Safe Hands, Dangerous Truths

Maddison’s POV

I could not sleep properly after Damian left the room.

Every time I closed my eyes I kept hearing his voice repeatedly inside my head.

“Then you won’t go back alone.”

My chest tightened painfully each time I remembered it.

I shifted slowly on the bed and instantly regretted it when pain shot through my ribs. A soft gasp escaped my lips and I grabbed the blanket tightly trying to breathe through it.

The room was quiet again.

Too quiet.

I hated silence sometimes because silence always gave my thoughts room to breathe.

And my thoughts were dangerous.

I turned my head slowly toward the window. The rain outside had reduced but the sky was still dark. I could see faint city lights from a distance and it reminded me that I was far away from Crescent Pack.

Far away from Fernando.

But somehow I still felt trapped.

A shaky breath left my lips.

I wondered if Liam had eaten.

If he had slept well.

If he asked about me.

Or maybe…

Maybe he had already forgotten me.

The thought hurt so badly that tears gathered in my eyes immediately.

“No…” I whispered to myself.

Liam would not forget me.

He could not.

Right?

A knock suddenly came from the door and my body reacted instantly. Fear crawled up my spine so fast that I stiffened against the bed.

“It’s me.” Damian’s voice came from outside.

My body slowly relaxed.

I hated that my first instinct now was fear.

The door opened shortly after and Damian stepped inside. His eyes immediately found me on the bed and for some reason my heartbeat became uneven.

He was dressed differently this time.

Black shirt.

Dark trousers.

His sleeves were folded slightly and his hair looked damp like he had just gotten out of the rain.

He looked tired.

But still intimidating.

Still powerful.

My wolf stirred softly again and I quickly looked away.

Damian noticed everything too easily.

“You should be sleeping.” He said as he closed the door behind him.

“I tried.” I whispered.

His gaze lingered on my face for a while before he walked toward the small table near the bed. He placed a paper bag there carefully.

“You did not eat enough earlier.”

I blinked slowly.

“You came back because of food?”

A faint look crossed his face almost like amusement but it disappeared quickly.

“No.”

My chest tightened strangely at the answer.

Damian pulled the chair closer again and sat down. Unlike Fernando who always filled every room with pressure and fear, Damian’s silence felt controlled.

Heavy.

But calm.

My fingers curled slightly against the blanket.

“You should not stress your injuries.” He said quietly.

I nodded slowly.

But my mind was somewhere else completely.

I hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.

“Did Fernando come looking for me?”

Damian’s expression darkened immediately.

“He’s searching.”

My throat tightened.

“How bad?”

“He’s tearing through nearby territories looking for answers.” Damian replied calmly.

Fear settled heavily in my stomach.

Fernando was dangerous when he was angry.

And if he found out where I was…

I closed my eyes briefly.

My entire body suddenly remembered the feeling of his hands gripping my hair, the sound of his voice yelling at me, the pain of his hits against my ribs.

I pulled the blanket tighter around myself unconsciously.

Damian noticed.

His jaw tightened slightly.

“He won’t touch you again.” He said suddenly.

My eyes lifted to his instantly.

The way he said it…

It did not sound like comfort.

It sounded like a promise.

And that terrified me.

Because no one had ever protected me before.

Not truly.

“You can’t guarantee that.” I whispered softly.

Damian leaned back slightly, his silver eyes fixed on me.

“I can.”

My heart started beating harder.

The room suddenly felt too small.

Too warm.

I looked away quickly before he could notice the effect he had on me.

“You don’t even know me properly.” I whispered.

“I know enough.”

The words came out low and steady.

I swallowed hard.

Silence stretched between us again until Damian finally spoke.

“The doctors said your injuries are old.”

My body froze.

I already knew where this conversation was heading.

“Maddison.”

I looked down at my hands.

“Did Fernando do all of that to you?”

I couldn’t answer.

Because saying it aloud would make it real.

For years I had convinced myself that maybe things were not that bad.

Maybe I was too emotional.

Maybe I provoked him.

Maybe I deserved it somehow.

That was what Fernando always said after hurting me.

“You make me angry.”

“You push me too far.”

“You embarrass me.”

“You force me to do this.”

I heard those words so many times that they became part of me.

“I’m his mate.” I whispered weakly instead.

Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“That isn’t an answer.”

A tear rolled down my cheek before I quickly wiped it away.

“You won’t understand.” I said quietly.

“Then explain it to me.”

I shook my head immediately.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because if I say it aloud…” my voice cracked painfully. “Then I have to accept it.”

The room became silent again.

Damian did not rush me.

Did not pressure me.

He simply waited.

And somehow that made everything harder.

Because Fernando never waited.

Never listened.

Never cared.

“He was not always this bad.” I whispered after a long moment.

That was a lie.

But it was the lie I told myself to survive.

“At first I thought he just had anger issues.” I continued quietly. “Then after Liam was born things became worse.”

My throat tightened badly.

“He stopped touching me completely. He stopped looking at me properly. Everything I did annoyed him.”

Damian remained silent but I could feel the tension radiating from him.

“He started yelling more.” I whispered.

“Then hitting.”

The last word nearly broke me.

I looked away quickly in shame.

But then Damian spoke.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

My chest tightened painfully again.

“You say that because you’re not the one living it.”

His jaw flexed slightly.

“No.” He said calmly.

“I’m saying it because none of this is your fault.”

I stared at him, completely stunned.

No one had ever said that to me before.

Not once.

Not even me.

My eyes burned heavily and suddenly tears rolled down faster than I could stop them.

I turned my face away quickly feeling embarrassed.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered automatically.

The moment the words left my lips Damian exhaled sharply.

“Stop apologizing for everything.”

I froze slightly.

“You apologize when you cry.” He continued quietly.

“You apologize when you’re scared.”

“You apologize when someone hurts you.”

His voice became colder.

“Who taught you that?”

I couldn’t answer.

Because the truth was…

Fernando did.

Little by little.

Year after year.

Until apologizing became natural even when I did nothing wrong.

My lips trembled badly.

Damian suddenly stood up from the chair and my body tensed instinctively.

But instead of coming closer, he stopped himself.

He noticed my reaction immediately.

Something painful crossed his face for a brief second.

Then slowly…

He stepped back.

Giving me space again.

That simple action nearly shattered me emotionally.

Because Fernando would have grabbed me harder if I flinched away from him.

But Damian stepped back like my fear mattered.

“You should rest.” He said quietly after a long silence.

I nodded weakly.

Damian turned slightly toward the door but panic rose inside me immediately.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

I tightened my fingers around the blanket.

“When can I see Liam?”

The question came out broken.

Damian looked at me for a long moment before answering carefully.

“Soon.”

“That’s what you said before.”

“I know.”

Fear crept back into my chest instantly.

“What if Emma turns him against me completely?” I whispered painfully.

Damian’s expression darkened.

“She won’t.”

“You don’t know Emma.”

“No.” He said calmly.

“But I know people like her.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

There was something dangerous hidden beneath his calmness.

Something cold.

Controlled.

Deadly.

For the first time I realized properly that Damian was not just kind.

He was powerful.

And maybe even frightening when pushed too far.

But strangely…

I did not feel afraid of him and that scared me the most.