Chosen By The Cursed Alpha King (Emilia) novel Chapter 173

DAMIEN’S POV

I turned to her, reaching out slowly, fingers brushing the air between us.

“Rose…”

She flinched away like my touch burned, sliding as far across the leather seat as she could get, pressing her back against the opposite window. Her arms folded tight over her chest, knees drawn up, red satin dress still rumpled from what we’d just done. Her dark curls were wild around her face, lips swollen from my kisses, but her eyes-God, those eyes were fixed on the city lights outside, refusing to look at me.

It felt like a knife in my gut.

My mate was hurting, and she was pulling away from me.

I hated it. Hated every second of it.

My wolf roared inside my head, pacing, claws scraping at my control.

Pull her close. Fix it. Make mate happy.

I whispered her name again, softer this time. “Rose… baby, please.”

Nothing. Not even a glance.

The silence in the car was thick, heavy, pressing down on my chest until it was hard to breathe. The city blurredpast the windows, but all I could feel was the distance between us-barely three feet, but it might as well have been miles

What the hell had happened?

One minute she was fine-nervous about the dinner, yeah, but smiting at me in that red dress like I was the only man in the world. Then she went to the restroom, and when she came back… this. Running from me. Fighting me. And then giving in so completely in the car that I thought everything was okay again.

Bat it wasn’t.

I replayed the night in my head, searching for the moment it went wrong.

Rodriguez. That smug bastard and his comment about Rose being “different from the type of women I usually see you with.” Innocent.

My jaw clenched so hard it ached. Was that it? Had his words gotten under her skin? Made her doubt herself again?

I hated that she ever felt less than perfect. Hated that anyone could make her feel small. She was my queen-my everything-and I’d burn the world down before | let anyone hurt her.

I wanted to reach for her again, pull her back into my arms, kiss away whatever was eating at her. But the wayshe was curled away from me… I knew it would only make her pull harder.

So I gave her space. For now.

But the second we got home, we were sorting this out. No more silence. No more distance.

The drive felt endless. Every few seconds glanced at her-watching the way the passing lights painted gold across her face, the way her fingers twisted in the fabric of her dress. She didn’t look at me once. Not even a flicker.

It made my chest tight, like I couldn’t get enough air.

Finally, the car rolled through the gates and pulled up in

– front of the house. The second it stopped, Rose was out the door, moving fast, heels clicking on the stone path as she ran inside.

“Rose!” I called, frustration ripping through me as I shoved out of the car and followed.

She stepped forward, arms dropping to her sides, hands clenched into fists. “Do I fulfill your desires? Are you pretending with me?”The words hit me like a punch. Pretending? With her?

I shook my head slowly, trying to make sense of it. “I’m confused right now. Why are you asking me this?” I took a step toward her, needing to touch her, needing to fix whatever was breaking between us. “And yes, baby-you fucking fulfill my desires. Every single one.”

She shook her head sharply, eyes glistening. “There are things you like,” she said, voice cracking. “Things you’ve never done with me.”

My stomach dropped.

I reached for her again, but she stepped back. “I’m confused here,” I said, voice rough. “Really confused.

Where is this coming from?”

She looked up at me, eyes searching mine, and I saw it-pain, doubt, fear. It gutted me.

Then she asked the question that stopped my heart cold.

“What is BDSM?..”

The room went silent.

My blood turned to ice.

Rose’s voice was barely above a whisper, but it echoed like a gunshot.

“What is BDSM, Damien?”