•• Victoria’s POV •••
The veil of the dream lifted, and everything became clear…
“You married Elijah and didn’t care about us!”
“You only thought about yourself!”
“You are not fit to be our Alpha!”
“You turned us into slaves at the Goldclaw Pride Pack!”
“What’s to say we won’t be sold again into the Infernal Shadows Pack as slaves?”
“We don’t believe you could lead us!”
“We don’t believe you could restore the glory of the perfume industry and the Palemane Claws Pack!”
“We do not trust you!”
“How could we trust you after everything you put us through at the Goldclaw Pride Pack?”
My pack members’ blame and doubts echoed in my ears, nearly shattering my heart. Faces I once protected—mothers, elders
•• Victoria’s POV •••The veil of the dream lifted, and everything became clear…“You married Elijah and didn’t care about us!”“You only thought about yourself!”“You are not fit to be our Alpha!”“You turned us into slaves at the Goldclaw Pride Pack!”“What’s to say we won’t be sold again into the Infernal Shadows Pack as slaves?”“We don’t believe you could lead us!”“We don’t believe you could restore the glory of the perfume industry and the Palemane Claws Pack!”“We do not trust you!”“How could we trust you after everything you put us through at the Goldclaw Pride Pack?”My pack members’ blame and doubts echoed in my ears, nearly shattering my heart. Faces I once protected—mothers, elders
•• Victoria’s POV •••Damien’s tenderness after everything made my heart stir in ways I wasn’t ready to face. It wasn't that he was never tender, but this time it felt different.His hands had been reverent. His voice was full of need and restraint. The way he’d whispered my name, as though it was a prayer, echoed in my mind like a lullaby. But even wrapped in his arms, something unsettled twisted inside me.I knew Damien. He was a sexually experienced, dominant Alpha. Charismatic. Sought after.And I was just... me. No wonder he wouldn't fall in love with me. And the thought still sliced my heart.I stared at the ceiling while his fingers traced idle patterns on my back. I should’ve been content. I should’ve felt peace—instead, a low, ugly heat churned inside me.I remembered the blonde escort, the way they kissed, the way he welcomed her. And Dia
•• Victoria's POV •••We returned to the pack house under the cover of night, the tension between us thick enough to choke on. Damien said nothing as he opened the door, his eyes dark with something primal—hungry. I stepped inside, and the door clicked shut behind me.The next moment, his hands were on me.His mouth crashed against mine with a desperation I hadn’t seen before, like he’d waited a thousand years to taste me and couldn’t wait another second. His hands traced my hips, my waist, my spine—everywhere at once—as if memorizing what had always been his.When he pulled away, his breathing was ragged. “You have no idea what you do to me.”I barely had time to respond before he lifted me off the ground and carried me to the bedroom, dropping me onto the bed like I was precious and breakable—but his eyes promised to do anything but that. I felt a delicious shiver run through my body as I anticipated what would come next.He hovered over me, taking in the sight like he was starving.
•• Victoria's POV •••I didn’t breathe again until the massive doors of the Council chamber closed behind Alpha Martin.Silence hung in the air like thick fog. The kind that clings to your skin, suffocating and still.Then, a gavel struck.“Order,” one of the elders barked, voice shaking with the effort of reclaiming control. “This trial is not over.”My heartbeat still hadn’t slowed. I clutched the edges of my seat. Damien hadn’t moved from where he stood, his broad frame angled just slightly in front of me, a wall I didn’t know I needed until Martin walked in and stared like I was prey.But I breathed a sigh of relief. At least Diana would still go on trial. At least Alpha Martin hadn't taken her away.The moment the doors shut, Diana shifted. She looked smaller without Martin behind her—less confident, more desperate. Her eyes darted between the council and Damien. And then to me.“They are lying!” she shouted, pointing at me and Damien. “Those photos are fake! You think I’d tortur
•• Victoria's POV •••The Werewolf Council chamber was cold and kind of suffocating. Every Elder looked intimidating.It was lucky I wasn't the one being judged today. A shudder ran through me. If I hadn't been able to prove my innocence and if Damien and Luna Astraea hadn't believed me, if they trusted Diana instead, I would have faced the judgment instead of Diana in this cold place.The chamber’s vaulted ceiling loomed above, lit by a dome of silver-tinted moonstone. The air carried the faint scent of old paper, aged wood, and politics. My fingers twitched in my lap. I tried not to let the tightness in my chest show. I hoped everything went well today and Diana would receive the punishment she deserved.Damien sat beside me, his presence comforting, especially when he took my hand, as if he could sense my nervousness. Whether he knew it or not, he’d always been my anchor ever since the da
•• Damien’s POV •••"She doesn’t love me," I said quietly. "She doesn’t feel the bond.""Because she can’t," my mother reminded me. "Her wolf is still asleep."I closed my eyes. The memory hit fast and brutal.My throat tightened. I thought of Victoria, of how cold her body was when I carried her out of the shed and how silent she was, no matter how many times I tried to wake her up.I asked Eros to help reach her wolf, but Lya was also silent. I had never heard Eros sound so devastated as that time. He cried out for her. Mine, mine, mine—over and over again, pleading her to open her eyes, to feel us, to feel our bond—but she didn’t hear it.She had never felt the pull of our matebond and might never feel it.Victoria didn't know it, but I never left her side. For days, I sat by her bed, watching the slow rise and fall of her chest. I wiped