Chapter 6

Damon’s POV

The drive back to my pack was silent, the low rumble of the engine the only sound. My grip on the steering wheel was tight, Lana’s eyes haunting me, but I forced the thought away as the gates came into view.

My car screeched to a halt before the packhouse. Gravel crunched under my boots as I stepped out, the heavy night air thick around me.

Ian, my beta, strode toward me, face pale and tense.

“Alpha,” he said sharply. “We’ve captured a spy.”

My eyes narrowed. “Where?”

“In the lower chambers,” he lowered his voice. “He’s refusing to talk.”

I brushed past him. “Then he’ll talk to me.”

We descended into the damp corridor, the stench of stone and iron growing stronger.

At the metal door, Ian stopped. “He’s inside.”

I pushed it open. The room was dim, chains clinking softly. A man sat bound, bloodied and trembling. At my presence, he stiffened.

“A-Alpha Damon,” he stammered.

I unclipped his cuffs without a word. He collapsed to his knees, shaking.

“Stand up,” I ordered, voice sharp as steel.

Dragging the chair closer, I sat, rolling up my sleeves slowly. “Start talking.”

“I… I’m not a spy,” he blurted, his voice quivering. “I was just passing through—”

I smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile. “You came this far into my territory by accident?”

He swallowed hard, darting his eyes to Ian as if hoping for mercy. Ian’s expression remained blank.

“I swear, Alpha, I – I work for no one…”

The scent of fear thickened the air, sharp and metallic, curling into my nostrils and making my wolf stir restlessly beneath my skin. My claws itched to rip, my fangs threatening to push through, but I kept them at bay for now.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, letting my piercing gaze lock onto the trembling man tied to the chair. My wolf prowled under my skin, a dangerous growl vibrating in my chest as I spoke.

“I don’t like liars.”

My voice was soft, calm, but it carried the lethal promise of a ruthless Alpha I was. The weight of my dominance crashed over him like a wave, forcing his breathing into ragged gasps. His pupils dilated, his heart thundering loud enough for me to hear every panicked beat.

Before he could react, I moved. One sharp, predatory motion, faster than his human eyes could track, I grabbed the front of his shirt and slammed him back against the wall. The stone cracked under the force. His breath left his lungs in a strangled grunt, and he coughed violently, gasping for air. My claws grazed the fabric of his shirt but didn’t pierce skin yet.

“You get one chance,” I whispered in his ear, my voice low, deadly, and threaded with my Alpha command. “Talk… or bleed.”

His trembling intensified, but then stupidly, foolishly, he tried to shove me back and bolt for the door.

My wolf snarled.

Bad mistake.

I lunged, my claws flashing as I caught him mid-step. My boot connected with his chest in a brutal kick, the crack of breaking ribs satisfying my instincts. He flew backward and slammed into the opposite corner with a cry, clutching at his side as blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

The coppery scent hit me instantly, and my wolf rumbled in pleasure.

Slowly, deliberately, I turned to the rack of weapons along the wall. Knives, whips, branding irons, silver blades, everything lined up neatly like an altar to pain. My fingers brushed along the steel, tracing the cold edges until I chose a curved hunting blade etched with runes designed to sever the bond between body and spirit if used right.

When I turned back, the man’s breath hitched audibly. He could feel the danger rolling off me in thick, suffocating waves.

“You didn’t have to make this painful,” I said, voice calm, almost conversational, but my wolf’s growl rumbled beneath the words.

“N-No…please…” he rasped, crawling backward until his spine hit the wall, nowhere left to run.

I crouched low in front of him, forcing him to meet my glowing golden gaze. The power of my Alpha blood pressed down on him, making his pulse spike and his breaths shallow.

“Names,” I said softly, my voice edged with command. “Locations. Orders. Now.”

“I… I don’t—”

The knife flashed, slicing cleanly across his forearm before he could finish. His scream tore through the air, reverberating off the stone walls. He convulsed, gripping his bleeding arm, tears spilling down his face.

