Damien’s POV
The words hung in the air between us like a confession that had been locked away for decades. Sera’s erald eyes widened with shock and sothing deeper.
"Your parents too?" she whispered, her free hand reaching up to touch my face with exquisite tenderness. "Damien, I’m so sorry."
I leaned into her touch, allowing myself this mont of vulnerability that I’d never shared with another soul. Not even Lucas knew the full truth of what had happened that night.
"I was eighteen," I began, my voice rougher than intended as mories I’d buried deep began clawing their way to the surface. "Old enough to think I understood pack politics."
Sera shifted carefully in the dical bed, making room for to sit beside her. The mattress dipped under my weight as I settled against the headboard, grateful for the solid warmth of her presence as I prepared to excavate wounds I’d spent years learning to ignore.
"My parents had what everyone called a perfect marriage," I continued, staring at the sterile white wall across from us rather than eting her eyes. “Beautiful, powerful, completely devoted to each other and to our pack’s prosperity."
The irony of those words tasted bitter now, colored by everything I’d learned in the bloody aftermath.
"What happened?" Sera asked gently, her hand never leaving my face.
"My father had an affair with his assistant," I said, the words feeling like broken glass in my throat even after all these years. "A woman nad Patricia—Gabriel’s mother. It started when I was thirteen, though I didn’t learn about it until much later."
Sera’s fingers tightened against my cheek, offering silent support as I continued.
"When my mother found out, she was devastated. The divorce proceedings were... brutal. My father wanted to keep as the future Alpha heir, while my mother wanted to co with her to her family’s territory." I closed my eyes, rembering the custody battles that had torn our pack apart. "I was angry at both of them, furious that they were destroying everything I’d believed about family and loyalty and love."
"You were just a child," Sera said softly. "It wasn’t your fault."
"Wasn’t it?" I opened my eyes to et her gaze, seeing my own pain reflected in those erald depths. "Because the day they died, I was supposed to be at ho. My mother was coming for one of her scheduled visits—the court had given her every other weekend and Wednesday evenings. But I was angry at her for the divorce, angry at my father for the affair, angry at the whole fucking situation."
My voice grew harsher as the mories beca clearer, more vivid. "Instead of going ho after school, I went to a friend’s house. I stayed for dinner, then convinced them to let spend the night. I was being petulant, trying to punish both my parents by making my mother’s visit aningless."
Sera’s hand moved to cover mine, squeezing tightly as she sensed where this story was leading.
"When I ca ho the next morning, I found them." The words ca out flat, emotionless, because that was the only way I could say them without completely falling apart. "Both of them, in my father’s study. My mother had been... she’d been torn apart. My father was slumped over his desk, his throat ripped open."
"Oh God," Sera breathed, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks.
"The house had been ransacked, but in a calculated way. Specific files were missing from my father’s safe, certain docunts that contained sensitive pack information."
I stood abruptly, needing to move as the restless energy of old rage began building in my chest. "Gabriel’s mother had vanished completely. No trace of her anywhere, like she’d never existed. The timing was too convenient to be coincidence."
"You think she orchestrated it?"
"I think soone did." I turned back to face Sera, seeing understanding dawn in her eyes. "Soone who knew my father’s security protocols, who could get close enough to disable the safeguards, who had access to pack secrets that could be sold to our enemies."
"And Gabriel?"
My jaw clenched as I thought about my worthless half-brother. "Gabriel was twelve years old when it happened. Too young to be directly involved, but..." I shrugged, feeling the familiar weight of suspicion I’d carried for years. "I’ve never been able to trust him completely. His mother’s blood runs in his veins."
The silence that followed was heavy with shared grief and understanding. Two orphaned wolves, both carrying the weight of unsolved murders and unanswered questions.
"So you’ve been ruling the pack since then?" Sera asked quietly.
“Yes, I’ve been carrying the responsibility since my parents died." I managed a bitter smile. "Claire stepped in to help—she’d been my mother’s closest friend and advisor. Without her guidance, I probably would have destroyed everything my family had built."
Sera was quiet for a long mont, processing everything I’d revealed. Then she took a deep breath, her expression growing determined.
"Damien," she said, her voice stronger than it had been since she’d awakened. "The Moon Goddess told sothing else. About seeking justice for the past, about healing more than just wounds. What if... what if our parents’ deaths are connected?"
The possibility had occurred to , of course. Two pack massacres, both involving betrayal from within, both targeting Alpha families with specific bloodlines. But I’d buried the suspicion along with everything else that hurt too much to examine.
"It’s possible," I admitted reluctantly. "But Sera, investigating sothing like that would be dangerous. We’d be stirring up old enemies, people with everything to lose if the truth ca out."
"Then we do it carefully," she said, her erald eyes blazing with a determination I’d never seen before. "We find out what really happened to both our families. We get justice for the people we lost."
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