Damon's POV
The night air was cold, the lack of humidity had drained all senses of comfort that one could find in the night, or maybe it was because I'd been sitting outside here for more than two hours waiting for Lyla and the old woman to be done with whatever they were talking about.
"I said it! I said it!!" Ashley yelled as she and her brother, Tunde, walked towards me.
I was sitting on a small mountain located closer to the hospital.
"Why are you excited about that?" Tunde asked his sister.
"I already confirmed my suspicion to her about what she was but she found it difficult to believe me. I can finally say now that I was right, so right"
I snorted.
"I think the person who should be jubilating about that discovery is Dean. Not you, old witch" I cautioned and she glared at me.
The guts she has!
I wanted to scream or yell at her but I realized it wasn't necessary. Now is not the time for that.
"What are they talking about?" Tunde asked.
"I'm not too sure. Whatever it is they're talking about is getting on my nerves and I don't think I can wait anymore longer before I break that door" I referred to the room they were in at the hospital.
"Do you want me to eavesdrop?" Ashley requested and it was my turn to glare at her.
"If we say no, will you still go?" She nodded, grinning at her brother.
"Get out of here," He said.
She half ran, half walked towards the hospital, and started tiptoeing immediately she entered the hospital.
"I didn't ask you to sit" I growled as Tunde sat beside me.
"Stop being an ass" he sat, dismissing my words. I pushed him away and he landed on the floor, cursing out.
"Stop behaving like a child, Damon" he hissed and sat back.
As I tried pushing him the second time, he sat firm, pushing me back as well until he started laughing and I was forced to smile at him.
"You're changing" he blurted out.
"Positive or negative change?" I asked.
"Positive"
I groaned, "No way, I don't want that positive change. I wouldn't be the badass Alpha I was before" I added.
"You're unbelievable sometimes" Before I could respond, he stopped me "Wait! Not sometimes but always. You're an asshole always"
I glared at him, "Remember who you're talking to, Tunde. I'm your Alpha" I requested.
"And I'm your Beta. Your better half" He joked and I almost threw up at his words.
"Better half, my foot. Stop messing around" I corrected.
"Whatever! Deny it all you want. I'll always be here to remind you. My allegiance is with you no matter how different you are"
"Even if I kill you," I asked, jokingly.
"Yes, I'll even be glad to die by your hands, fool"
"What?"
"You just called your Alpha a fool" I growled.
"I thought you never wanted to be an Alpha, what's with the reminder at every moment that you're my Alpha?" He asked.
"I need to protect someone" I replied truthfully this time. "That was why I became Alpha," I explained further once I sensed his confusion.
"You know what? Just for tonight, let's leave aside our roles, our rules, and our ambitions, let's just be friends tonight. Just tonight, Big Bad wolf" he asked.
After thinking about it for a minute, I nodded.
"Who do you need to protect?"
I hissed at his question.
"You know who I'm talking about," I replied.
"I couldn't protect my mother from him. I knew if I didn't take up this role or fight him, there's no way I'll be able to protect Lyla and if I lose her, it'll kill me" I added.
"Do you love her?" He suddenly asked.
"Yes!"
"Then tell her. Why don't you tell her all these? I'm not the one you're supposed to be telling all these. She deserves to know everything you've been keeping from her"
"I'm just trying to protect her," I confessed.
"From what, Damon? From you? From your family?"
"From how fucked up I am. From how toxic my family is, from how crazy my parents' history is" I replied, giving him the answers I'd locked in my heart for years.
"She deserves to know. She deserves….."
As he was about to add something to what he was saying, Lyla came out of the hospital with Ashley right behind her, holding her head.
I stood up and walked towards her.
"Are you done?" I asked and she nodded. I tried to read her expression but she wasn't looking at me.
I pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.
"It's okay" I whispered before I held her hand, ready to leave.
"What the hell happened to you?" I heard Tunde asking his sister.
"I hit my head on the door"
"While eavesdropping right? Goodnight guys" I waved as I walked away from the scene of the two bickering siblings.
"Goodnight Alpha, remember what I told you" Tunde yelled after me.
I ignored his talk and held Lyla tighter. By the time we got into our room, I sat on the sofa and made her sit on my lap.
I held her for more than ten minutes, just whispering words of comfort and affection in her ears. No word needed to be said. Later, she began crying. I wanted to ask her badly about what went wrong but I felt it wasn't the right time.
"What happened, Lyla?" I asked after she had calmed down a little. She opened her mouth to reply but suddenly stopped.
"Do you need water?" I asked.
"No" She replied.
"Do you want to sleep?" I asked.
"No,"
"What do you want to do? Just state it" I begged.
"I'm fine, D. I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!" She suddenly started apologizing.
"What are you sorry about, Lyla?" I asked
She didn't say anything else, she was only crying.
"Lyla, you're driving me crazy" I cleaned her tears with the hem of the shirt I was wearing.
"I'm sorry,"
"It's okay, baby. I'm here" I whispered as I pulled her closer. Her head was resting on my chest and I kissed her hair as soon as she stopped crying.
"I like the smell of your hair," I said, trying to change the subject and make her feel better.
"She said I grew up here" she suddenly said, gaining my attention.
"What? Who" I asked.
She lifted her head from my chest.
"Grandma Tabitha, she was my mother's friend. She said I grew up here with you. She said my mother lived here for a while before she died. My mother lived here and was friends with your mother before she was forced to move and left me to my father. She was killed before she could make it back to Silverline pack which is their original home. My real name is Nimue, not Lyla. I'm who I was presumed to be"
I hugged her back closer to my body.
"I'm sorry I can't remember you,"
"I'm sorry I can't remember you too, even though I dream about you always," I told her.
She lifted her head and locked her eyes with mine.
"The first day you marked me, I saw myself with a boy who bore your name, that was why I went home to ask my brother about my birth story. I knew I also saw a woman who called me her child, her light, I never knew it was all real" she sobbed.
I explained, "I had my suspicion even though I doubted it. I buried your memory deep in my heart because if I didn't, it'll get me killed. The moment you walked back into my life, I knew you were mine. I'll tell you the full story someday, baby"
I kissed her.
"I loved you, I love you and I'll always love you," I whispered against her lips.