Damon’s POV:
I had been staring coldly at Ian’s Beta for over an hour without saying a word, contemplating ways to kill him without interference. The room was silent, as everyone could feel the tension. I wanted nothing more than to exact revenge on the bastard for blinding my incredible mate in the past.
Sherry sat in a chair in my office, still wearing her blindfold to conceal her ability to see from Ian and his friends.
Originally, my plan was to escort her to our bedroom and have the twins look after her, but she became stubborn and insisted on accompanying me.
When I refused, her wolf growled angrily as a warning, so I allowed her to stand next to me in my office. After all, she was my Luna and mate.
“Alpha Damon, please stop glaring at my Beta. It’s been hours, and he’s feeling uncomfortable and intimidated by you,” Ian said seriously.
If he truly felt that way, then it was good. I wanted him to be so intimidated that he would die.
“Neo, don’t you have something to say to my wife?” I asked seriously, ignoring Ian.
“Damon,” Sherry called in a low tone.
“No, Honey, the bastard needs to apologize for all the pain he caused you. He took away your sight!” I growled loudly, causing him to flinch.
“Brother,” Ian called calmly.
“I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart for what Vision did to you, Sherry. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I didn’t stop him. For that, I am sorry,” he said, as I glared at him.
What kind of pathetic apology was that? Was he so desperate to die?
All these years, I had believed it was Neo who had made her blind. Learning that it was his wolf came as a shock to me, as our wolves loved unconditionally, unlike us humans.
“It’s okay, Neo. It’s all in the past. Besides, if I hadn’t forgiven you, Ian, or Vision, I would never have been happy with my current mate. Everything is different now, and I look at things with a light heart. If I hadn’t been banished from your pack, I would have never met my husband and wouldn’t be the mother of two amazing twins. So, I hold no grudges or ill intentions towards you. I’m just happy that we can all meet on friendly terms,”She answered softly.
Although she spoke calmly, I could feel her sadness through our bond and the mark we shared.
I pressed my hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently to comfort her.
“Thank you,” Neo whispered.
“Beta, kneel and ask for forgiveness,” I demanded coldly.
“Damon, stop,” she ordered angrily.
I frowned deeply, then sighed softly in defeat.
“Fine, let’s get down to business so you can all fucking get the hell out of my pack. Can you explain to me what the man looked like, and I’ll pass on the description to my pack members? If anyone knows him, they will come forward,” I lied.
One thing that was hidden and kept as a secret from everyone who wasn’t a part of my pack was that we had a seer who could see the past and present, sadly not the future. It didn’t matter what it was or where they were; she would easily find it or them. Besides her, we had men who also knew some information that was hard to acquire.
“Well, the man was tall, well-built. Although we couldn’t see his face, he had a dominant presence. He had no scent, and according to one of my close friends, Lee, he could sense that he was a lycan, although two of his men were vampires,” Ian responded as my eyes went to the vampire lady in the room.
“Wouldn’t it be good to ask one of their kind?” I asked sarcastically.
I hated some vampires because of how prideful and majestic they thought they were. Those I couldn’t stand had so much ego at the same time wanted to dominate the whole planet because they thought of themselves as superior to other supernatural beings.
“Just because I’m a vampire, it doesn’t mean I’m part of the elders or the coven,” she answered simply.
So she was a rogue or a lone vampire who refused to bow and work for the elders? That was rare but very possible.
“Maggie, tell Beth to come into my office right now,” I ordered seriously, then closed the mind-link.
“I mind-linked someone, so all we have to do is wait,” I said as Ian raised a brow.
He seemed doubtful of what I was doing.
When a knock came at the door, I smiled.
“Come in,” I answered.
The door opened, and Beth entered. She looked very nervous, and her gaze was fixed on the floor.
“Alpha, I’m here,” she answered in a small voice.
“Angel, I need your help,” I whispered softly.
Beth was a very unique seer, unlike her late mother Maggie’s cousin. Although she was a total introvert and hated the presence of other people because she had been raised in seclusion by her mother for a long time, she tried her best to be close to me and my family.
Her mother had secretly locked her up in the basement, fearing that someone might kidnap her and use her for her gift. Little did she know or realize that she was mistreating her. Maggie and I had no idea because for years she would claim to have left the child with a babysitter whenever she was here, and we believed her easily because she was a kind-hearted woman. Little did we know she was lying. When we found out, it was already late, and Beth was in her teens.
Although she had stayed with us for more than five years, she was struggling to cope with everything. Not only did her mother commit suicide when we took her away, but she also had no friends she could rely on besides my twins.
When she looked up, she glanced at Lee, then looked at me.
“I told you not to call me Alpha,” I whispered as she smiled.
“I’m sorry, father,” she answered softly.
She was a part of my family and my child. Sherry and I promised to give her everything and love her unconditionally, and that’s what we were doing.
“The man you are looking for is called Lord Garren. He is part of the coven and works for the elders,” she said seriously.
“Wait, but he’s a lycan,” Lee pointed out.
“No, he is a hybrid. He is half lycan and half vampire. His mother was a white lycan, while his father was a vampire who had a seat at the council table despite not being an elder. The coven has always made sure to hide news of any hybrid. That’s why most vampires are unaware of his existence,” she answered, then looked at the vampire lady.
“That woman over there knows a few secrets of the council elders because she’s a pureblood vampire whose parents were elders,” she said.
“What?” I asked loudly.
As if her being a vampire working hand in hand with Ian wasn’t bad enough, she was a pureblood? Why would Ian come with such a person in my pack? She fucking knew the location now, thanks to him!
Everyone knew how deadly they were. They had twice the abilities of a normal vampire, while some had thrice. To our kind, only an Alpha queen or a very strong, powerful Alpha would defeat her. The rest were vulnerable to her attacks.
“Samantha is different from most vampires. She does not side with the coven!” Ian exclaimed.
Yeah, right. If she wasn’t hiding shit from us, then why was she masking her pureblood scent?
“He is right,” Beth whispered, then looked at Ian.
“Lord Garren is under the elders’ control because he willingly serves them. But if he were to rebel, they wouldn’t do a thing about it because he is capable of single-handedly killing them all,” she said as Ian stood up from the couch he was sitting on.
“Then why would such a powerful hybrid want my weak daughter?” he asked at the top of his voice.
“Your daughter is as strong as her mother, so she isn’t weak. But that’s not the main reason he wants her,” she answered.
“Is it because he is mated to her?” the Alpha queen asked.
“That, too, is one of his reasons, but the main reason is revenge,” she answered.
“Revenge?” Neo asked.
“Yes, he wants revenge for his parents’ death,” she answered.
“Look, miss, we have never met him or his parents before. We know nothing,” Ian said seriously.
“There was a time when you went to the coven to kill two elders. Some of your men started a fire, remember? That fire destroyed most houses in their territory, and a few vampires died in it,” she answered and then looked at me with a frown.
I knew that look all too well. There was something very important and dangerous that she didn’t want to disclose in front of them.
“So are you saying that his parents were killed in that fire we started?” Neo asked loudly.
“Yes,” she answered as Ian slowly sat down with a puzzled expression on his face.
“So, in short, Roxanne is still alive but for a reason?” the Alpha queen asked.
“Yes, as bait,” she answered.
“Are you saying that Roxanne is just bait to him and he doesn’t consider her as his mate?” a female Alpha asked.
“Well, kind of, because what the man wants is Alpha Ian. As long as he has his daughter, he knows that Alpha Ian will soon follow him to give up his life,” she answered as I smirked.
“Well, well, ain’t karma a bitch,” I whispered, then smirked.
Him dying wasn’t going to be bad. Not at all.