Ruby
“D-Damian, how did you get here?” My eyes widened in awe as I stammered.
Damian’s hard eyes reluctantly left Liam’s face, and I could see an intense glare filled with tension in his beautiful blue eyes, which I had unknowingly come to like. The clenched fist he bore gradually relaxed, a silent indication that he had pushed away his wolf, at least for the moment.
I felt guilty for unintentionally stirring Damian’s emotions, but then again, we haven’t had a proper conversation, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to. What he was asking for was too much from me, as I had to put my son first before taking any life-changing decisions.
“Through the door,” Damian responded tersely with irritation, and I could sense disgust underneath his words as he looked between Liam and me.
“Oh,” I replied, a blush of embarrassment creeping onto my cheeks and casting a rosy hue across my face.
“I came to settle some scores with a disobeying old hag and thought I should say hi,” Damian added with boredom, his tone carrying a hint of underlying annoyance.
“Why are you only addressing him by his first name, Ruby? He is an alpha, just like me.” Liam interrupted, and Damian’s gaze shifted towards Liam again, who stood by my side with a self-satisfied smirk, and a knot formed in my stomach.
At this point, I was getting nervous, and I could feel beads of sweat forming on the upper side of my head from this sudden and unexpected confrontation. The air thickened with an unspoken history, and I braced myself for the storm that seemed imminent.
“Anyway, you don’t have to answer that, Ruby,” Liam said, noticing my speechlessness. “Meet Damian, an old acquaintance who was once under my care back when we were training to become alphas at the werewolf academy. He was young and calm, but after he lost Ava, he lost it and changed into a monster by destroying other weaker packs to take control. However, he couldn’t dare take me out. You know why?” Liam paused, his gaze fixed on me, and I rolled my eyes, choosing to remain silent.
How could I forget the possibility of them knowing each other? Of course, every soon-to-be alpha or highly intelligent wolf with lots of potential is usually trained at the werewolf academy. That’s why my son getting admission here was a pretty big deal.
“Because I am strong, and he is nothing but a wannabe alpha male.” Liam said it with a deceptive calmness, though the glint in his eyes hinted at a hidden agenda.
“Really? Is that what you tell yourself to sleep at night?” Damian retorted, glaring daggers at Liam.
“I lost her because it was beyond my control, and I would go to the heavens just to bring her back, but you, on the other hand, lost yours because you were weak and pathetic. You couldn’t even save your unborn child.”
At this point, I felt lost amid the banter unfolding between them. What was Damian talking about? The room buzzed with unspoken tension as the three of us stood in a triangular arrangement, each harbouring secrets and unresolved conflicts. I could sense a long-standing hatred between these two, and I found myself suffocating in the atmosphere of their animosity.
Liam’s face contorted with anger, and his eyes flashed with fury as he growled, “Shut your damn mouth.” His fists clenched tightly at his sides, emphasising the building tension in the room.
Damian’s eyes locked onto Liam’s, a proud smirk playing on his lips. I sensed a storm brewing between them, and I found myself caught in the crossfire of a past I desperately wished to forget.
“Damian, whose score are you here to settle? I hope it has nothing to do with Madam Nelly. Remember, you promised me.” I inquired cautiously, trying to reduce the tension, my gaze flickering between him and Liam. He met my eyes with an intensity that hinted at the burden of unsettled matters.
“I don’t make promises, Ruby. And I don’t take kindly to people who disobey me.”
Ouch.
A shiver ran down my spine as the gravity of Damian’s words sank in. Damian was angry, but I don’t know why, or maybe I did, and I could tell he was trying to hold his wolf back but was failing.
“Oh well, as you can see, Damian boy, you interrupted something important, so if you excuse us, Ruby and I are trying to save some children’s lives.” Liam said it with a smug expression, revelling in the discomfort that lingered.
Oh, now he was ready to offer help? Stupid man.
“Like the way you failed to save your ex-mate’s life? You must have been an incapable, useless mate to let her go just like that. I bet she and your dead son are happy to be far away from you and with the moon goddess.” Damian taunted, and Liam scoffed.
Damian thought Liam Mate died? Fuck… this revelation hit me hard. It seemed that when I disappeared and Liam replaced me with Lilith, he had spread a false story about my fate to everyone in the pack. No wonder no one recognised me; it was all his fault.
I thought he agreed that he wouldn’t declare me dead if I had signed the resignation papers peacefully and stepped down. He went back on his words.
In the past, I hardly came out to join pack activities because it wasn’t something a Luna should do. A Luna must almost sit pretty, caring for the alpha, and not get her hands dirty with pack work. Session 42 of Luna’s handbook said, and I followed every damn thing written there just to be a perfect little Luna for Liam. What did I receive in return?
Betrayal.
Although thanks to Andrew, who was really a good right-hand man, I still found a way to be close to my pack members even though they didn’t see me in person by gifting them food and other necessary things they needed, and I found solace in that.
Liam was a proud asshole and a weak bastard, but I wasn’t ready for Damian to find out I was Liam’s mate when we hadn’t spoken about our newly found bond yet.
I tried thinking hard of a way to steer the conversation away from the looming storm, hoping to prevent any collateral damage in its wake. I had to get Damian out of the room to avoid further confrontation.
“Alpha Damian, why don’t we speak outside?” I muttered, feeling the air in the room shift, charged with an inexplicable energy.
“Angel,”
The little girl, who had once offered me a sweet, looked at me with an innocent eye before gazing between Damian and Liam, who seemed to have relaxed in order not to frighten the little girl.
“Do you need anything?” I mouthed at her, glad she had helped me ease the tension in the room with her sweetness.
“Yes angel. We were all arguing right there, and I told them the man with blue, beautiful eyes standing by the door is your mate, but no one believed me and kept saying the man by your side who had helped cure us is your mate, so angel, which of these two men is your mate?” She jumped happily, clapping her hands as she awaited my reply, unaware of the huge bomb she had dropped on my shoulders.
Her question hung in the air like an unspoken prophecy, and the room fell into an eerie silence. I felt a tremor run through me, and my eyes darted between Liam, Damian, and the child.
The weight of the moment pressed down on me, as if the universe itself awaited the revelation. Liam’s eyes narrowed with suspicion, Damian’s gaze held an inscrutable intensity, and I found myself caught in a moment that held the potential to unravel secrets buried deep within the fabric of our intertwined destinies.
The little girl’s innocent inquiry had unwittingly unveiled Pandora’s box of uncertainties, and as I staggered backward, I braced myself for the profound impact that her question might unleash upon our tangled lives.
“None of them,” I replied softly, avoiding Damian’s gaze.
Laughter bubbled up from Damian’s chest, sending shivers down my spine. It was a sound of disbelief mixed with something darker that I couldn’t uncover. The room filled with the echo of his amusement, each chuckle a mocking note that resonated in the air, and I snapped my head to look at him.
“Well, Ruby, I never expected you to reject me so publicly.” Damian chuckled, a dark amusement colouring his tone.
For a minute, I saw hurt flash through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by anger. My wolf howled in pain at me for treating Damian like a second choice, and I couldn’t help but feel bad. He was right; I just openly and indirectly rejected him, and I knew firsthand how hurtful that can be.