Damien."You did the right thing."I stared at the cabin, its wood soaked in the first light of dawn. The healer was already shuffling toward Fiona car... which was completely repaired now, his silver braid swaying, his bag of tools slung casually over one shoulder.Behind him, my mother stood with her arms crossed, her face closed off.Were they dating? Was she his assistant or something? Was this where she had been all those years?There were too many questions swirling around my head this morning."You'll be travelling without me," she said to me, her voice like cold steel.The relief I felt was sharp and immediate, though I buried it deep down. She wasn't really talking to me, and it would be stupid to show that her words affected me. So, I schooled my expression into one of indifference and nodded as if her absence didn't matter.But it did.She wouldn't be coming with us. She wouldn't be around to ignore me, to pretend I didn't exist. She wouldn't be available for my questions
Damien.With Elliot in the house, there was always something going on.Reading.Writing.Journaling. Cooking, cleaning, eating, talking. Whatever mundane activity one could think about, we always had at least one going on.Even on the days he was mad at me, so the silence around and in the cabin felt deafening. I stood in the wreckage of our home, the faint scent of blood still lingering in the air, mixing with that horrible tang of destruction. Our bond... the one thing between me and Elliot, usually a steady hum at the back of my mind, was eerily quiet.No pull. No sign. Nothing.This wasn't an unusual occurrence for us, but considering the fact that he had a monster wolf in his mind...I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms as I scanned the room again, searching for something... anything... that might give me a clue. "Elliot!" I called out, my voice hoarse.The echo of my own voice was the only reply."Damien..." Fiona’s voice was softer than I was used to... more h
Elliot.The cabin felt colder without Damien here.None of his sparky personality, sarcastic comments, or even the smell of his wonderful home made cooking.On the day he left, I blinked awake, expecting to feel his warmth pressed against my back, the steady rise and fall of his breathing acting like an anchor against the dark cloud in my mind. But the couch was empty, the sheets already cool where Damien should have been.And my whole body ached because I slept on a couch.The hollow silence, though, was enough to make my stomach twist. It wasn't like Damien to leave me without a word.I forced myself upright, brushing tangled hair from my face as my eyes swept the dimly lit room. The cabin was still... the kind of quiet that didn't feel peaceful, only wrong.And then I saw it.And then he saw it. A folded piece of paper on the kitchen counter.No.My pulse quicked, a sinking weight pressing down on my chest as I snatched it up. The paper felt rough under my fingers, creased like it
Elliot.The woods whispered with ghosts. Not the kind I could see. No, these were the silent, aching kind. Memories pressing against my chest like old wounds that never fully healed.The wind stirred the branches above me, hollow and biting with the scent of damp earth and pine assaulting my nose and taking over my senses. The underbrush crunched softly beneath my feet, but I barely noticed.My pulse thrummed louder than the wind. Louder than the creak of trees shifting in the cold.Because I'd been here before.Too many times.The first time had been when I had dragged a half dead, bloodied and broken, through these very woods. The air had been tainted with the smell of blood, Damien's body limp in my arms that I had thought... no, feared... he wouldn't make it.I had fought for him then.Refused to leave the stranger behind, no matter how close that horrible creature had come, no matter how much the shadows seemed to close in.And now?Now Damien was gone.All I had gotten were tex
Elliot.My mom always told me to be weary of strangers. A rule I followed for the majority of my life because most strangers were out of actually get you.Until I met Damien in those woods.Now, I wander deeply into the woods while my heart ached badly against my chest with a man I knew nothing about.The forest stretched endlessly, shadows tangled in the branches above, the damp earth soft beneath my bare feet. I didn't know how long I'd been walking... only that the ache inside me hadn't stopped since I walked out of spying on Damien.It wasn’t just pain. It was hunger. A gnawing, hollow ache tearing through my insides, growing sharper with every step. My body felt... starved. My mind? Fractured. The wolf within paced restlessly, its presence like claws scraping against the edges of my mind, waiting for me to break."You can't be with him," the voice whispered again. Because it couldn't keep shut for even a minute.My hands curled into fists. "Shut the fuck up," I thought bitterl
Elliot.The scent of burning herbs clung thick in the air, mingling with the smoke curling from the dying fire.I was shocked I hadn't choked to death from it.My eyes were closed, my breathing as steady as it could be,yet inside, everything churned violently... the ache in my chest, the hunger gnawing at my ribs, the restless full of the wolf pacing along the edges of my mind."You can't win against me, Elliot."I knew Matthias told me to engage with it, know what it wanted, but that wasn't a decision that came easily.Instead, I tried to ignore it. The sound of the fire crackling softly was actually pleasant, so I focused on listening to that. After all, I was left with nothing but the silence and the pull of my bond.Damien.I couldn't stay without thinking about him no matter what. I felt him. And feeling him came with the ache all over again... the fear of being left behind. Of wondering if I'd ever be enough for him.Fuck it.What was even wrong with me?I clenched my fists aga
