Damien’s POV
My hand tightened around Gabriel’s throat.
His eyes bulged. Hands clawing at my fingers. Desperate. Pathetic.
"Hello, brother." The words ca out cold. Dead. "Miss ?"
Gabriel’s mouth opened. Trying to speak. Nothing ca out except strangled gasping.
I held on. Watched his face turn red. Then purple.
Emma scread behind . "Damien, stop! You’re killing him!"
I didn’t let go. Didn’t even look at her.
"Please!" Her voice cracked. "Please, he can’t breathe!"
Good. Let him suffer. Let him feel a fraction of what I’d felt these past months.
Gabriel’s struggles weakened. His eyes rolling back.
I released him.
He collapsed. Hit the filthy floor hard. Gasping. Coughing. Alive.
Unfortunately.
"Get up." I kicked his side. Not hard. Just enough. "We’re leaving."
"I’m not going anywhere with you," Gabriel wheezed.
I grabbed his hair. Yanked his head back. "That wasn’t a request."
Lucas appeared in the doorway. Two security guards behind him. All wearing black. All ard.
"Bring her too." I gestured to Emma. "She’s coming with us."
Lucas’s face was stone. But I saw the muscle jumping in his jaw. The way his hands clenched.
His cousin. His family. And she’d betrayed us all.
"Please." Emma backed against the wall. "Please, I’m pregnant. You can’t—"
"Move." Lucas’s voice was flat. "Now."
The guards grabbed Gabriel. Hauled him to his feet. His legs barely worked. Still gasping for air.
"You can’t do this!" Gabriel found his voice finally. "I have rights! You can’t just—"
"Shut up." I backhanded him. Hard. His head snapped to the side.
Blood trickled from his split lip. He stared at . Eyes wide. Like he’d never seen before.
Maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he’d never seen what happened when soone pushed too far.
"Take them to the holding cells." I walked past him. Didn’t look back. "The deep ones. Where nobody can hear them scream."
---
The drive back to the pack house was silent.
Gabriel sat between two guards in the back. Hands zip-tied. Mouth taped shut. Still breathing hard through his nose.
Emma rode in a separate car. Lucas driving. Probably couldn’t stand to look at her.
My phone buzzed. Text from Claire.
**Claire: Where are you? The Council is asking questions.**
I ignored it. Put the phone on silent. Shoved it in my pocket.
The Council could wait. Everything could wait.
First, I needed the truth. All of it. On video. Undeniable.
Then I’d figure out how to save my marriage.
If it could even be saved.
---
The holding cells were exactly as I’d left them.
Cold. Dark. Concrete walls that swallowed sound.
Lucas was already there when I arrived. Standing outside cell three. His face carefully blank.
"Emma’s in cell one," he said. Didn’t et my eyes. "Gabriel’s in cell two."
"Good." I walked past him. "Set up the cara equipnt. I want everything recorded."
He hesitated. Then nodded. Disappeared down the hallway.
I stood there. Breathing. Trying to control the rage burning through my veins.
This was it. The mont everything changed.
Either I got the proof I needed. Or I destroyed two people for nothing.
No. Not for nothing. They’d done this. They’d planned it. They’d executed it.
I just needed them to admit it.
Lucas returned with cara equipnt. Professional grade. Multiple angles. Audio recording.
"Set it up in cell two," I said. "Gabriel breaks easier."
He looked at for a long mont. Then started setting up caras.
Ten minutes later, everything was ready.
I unlocked cell two. Stepped inside.
Gabriel sat on the concrete bench. Still zip-tied. Tape removed from his mouth.
He glared at . "This is illegal. Kidnapping. Assault. You’re going to—"
"Save it." I grabbed a chair. Dragged it over. Sat down. "We both know you’re not calling anyone."
"Lucas!" Gabriel shouted. "Lucas, help ! He’s insane! He’s going to—"
"Shut up." Lucas pushed off the wall. "Just shut the fuck up, Gabriel."
Silence fell. Heavy. Suffocating.
I pulled out my phone. Started recording. Backup audio in case the caras failed.
"Let’s start simple." I kept my voice level. "The hotel. The ridian. What happened that night?"
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
Wrong answer.
I stood up. Fast. My fist connected with his jaw.
Gabriel’s head snapped back. Blood sprayed. He slumped sideways.
"Let’s try again." I sat back down. "The hotel. What happened?"
"Fuck you." Blood dripped from his mouth. "I’m not telling you shit."
I nodded slowly. "Okay. Have it your way."
I walked to the door. Gestured to soone outside.
Three n entered. All carrying batons. All wearing identical blank expressions.
