Chapter 3

Damien’s POV

"Damien? Did... did I do anything wrong?" Vanessa was crying as she looked up at me with tears in her eyes, she looked so innocent and doe-like as she lay weakly in my hold. 

"No, my dear. You did nothing wrong; it's all that wretched woman's doing!"

I glared at Isabella icily. It all added up.

I'd witnessed her return that wine glass to Vanessa, and I berated myself for not anticipating this envious woman attempting something similar.

"Guards! Seize the Luna and escort her to the dungeon!"

"What? Damien... you can't mean this?! How dare you treat me this way!"

"Be quiet, Isabella! Guards! Use force if necessary."

Disregarding Isabella's yells, I issued commands to the guards while carefully lifting Vanessa and transporting her from the banquet hall.

"I warned you ages ago that Isabella wasn't our mate and it wouldn't conclude positively with her!" My wolf snarled angrily at me, frantic over our mate's state.

"Darius, please. I never imagined Isabella was this way. I'd only observed her gentleness and empathy."

Isabella and I encountered each other in high school. She was the sole successor to the Blackridge Pack, and an Alpha as well. As the Silvercrest Pack's Alpha, I'd always believed we were nearly destined for one another.

It was logical to chase a partnership, even if she wasn't my destined mate; I still felt we'd offer robust guidance for our packs together.

I was under no delusion that I was going to change my mind.

Throughout this time, my wolf Darius had been trying to prepare me for the possibility of this happening, but whenever she looked at me with those chocolate coloured eyes I only saw love and warmth.

Saave was a wonderful Luna and a considerate and loyal mate! 

Isabella had consistently expressed how profoundly she adored me and had labored for our pack's advantage in all her actions.

Following our packs' merger, I emerged as the strongest Alpha in our realm. As an uncommon duo of Selected Mates, our romance had become the subject of chatter everywhere. We'd turned into the iconic pair

that all desired to emulate, and no one spoke ill of me; I was the ideal gentleman in their view.

All Isabella and I needed to do was fulfill our individual duties as before, and all would have been okay, but now, it emerged she possessed a concealed aspect I was unaware of.

I'm sorry, Vanessa, my love. I should have talked to her about this sooner, and maybe it wouldn't have been so much of a shock to her.

If I’d given her a chance to get used to it, maybe you wouldn’t have gotten hurt." 

I placed Vanessa on the bed tenderly and summoned the doctor to care for her.

My unfortunate destined Mate had recently escaped the agony of her pack's ruin, and now she confronted yet another ordeal.

“It’s all right Damien. It’s not your fault; I don’t blame you at all. We all just thought Isabella would never do something like that, especially because she was the Luna.”

"Oh yes, a Luna acting this way," I uttered in revulsion, "If she can act like this before me, what else might she do secretly?"

After leaving directives with the doctor to tend to Vanessa, I summoned Brock back to the banquet hall. The guards had Isabella

pinned down and secured from every angle.

I navigated through the onlookers who had congregated around her.

"Isabella, I'd always believed you were a benevolent woman; I didn't anticipate you'd employ such a sneaky and vile tactic to eliminate my destined mate!"

"It's amusing, since I also foolishly thought my spouse Damien Blackthorn was a fine husband too!"

I gritted my teeth and looked up at the stubborn, haughty woman before me.

With a quick movement of my hand I took hold of her chin, squeezing it, and forced her to look into my eyes. "Now that you're ready to admit your mistake, Isabella, and come to terms with the fact that Vanessa is the one I am meant to be with, you'll be willing to forget this...unpleasant incident and keep your position as Luna."

The woman before me suddenly grinned, and her eyes began to flicker a bright purple, indicating that she was going to use her wolf Aurora's power. 

I promptly retreated a step from her, and suddenly, the guards restraining her were hurled aside with such ferocity that tables and chairs flew as their forms struck them. What should've been an impeccable anniversary feast was now merely chaos.

"Isabella! Have you lost your mind?! You truly

assaulted your own guards!"

"Yeah, I'm crazy as hell," she snarled.

Isabella locked her gaze on me, her purple eyes shining dangerously, and a mad smile on her beautiful face.

The expensive evening dress she'd picked out for the banquet was torn in several places, revealing her beautiful pale skin underneath.

As much as I hated to admit it, this furious version of Isabella standing before me was breathtaking, and I couldn’t imagine anything more sexy than that.

She turned to the rest of the pack assembled at the banquet, and addressed them with confident tone that carried through the entire room.

"I, Isabella Evergreen of the Silvercrest Pack, do hereby reject Damien Blackthorn of the Silvercrest Pack, and from this day forward, I am no longer your Luna."

"WHAT are you saying?!" I screamed, panic rising in my chest as I ran and grabbed her arm, spinning her to look at me.

"Don't you get it?" 

 She mocked, "This marks the conclusion of our bond."

"You really had the audacity to reject me?!"

I hadn't even disciplined her, and this cursed woman opted to reject me prior to any resolution.

Damn!

"You'll regret this later, Isabella! I am Damien Blackthorn from the Silvercrest Pack, hereby acknowledge your rejection! You'll now be detained for murder! Guards! Escort this cursed woman to the dungeon!”