DamianI frowned the moment I saw him.My father stood by the door like he had every damn right to be there—as if he hadn’t chosen to walk away from all of this, from me. My jaw tensed, and I barely kept the growl out of my voice.“I didn’t ask you to come here,” I snapped, arms crossed tightly against my chest.He didn’t flinch. Of course not. Alpha Magnus Stone never flinched. Instead, he stepped into the room like he still ruled it. Like the power in his blood still made him untouchable.Behind me, Darius rose to his feet with a smug smile that made my fingers itch. He was enjoying this. Bastard.My father looked at him with a calm expression, then turned back to me. “You’re Alpha now. I know that,” he said. “But I came here because I’ve been… thinking. Realizing a few things.”I scoffed, laughing bitterly. “Realizing? Now? After everything? After you let him”—I jerked my head toward Darius—“manipulate, destroy, and twist everything that ever mattered? You don’t get to waltz in and
DamianFor the first time in my life, I felt something that I never thought I’d associate with Darius.Pity.Not anger. Not hatred. Not even resentment.Just… pity.Because as I stood across from him, watching him strapped to the reinforced chair with iron cuffs biting into his wrists, I saw more than a brother-turned-enemy. I saw a man who had spiraled so far out of control that he had built an entire identity out of trying to ruin me.And it wasn’t working.And it was killing him.His eyes were bloodshot, unblinking. His jaw was clenched so tight I could hear the strain in his teeth. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days—maybe weeks.I didn’t say anything at first. Just… watched.He noticed.“What the hell is that look?” he snapped, voice low but venomous. “Don’t you dare look at me like that, Damian.”My jaw ticked.“Like what?” I asked.“Like you feel sorry for me.” He practically spit the word. “You don’t get to feel sorry for me.”I folded my arms. “Then what do I get to
Alina’s POVThere was a flicker of something in Damian’s eyes—something raw and painful—that made my heart clench the moment we turned back to the altar. I knew him too well. I could read every nuance, every twitch in his jaw, every shift in his gaze. He was angry. Not just at Darius. Not just at the elders.At the world.At the fact that no matter how hard we tried, peace never came easy for us.I squeezed his hand tighter as we stood at the front again, the silence from the crowd pressing down on my chest like a stone. Their stares pierced into my skin like daggers, filled with whispers and judgment, and I hated that I was thinking about them.But I was.I always did.And I hated that more than anything.Still, even as I clung to Damian’s hand, even as he stood tall and defiant like he always did, my thoughts spiraled.They said he was breaking tradition.I’d heard the words. Cold and final. A breach of sacred rites.And the elders—those rigid, wrinkled judges of our lives—they hadn
DamianI was seeing red.The moment the guards hauled Darius away, my fists were still clenched at my sides, and my chest heaved with fury. I had never hated him more than I did in that moment. He didn’t just ruin a ceremony—he shattered the one thing I’d been holding onto like a lifeline. Our future. Our peace. Our one good thing.And Alina… fuck.I turned around and saw her running out of the hall, her gown catching slightly on the marble floor, her shoulders trembling as she pushed past a stunned guest. She didn’t look back.My heart dropped into my stomach.I didn’t even have time to think. I immediately mind-linked Lucas.“Make sure none of the guests leave. Keep everyone calm. I’m going after her.”“Understood, Alpha.”My footsteps echoed behind me as I left the hall, storming through the corridor until I caught a faint trail of her scent—rosewater and something soft, something that always made me feel safe. Not anymore. Not when it was laced with pain.I found her in the side r
AlinaThe butterflies in my stomach were having a full parade, kicking and twirling and marching up my throat. Their wings tickled the inside of my chest, making it nearly impossible to draw in a steady breath. I pressed my trembling hands to my stomach, willing the nerves to settle, but they wouldn’t. My heart was a relentless drum, beating faster than any rhythm the wedding orchestra could play.This was it.The moment I’d dreamed of—no, the moment I never truly believed I would get.Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows of the grand ceremonial hall, casting slivers of color across the marble floors. The scent of roses—white, red, and blush—drifted through the air, fresh and heady, wrapping around me like a promise. The golden embroidery on the altar shimmered in the light, catching the flicker of candles placed carefully in ceremonial holders.I felt Damian beside me and turned, and for a second, everything else faded.Gods, he looked devastating.Dressed in a perfect
AlinaI jolted up with a scream, my breath rasping against the back of my throat like I’d just escaped drowning. My heart thumped wildly, pounding in my chest like a frightened bird. Sweat clung to my forehead, and for a moment, I didn’t even realize I had been crying until I felt the wet streaks on my cheeks.I pressed a shaky hand to my chest, whispering to myself, It was just a dream. Just a dream…But the image was still vivid—too vivid. Blood. My own blood. A knife plunged into my stomach. My hands trembling as I tried to stop it. The cold, distant stare of the attacker. I couldn’t see the face. But I remembered the pain. The helplessness. The feeling of everything slipping away.“No,” I whispered to myself. “It’s not real. It’s not real.”I swung my legs off the bed and touched the cold marble floor. I tried grounding myself in reality—this room, this life, Damian… happiness. Focus on what’s real, Alina.The past few days had been overwhelming, but Damian had been by my side. De