Chapter 5

RORY’S POV

“Fuck! Who the hell are you?”

Darius’s angry voice echoed through the private room as he stumbled backward from the force of my attack. His face twisted in pain, but the shock quickly disappeared and was replaced by pure hatred. His claws extended immediately, and his eyes locked onto me with a dangerous expression.

My breathing remained heavy as I stood in front of him, struggling to control the rage rushing through my body.

The attack had happened too quickly. The moment I saw him hurting the young Omega, my instincts had taken over. I had moved without hesitation, and my claws had struck his arm before he could defend himself. Blood continued dripping from the wound, and my own claws were still stained with it.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then Darius had a closer look at me. The moment he did, recognition appeared on his face. His expression changed, and instead of fear, a cruel smile slowly formed.

The reaction confused me.

I had expected him to panic after realizing who I was. I wanted him to understand the consequences of attacking the Luna of another pack. But instead, he looked satisfied, as though my appearance had confirmed something he had been waiting for.

“What are you smiling about?” I demanded, my voice filled with anger.

Darius did not answer immediately.

He walked toward the table calmly, picked up a glass of whisky, and poured the liquid directly over his injured arm.

The moment the alcohol touched the open wound, his face tightened. A painful sound escaped from his lips, and his hand shook slightly from the burning sensation, but he refused to look away from me.

“You know what my biggest regret is?” he asked. His eyes narrowed. “Failing to kill you the last time.”

My entire body became tense as memories of the attack returned. The fear, the pain, and the helplessness I had felt when those wolves surrounded me came rushing back.

Nyra reacted instantly.

The anger inside me grew stronger, and every instinct demanded that I tear apart the person responsible for putting me through that pain.

Darius watched my reaction with satisfaction. “Although, tonight you will not leave this place alive.”

My fingers curled into fists. “You were the one who sent them,” I said quietly.

He laughed.

“Yes.”

The simple confirmation made my anger rise even further. “I wanted to stop you from interfering with things that did not concern you,” he said. “Your investigation into the missing Omegas was becoming a problem.”

The truth finally became clear. The Omega disappearances were connected to him. Darius stepped closer, his expression filled with arrogance. “Do you really want to know what I planned for you that night?”

My stomach tightened. 

“I wanted my men to break you first,” he said coldly. “After that, you would have been sold into the underground Omega black market.”

The moment I realized they wanted to do more than kill me. Pain filled my chest, but anger quickly replaced it. My fangs extended, and my claws grew longer as Nyra reacted to the threat in front of us. A deep growl escaped my throat, and my breathing became heavier while I fought against the urge to shift completely.

But Darius only smiled. “You really believed that being Lucian’s mate would protect you?”

I stared at him without answering.

He looked at me with amusement. “Do you know the funniest part?”

My body remained tense.

“Lucian already knows what happened.”

Those words made my heart stop for a moment. “He knows?” I asked, my voice was barely a whisper. 

Darius nodded. “Yes. He knows that I was responsible.”

The room became quiet as my anger got mixed with confusion. “If he knows, why are you still standing here?”

Darius laughed softly. “ Isn't it obvious? Because he will protect me.”

I felt something inside me weaken.

“Why?”

His smile became wider.

“Because of Trixie.”

My breathing slowed.

“Lucian has always chosen her.” He continued.  The words hurt more than I wanted them to. “In his heart, she has always mattered more than you.”

At that instance, the anger inside me suddenly disappeared. My growl faded, fangs slowly returned to normal, and my claws retracted.

I stood there silently, staring at Darius while those words repeated inside my mind.

He must have noticed that his words had reached the part of me he wanted to hurt because the cruel smile on his face became even wider. He looked satisfied as he watched my expression change, as though my pain was proof that he had finally found a way to break through my defenses.

“Do you really think anyone will feel sorry for you after everything you took from Trixie?” he asked, his voice filled with mockery.

My fingers tightened at my sides.

“You stole her place as Luna,” Darius continued. “You stood in the position that was meant for her. Everything happening to you now is simply karma catching up with you.”

