Wings tore from my back with a wet, sickening crack, but they weren’t like the ones in fairytales. These weren’t soft or glowing or beautiful. They were bent, bloodstained wings that trembled in the air as if they didn’t belong to ... like they’d been forced out before they were ready. They didn’t spread open with grace. Instead, they twitched slightly, bent at odd angles, hanging behind like broken limbs.
Tears stread down my face, from the pain of having my skin ripped open. The weight of the wings was heavy and every movent sent waves of pain up my spine.
Gasps echoed through the hall as the pain in my spine dragged to the floor. My knees gave out before I even realized it. The blood soaking through the back of my dress felt warm, but it was nothing compared to the pounding in my chest.
I couldn’t catch my breath. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might stop altogether. And from the crowd reaction, I already knew. I knew what they were seeing. I wasn’t just a werewolf. I wasn’t just Damon’s mate, and a part of knew things were about to take a bad turn.
’I am a fae.’
"Fae!" The werewolves growled. So of them transford into their wolf form.
And now... they all knew.
But that wasn’t what made my stomach churn. It was Damon.
The way he looked at wasn’t filled with concern or even confusion. He just stared like sothing inside him had snapped in half. His lips parted like he wanted to speak, but nothing ca out. His eyes... Those sa eyes that had once softened for a few minutes ago were now blank and cold, filled with sothing I didn’t recognize. Or maybe I did.
Maybe it was hatred.
I couldn’t stop staring back at him. I wanted to say sothing, anything, but the words wouldn’t co. I wasn’t even sure if he’d hear if I tried.
I gasped for air as more hot tears trickled down my cheeks. ’Universe... Why are you ssing around with ? I thought this was my second chance at having a good life... but my life had taken a turn for the worse.’
From across the hall, I caught sight of Alaric. His eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open, and his hands frozen at his sides. He didn’t even blink as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
At the back of the hall, Caroline let out a tiny gasp. Lydia grabbed her arm and slapped a hand over her mouth. They had snuck in, I could tell, but even they looked shaken. Not because I had wings, but because they understood what this ant.
They knew what was coming. The silence lasted only a few seconds. Then ca the growls again like a roaring wave.
Dozens of werewolves stepped forward at once, their claws extended, their eyes glowing with fury. The scraping sound of their nails dragging across the floor echoed loud enough to make my skin crawl. So of them bared their teeth. I could hear the low snarls bubbling from their throats.
I stumbled backward, my hands flat on the floor, my wings dragging behind , causing trendous pain.
"No..." I whispered, my voice shaky and thin. "Please don’t..."
But they didn’t stop. They didn’t care that I was crying or bleeding or terrified. All they saw were my wings. All they slled was my fae blood. And that was enough to make them go berserk.
They charge at . And just before they could reach , Damon’s voice slamd through the room.
"STOP!"
Everything froze. His voice hit like a wall of thunder, shaking even the walls around us. The werewolves halted mid-lunge, but the tension remained. They hadn’t backed off. They pounced around waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
’Help , moon goddess... save !’
Damon slowly turned toward , and my chest squeezed with desperate hope. Maybe he’d hold again. Maybe he’d take one step forward and whisper sothing to calm down. Maybe I would still matter to him.
But the mont our eyes t, I knew none of that was going to happen.
His expression had changed completely. His face was hard, unreadable. His brows drew together, and when he finally spoke, his voice was cold.
"So this is what you really are?"
I opened my mouth, but the words ca out broken. "Master... please... I don’t know what is going on with ."
He looked at like I was sothing filthy, sothing that shouldn’t have been standing in his presence. "You have been lying to all this while, I can’t believe I got fooled by you." His claws dug into his palms, blood dripping from his hand to the ground.
"No..." I sobbed.
"I should never have believed you. So this was all your plan, even the invisible cloak wasn’t an incident. It was because you were fae. You practiced magic under my nose!" He growled, his chest heaving heavily.
’I don’t know how I beca like this... but who would believe ? Who?’ I sniffled. Everything hurts, my heart, my body, even my soul. And all I wanted was for him to shield and tell everything was going to be okay.
And then, in front of everyone, he said the words I never thought I’d hear.
"I, Alpha Damon Blackthorn, reject you, Ember Salvatore, as my mate."
The room went still, but inside , everything shattered into a million pieces. Sothing snapped inside , as if the rope I had been holding had been cut off.
A scream tore from my throat, as an excruciating wave of pain surged through .
It felt like my chest had been ripped open. My wolf howled so loudly in my head that I thought I would go deaf from the sound. My legs gave out again, and I collapsed completely, reaching for him with trembling fingers.
"No... Damon... let explain..." My voice cracked, barely a whisper. "Please..." I wailed, and my sunken cheeks beca pale.
But no one gave the chance to finish.
"She’s been lying," soone muttered near the front.
"She’s an abomination. A werewolf and a fae!" another voice added, louder this ti.
"She doesn’t deserve to be the mate of a Lycan king!" a third growled.
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