Chapter 36
Apr 17, 2025
Damien’s muscles coiled, his sharp green eyes burning with barely restrained fury as Danielle’s laughter echoed through the clearing. He turned his head slightly toward Felicia, his expression tense.
“Hold the boys,” he ordered, his voice low and deadly.
Felicia didn’t argue. She gripped Danny and Max’s hands tightly, pulling them behind her protectively. The boys were silent, their young faces full of confusion and fear.
Damien took a threatening step forward, his voice razor-sharp. “What the hell are you doing here, Danielle?”
Danielle let out another cold, eerie laugh, tilting her head as she looked at him with an almost mocking sadness.
“Why, Damien?” she whispered, her voice trembling but laced with deception. “Why couldn’t you love me the way you love her?”
Damien’s jaw tightened. “Because Felicia never lied to me.”
Danielle’s eyes darkened instantly, her lips curling into a snarl. “Oh, please!” she spat, her voice now dripping with venom. “If you weren’t so obsessed with digging around, you wouldn’t have found out! You would’ve still been mine, still been clueless, and everything would have been just fine!”
Damien growled, his fists clenched at his sides. “So you admit it?” His voice was dangerously quiet.
Danielle took a slow, taunting step forward. “Admit what, Damien?” she mocked. “That I did what I had to do to keep what was mine?”
Felicia watched from behind, her heart pounding. Something about Danielle’s tone—her confidence—sent a sickening chill down her spine.
Danny clutched at Felicia’s dress. “Mommy,” he whispered. “She’s scary.”
Felicia tightened her hold on them, her eyes never leaving Danielle. “Stay behind me.”
Danielle’s icy blue eyes flickered toward Felicia, pure hatred swirling in their depths. “You,” she sneered. “It’s your fault.”
Felicia stiffened. “What?”
Danielle’s nostrils flared as she jabbed a finger toward Felicia. “For five years, Damien and I were doing just fine. We had a life. A son. We were building a future. But then—” she let out a shaky breath, her voice breaking into a growl. “Then you had to show up again. Then he saw you at the festival, and suddenly, he didn’t want me anymore. He didn’t want our family. He just wanted you.”
Her expression twisted into something ugly, something beyond rage—pure, consuming obsession.
Damien’s expression darkened. “You were never my family, Danielle. You tricked me. You used me. And I’ll never forgive you for it.”
Danielle’s lips trembled, but then she smirked, the pain in her eyes flickering away, replaced by something sinister.
“You always thought you were so strong, Damien. So powerful. The mighty Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack.”
Damien’s breath hitched, his instincts screaming that something was very, very wrong.
Danielle’s smirk widened. “Well, guess what?” she purred.
“I was behind all of it.”
Felicia’s heart stopped.
Damien’s entire body went still. “What?”
Danielle’s blue eyes glowed with satisfaction as she took another step forward, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
“The rogue attacks. The murders. The chaos that led to war.” She grinned. “That was me.”
Felicia gasped, her blood running cold. “You—”
Damien’s breathing grew heavier, his eyes flashing with something deadly. “You killed them. You slaughtered innocent people. And you made it look like Lucien did it.”
Danielle sighed, mocking disappointment. “I had to, Damien.” Her smirk turned sharp, her expression almost gleeful. “You’re standing there, seething, debating whether or not to kill me. But guess what?”
She took a step back and snapped her fingers.
Instantly, shadows moved from the treeline, figures emerging from the darkness—wolves, rogues, dozens of them.
Felicia gasped, stepping in front of the boys instinctively. Lucien’s warriors weren’t here. They were surrounded.
Danielle let out a mocking laugh, her voice dripping with triumph.
“Don’t even bother touching me or calling for backup, Damien.” She grinned, her blue eyes alight with madness.
“You’re surrounded. These are my people.”
Damien’s heart pounded in his chest, but his expression didn’t waver. He could see it now—the calculated manipulation, the traps she had been setting for years.
Danielle clasped her hands together, tilting her head playfully. “So what will it be, Damien? Do you fight me? Do you risk hurting Felicia and the boys?”
Damien’s breath was steady, controlled—but his wolf howled for blood.
And then she whispered, her voice like a dagger to his soul.
“Like I said, Damien… if you can’t be mine, you can’t be anyone else’s.”
