Chapter 65
Damon's POV
She said it like she was reporting the weather. "He wanted me to go back to the resort. Seduce you. Get pregnant if I could manage it. Save the family territory."
My stomach dropped.
"I refused." She kept going, that terrible flatness in her tone. "I told him you have a girlfriend. I told him we're done. He didn't take it well."
"You—" My voice cracked. "You told him about Scarlett?"
"Yes."
The world tilted. My eyes were burning—I could feel them shifting, gold bleeding into my vision. "I asked you not to say anything—"
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" The words came out strangled. "He'll tell my parents. He'll tell the whole damn family—"
"I know."
"You know?" I stared at her. "You know and you did it anyway?"
She didn't even look sorry. Just... tired.
"Precisely because we've known each other since childhood," I said, voice shaking. "If it were anyone else who hurt Scarlett, I'd break their hand. It's only because it was you that I didn't know how to handle it, so I let you leave!"
Elena cut in. "So should I thank you for your generosity?"
My hands clenched into fists. "My parents are going to lose their minds when they find out. They'll force me to—they'll make me end things with Scarlett—"
"Is that what this is about?" Elena asked quietly. "You're worried you'll lose her?"
"Of course I'm worried!" The words burst out. "Did you do this to get back at me? Is this your revenge?"
She didn't answer. Just looked at me with those huge eyes, and for a second I saw something flicker across her face before it smoothed into nothing.
"You can think whatever you want," she said finally.
The calm in her voice made me want to shake her until she showed something. Anger. Tears. Anything but this blank acceptance.
"This is Caleb, isn't it?" The realization hit like ice water. "He put you up to this. Told you to blow up my life—"
"This has nothing to do with him."
"Bullshit." I stepped closer. "You don't think like this on your own. He's been in your ear, hasn't he? Making you think you're strong enough to go against your family—"
"Stop." Her voice cracked for the first time. "Caleb didn't make me do anything."
"Right. Because you suddenly grew a spine all on your own?" I heard how cruel it sounded. Didn't care. "What changed, Elena? What's he been telling you?"
She opened her mouth. Closed it.
"I'm done with this conversation," she said.
"Well, I'm not." My wolf snarled against my ribs. "That bastard—I should have dealt with him years ago. Acting like he's better than everyone when he can't even control his own wolf—"
"Damon." Her voice turned sharp. "Leave him alone."
"Why?" I smiled, cold. "You defending him now?"
"I mean it." Something fierce flashed in her eyes. "Whatever issues you have, they're with me. Not him."
"No. They're with both of you." I could feel my canines starting to extend. "But don't worry. I'll settle things with Caleb eventually."
Elena's face went white.
I turned and walked away, hands shaking with suppressed rage.
I didn't look back.
---
Elena's POV
I stood frozen as Damon's footsteps faded.
I'll settle things with Caleb eventually.
The threat hung in the cold air. My hands wouldn't stop trembling.
He would go after Caleb. Of course he would. And in the Vance family, with all their power and connections, Caleb didn't stand a chance.
I'd just painted a target on his back.
My knees felt weak.
I didn't know what to do. Didn't know how to warn him, how to fix this.
The cold bit through my jacket. My cheek throbbed. I touched it—still swollen, the skin hot under my fingertips.
I couldn't stay here.
No plan. No destination. Just away.
I wanted to call Lila, but my phone was back at the house.
I stopped at a corner, checking my wallet. Thirty-two dollars. Enough for a one-way subway ticket, maybe. Not enough for a cab across the city to Lila's apartment.
I looked around, getting my bearings. Downtown. Maybe a twenty-minute walk to the main commercial strip. There'd be somewhere open, somewhere warm where I could think.
My feet moved automatically, following familiar streets toward the glow of storefronts ahead.
---
Midnight Pages appeared like a sanctuary—floor-to-ceiling windows spilling warm light onto the sidewalk, the sign promising 24-hour access.
I pushed through the door. Heat wrapped around me immediately, artificial and stale but better than the freezing night. A handful of customers scattered throughout—couple in the corner sharing a laptop, guy in a business suit reading by the window, student passed out over a textbook.
Nobody looked up.
I found a corner spot behind the classics section, sinking into the chair.
I felt something crack open in my chest. Tears blurred my vision. I blinked hard, refusing to let them fall. Not here. Not in public.
I had nowhere to go. Alone.
I pressed my palms against my eyes, shoulders curling inward.
"Elena?"
The voice cut through my spiral. I looked up.
Ethan stood there, arms full of computer science textbooks, glasses slightly crooked. He was staring at me—or more accurately, at my face.
I'd forgotten about the handprint.
I tried to cover my cheek, but it was too late. His expression shifted from surprise to concern in half a second.
"What happened?" He glanced around, lowering his voice. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The lie came automatically. "Just... needed somewhere quiet."
Ethan didn't buy it. He sat down beside me, eye level with me.
"You look like you could use help," he said carefully.
I wanted to say no. To insist I was handling it.
But I had nowhere to go, and the weight of everything was crushing me.
"I need to borrow your phone," I heard myself say. "Please."
He didn't ask questions. Just handed it over.