"I’m sorry, Anne," Damien said, his voice thick with regret. "I hate that this happened. I hate that I can’t make it right imdiately. I’ll do whatever it takes to fix this. To make sure Jessica pays for what she did. But more than that, I need to know that we’re okay."
Anne closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the seat. "We’re okay," she said after a long pause. "But I just... I need ti, Damien. My wolf needs ti. Until I can get her under control, I have to stay away. For both our sakes."
Damien’s chest tightened at her words. The idea of her pulling away and keeping her distance was agonising, but he understood. He didn’t want to push her or make things worse.
"I’ll give you all the ti you need," Damien said, his voice filled with quiet resolve. "Just... don’t shut out completely. I’ll wait for you, Anne. I’ll always wait for you."
*********************************
Damien stood in the grand hall, his arms crossed, as he faced Alpha Jackson and Jessica. Jackson had arrived minutes earlier, his voice already raised in anger, demanding justice for the "insults" his daughter had endured.
Jackson’s eyes narrowed, his posture rigid with fury. "You have insulted my daughter and our pack, Damien. Jessica was your best friend for years, and you abandoned her the mont you found your mate. That, I could tolerate. But now, after what happened in Chicago? You think there will be no consequences for this?"
Damien’s gaze hardened, his wolf bristling at the implication.
"What the hell do you want, Jackson ?" Liana asked.
"I demand compensation for Jessica’s treatnt. You’ve humiliated my daughter and insulted our pack. I want land—territory in exchange for what she’s been through. And unmated females as compensation for the insult."
Alpha Richard’s face darkened, but before he could speak, Damien raised his hand, his voice cold and unyielding. "You’ll get nothing from , Jackson. I owe you and your daughter nothing, and I won’t be bullied into giving up my territory or my people. If you want sothing from , you’ll have to take it by force."
Jackson’s lips twisted into a snarl. "Is that a challenge?"
Damien’s eyes glinted dangerously. "It is."
The tension in the room was palpable. Alpha Richard and Liana exchanged a concerned glance, while Jessica stood silently fuming besides her father. But just as Jackson seed ready to escalate the confrontation further, he let out a bitter laugh.
"You think you’re untouchable, Damien. But you’re not. You think all this is happening because of ? Because of Jessica? You’re wrong." His eyes glinted with dark satisfaction as he continued, his voice lowering to a dangerous whisper. "This all started with your mother."
Damien frozen, confusion flickering across his face. "What are you talking about?"
Jackson’s smile grew colder, more nacing. "Your mother, Liana—she was against your mating with Anne from the beginning. She’s the one who ordered to imprison her after your mating. She never wanted you two together. She wanted you to follow through with the engagent to Jessica. Your mother was working against you from the start."
Damien’s heart slamd against his chest. His eyes darted to his mother, Liana, who stood nearby, her face pale but impassive. For the first ti, doubt flickered in her eyes. "Is this true?" Damien demanded, his voice barely controlled.
Liana took a deep breath, her gaze steady but tinged with regret. "I was concerned about the alliance with Jackson’s pack," she admitted. "And about your future as Alpha King. I didn’t want anything to jeopardise that. But I never—"
"You never what?" Damien’s voice was laced with anger and betrayal. "You never thought to tell ? Never thought that maybe your son deserved the truth?"
Damien stood frozen in place, his chest heaving with suppressed fury. Jackson’s words had struck a deep and dangerous chord within him. He had expected deception from his enemies, but from his own mother?
But Jackson wasn’t done yet.
"That’s not all," Jackson said, his voice cool and calculated as he turned back to face Damien. His eyes glead with a dark satisfaction, as if savouring every mont of Damien’s tornt. "Five years ago, when Anne was trying to reach you... The attack on her wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a random ambush. That, too, was ordered by none other than your mother."
Damien’s fists clenched, and a cold, terrifying fury washed over him as he turned slowly towards Liana. "Tell that’s a lie," he said, his voice dangerously low, barely a whisper. "Tell he’s lying, Mother."
Liana’s face was pale, her hands trembling as she stood there, her eyes wide with distress. "Damien... I can explain."
Damien’s heart cracked at the sight of her desperation, but his anger surged forward, overwhelming any sympathy he might have felt. "Did you order that attack?" His voice was louder now, shaking with rage. "Did you try to kill Anne?"
Liana’s lips trembled, and she shook her head frantically. "I didn’t want to kill her, Damien. I didn’t—" She paused, taking a shuddering breath. "I was trying to protect you. I thought if Anne was out of the way, you would follow the path that had been laid out for you. I was thinking of the future and of your responsibilities as Alpha King.
"Protect ?" Damien’s voice thundered through the hall, silencing everyone around him. "That was your excuse? You thought the way to protect was by ordering the death of my mate? By trying to kill the woman I love?" His eyes burned with raw fury, his voice breaking with the betrayal that coursed through him.
Liana flinched, tears brimming in her eyes. "I made mistakes, Damien. I was wrong. But everything I did, I did for you—"
Damien’s laugh was bitter, sharp as a knife. "For ? You did it for yourself. For your idea of what I should be. Did you ever love , Mother? Or was I just a tool for your ambitions?"
Liana’s face crumpled, her composure shattering in the face of her son’s words. "Of course I loved you," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Everything I did—"
"Everything you did destroyed us," Damien snapped, cutting her off. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, and he felt his control slipping. "You destroyed everything. You betrayed ."
Jackson, who had been watching the exchange with smug satisfaction, couldn’t resist twisting the knife further. "Oh, I’m not done yet," he said, stepping forward. "There are more secrets, Damien. Your mother has been hiding much more from you than just the attack on Anne."
Damien’s gaze snapped back to Jackson, his fury now barely contained. He looked between Jackson and his mother, his mind racing. "What is he talking about?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous as he faced Liana once more. "What other secrets, Mother? What else have you been hiding?"
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