Damien."It doesn't even matter..."I tilted my head back, the glass of orange juice halfway to my lips when the sound pierced the quiet night.A howl. It wasn't just any howl. The haunting echo came from the direction of the woods, sharper than I've ever heard, and it thrummed through my bones. My wolf stirred instantly, a tremor of recognition vibrating through his entire being.The bond. Crash.Shit.The glass had slipped from my trembling fingers and shattered against the wooden porch. Glass shards sparkled in the moonlight as the juice seeped into the cracks between the planks, but I barely noticed that.That bond that chained Elliot and I was pulsing again, undeniably stronger than it had been in the past few days.He was okay."Damien?" Fiona’s voice broke the moment. She was still seated, her own cup untouched in her hands. Those green eyes narrowed at me with concern. "What's wrong?"That wasn't a question I had time to answer because I had already risen to my feet, lis
Damien.I had never felt a pain like this before.Fuck being boiled alive, fuck being splattered with acid, fuck having your chest ripped open by claws dipped in poison. This was a hundred times worse.It wasn't just the ache of the bond unravelling, and it did that faster than I could comprehend... it was way deeper. Something soul deep, as if someone had reached into my chest and ripped away a part of me, leaving nothing but hollow space in its place.That pain wasn't enough to let me let Elliot walk away. Not without a fight.I rushed after him as my mate... no, former mate... no, still mate... vanished deeper into the forest. My breathing was coming out in ragged bursts as I forced my now aching limbs to move, to follow. The only good news was the fact that the bond hadn't broken completely yet. It was fraying at the edges, yes, fragile and thin, but I could still feel him.Faintly. That had to be enough for now."Elliot!" My voice shattered the quiet of the woods as I ran. My
One year after...Elliot.Fucking hell!What was wrong with me?I adjusted the collar of my shirt, a strange mix of excitement and nervousness bubbling in my chest. That didn't stop me from sparing a glance at Damien, who stood beside me, hands stuffed into his pockets.My mate... plus husband, because sometime within the previous year, he had transitioned into my husband, exuded this sort of calm confidence, but I could see the tension in his posture.Slight tightening of the jaw, the way his fingers flexed occasionally? The signs were all there."You don't have to look so intimidating," I teased, nudging him gently. "We're not here for a pack meeting."On the days we had those, even I knew to steer clear for a few minutes to give him time to breathe. Those elders... well, they were a little intense on the poor guy.Damien shot me a sideways glance, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "It's not intimidating if this is my resting face."Sigh. His resting face was the one he ha
Elliot."... a feminine mate."The room fell silent, except for the faint crackle of the fire in the corner. Five pairs of expectant eyes rested on me, waiting for my compliance."No." The words slipped out of my mouth easily, followed by a breathless laugh that was so bitter it tasted like ash on my tongue.The tall, silver-haired elder frowned. “No?” I took a step forward, keeping voice steady. "No, I won't take a feminine mate, not when I have a mate already," I shot a glance at Damien, whose eyes just widened in alarm. "One I love, one I cherish, and one I would gladly die for if the need came up."I suppressed the chuckle in me as the elders exchanged uneasy glances, their masks slipping away.Not what they expected eh."My mate is Damien Blackthorn," I declared, the words echoing through the room like thunder. "And you're going to have to live with that."...silence.Then another elder, a squat man with a pale complexion, was the first to break it. "Damien is still illegitimat
Elliot.All I could was stare at Damien, my chest still heaving from the kiss that had shattered every coherent thought in my mind.Damn me!My lips still tingled from the contact, but my body rebelled against the intimacy, the closeness... the connection. I had no idea when I took a step back while shaking my head. "What the hell are you doing?" My voice was sharp, raw, and mixed with something I wasn't ready to name.Damien's jaw clenched, his eyes shadowed with defiance and something softer."You told me to do something," He repeated with puckered lips."Not that." I snapped at him with a cold tone. Why did it feel like I was splintering from the inside. "Do you think this is the right time for... for that?" I gestured at the air between us, trying my best to keep my hands from trembling.Damien didn’t answer immediately. I took another step back, my legs almost giving out beneath me. "I'm covered in blood, Damien. Asher's blood." My voice cracked, and all I could let out for th
