
Alpha Damian: Take Me Instead
Nana Firdausi · Ongoing · 149.3k Words
Introduction
Éloise Moreau is trapped in a gilded cage, married to a man who sees her as nothing more than a possession, a pawn to display and punish as he pleases. In a world where power is everything, she has learned to endure, to survive, to never step out of line.
Until him.
Damien arrives like a storm, dark, enigmatic, and dangerously gentle. Where her husband is cold, Damien is warm. Where her husband controls, Damien unravels her. And when he kisses her, Éloise discovers something she never thought possible.
Desire. Longing. A dangerous ache.
But the walls around her are unyielding, and giving in to Damien is playing with fire. Because in her world, love is a weakness. And weaknesses are punished.
Yet, as the shadows close in, she must ask herself, will she risk everything for the taste of freedom, or will she let herself be caged forever?
"TRIGGER WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT R18+ CONTENT INCLUDING DETAILED SEXUAL SCENES, BULLYING, EMOTIONAL AND TOUCHES OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, VIOLENCE, AND A POSSESSIVE, DOTING LOVE INTEREST. READERS SENSITIVE TO DARK THEMES, TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS, OR EXCESSIVE DOMINATION SHOULD PROCEED WITH CAUTION. THIS IS A DARK ROMANCE INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY."
Chapter 1
TRIGGER WARNING
THIS STORY CONTAINS EXPLICIT R18+ CONTENT INCLUDING DETAILED SEXUAL SCENES, BULLYING, EMOTIONAL AND TOUCHES OF PHYSICAL ABUSE, VIOLENCE, COERCION, AND A POSSESSIVE, DOTING LOVE INTEREST. READERS SENSITIVE TO DARK THEMES, TOXIC RELATIONSHIPS, OR EXCESSIVE DOMINATION SHOULD PROCEED WITH CAUTION. THIS IS A DARK ROMANCE INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.
Eloise’s POV
^^^^^^^^
Damian LaCroix.
I've heard that name more times than my own in the past two months since I got married off to this LaCroix mafia family.
That name has haunted me, whispered like a legend, a threat, a promise of something I can’t quite grasp.
You’d think he was my husband, that I’ve murmured his name in the dead of night, longing for his presence. But no.
My husband is Shallow LaCroix—a man thirty-one years older than me, a sadistic, twisted psychopath who thrives on control.
A man that my family—
No, the people who should have protected me—sold me to. Like a freaking cattle.
I should stop calling them my family. I should burn their memory from my mind like they burned my freedom, my dreams. But blood is a cruel tether, and betrayal cuts deeper when it comes from those who should have loved you.
Today, Damian LaCroix is coming back.
And I don’t know why, but Shallow wants me to be perfect for him.
This morning, the house turned into a goddamn beauty salon, with facialists, pedicurists, stylists, hair and makeup artists swarming me like vultures preparing a corpse for display. I’m being packaged, wrapped up like a present for something or someone.
And I don’t want to know why.
My stomach churns as they brush my hair, paint my lips, lace me up in silk and diamonds like I’m some fragile, expensive doll.
Shallow hasn’t told me what’s coming. And that’s what scares me the most.
He’s playing with my life.
And I have a feeling that by the end of today, everything will change.
For better or for worse.
Evening drew nearer, and at last, I was ready.
The corset was too tight, the silk dress too delicate, like wrapping poison in a pretty bottle. My hair was perfect, my lips painted red, my skin smooth from hours of scrubbing and polishing. I looked like someone else. Someone expensive.
Then the door slammed open.
Shallow didn’t knock. He never did.
The artists, the stylists, and everyone who had been working on me scattered like frightened mice, leaving their tools behind, as if his presence alone was a plague.
I swallowed hard but didn’t move. I knew better than to move.
He loomed over me, broad and bloated, the stench of sweat and stale cigars clinging to him like a second skin. His shirt stretched over his stomach, damp in places from the heat of his own body. He was repulsive.
“You look beautiful,” he murmured.
His thick fingers settled on my thigh, sinking in too hard, too possessively. I stiffened.
“I know you’ll be on your best behaviour tonight.” Squeeze. My flesh throbbed beneath his grip, but I didn’t flinch. “You’ll sit pretty. You’ll make me proud.” Squeeze. My breath hitched.
“And maybe,” his voice dipped lower, sick with the promise of something I dreaded, “I’ll finally fuck you.”
A shudder rippled through me.
I wasn’t looking forward to it. I wanted to throw up at the thought of his body anywhere near mine.
But I couldn’t say that. He would kill me.
So I smiled. Perfect. Practiced. Fake.
“Yes, Papi,” I whispered, because he liked it when I called him that.
His ugly grin widened, yellowed teeth flashing. Sweaty, greasy, disgusting. The kind of man who collected whores and sons the way others collected art scattered them all over the house, their laughter and filth polluting every corner.
His hand traced slow, deliberate patterns over my thigh before he finally, finally, stood up.
“I can’t wait to feel all of you later,” he said, like it was a gift.
I held my breath.
Then he left.
And I exhaled like I’d been drowning.
I hated my life.
And there’s no way to get out.
Annie walked in without knocking.
I wasn’t surprised. Privacy didn’t exist here.
She wore a silk robe, Shallow’s gift to the women he kept around, and I knew without asking that she’d been in one of their beds. Maybe one of Shallow’s sons. Maybe Shallow himself. Probably both.
“Follow me,” she said, her tone clipped. “He’s here.”
Damien LaCroix.
