. The possessiveness that had been simmering beneath the surface had grown stronger and more insistent, and now that he had Gabriel within reach, he was unwilling to let go. He understood why Max was teasing him before. 

Damian's fingers slid over the mark on Gabriel's neck again, slow and deliberate, drawing another reaction from Gabriel's body that he couldn't hide. He was trapped between Damian's legs, the robes' heavy fabrics intertwining and the outside sky obscured by his height. His heart raced, and he tried to calm himself by lowering his gaze to the Emperor's chest embroidery.

"You didn't answer my question. How did you do it?" Damian murmured, voice low, a hint of something possessive in his tone.

Gabriel flinched at the question, shock shooting through him. He hadn't expected Damian to know. There were only a handful of people who knew about its true origin. Max and his family. The Emperor could only have found out from Max. Gabriel felt anger rise in his chest rather than panic.

His eyes narrowed, his voice tight with barely contained tension. "Who told you?"

Damian's gaze didn't falter. "You didn't think I wouldn't notice, did you? It wasn't Maximilian." His fingers danced over the mark, almost tender in their touch. "But I am curious, Gabriel. Who placed the contract beneath this mark? It is not like you to leave things unfinished."

Gabriel's throat tightened, but he forced himself to remain composed. "I don't know what you mean, Your Majesty." He hated that his body was reacting to every move of Damian's fingers over the mark. Touching someone's mark was a deeply intimate act between mates, and the emperor was highlighting his claim without using words.

Damian's lips quirked into a faint smile, his golden eyes narrowing. "You are lying, but that is not why I am here." His voice dropped, becoming quieter and more intimate. "I know you tried to hide it, but this mark is no longer yours alone. It's mine now."

Gabriel's breath hitched at his words.

Damian leaned in just enough for his presence to become overwhelming. "I may decide to claim it as my own."

The weight of his words settled on Gabriel, causing his pulse to race and his stomach to drop. Damian's tone was possessive, implying ownership, like a silent promise wrapped in a command. It was not just the mark; it was everything that went with it.

It would take only a word from him in front of a few nobles for his claim to spread throughout the Empire in less than a day.

Gabriel's body tensed; every muscle tightened, but he fought to keep his voice steady. "You... You can't just claim something like that." His mind was blank, no plan was brewing as usual, just pure panic at the prospect of Damian claiming that the mysterious alpha that marked him was him. 

Damian's lips curled into a knowing smile. "I can, and I will. Whether you realize it or not, Gabriel, this mark is now linked to me. You will see it soon enough."

Gabriel felt his skin tingle where Damian's fingers lingered. It wasn't just the mark that burned now; it was the pull of something far deeper, something he couldn't shake. And the worst part?

A part of him didn't want to.

"Why?" Gabriel managed to force the word out, his voice barely audible.

Damian leaned in even closer, his presence like a magnet. Gabriel's senses were filled with the rich, inescapable scent of his pheromones. "Because," he murmured, his voice almost reverent, "I finally met my mate."