010 ~ The protector~

Golden light spilled from crystal chandeliers, turning polished marble into mirrors and diamonds into tiny stars with every noble wolf in the hall determined to outshine the room itself.

Music drifted through while they all exchanged polite smiles over crystal glasses.

Nothing seemed out of place and somehow, that was exactly what made it feel wrong.

Victor stood near the center of the hall entertaining the visiting Alphas, every bit the gracious host. When he noticed Selene approaching, his smile widened.

"There you are."

Every eye followed her as she crossed the hall, slipping naturally into her role.

She acknowledged each greeting with a graceful nod, accepted every bow with practiced ease, and never once let the storm inside her reach her face.

Victor rested a hand lightly against her back as he addressed the room.

"My Luna wasn't feeling well."

He didn't even hesitate, the lie came as naturally as he breathed.

"She's here now."

Several nobles offered smiles filled with sympathy yet all Selene did was lower her head as correcting him would only create another spectacle.

Across the room, Damien watched the exchange in silence, not noticing Ryker who had stepped beside him, swirling the wine in his glass.

"You've been unusually quiet."

"Hm."

"That's unlike you."

Damien heard the question but he simply couldn't pull his eyes away.

Across the hall, Victor's laughter rang out, effortless and warm, while Selene stood beside him with the composure she'd worn like armor all evening.

As he gestured to her with a smile, Selene's sleeve shifted only an inch, barely enough to be noticed.

Dark bruises wrapped around her wrist. There was no mistaking the pattern. Someone had grabbed her hard enough to leave every finger behind

But Damien noticed and at once his smile disappeared.

The conversation around him faded into meaningless noise as his eyes remained on those bruises.

Ryker followed his gaze.

"What is it?"

Damien didn't answer.

Selene pulled her sleeve down in a way that didn't attract attention but it was too late. He had already seen them.

Victor leaned closer, murmuring something only she could hear yet Selene didn't turn or smile.

She remained exactly as she was, her hands loosely folded before her, her expression untouched by whatever he'd said.

She looked less like a woman attending a celebration... And more like one who had long ago mastered the art of enduring them.

Damien's grip tightened around his glass.

"So?" Ryker asked again. "What are you looking at?"

Damien finally spoke. "...Her wrist."

Ryker frowned. "What about it?"

"The bruises."

Ryker looked again and this time he saw them. His eyes shifted into something dark, as tho the calm he'd been clinging to thinned into something far colder.

The muscles along his jaw tightened, not with anger alone... But with the terrible restraint of a man forcing himself to remain exactly where he was. "...Those weren't there earlier."

"No." Damien's voice had become unnaturally calm. "They weren't."

Victor reached for her once more. His fingers circled her wrist with deceptive gentleness, hidden beneath the fall of her sleeve.

To everyone else, it looked almost affectionate but Damien saw something different.

Selene's body went stiff as she breathed slowly with every trace of the moment folded neatly back beneath flawless composure.

A sharp crack echoed beside Ryker and he looked down.

Damien's crystal glass had shattered inside his hand, spilling red wine across the floor with blood dripping between his fingers.

"Damien," Ryker called.

His gaze was still fixed on Selene,

"You're bleeding."

Only then did Damien glance down. He picked a piece of crystal from his palm as though it were nothing more than an inconvenience.

A servant hurried over.

"My lord—"

"I'm fine."

His voice remained just as it was without the slightest hint of emotion, making the servant return just as fast as he had come.

Ryker knew that tone. He'd heard it only once before just before Damien had ordered an execution.

"Control yourself," Ryker murmured.

"This isn't the place."

"I know."

"You do?"

Damien accepted a clean handkerchief from another servant and wrapped it around his injured hand. It was already begining to heal but for formality sake...

His eyes never left Victor.

"I know exactly where I am."

The alliance had taken months to build. It was that one fragile promise that had survived too many negotiations to be broken by a single reckless decision.

Damien knew exactly what was at stake which was why he didn't move.

Every instinct in him screamed to cross the room, to tear Victor's hand away from her. To demand an explanation for the bruises hidden beneath her sleeve and make sure she never had to endure another unwanted touch.

Instead... He stood where he silently wore an expression that betrayed nothing.

Only the unnatural stillness of his body hinted at the battle raging beneath his skin.

Around him, the ceremony flowed on, untouched by the storm gathering inside him.

Music drifted through the grand hall and crystal glasses met in cheerful toasts.

Laughter rose beneath the glow of the chandeliers, warm and effortless yet no one noticed the man standing perfectly still, holding himself together with nothing but discipline. And perhaps that was the cruelest part.

The world continued exactly as it should... While every instinct he possessed demanded he become the monster diplomacy required him not to be.

He watched Victor guide Selene through the crowd, watched the careful distance in her eyes. He watched the bruises disappear beneath silk and his jaw tightened.

Ryker sighed quietly. "I know that look."

Damien finally looked at him. "Do you?"

"It means you've already made a decision."

For a long moment, Damien said nothing. Then he folded the bloodstained handkerchief into his pocket, his wound fully healed now.

He breathed smoke... Slowly, which was a relief. Ryker expected fire. "Find out everything," he whispered in a calmness that sent chill down Ryker's bones.

"About the alliance?" Ryker frowned.

"No." Damien's gaze settled once more on Victor. "About him."

The moment stretched.

"I want to know what kind of Alpha leaves bruises on his Luna."