A bitter scoff left my lips.

How could someone believe something so twisted? After everything I had endured and he looked at me and called it justice?

I never asked to replace Trixie nor did I beg the council to force Lucian into accepting me. I became Luna because the pack needed stability, and because the council believed I was the only suitable choice after Trixie lost her wolf.

I carried the responsibilities of this position even when many members of the pack looked at me and wished I was someone else.

I protected the people who constantly compared me to another woman, stood beside a man who had never truly chosen me. And now Darius believed I deserved to suffer because of that.

The anger I had been holding back finally overwhelmed the small amount of control I had left. My hands curled tightly into fists as I stared directly at him. “Whatever happened between Lucian and Trixie does not change the truth,” I said through clenched teeth. “I am still the Luna of this pack.”

Darius laughed.

The sound irritated me more than his words because he looked completely certain that he understood everything about my life. “You still believe that title means something?”

His expression turned colder. “Maybe losing your child would have been enough to make Lucian finally choose you.”

Everything inside me stopped. 

For a moment, I could not process what I had heard. He had attacked me, tried to destroy me and threatened innocent Omegas. But mentioning my child was different. That pain belonged to a place inside me that I rarely allowed myself to touch.

My grief turned into anger so quickly that even Nyra reacted violently inside me. The rage from my wolf spread through my body, demanding that I make him pay for those words.

My claws extended, my eyes shifted, and before I could stop myself, I moved toward him. I crossed the distance between us and attacked.

My claws struck his shoulder, then his chest, forcing him backward. Darius cried out in pain as he tried to defend himself, but I refused to stop. Every wound I had carried for years pushed me forward.

“You attacked me.”

My claws struck again. “You tried to destroy my life.”

Another strike followed. “You wanted to use my pain against me.”

Darius’s men reacted quickly.

They rushed forward and surrounded me before I could finish what I had started.  I stopped when I realized how many of them were standing around me. My heart began beating faster, but I refused to let fear control me. 

I had prepared for this.

The people I arranged outside were supposed to come when they sensed something was wrong. I closed my eyes and reached for the mind link. But then, nothing happened. I tried again, focusing harder. 

Still, I got nothing.

A strange uneasiness settled inside me as I searched for their presence and found only silence. My head began to ache, and confusion filled my thoughts.

Why could I not reach them?

What happened?

The men around me laughed as they stepped closer. “You really thought you could walk into this place alone?”

One of them extended his claws while another lifted the weapon in his hand. “Tonight, we finally help Darius finish what he started.”

My body became tense. I was surrounded, but I refused to surrender. Then,  the doors opened and everyone urned toward the entrance.

My breath caught when I saw Lucian walk inside. Trixie was beside him.

The sight immediately caused something inside me to hurt. Out of every possibility I had imagined, I never expected him to arrive with her.

Then the truth became clear.

My people had not abandoned me. They had been stopped. And the only person with enough authority to prevent them from reaching me was Lucian.

Tears gathered in my eyes, but I forced myself to hold them back. The anger inside me became stronger than the pain. 

“Lucian!” My voice carried through the room. Before anyone could stop me, I pushed forward. I broke through the men surrounding me and rushed toward Darius again.

My claws struck him repeatedly as my voice broke with every word. “You tried to destroy me!”

Darius screamed in pain.

“Stop! Get her away from me!”

I ignored him.

“You sent those wolves after me!”

I landed another strike.

“You wanted to sell me!”

His men grabbed me from behind, but I continued fighting until Lucian’s voice finally stopped the chaos.

“Enough. Stop her.”

His men tried to pull me away from Darius, holding me tightly as I struggled against them.

I had blood all over  my hands.

I looked down at an injured Darius,  seeing what I had done, a cold laugh escaped my lips. Then I raised my head and looked directly at Lucian.

My voice shook with anger and pain. “As Luna, I was nearly killed by your mate’s brother again and again,” I said. “Yet why did I not even have the right to take revenge?”