The name sent a strange shiver through me, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I stood, wincing as the sharp bite of my heels shot up my legs. Too tight. Too high. Too painful. But I didn’t have the luxury of comfort.
We walked through the halls, Annie in a hurry, her pace impatient. Every few steps, she threw a glare over her shoulder, like my slowness offended her. Wow.
“You can go ahead. I’ll come out,” I told her.
She scoffed. “You think I’m stupid?”
No, I thought. I think you’re terrified. Just like everyone else here.
No one defied Shallow. He wasn’t just the head of this house; he was the Don of the entire organisation.
Finally, we reached the grand foyer.
A long line of bodies stood at attention; the entire LaCroix family gathered for one man.
Damien LaCroix.
I barely had time to wonder before Shallow’s thick, oily voice cut through my thoughts.
“Come here, Eloise, baby. Stand next to me.”
I forced my feet forward, swallowing the pain. The shoes weren’t my size. Nothing ever was. Shallow picked whatever pleased him, never caring how it looked or felt on me.
Oh mon Dieu, I’m exhausted.
His fat arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me close, his clammy hand pressing into my hip. I held my breath.
We waited.
Then, headlights swept across the entrance.
A sleek, black SUV rolled to a stop. The doors unlocked.
Let’s see who Damien LaCroix is.
And then he stepped out.
Damien LaCroix.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Sharp-jawed. The kind of man that only existed in books, crafted with impossible perfection. He moved like he owned the air around him, effortlessly powerful, dangerously calm.
A tailored black suit hugged his body, expensive and unforgiving, hinting at the raw strength beneath. His dark hair was neatly styled, yet effortlessly tousled, and when he turned—
Oh mon Dieu.
His eyes.
A cold, stormy grey. Piercing. Intense. Unforgiving.
I felt it. A pull. A tether. Something unnatural.
What the hell was happening?
Last Chapters
#163 Why I fight
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#162 I had to ask
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#161 Tangled in love
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#160 We got a brand name
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#159 I am a wolf
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#158 Now Mon Loup
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#157 A new morning
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#156 Come in
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#155 Dante and Luciana, edited
Last Updated: 12/24/2025#154 A little fun
Last Updated: 12/24/2025
You Might Like 😍
After the Affair: Falling into a Billionaire's Arms
On my birthday, he took her on vacation. On our anniversary, he brought her to our home and made love to her in our bed...
Heartbroken, I tricked him into signing divorce papers.
George remained unconcerned, convinced I would never leave him.
His deceptions continued until the day the divorce was finalized. I threw the papers in his face: "George Capulet, from this moment on, get out of my life!"
Only then did panic flood his eyes as he begged me to stay.
When his calls bombarded my phone later that night, it wasn't me who answered, but my new boyfriend Julian.
"Don't you know," Julian chuckled into the receiver, "that a proper ex-boyfriend should be as quiet as the dead?"
George seethed through gritted teeth: "Put her on the phone!"
"I'm afraid that's impossible."
Julian dropped a gentle kiss on my sleeping form nestled against him. "She's exhausted. She just fell asleep."
Game of Destiny
When Finlay finds her, she is living among humans. He is smitten by the stubborn wolf that refuse to acknowledge his existence. She may not be his mate, but he wants her to be a part of his pack, latent wolf or not.
Amie cant resist the Alpha that comes into her life and drags her back into pack life. Not only does she find herself happier than she has been in a long time, her wolf finally comes to her. Finlay isn't her mate, but he becomes her best friend. Together with the other top wolves in the pack, they work to create the best and strongest pack.
When it's time for the pack games, the event that decides the packs rank for the coming ten year, Amie needs to face her old pack. When she sees the man that rejected her for the first time in ten years, everything she thought she knew is turned around. Amie and Finlay need to adapt to the new reality and find a way forward for their pack. But will the curve ball split them apart?
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
The Biker's Fate
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
The Lycan Prince’s Puppy
“Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.”
—
When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition.
Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate.
Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell.
As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
A pack of their own
Alpha Nicholas's Little Mate
What? No—wait… oh Moon Goddess, no.
Please tell me you're joking, Lex.
But she's not. I can feel her excitement bubbling under my skin, while all I feel is dread.
We turn the corner, and the scent hits me like a punch to the chest—cinnamon and something impossibly warm. My eyes scan the room until they land on him. Tall. Commanding. Beautiful.
And then, just as quickly… he sees me.
His expression twists.
"Fuck no."
He turns—and runs.
My mate sees me and runs.
Bonnie has spent her entire life being broken down and abused by the people closest to her including her very own twin sister. Alongside her best friend Lilly who also lives a life of hell, they plan to run away while attending the biggest ball of the year while it's being hosted by another pack, only things don't quite go to plan leaving both girls feeling lost and unsure about their futures.
Alpha Nicholas is 28, mateless, and has no plans to change that. It's his turn to host the annual Blue Moon Ball this year and the last thing he expects is to find his mate. What he expects even less is for his mate to be 10 years younger than him and how his body reacts to her. While he tries to refuse to acknowledge that he has met his mate his world is turned upside down after guards catch two she-wolves running through his lands.
Once they are brought to him he finds himself once again facing his mate and discovers that she's hiding secrets that will make him want to kill more than one person.
Can he overcome his feelings towards having a mate and one that is so much younger than him? Will his mate want him after already feeling the sting of his unofficial rejection? Can they both work on letting go of the past and moving forward together or will fate have different plans and keep them apart?
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”












