The Call That Changed Everything

Maddison’s POV

The phone felt like it was burning in my hand.

I couldn’t breathe properly as I stared at the image again. Liam’s small face was red from crying, his hands clinging to Emma like she was the only thing holding him together. My chest tightened so hard I thought it would split open.

“Don’t,” Damian said quietly.

I didn’t realize I was shaking until he reached out and gently took the phone from my fingers.

My hands dropped uselessly to my sides.

“He’s using him,” I whispered, barely hearing my own voice.

Damian didn’t answer immediately. His jaw was tight, his eyes still fixed on the screen like he wanted to crush it.

“Yes,” he said finally. “He is.”

That single word made something inside me snap.

I took a step back, shaking my head. “I have to go back.”

“No.”

The word was immediate.

Sharp.

Final.

I looked at him like I didn’t understand. “That’s my son.”

“And that’s exactly why he sent it,” Damian said, his voice lower now but heavier. “To control your reaction.”

Tears filled my eyes before I could stop them. “So what am I supposed to do? Just sit here while he uses Liam against me?”

Damian stepped closer, but not too close this time, like he was careful not to overwhelm me. “You don’t go back into a situation where you’ll be broken again the moment you walk through that door.”

My laugh came out broken. “I’m already broken.”

Silence hit the room hard.

His eyes softened slightly, but there was something darker underneath it too. Something protective.

“No,” he said quietly. “You’re not.”

I shook my head again, wiping my face quickly even though more tears kept coming.

“You don’t understand. He’s my mate. That means he has rights in Crescent Pack. If I run, he’ll drag me back. He always does.”

Damian’s expression changed after that statement.

Not anger.

Something worse.

Like he had made a decision.

“Not anymore,” he said.

My heart skipped. “What does that mean?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead he turned away, walking toward the window like he was thinking too fast to stand still.

Behind him, the city lights flickered across his face.

Then he spoke again.

“I’m going to Crescent Pack.”

The words hit me like a shock.

“What?” I whispered.

Damian turned back slowly. “You’re not going alone.”

Panic rose instantly. “No. No, that will make everything worse. If Fernando sees you—”

“Good,” he interrupted.

I froze.

His voice wasn’t loud.

But it was final in a way that made my wolf go still inside me.

“I want him to see me,” Damian continued. “I want him to know you’re not something he can reach anymore.”

My chest tightened painfully. “Damian…”

He stepped closer this time, fully in my space but still not touching me. His presence was steady, grounding in a way that confused me.

“You said you can’t go back there,” he said quietly. “So you won’t go back alone. Not while I’m still breathing.”

Something inside me cracked again.

Because nobody had ever spoken like that for me.

Not like I mattered.

Not like I was worth a war.

I lowered my eyes quickly. “He’ll hurt you.”

A faint, almost humorless smile touched his lips. “He can try.”

My wolf stirred again.

That strange pull.

That warmth I didn’t understand.

I stepped back slightly, overwhelmed. “Why are you doing this?”

Damian didn’t hesitate.

“Because I should have taken you out of there a long time ago.”

My breath caught.

Before I could respond, footsteps came rushing down the hallway.

Rowan appeared at the doorway, breathing slightly hard. “Alpha. We have movement from Crescent Pack.”

Damian didn’t look away from me. “What kind of movement?”

Rowan hesitated for a fraction of a second before answering.

“They’re preparing for a public announcement tomorrow night.”

My stomach dropped.

Damian finally turned his head. “About what?”

Rowan’s expression tightened.

“Fernando is calling a pack assembly.”

A pause.

Then—

“He’s declaring Maddison officially removed as Luna.”

The world around me went silent.

My knees weakened slightly.

Removed.

Not missing.

Not lost.

But removed.

Like I didn’t exist anymore.

Like I had already been replaced.

My throat tightened painfully.

Damian’s eyes darkened instantly.

And when he spoke again, his voice was colder than I had ever heard it.

“Then we go tonight.”

I looked up sharply. “Tonight?”

“Yes,” he said.

Rowan stiffened. “Alpha, that’s—”

“I don’t care,” Damian cut him off.

The air in the room shifted completely.

Something dangerous had just begun.

And I could feel it.

Fernando had just made his biggest mistake.

Because now Damian was done waiting.

And I wasn’t sure if I was ready for what that meant.

But I didn’t stop him.

Not this time.

Because somewhere deep inside me…

I wanted to see Liam.

Even if it destroyed everything else.

Even if it destroyed me.