Elliot.What had I done?The crowd's cheers and chants of "Golden Alpha" roared around me, but the sound felt distant... muffled as if I was underwater. Blood matted my fur, drying into a crust that stung with every movement.I stood still in the centre of the clearing, staring at Asher's lifeless body.I had done that. That was my work.Shouldn't I feel triumphant? That's what was expected of me now. But all I felt was a hollow pit in my chest, an ache that wouldn't subside.This pack members were so fast in turning away from the one alpha they had known all their lived. Did they even like him at all? Was he a cruel thing in their life?Guilt gnawed at me, sharp and insistent. Asher's blood was on my paws... on my teeth. I'd done the one thing I'd never do. Killed another man or wolf.And Damien... My eyes shifted to the man who certainly looked bigger now than before in the crowd, standing apart, shoulders hunched, eyes dark. Damien looked defeated, not victorious, as if Asher's d
Damien.I crouched low, panting, with blood soaked into my fur. I couldn't help but glare at Asher, who stood tall and smug, those dark eyes of his gleaming with cruel satisfaction."Just leave us alone," I screamed into his mind, making sure my voice was kept steady despite the turmoil raging inside me.Asher's ears flicked back, his snarl rumbling like thunder. His response came immediately, and it wasn't pretty."You think I'd let you walk away with the power of that crystal embedded into you just because you don't want to fight? You're a coward, Damien. A bastard trying to play hero."Fucking hell.I was already frustrated by his stubbornness at this point."This isn't about being a coward or a hero, Asher. I just want to end this madness once and for all... I'll find a way to give you the crystal so we can leave, and it's done."Asher bared his teeth. "You don't get to decide when this ends, big brother. I didn't work my entire life for this pack just to hand it to you? To a bast
Damien."Take it, and leave us alone."Asher practically snatched the crystal from my hand once he saw it, holding it aloft, those jagged edges slicked with blood staining his fingers.The crystal had this kind of eerie glow from within catching the sunlight and bringing some sort of sinister shadows across his face.He laughed, a cruel thing, slicing through the murmurs of the gathered crowd."Look at him," Asher sneered, turning to the elders, the guards, the pack. "The bastard my father should have drowned the moment he crawled out of his whore of a mother."My breath hitched, fury burning within me at those words.My mother wasn't a whore. She was just a victim of circumstances.He had no right.I stained against the silver shackles digging into my wrists, the metal scorching my skin, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage simmering in my veins."You've always been nothing, Damien," Asher continued, his words dripping with enough venom to wound me. "A stain on this pack fro
Damien.One of the worst things that could happen to a person is the inability to move.I couldn't move.My body screamed at me to act, to hell, but the silver of the shackles continued to say every ounce of strength I had left. The room became a blur of chaos, the coppery taste of fresh blood mixing with the charred scent of burning torches.My mate... Elliot was a whirlwind of gold and fury, tearing through the guard with a savagery that made even my sick in the head brother stumble back a step.“Kill him!” Asher roared, his voice cracking in uncharacteristic panic. “Stop that beast!” The remaining guard hesitated, fumbling for his weapon as Elliot rounded on him. He didn't even stand a chance. A single swipe of massive claws opened him from collarbone to hip, and his scream of pain ended in a gurgle as he choked on his own blood while crumpling to the floor.This was a horrible place. The screaming elder, on the other hand, had pressed himself against the far wall, eyes wide wit
Damien.The first thing I registered was the cold.It pressed against my back, so damp and unforgiving, seeping into my bones like ice. My skin felt raw where it touched the stone, aching with each shallow breath I took. The erratic pounding of my heart was even worse since it came with a steady drumbeat of pain, while the sharp scent of blood hung thick in the air...Metallic and bitter.My blood.I forced my eyes open, blinking against the haze clouding my vision. Shadows danced along the damp stone walls, cast by a single torch burning low. The flame sputtered, struggling for life, barely able to illuminate the ancient cracks webbing across the ceiling.I knew this place.This had been my father's prized possession, capable of tearing into the minds of anyone stupid enough to allow themselves to be brought here.The Blackthorn dungeon. A place carved deep into the earth. I'd been here before... years ago... when I was just a boy foolish enough to challenge one of those silly eld
Elliot.Fuck that little piece of nature.And why did it have to be so loud that it echoed louder than it should have in the unnatural stillness of this place. "Who's there?" Another guard echoed the first one words.They emerged from the shadows almost instantly... the three of them, moving like wolves who'd caught a scent. Their hands rested on their weapons–daggers strapped to their belts, one with a blade half-drawn. Running would be useless right now.Fiona stopped short, standing tall beside me as the nearest guard, a broad-shouldered man with a scar cutting from his temple to his jaw narrowed his eyes. These werewolves always seemed to be injured."Luna Fiona?" His voice was rough with disbelief, head tilting as he looked her over, eyes lingering on her dirt-streaked clothes.The second guard, a bit younger, exchanged a glance with the third. "What the hell are you doing here? And who..." his eyes flicked to me, then moved back to Fiona like I wasn't worth his time. "... who