05 Reduced to a Warrior

Damon

"I want a divorce."

The words hit me like a punch. Evelyn stood there, her eyes hard in a way I'd never seen before. The woman who always forgave me, who always came back, was gone.

I stepped toward her, trying to hide my surprise. "You want a divorce?" I tried to sound mocking. "No. You're just trying to get my attention. It's not working."

She didn't react the way I expected. No tears. No begging. She just shifted the baby carrier to her other hand, her knuckles white from gripping it too hard.

"I can't be with a cheater who didn't care about my pain when he slept with my sister." Her voice broke on the last word.

She started hitting my chest with weak punches. I let her. Her fists barely hurt, but each one landed somewhere deeper.

"Why are you so upset when you cheated first?" I caught her wrist. It felt small in my hand, birdlike. I remembered holding it the first time we met, how perfectly it had fit.

Something stuck in my throat. I swallowed hard.

"Wasn't I enough for you?" I hadn't meant to ask that.

She looked up at me, anger giving way to disbelief. "I didn't cheat on you," she said quietly. "I can't prove it, but you have to believe me."

For a split second, I almost did. There was something in her eyes—the same honest look from when we first met. But then the photos flashed in my mind again.

The images I couldn't unsee. Her birthmark just below her shoulder blade. The curve of her hip that I knew so well. That stranger's hands on her breasts, his mouth on the spot where I'd placed my mark. Her head thrown back, eyes closed.

I'd stared at those pictures for hours after Susan brought them to me, drinking until I couldn't feel the pain. How many times had Evelyn been with me just like that? How many times had she told me I was her only one?

And now she stood here, lying to my face.

"I can't believe you." I stepped back, pointing at the mess of photos on the floor. "Not with those pictures showing me our whole relationship was fake."

I walked to my desk, keeping my back to her so she wouldn't see my hands shake. I shoved them in my pockets.

"Meet me in court," I said over my shoulder. "Tomorrow. Ten o'clock."

I walked out without looking back, passing Susan in the hallway. She reached for my arm but I pulled away. I needed air.

Outside, I loosened my tie, breathing in deep. The sky was too bright, too blue. Like the day at the lake when I'd first told Evelyn I loved her.

Pull yourself together, Damon.

I had a pack to run. A woman who actually wanted me. I didn't need Evelyn's tears or lies. I didn't need the small voice in my head asking: What if she's telling the truth?

The crowd outside the packhouse courtroom parted as I approached, heads bowing in deference to their Alpha. Inside, the elders had already assembled, along with both our sets of parents. My father nodded grimly. My mother wouldn't meet my eyes.

Evelyn hadn't arrived yet. I paced the length of the chamber, energy I couldn't dispel crackling through my limbs.

"Are you certain about this, son?" My father's voice was low enough that only I could hear.

I gave him a sharp look. "You've seen the evidence."

He sighed, a sound that carried the weight of his years. "I've seen photographs. I've also seen the way that girl looks at you. Never known a better Luna for this pack."

"She betrayed me," I snapped. "Betrayed all of us."

He held up his hands in surrender, backing away. Still acting like he knew better, as always. As if I hadn't been running this pack successfully for years now.

A murmur rippled through the crowd. I turned to see Evelyn entering, her head held high despite the whispers that followed her. Her gaze swept the room, landing briefly on her parents before settling on me. No tears today. No pleading. Just that same cold resolve I'd seen in my office.

She'd worn the formal Luna robes, deep blue with silver embroidery at the hem. The traditional dress of a mated female Alpha. I wondered if it was her way of reminding everyone of her position, of what she stood to lose.

She moved to her designated place across from me, her steps measured and slow. We faced each other across the ceremonial circle inlaid in the stone floor.

The head elder stepped forward, his voice carrying to the farthest corners of the room. "Alpha Damon has called this council to formally address accusations against Luna Evelyn. The Alpha will now present his judgment."

I'd rehearsed this speech a dozen times since yesterday. Had the words ready. But standing there, looking at Evelyn's pale face, the woman I'd once sworn to protect, the words seemed to dry up in my throat.

I forced them out anyway. "Luna Evelyn has betrayed the trust of her Alpha and her pack. She has violated her mate bond and brought dishonor to her position."

A ripple went through the assembled crowd. Evelyn's mother let out a small sound of distress.

"For these offenses, I hereby demote her from the rank of Luna to—" I hesitated, just for a second. Say it, Damon. "To warrior."

Gasps echoed through the chamber. Everyone understood what this meant—from the second highest position in the pack to one of the lowest ranks. From standing beside me in all decisions to taking orders from nearly everyone else.

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