Broken Bond: Claimed by My Ex-Husband's Alpha Billionaire Uncle-Chapter 44: Truth or Dare

Charlotte and Damon sat side by side on the couch, the warm glow of the fireplace casting soft shadows across the room. The fire crackled gently, the only sound breaking the silence between them.

"You know, this place would be better if you had a TV," Charlotte said, finally speaking up.

Damon let out a small sigh. "Yeah, I know. But since no one really comes here often, no one ever bothered to install one."

Charlotte hummed in understanding, wrapping her hands around the warm cup of hot chocolate. "I guess I can’t blame you. Honestly, this place feels cozier without the noise of a TV."

Still, the silence between them felt ... awkward.

Now that she thought about it, this was probably the first time she and Damon were truly alone—well, aside from that one night.

Most of the time, they saw each other at the office or at home, where there were always other people around. She had never really noticed how rare it was for them to have a moment like this.

Not that she minded being around others, but it made her realize how little time they actually spent talking—just the two of them.

And, if she was being honest, she wanted to talk to him.

She wanted to know more about him. His favorite food, his favorite color, the kind of movies he liked.

But she couldn’t just blurt those things out randomly.

She needed to think of something—

—oh, she had the perfect idea.

"How about we play a game?" Charlotte suggested, glancing at Damon for his reaction. "Unless you’re already sleepy ... then forget it."

Damon turned to face her. "No, I’m in. What kind of game?"

"Truth or dare." Charlotte grinned. "It’s simple, right? No need for cards or a board, just us."

Damon chuckled, leaning back slightly. "Alright. I’ll go with the truth."

Charlotte thought for a moment before asking, "What’s your favorite food?"

Damon hummed in thought. "I’m not really picky ... I eat just about anything. But if I had to choose, I’d say shrimp salad."

Charlotte blinked. Shrimp salad?

She hadn’t expected that. A werewolf who liked shrimp salad? She always thought he’d prefer something meatier, but then again, the world had changed. People weren’t bound by stereotypes anymore.

"My turn. I choose the truth," Charlotte said.

Damon tilted his head slightly. "Which do you prefer, bags or shoes?"

Charlotte narrowed her eyes. Was he planning to buy her something? She quickly shook off the thought, refusing to overanalyze it. freewebnøvel.com

"Bags."

They continued tossing simple questions back and forth—What’s your favorite color? What time do you usually go to bed?

Nothing too deep. Nothing too complicated.

Yet somehow, even these small things felt important. Like little pieces of a puzzle slowly coming together, revealing bits of each other they hadn’t noticed before.

Eventually, Charlotte accidentally asked something a little too personal. "What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told someone?"

Damon hesitated for a moment before answering, "Telling my mate that it was okay if she wanted to break our bond."

Charlotte froze.

When she had asked Damon to reject her, he hadn’t shown much of a reaction.

In fact, he had seemed indifferent, almost as if he didn’t care at all. She had convinced herself that cutting their ties had been easy for him, that he truly didn’t mind letting her go.

But if that was a lie ... then what had Damon really felt?

Had he been hurt?

"Then ... what did you actually feel?" Charlotte asked cautiously.

Damon smiled. "One question, one answer, Charlotte."

She frowned, realizing he had no intention of answering.

"Fine. I choose dare." She figured it would be more fun than getting another question that would make her overthink things.

Damon’s lips curled into a smirk. "I dare you to look into my eyes without reacting for one minute."

Easy.

Or at least, that’s what Charlotte thought.

Holding Damon’s gaze for a single minute couldn’t be that hard, right?

But the moment her eyes met his, she felt like the air had been knocked from her lungs. His gray eyes weren’t just gray—they were deep, stormy, and intense, pulling her into his charm.

Her heartbeat quickened, her chest tightened, and a strange warmth spread through her entire body.

She suddenly felt lightheaded, dizzy even, as if she were standing too close to the edge of something unknown, something dangerous.

Something that felt a lot like falling.

It felt like she was falling in love with him.

But why?