Gabriel’s eyes went huge. "Wait—what are you—"
"You have two choices." I crossed my arms. "Tell the truth. Everything. Or I let them beat it out of you."
"You wouldn’t." But his voice shook. "You’re the Alpha. You have rules. You can’t just—"
"Try ."
The first blow caught him in the ribs. Hard. Gabriel scread.
"Stop!" He gasped. "Stop, please!"
"Then talk."
The second blow hit his shoulder. The third his leg.
"Okay! Okay!" Tears stread down his face. "I’ll talk! Just stop!"
I held up my hand. The n stepped back. Waited.
Gabriel doubled over. Sobbing. Blood and snot everywhere.
"The hotel," I said again. "Start talking."
He took a shaky breath. "Emma called . Said you’d be at that conference room. Said it was ti."
"Ti for what?"
"The plan." His voice cracked. "Our plan. To destroy you."
Finally. Finally the truth.
"Keep going."
"I brought the drug. In the air. Kind of wolfsbane for Alpha."
My hands clenched. "And?"
"Then you got—" He swallowed. "You got confused. Disoriented. Emma helped you to your car."
"She drove to the hotel."
"Yes." He nodded frantically. "She drove. Got you inside. To the room we’d rented."
"Then what?"
"Then she—" He stopped. Looked away.
"Then she what?" My voice dropped. Dangerous.
"She marked herself. Made it look like bite marks. Like you’d done it."
The rage was back. Burning. Consuming.
"And the baby?" The question ca out strangled.
"Mine." The word was barely a whisper. "The baby’s mine. Emma and I—we’ve been together for months."
Lucas made a sound. Low. Wounded.
I kept my eyes on Gabriel. "Say that again. For the cara."
"The baby is mine!" He was crying harder now. "Not yours! It was always mine! We planned it! We planned all of it!"
"Why?" The word tore out of . "Why would you do this?"
"Because I hate you!" Gabriel’s voice rose. Hysterical. "Because you have everything! Because you cut off! Because you treat like garbage!"
"So you decided to destroy my marriage? To make my wife think I betrayed her?"
"Yes!" He scread it. "Yes! I wanted you to feel what I feel! I wanted you to lose everything! I wanted you to know what it’s like to be nothing!"
I grabbed him by the collar. Hauled him close. "You wanted to feel pain? Congratulations. Mission accomplished."
Then I threw him back. Let him hit the wall. Let him collapse on the floor.
"You’re pathetic." The words ca out cold. Final. "You’re weak. You’re jealous. And you’re going to spend the rest of your life regretting this."
"Fuck you!" Gabriel scrambled up. Rage overtaking fear. "Fuck you and your perfect life! You don’t deserve any of it! You don’t deserve Sera! You don’t deserve to be Alpha! You’re a monster!"
"Maybe." I walked toward the door. "But at least I’m not a coward who has to drug people and lie to get what I want."
"I hope Sera never forgives you!" He shouted at my back. "I hope she leaves and never cos back! I hope you die alone!"
I stopped. Turned slowly.
"She will forgive ." The certainty hit like a wave. "Because I’m going to show her this video. I’m going to prove I didn’t betray her. And then I’m going to spend the rest of my life making this up to her."
"She won’t believe you!" Gabriel laughed. Manic. Broken. "Even with the video! She’ll think you forced to say it!"
"Then I’ll deal with that too." I looked at Lucas. "Your turn."
Lucas stepped into the cell. Walked straight to Gabriel.
Then he punched him. Hard. Gabriel went down.
He walked out without another word.
I followed. Closed the cell door behind us. Locked it.
"Get Emma," I said. "Sa thing. Record everything."
---
Emma broke faster.
Took less than five minutes before she was sobbing. Confessing. Confirming everything Gabriel had said.
The drug. The setup. The fake marks. The pregnancy plan.
All of it captured on video. Multiple angles. Perfect audio.
Undeniable proof.
I stood there watching. Feeling nothing. Just empty.
My phone buzzed. Different this ti. Urgent.
Text from Marcus at the training facility.
**Marcus: Alpha. Ergency. Rogues gathering at the north border. Large numbers. Leader identified as Voss. Valerie spotted with them.**
My blood ran cold.
"Lucas." I kept my voice steady. "I need to go. Border ergency."
He looked up from the cara equipnt. "What’s happening?"
"Rogues. Large group. Voss is leading them."
"Shit." He stood imdiately. "I’ll mobilize the warriors."
"Do that." I headed for the door. "And Lucas?"
"Yeah?"
"Get soone to watch these two. I’m not done with them yet."
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