Chapter 183 183
The room was heavy with stunned silence.
Everyone seemed trapped in a fog of horror after what they had just witnessed. Only Damien, Dominique, and Alexandre possessed even the faintest understanding of what Jacqueline had endured before. They had pieced together fragments of the truth over time.
The others had known nothing.
And what they saw tonight had shaken them deeply.
None of them could have imagined that the girl who laughed so easily, who always filled the room with light, had been carrying such unbearable pain inside her all along.
The realization struck them brutally.
She had suffered so much… and yet she had continued standing tall, smiling, trying to brighten the lives of everyone around her.
That truth hurt the most.
Why was it always the kindest souls who seemed to suffer the worst punishments?
Damien carefully lifted Jacqueline into his arms, holding her bridal-style as though she were made of fragile glass. He carried her to the bed and gently laid her down.
Sofía remained beside her the entire time while Charlotte hurried in with the first aid kit.
Fernando had already mind-linked the pack’s doctor, who was now on his way.
Sofía began tending to Jacqueline’s wounds while the others remained rooted where they stood, silently watching. Cécile stepped forward and pulled a sheet over the unconscious girl.
A few minutes later, the doctor arrived.
Some of the gashes on Jacqueline’s arms were deep, too deep. They required stitches.
The doctor worked quietly while Damien stood beside the bed, unmoving. His eyes never left Jacqueline’s face. Her skin looked pale, and dried streaks of blood still clung to her cheeks.
Eventually the doctor finished and left the room.
Sofía gently wiped the remaining blood from Jacqueline’s face with a damp cloth.
Tears shimmered in Sofía’s eyes as she looked at the broken girl lying there.
It twisted her heart painfully.
Jacqueline had always been so vibrant, so full of life and yet someone had shattered that beautiful spirit so cruelly.
What hurt even more was the knowledge that Damien might not be the safe place Jacqueline deserved.
Sofía loved her son dearly, but she knew the truth.
Damien himself was broken.
And she feared Jacqueline might suffer because of that.
“Let her rest,” Fernando said quietly.
He gestured for his wife to come with him.
One by one, the others left the room.
Damien did not move.
They all understood someone needed to stay with Jacqueline and after what had happened tonight, it was obvious Damien wouldn’t leave her side.
Alexandre quietly shut the door behind him as he exited.
Damien slowly unclenched his fists and moved closer to the bed. He lowered himself beside it, crouching down as he gazed at Jacqueline’s sleeping form.
Her face looked drained of color.
Her lips were dry and slightly cracked.
Despite everything, he couldn’t stop himself.
He leaned forward slowly. The rough pad of his thumb brushed gently over her soft lips before he lowered his own mouth to hers.
The kiss was soft. Almost reverent.
Then he pulled away, swallowing hard.
In that moment he felt painfully small… foolish even.
Here was this girl who had endured horrors he could barely imagine yet she still faced the world with strength and grace.
And what had he done?
He had spent years running from his pain like a coward.
He had shut himself off from those who cared about him.
He had buried himself in grief and self-pity.
The respect he felt for Jacqueline multiplied tenfold.
For months he had been quietly gathering evidence against Julien, trying to build a case strong enough to put the man behind bars without exposing what he had done to Jacqueline.
Julien was filthy rich.
If the case became public, the media would swarm like vultures. The entire world would learn what Jacqueline had suffered.
Damien didn’t want that.
She didn’t deserve to relive that trauma.
But after witnessing what happened tonight…
To hell with the law.
To hell with everything.
He would kill Julien himself.
That bastard would pay.
Even if Damien had to burn the entire world to ashes to do it.
The thought was blazing in his mind when he suddenly stood and stormed out of the room.
In the hallway he found Charlotte leaning against the wall. She straightened immediately when she saw him.
“I… I’m worried about her…” she whispered softly, rubbing her arm while staring down at the floor.
Damien reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her arm.
“Stay with her for a while,” he said gently. “I’ll be right back.”
Charlotte nodded and quietly slipped into Jacqueline’s room.
Meanwhile, Damien mind-linked Alexandre and Dominique, ordering them to meet him in Dominique’s office immediately.
By the time Damien arrived, they were already there.
He shut the door behind him and walked further into the room.
“Alexandre.”
The single word carried the unmistakable authority of an Alpha.
Alexandre straightened, his expression serious.
“I want you to bring me Julien,” Damien said coldly. “Alive.”
Dominique leaned against the wall nearby, arms folded across his chest as he stared down at the floor.
“And make sure no one realizes he’s missing,” Damien added through clenched teeth.
It was a difficult task.
Julien lived under heavy security, and making his disappearance go unnoticed would be complicated.
Not impossible but complicated.
There was also risk.
If the police became involved and started digging too deeply, the truth about the shifter world could be exposed.
But Damien trusted his Beta.
Alexandre would get the job done.
“We’ll bring that bastard straight to you,” Dominique growled, his teeth grinding together.
Alexandre’s jaw was tight as well.
This fury did not belong to Damien alone.
They were all enraged.
And only Julien’s blood would calm that anger.
After the meeting ended, Damien returned to Jacqueline’s room.
Charlotte was still there. He thanked her quietly and told her to return to her own room and rest.
Once she left, Damien climbed onto the bed beside Jacqueline.
He lay facing her.
The sight of the bandages wrapped around her arms twisted his heart painfully.
His hands itched with the desire to get hold of Julien.
And when he finally did…
That man would answer for every single thing he had done to Jacqueline.
The image of Jacqueline cutting herself to escape the phantom memory of that man’s touch had burned itself permanently into Damien’s mind.
He didn’t know if he would ever be able to erase it.
Seeing the girl who was always smiling always strong reduced to such broken despair had shaken him to his core.
And deep down, fear gnawed at him.
Because tonight had only been the first time he had witnessed her crumble.
Jacqueline would never have allowed anyone to see her like that if the panic attack hadn’t taken control of her.
Which meant something worse still lay ahead.
What would happen when she finally told him everything?