Moment of truth

        ~MOMENT OF TRUTH~

Morning light creeps through the curtains, soft yet strange, like it’s trying to soothe me into a life that doesn’t feel like mine.

I sit stiffly on the edge of the bed while Khloe braids my hair. Her fingers are gentle but professional. She has barely left my side since I returned from that strange hospital, the one everyone refuses to explain properly.

“Khloe?” My voice comes out small and fragile. “Please, tell me the truth. Everything, i need to know about me.”

Her hands pause for a second before resuming. She swallows, then meets my eyes in the mirror, hesitation flickering across her face. After a long breath, she speaks.

“Well, you are Clary Huston,” she says quietly. “Daughter of one of the most respected werewolf families in Athens. Your parents hold influence, power. They protect humans without anyone ever realizing it, without knowing who or what keeps the balance.”

The information feels new to me.

“Then why did I poison myself?” I ask, my chest tightening.

Khloe exhales shakily. “Because you didn’t want to marry the bloodthirsty Alpha.” Her voice lowers. “And because you found out your parents offered you to him, to protect their real daughter.”

My heart stutters.

“You’re saying,” I whisper, “I’m not their real daughter?”

Everything clicks into place, why they cried at my hospital bed, why they apologized over and over. That is why they were filled with so much guilt.

“Yes,” Khloe says softly. “They should have.”

I look away, my jaw tightening.

“So… we live among humans,” I say slowly, “but they can never know what we are?”

“They must never know,” she whispers. “But wolves control more than humans imagine, businesses, politics, security. Your family keeps order.”Her voice softens with reverence. “Your family keeps the world from chaos.”

I don’t feel powerful.

I don’t feel like anything at all.

“And Alpha Damon?” I ask cautiously.

Khloe stiffens instantly. Her throat works like she’s swallowing glass.

“He is exactly as the stories say,” she replies, refusing to meet my eyes. “Strong, dominant, evil and dangerous. He enforces the ancient laws. He doesn’t just lead a pack, he controls every wolf in Greece.” Her voice drops. “Even humans fear him… without knowing why.”

Something dark and electric pulses down my spine at the sound of his name. My body reacts before my mind can stop it.

“The real daughter of this family was betrothed to him since birth,” Khloe continues quietly. “A union between two families. A bond of power and safety.”

“They traded me to the monster because I’m not their biological child, I see.”

A forced bond.

My stomach twists violently.

“And I poisoned myself to escape him?” I whisper.

Khloe’s eyes shine with unshed tears. “You were terrified, Miss Clary. Terrified enough to die rather than belong to him.”

But why?

I don’t remember the fear. Only the hollow ache it leaves behind.

I open my mouth to ask more when Khloe suddenly inhales sharply.

“There’s… something else.”

My heart lurches. “What?”

She steps closer, wringing her hands. “Your wedding,” she whispers. “Your wedding to Alpha Damon.”

My entire body locks.

“What about it?” I manage.

Her voice trembles. “It’s in a week.”

A week.

Seven days.

Seven days to marry a man I don’t remember. A man I once feared enough to die for. A man whose name carries shadows and blood.

“Khloe,” I whisper, my pulse racing, “you’re joking. Tell me you’re joking.”

She shakes her head slowly, sorrow etched into her face. “No, Miss Clary. You are expected to walk down the aisle in seven days. As Alpha Damon’s mate. There is no changing it.”

My vision blurs.

Seven days to step into a life I never chose. To belong to a man I don’t remember. 

I squeeze my eyes shut. Fear rises, sharp and devastating, but beneath it, I feel the urge to survive and not be ruined for the second time.

A soft knock pulls me back.

“Clary?”

The voice is sweet.

Too sweet.

A young lady slips into the room. Her smile is blinding and looks forced. She rushes to my bed and grabs my hands.

“I’m so glad you’re awake,” she gushes. “You scared us so much. I’ve been praying, crying and thinking about you nonstop.”

Her touch crawls over my skin.

Fake.

“I… um… thank you,” I murmur. “Do I… know you?”

Her smile cracks. Just slightly.

Before she can answer, a tall man appears behind her. He looks at me, then quickly away, he seems guilty and uncomfortable. He can’t even meet my eyes.

Khloe leans close, her whisper sharp with disgust.

“That’s your sister, Betty. And that’s Trevor, your stupid ex who dumped you for her.”

Oh.

“I don’t remember either of you,” I say calmly.

Betty smile shatters. Trevor looks like he wants the floor to swallow him whole.

The silence thickens until the door bursts open.

“Clary!”

My mother rushes in, breathless, eyes shining. “Clary, he’s here. The Alpha..”

The door slams again.

The air changes.

The temperature drops.

Damon steps inside.

And my heart forgets how to beat.

He moves like a force of nature. I don’t look at him, i feel his presence. 

Darkness and dominance wrapped in human skin. Broad shoulders, rolled sleeves revealing carved forearms and tattoos. A fitted black shirt hugging a body built to command and destroy.

And his face.

Gods.

Sharp jaw. Dark eyes holding storms and secrets. A mouth sinful enough to start wars. Hair neat and masculine, crowning danger itself.

This is the man I died to escape?

He steps closer.

The room shrinks. Breathing becomes optional.

His gaze locks onto mine slowly, intense and consuming.

Heat coils low in my stomach. My thighs press together without permission.

My wolf reacts before I do.

“Clary.”

His voice could ruin me.