“You feel that?” I murmured, leaning close, letting him see the glint of my fangs when I spoke. “That’s mercy.” My clawed hand pressed against the wound, letting him feel the sting of my dominance thrumming through my palm. “Don’t make me take it away.”

He sobbed, panting, his body trembling violently as the blood pooled beneath him. Still… silence.

My wolf snarled impatiently inside me, pushing against my control. He wanted blood. He wanted carnage.

I sighed and set the knife aside, my movements slow and deliberate, making sure he saw every choice I made. My hand closed around the branding iron resting in the coals nearby, the metal glowing faintly red as I lifted it. The heat kissed my palm, but I barely felt it, werewolf skin was tougher than steel.

His eyes widened, his scent souring with terror.

“No… no, Alpha, wait! Please!” he cried, scrambling backward on his knees.

I pressed the iron against the stone wall beside his head, letting the hiss and sizzle fill the room. The air grew heavy with the smell of scorched stone and burning heat. My wolf purred at the sound, at the promise of what came next.

“Last chance,” I said coldly. My voice shifted lower, threaded with a guttural growl, my wolf bleeding through my words.

He hesitated, too long.

The beast inside me surged forward, and I didn’t fight it this time. My claws extended, my fangs lengthened, and I slammed the glowing iron across his chest. The flesh hissed and split beneath the heat, and his scream echoed so loud it shook the rafters. The scent of burned skin and blood filled the chamber, heady and intoxicating.

Finally, he broke.

“Miguel!” he choked out, his entire body convulsing from shock and pain. “It was Miguel! Your… your elder brother ordered me! He…he wanted everything on you!”

I froze. My wolf went deathly still, ears pricking at the name.

Miguel.

A slow, predatory smile curved my lips as my hand tightened on the iron before lowering it from his chest. My gaze sharpened, glowing brighter, golden embers swirling with unrestrained fury.

“Ah,” I murmured, my voice low, mocking, vibrating with my wolf’s restrained rage. “Miguel.”

The man nodded frantically, relief flashing across his battered face at having confessed.

I stood, tossing the branding iron aside. “That’s all I needed.”

He sagged in exhaustion, trembling on the floor. I walked toward the table, grabbed a towel, and wiped the blood from my hands with slow, deliberate strokes, my expression unreadable.

“Ian,” I said without looking at him.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Dispose of him.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I turned and walked out. Ian followed, locking the heavy door behind us. The corridor was silent except for our footsteps.

“Alpha,” Ian finally spoke, hesitant, “should I prepare a strike against Miguel?”

“No.” My tone was sharp.

He blinked. “You’re… not retaliating?”

I glanced at him coldly. “Neither Miguel nor his son, Liam, is a threat to me.”

“But, Alpha… if they’re targeting you—”

“I don’t care,” I cut him off. “I have something far more important to handle.”

He frowned. “More important than them?”

I stopped, turning to face him. “Winning Lana back.”

Ian froze, speechless. I moved past him, jaw tight. This wasn’t about power anymore. It was personal.

Then he made his mistake. “Alpha… maybe you shouldn’t waste time on personal relationships. They make you distracted.”

I stopped dead. My jaw tightened, and when I turned, his legs wobbled under my glare.

“You dare,” I said, voice like ice, “tell me how to live my life?”

He lowered his head. “I only speak because the pack needs your focus, Alpha. Lana…”

The sound of her name in his mouth snaps the last thread of my patience. My Alpha aura surges out like a crushing wave, heavy and suffocating. The weight of it forced him to his knees, his breath ragged as his palms flatten to the ground.

"Mercy… Alpha, forgive me!" he gasps, trembling violently.

I step closer, my boots grinding into the earth, and crouch slightly so he can hear me clearly. My voice drops into a cold whisper.

“Don’t ever question me again,” I growled low. “If I can’t get her back… this pack will mean nothing. And I might destroy it myself.”

“Y-Yes, Alpha,” he whispered.

I straightened. “Prepare a gift. I’m attending the family gathering tomorrow.”

He looked stunned. “But… you hate those.”

I smirked. “I do. But Lana will be there.”