DAMIEN RETURNS

Hours passed in a haze of sadness and uncertainty. Elena lay curled up on the bed, the blanket wrapped tightly around her, her thoughts a swirling storm of doubt and guilt. The pack house had grown quieter, but the silence wasn’t comforting, it was suffocating.

She kept replaying the confrontation in her mind. The harsh words of Damien's mother, the hurtful agreement of Amelia. They had made her feel like an outsider, like an unworthy link in the chain that was slowly breaking under the weight of the war.

Just when she thought the silence might consume her, she heard the front door slam shut downstairs. Heavy footsteps echoed through the halls, familiar and commanding. Damien was back.

Her heart raced. She wasn’t ready to face him, not yet. She wasn’t sure she could look him in the eye after everything his family had said. What if he agreed with them? What if he thought she was a burden too?

But there was no time to prepare herself. A few moments later, the door to their room swung