CHAPTER 21

Chapter 21

Damian's POV

I slammed my fist against the locked door, rage and panic tearing through my chest. Elena was getting away. Every second I was trapped in here gave her more time to disappear.

"Someone get me out!" I roared, slamming my shoulder against the door.

The wood wouldn't budge. The lock mechanism was jammed tight. I could hear nothing on the other side—no footsteps, no voices. Just silence.

She was already gone.

My wolf howled inside me, clawing to get out, to hunt. But I was stuck in this damn room while the traitor escaped.

I backed up, preparing to break the door down with brute force, when I heard voices outside. Multiple footsteps approaching fast.

"Damian!"

My heart lurched. That was Axel's voice. But Axel was supposed to be with Violet, guarding her.

The door exploded inward as Axel and three warriors broke through. But I barely registered the splintered wood.

Because Axel was dragging Elena behind him.

She was caught. Her clothes were torn, dirt smeared across her face, and she was breathing hard like she'd been running. Her eyes went wide with fear when she saw my expression.

"How…" I started.

"Left Ryan and four guards with Violet and came running” Axel explained quickly, still gripping Elena's arm.  “Found this one trying to climb out through the eastern tunnel exit."

Relief and rage crashed through me in equal measure. "Get her to the command center. Now."

Elena's usual composure was gone. Her hair was disheveled, dirt smudged across her cheek, and her eyes darted around like a trapped animal.

"Damian, please," she started, but I raised my hand.

"Not yet." I pulled out my phone and sent a quick message to Violet: Come to the command center. It's important.

Within minutes, Violet arrived with Ryan flanking her. Her face was pale as she took in the scene—Elena restrained between two guards, me standing rigid with barely controlled fury.

"What's going on?" Violet asked.

I met her eyes briefly. "You're about to find out."

I walked to my desk and pulled up the tablet containing all the evidence. My voice remained calm, controlled.

"Security footage from three nights ago," I said, turning the screen toward Elena. "Shows you entering Julius's quarters at 2:47 AM. You moved his phone from the nightstand to the drawer."

Elena's jaw tightened.

"Testimony from Sarah," I continued. "She admits you paid her to lie about seeing Violet at Julius's quarters. You threatened her mother's housing if she refused."

Violet gasped softly behind me.

"And this." I pulled up another video. "Footage from the healer's office. You watched Julius help Violet with her back pain. A completely innocent interaction. Then you left, only to return twenty minutes later with me."

I set the tablet down. "You orchestrated everything. The frame-up. The false testimony. The planted evidence."

For a long moment, Elena just stared at me. Then something in her expression shifted. The mask she'd worn for years cracked and fell away.

She laughed. Not the warm, friendly laugh I'd known, but something bitter and sharp.

"You want the truth?" Her voice was different now, stripped of pretense. "Fine."

Violet moved closer, standing beside me. Her hand brushed against mine.

"I've been in love with you for years, Damian," Elena said. "Since before she died. Your first mate."

The words me. Violet's hand found mine, squeezing tight.

"I waited," Elena continued. "I stayed by your side through your grief. I supported you. And I thought—I really thought—that eventually you'd see me."

"Elena…" I started.

"Then you brought her home!" She pointed at Violet. "This broken girl who couldn't even keep her first mate interested. And suddenly, you looked at her the way I'd been dreaming about for years."

Violet flinched beside me. I stepped forward, positioning myself in front of her.

"So yes, I did it all," Elena spat. “The stolen underwear. The frame-up with Julius. Some of the letters.  I wanted her scared. I wanted her gone."

"You tried to destroy an innocent woman because of jealousy?" My voice was deadly quiet.

"I tried to take back what should have been mine!" Elena's eyes were wild. "Every day, watching you with her, touching her, protecting her—it was supposed to be me, Damian! Me!"

The command center fell silent except for Elena's heavy breathing.

"What about the poisoning?" I asked. "At the mating ceremony."

Something flickered across Elena's face. Fear, maybe.

"No," she said quickly. "I swear, I had nothing to do with that. I wanted her driven away as at that time. But that was not me.”

"Then who?" Violet's voice was barely a whisper.

Elena's shoulders sagged. "After the ceremony preparations began, some wolves approached me. Rogues. They said they were from Kian's territory. They wanted Violet dead—revenge for leaving him."

My blood ran cold.

"They knew I was close to her," Elena continued. "They thought I could help. I told them I already had plans, but they said you might be too soft. They wanted insurance."

"What did you give them?"

"Security details. Patrol schedules. Weak points in the border defenses." Elena's voice had gone flat. "They said they'd stage a small attack and kill her in it. But I think they had bigger plans. Plans they didn't tell me about."

The eastern alarm suddenly blared louder. Axel's radio crackled: "Alpha, the rogues are multiplying! We need reinforcements now!"

Elena's face went white. "They were supposed to contact me with an escape route. That's what I was doing in the tunnels."

I grabbed her shoulders. "How many? How many rogues are coming?"

"I don't know! They never told me!"

I released her and turned to Axel. "Lock her in the holding cells. Maximum security."

"Damian, please…" Elena started.

"You betrayed your pack," I said coldly. "You endangered your Luna. You gave our enemies everything they needed to destroy us."

Guards dragged her away as she screamed protests.

I turned to Violet. Her face was white, her hand pressed against her chest.

"Stay here," I ordered gently. "Axel, Ryan—no one gets near her."

"Damian, be careful," Violet whispered.

I cupped her face briefly. "I will. I promise."

Then I shifted and ran.

The eastern border was chaos. My warriors fought in wolf form against a flood of rogues that seemed endless. Blood filled the air as bodies collided, teeth flashed, and claws tore through flesh.

I threw myself into the fight, my Alpha wolf larger and stronger than most. I ripped through rogue after rogue, my pack rallying around me. These weren't random attackers—they moved with precision, targeting specific weak points.

Someone had trained them.

A massive gray rogue lunged at my throat. I caught him mid-air, my jaws clamping around his neck before throwing him aside.

"Alpha, they keep coming!" one of my warriors shouted.

For every rogue we took down, two more appeared.

Then suddenly, the rogues began retreating. Not fleeing, but pulling back in organized groups.

I shifted back to human form, breathing hard. "What the hell?"

"Alpha!" A border guard ran toward me, pointing toward the main road. "Someone's approaching under white flag."

My body tensed. "Who?"

"It's Alpha Kian, sir. With his warriors."

I felt my wolf surge with aggression. Kian. Here. Now.

I threw on clothes someone handed me and strode toward the border checkpoint.

Kian looked like death walking. His skin was pale and waxy, dark circles under his eyes. As I watched, he coughed into his hand. When he pulled it away, blood stained his palm.

But his eyes were clear. Determined.

"Damian," he said, his voice rough. "I need to speak with you. Now."

"You have exactly thirty seconds before I kill you where you stand," I growled.

"The rogues," Kian said quickly. "I know who sent them. I know what they're planning." He coughed again, more blood. "And if we don't stop her, Violet won't survive the week."

Behind him, his warriors stood at attention. Ahead, my pack waited for my command.

And somewhere in the distance, I could still hear the rogues regrouping.

"Talk," I ordered.

Kian met my eyes. "Not here. Not in front of everyone." He glanced at his warriors, then back at me. "What I have to say... it's in our interest.”