Why was she feeling this way?

Maybe it was just the effect of their bond. She had heard that newly bonded fated mates often acted like honeymooners—completely attached to each other, unwilling to be apart.

But Charlotte had never felt anything when Damon was away at work. Right?

... Had she?

The truth was, she had done something behind his back.

It wasn’t illegal, but it definitely wasn’t ethical either.

Sometimes, when Damon spent more time at the office than at home, Charlotte would sneak into his room and lie on his bed, just to breathe in his scent.

At first, it had only been for five minutes.

But gradually, five minutes turned into ten. Ten became thirty. And eventually, she found herself lying there for an hour.

She wasn’t even sure if the housemaids had noticed her strange behavior.

But if they had, surely Damon would have confronted her about it by now ... right?

Charlotte’s gaze drifted downward, settling on his lips—the lips that had kissed her countless times that night.

She would be lying if she said she didn’t want to taste them again.

She wanted to.

But she didn’t have the courage to ask for something so shameless.

"Charlotte," Damon’s voice broke through her thoughts. "My eyes are up here."

Her face turned scarlet in an instant.

He had caught her staring at his lips.

Completely flustered, Charlotte forgot about the dare and immediately covered her face with her hands.

"I give up," she mumbled. "It’s too hard."

Damon chuckled, clearly amused. "You only lasted thirty seconds. Are you shy?"

Damon tried to pull her hands away to see her face, but Charlotte resisted with all her strength. She had no idea where she was even getting this sudden burst of energy.

"Damon," she called his name softly. Lifting her head slightly, she peeked through the gap between her fingers to see his expression. "After you marked me ... have you not felt anything strange?"

Damon looked taken aback by her question. He averted his gaze before replying casually, "Strange how?"

Did he really feel nothing after marking her?

Was she the only one going insane because of their bond?

She had heard that when an Alpha claimed his true mate, he would become more protective and territorial.

But ... Damon wasn’t like that.

"I don’t know," Charlotte murmured, her voice growing quieter. "A friend of mine was recently marked by an Alpha. She said she always wants to be near him and gets sad whenever they’re apart."

She was lying.

She didn’t have a friend who had just been marked by an Alpha.

"Her Alpha also became more possessive of her, and they ... you know? Mating constantly. So ... I was just wondering if you ..." Charlotte hesitated, biting her lower lip. "Forget it. I’m probably just overthinking. I’m not that attractive anyway."

Damon’s expression darkened instantly. His voice turned serious as he frowned and asked, "Who told you that?"

Charlotte immediately shook her head. "No! No one said that! It’s just ... me! I’m the one who thinks that way." She paused, trying to calm her racing heart before continuing. "I just think it’s odd. We’ve been mates for two months, but you don’t seem interested in me at all."

Her frustration bubbled over as she blurted out, "You’ve never looked like you wanted to mate with me again. We only did it once, and that was it. We’re mates, but ... it doesn’t feel like it."

Had she lost her mind?

Why had she blurted that out to Damon?

Wasn’t that the same as admitting she was too desperate to be fucked by him?

Charlotte should have been relieved that Damon never demanded her to warm his bed or to satisfy his desires.

And yet ... she didn’t understand why his indifference frustrated her so much.

The only physical contact they ever shared was holding hands or the occasional hug.

Were they supposed to be werewolf mates or just teenagers experiencing their first love?

Love? Charlotte had never considered that before.

She didn’t have those kinds of feelings—so why did she feel so deprived of his touch?

Maybe it was because she had never received affection from her ex-husband. And now, the moment a man gave her even the slightest attention, she turned into a woman starving for love.

But ... she didn’t want to be that kind of woman.

She wouldn’t act this way with just any man.

It was only Damon.

Oh god, the wine must have messed with her head.

"Charlotte, didn’t I already tell you that I never want to force you?" Damon gently lifted her chin, making their eyes meet. "It’s not that I’m not attracted to you, I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable."

"You already have so much on your plate. The last thing I want is to add more pressure by acting on how I feel."