CHAPTER 18

Chapter 18

Damian's POV

"Get your hands off her." My voice came out as a growl.

Julius stepped back immediately, his hands raised. "Damian, this isn't what it looks like."

"Really?" I moved into the room, my wolf pushing at the surface. "Because it looks like my Beta has his hands all over my mate."

Violet sat up quickly, pulling her shirt down to cover her back. "Damian, please listen…"

"How long has this been going on?"

The words tasted bitter in my mouth. My first mate had been tortured and killed. I'd sworn I'd never let anyone hurt me like that again. And now this.

"Nothing is going on!" Julius's voice was sharp with frustration. "She was having back pain from lying down too long. I was helping her with muscle tension. That's all."

I wanted to believe him. My chest felt like it was caving in.

"Back pain." The laugh that came out of me sounded broken. "And you had to be the one to help her? Where was the healer? Where was anyone else?"

"The healer stepped out for supplies," Violet said quickly, her eyes pleading. "Julius was just being kind. Elena, you were there when…"

"Kind?"

I couldn't breathe properly. My hands were shaking. I'd given her everything—protection, a home, a pack that loved her. I'd declared war on my own brother for her.

Elena's hand touched my arm gently. "Damian, maybe we should all calm down and talk about this rationally."

"Rationally?" I turned to her, grateful for her steady presence. "I just walked in on my Beta with his hands on my mate's bare back. What's rational about this?"

"You're right," Elena said softly. "You have every reason to be upset. But let's hear them out. I'm sure there's an explanation."

Julius ran his hand through his hair. "Damian, I've been your Beta for five years. You know me. You know I would never betray you like this."

Five years. Five years of trust. Of brotherhood.

My throat was tight. "I thought I knew you. But you've been spending every waking moment with her. Missing war preparations. Abandoning your duties."

"I was helping her!" Julius stepped forward. "That's all I've been doing. Helping her recover from being poisoned at her own mating ceremony."

The poison. Someone had tried to kill her. And I'd left her vulnerable, alone with—

No. I couldn't think like that.

Violet stood up from the bed, wincing slightly. "Damian, I swear to you, nothing happened. Nothing is happening. Julius has been nothing but respectful…"

"Respectful?" The word came out strangled. "Respectful would be keeping his hands to himself."

Elena moved closer to me. "Damian, there's something else you should know."

I looked at her. "What?"

She hesitated, biting her lip. "I didn't want to say anything before. I thought maybe I was reading too much into it. But one of the servants mentioned seeing Violet leaving Julius's quarters. The night before the mating ceremony."

The world tilted.

The night before our ceremony. While I'd been finalizing security arrangements. While I'd been planning our future.

"That's a lie," Violet said immediately, her face going pale. "I was in my room all night. You know that, Damian. You walked me there yourself."

"The servant said it was around three in the morning," Elena continued gently. "After you'd gone to bed."

My wolf was howling. The sound echoed in my skull.

Julius's face darkened. "Who told you this? Give me a name."

"Does it matter?" Elena looked at me, her eyes full of concern. "The point is, if there's nothing going on, then there should be nothing to hide. Right?"

Right. Nothing to hide.

My hands were still shaking. I clenched them into fists.

"Julius, is this true?"

"No! Damian, I swear…"

Elena's voice cut through. "Julius, where's your phone? We can check the messages. If there's nothing between you two, your messages will prove it."

Julius blinked. "My phone?"

"Yes. Check his messages with Violet. The timestamps will show if he was really just helping with recovery or if there's more." Elena looked at me. "It's the easiest way to clear this up, isn't it?"

It made sense. Simple. Direct.

"Where's your phone, Julius?" I asked.

Julius hesitated. "In my room. But Damian, this is…"

"Then let's go get it." Elena's voice was gentle but firm. "Julius, if you have nothing to hide, this will prove your innocence in seconds."

"Fine." Julius's voice was hard. "It's in my room. Let's go."

