Chapter 46 – The Glade in the Forest (Damian’s POV)
Dawn’s cool air rushed past as Sierra and I raced through the pine forest in our wolf forms. After days of chaos, it felt damn good to run free. We even flushed out a young doe and brought her down within minutes, ending the chase swiftly and mercifully. I didn’t even bother to feed; the thrill of the run was enough.
Sierra shifted back first, shaking out his limbs as he regained human form. “Not bad, Alpha,” he called with a broad grin. He always did love a good hunt.
I transformed a moment later, rising from all fours and rolling my shoulders. The cold morning breeze felt crisp against my bare skin. “Almost too easy with just the two of us,” I replied, wiping residual blood from my mouth with the back of my hand.
Sierra barked a laugh.
I clapped him on the shoulder as we walked a few paces away from the doe’s carcass. He flashed a toothy grin – we both knew he was one of the fastest wolves in the pack, and our little hunt hadn’t even tested him.
We stopped by a rocky stream to clean up. I knelt and plunged my hands into the frigid water, scrubbing away the evidence of our kill. Beside me, Sierra cupped water in his palms to wash his face. The forest was quiet around us, just the burble of the stream and the distant chatter of birds waking up.
My mind began to drift with the current. I’d needed this run more than I realized – a chance to claw back some normalcy after everything. Sierra was content in the post-hunt calm, but I could feel his eyes flicking toward me. I knew him too well – he had something on his mind.
“Out with it,” I muttered, not looking up from rinsing my arms.
Sierra chuckled. “Was I that obvious?”
“You’ve been dying to pry into my personal business since we left the house.”
He made no attempt to deny it. “Can you blame me? You, who were storming around all week, suddenly seem... almost mellow. Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain lady detective, would it?”
A warning growl rumbled in my chest. “Tread carefully, Sierra.”
He merely grinned, utterly unafraid. We’d been friends since we were pups; he knew exactly how far he could push me. “Just calling it like I see it. The girl you once hated? You can’t seem to get enough of her now. You talk about her even when you don’t realize you’re doing it.”
I opened my mouth to snap a denial... but nothing came out. He wasn’t wrong. Just yesterday I’d caught myself barking at a servant for undercooking Ivy’s steak, much to everyone’s surprise – including my own.
“I don’t hate her,” I muttered instead, splashing water on my face to hide my expression.
“No kidding,” Sierra drawled, eyebrows lifting.
I shot him a half-hearted glare, then sighed. There was no point pretending around Sierra – he could read me like a book. “Alright. Fine. You want me to say it out loud?”
“It might do you some good.”
The gentle note in his voice undid the last of my defensiveness. I sat back on a flat stone at the stream’s edge, raking a hand through my damp hair. “I’m... drawn to her,” I admitted gruffly. The words felt foreign but true. “In a way I can’t fully explain.”
Sierra nodded, staying quiet.
“She drives me up the goddamn wall,” I continued, a wry huff of a laugh escaping. “But I can’t stop thinking about her. Wanting her near.” I shook my head, staring at the swirling stream. “It’s like some switch flipped that night of the bonding and suddenly, I—” I bit down on the rest, jaw clenching.
Suddenly I what? Wanted to protect her? Needed her like my next breath? The admission lodged in my throat.
“That night changed a lot of things, didn’t it?” Sierra said softly.
My hands curled into fists on my knees. I didn’t need to ask which night he meant.
“Yeah,” I said roughly. “It did.”
We fell silent. Sierra didn’t push further. After a moment he stood, stretching his arms above his head. I followed suit, and we padded over to where we’d stashed our clothes earlier. I tugged on my jeans, and Sierra did the same.
“Come on,” I muttered. “Let’s head back.”
Sierra nodded. We lapsed into a comfortable quiet as we started through the woods toward home, leaving the remainder of the kill for scavengers.
We hadn’t gone more than a few hundred yards when the trees opened into a small, familiar glade. I slowed to a stop as recognition hit me. This was it – the clearing where I had captured her again; where she could have killed me if she had the chance; where I had killed her newfound friend – Roy.
Sierra realized it too. He inhaled sharply. Though rain and time had gentled it, I could still catch the metallic tang of death beneath the fresh green scents of the forest. Dark, rust-coloured stains marred the leaves and dirt. The earth was churned up in places where bodies had fallen and been dragged.
I stepped forward slowly. Ghosts of that night rose before me, especially Ivy – pounding at my back, screaming his name.
“Roy...” I murmured. The name slipped out like an apology.
“The non-chalant prick that thought he could scare us away with a couple of sticks?”
I nodded. “Ivy cared about him,” I said hoarsely. “And I... I didn’t even give her a chance to say goodbye. I slaughtered them all,” I muttered, voice hollow.
“You were eliminating a threat boss,” Sierra said quietly. ‘We had just one goal that night – bring Ivy back. Anything worse could have taken place.”
“Maybe.” My throat constricted. A month ago I wouldn’t have lost sleep over eliminating some careless humans. But now... “She watched him die, yunno, and I didn’t even blink. What kind of monster does that?”
Sierra laid a hand on my shoulder. “The kind you’ve had to be, Damian. Don’t punish yourself for it. You are Damian Lucenti, Alpha of the Lucenti Pack and Mafia Lord of New Orleans. Shit like this don’t get to you, boss. This is who you are!”
A tremor of raw emotion went through me. Leave it to Sierra to lay truth bare. I blew out a breath and opened my eyes. The clearing stood silent and empty, haunted only by memories. Sierra was right – I couldn’t change what I’d done. But I could, perhaps, change what I do going forward.
“Come on,” Sierra urged gently. “There’s nothing left for us here.”
He was right.