Nothing would make me feel better. Nothing could fix the hole opening up in my chest.

"Damian, please don't do this," Violet begged. "You're letting paranoia destroy your trust…"

"Don't." I couldn't look at her. "Don't talk to me about trust."

I walked out. My legs felt like they might give out, but I kept moving.

The walk to Julius's quarters was a blur. My mind kept replaying the scene—his hands on her back, the intimate way they'd been positioned, how comfortable they'd looked together.

I reached the door and pushed it open.

"Where's your phone?" I asked, my voice flat.

Julius moved toward his nightstand. "Right here. I told you…"

"Wait." I held up my hand. "I'll get it."

I didn't trust myself right now. Didn't trust him. Didn't trust anything.

I walked to the nightstand and pulled open the drawer. No phone. I opened the second drawer. Nothing.

"It's not here," I said.

Julius frowned. "That's where I left it this morning. Maybe I…" He moved toward his dresser. "Check the top drawer. I might have put it there when I changed."

I moved to the dresser. Opened the top drawer. Clothes. No phone.

My hands moved mechanically to the second drawer. The third.

The bottom drawer.

My fingers closed around something soft.

No.

I pulled it out slowly. Violet's underwear. Lace. Delicate. The fabric was cool against my palm.

And the scent—her scent was all over it. Fresh. Recent.

The room spun. I couldn't get enough air.

"Damian—" Julius's voice sounded far away. "I don't know how that got there. I swear to you, I have never…"

Pain. Just pain. White-hot and crushing.

"You're lying." My voice didn't sound like mine. "You've been lying this whole time."

Violet's face had gone white. "Those are mine. But I didn't—Damian, I didn't give those to him. I don't know how they got there."

I looked at her. Really looked at her.

She'd told me about Kian. About six years of being second choice. About losing her arm because he chose someone else. I'd held her while she cried. I'd promised her she'd never hurt like that again.

And now she was doing it to me.

"Don't you?" The words came out broken. "You were in his room, Violet. Someone saw you."

"No! I've never been in his room! Damian, you have to believe me…"

"Why should I?"

My chest was on fire. I couldn't do this. I couldn't survive this kind of betrayal again.

Elena's hand was on my shoulder. "Damian, I know this is hard. But you need to handle this as an Alpha, not as a hurt mate."

Right. Alpha. I was an Alpha.

I forced my voice to work. "Guards!"

Two warriors appeared. "Alpha?"

"Take Julius to the holding cells."

Each word felt like I was ripping out my own heart. "Lock him up until I decide what to do with him."

"Damian, no!" Violet grabbed my arm. "Please, he didn't do anything wrong!"

I couldn't feel her touch. I couldn't feel anything except the pain.

"Let go of me."

"Damian, please listen…"

"I said let go!"

She stumbled backward. Tears were streaming down her face.

Julius didn't resist the guards. But his eyes—his eyes were full of hurt. "You're making a mistake. And when you realize it, it might be too late to fix."

"Get him out of my sight."

They dragged him away. His voice echoed down the hallway, growing fainter. "Damian! Don't do this! Check the security footage! Damian!"

Then silence.

I looked down at the underwear in my hand.

My first mate had died. I'd thought I couldn't survive losing another person I loved.

But this was worse. This was betrayal.

"Damian." Violet's voice was small, broken. "I swear on everything I have, I never betrayed you. Never. I could never do that to you."

I wanted to believe her.

God, I wanted to believe her.

"Please," she whispered. "You know me. You know I couldn't do this. Not after everything with Kian. Not after what betrayal did to me. I would never, ever do that to someone else."

Her words cut through the haze of pain. She was right—betrayal had destroyed her. She knew exactly what this felt like.

Would she really turn around and inflict that same pain on me?

My wolf was torn between rage and something else. Doubt, maybe. Confusion.

I looked at Violet's devastated face. Then at Elena's sympathetic expression. Then back at the evidence in my hand.

Something wasn’t right.