Chapter 36: Power of a true Alpha

“Tell me again why this doesn’t feel like a trap?” Jack whispered, crouched low behind a broken fence at Vegas Corner. His eyes flicked nervously toward the dimly lit street.

“Because it is a trap,” Damien muttered, his gaze sharp and unflinching. “That’s why we came prepared.”

Vegas Corner looked abandoned, the kind of place no one visited after dark. The buildings leaned like they were tired of standing, and the air smelled of rust and damp stone. Shadows crawled along the walls, stretching long under the flickering streetlights.

Bryce adjusted the strap of his backpack, his jaw set like he was ready for anything. “If Peter’s really behind this, hiding won’t do us much good. He’s too smart.”

“Then we stay quiet and let him make the first move,” Nate whispered. His hand twitched against the dagger strapped to his thigh.

Neo stayed silent, his hood pulled low, but his sharp eyes scanned every corner. He shifted closer to Damien and Lyra, the tension in his body like a coiled spring.

They didn’t have to wait long. A figure stepped into the open, the hood drawn low but the stride unmistakable. Peter.

He stopped in the middle of the cracked pavement, his voice ringing out calm and steady. “You can all come out now. I know you’re there.”

Jack froze. “How the hell does he always know?”

Damien stood slowly, brushing the dirt from his hands. “Because he’s been two steps ahead of us since the beginning.”

The others followed, one by one, until they stood in a half-circle facing him. Lyra’s eyes darted between Peter and Damien, searching for the truth neither of them wanted to hear.

Peter pushed his hood back, revealing a faint smirk. “You brought backup,” he said, glancing at Bryce, Nate, and Neo. “Smart… but useless.”

Bryce stiffened, his fists clenching. Nate took a step forward, but Damien lifted an arm, holding him back.

“Cut the games, Peter,” Damien said, his voice low but firm. “We know what you’ve been doing. The hybrid, Cole, all of it.”

Peter tilted his head, that same unreadable smirk still in place. “Do you?” His eyes glittered in the dim light, sharp and dangerous. “Then prove it.”

The air between them tightened, thick with the promise of something about to break.

Peter’s smirk didn’t fade. He let the silence hang, his gaze flicking over each of them before settling on Damien. “You think this is about Cole, about the hybrid? You’re wrong.” He stepped closer, his boots crunching against gravel. “The only reason I did all this… was to get to you, Damien.”

Damien’s jaw tightened, his fists curling at his sides. “Me?”

“Yes.” Peter’s voice was calm, too calm. “Your power. You’ve been trying to hide it, but I can feel it every time you’re near. Stronger than any wolf I’ve ever known, that’s what I want.”

Lyra instinctively stepped in front of Damien, her eyes blazing. “You used Cole for this?”

A new voice cut through the night. “He didn’t just use me.” Cole emerged from the shadows, his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. His eyes found Damien’s and held them. “I knew about you all being wolves… for a long time.”

Jack’s mouth dropped open. “You knew? And you never said anything?”

Cole shrugged, though his jaw was tight. “I watched. I kept quiet but I’m done pretending.”

Maya’s hand flew to her mouth, disbelief flooding her face. “Cole… why would you hide that?”

“Because knowing is safer than speaking.” Cole’s tone was flat, but his eyes flickered with something darker. “And Peter promised me answers, answers none of you ever gave.”

Peter smirked wider, his confidence filling the space. “Cole was never just a pawn. He’s been waiting for this moment as much as I have.”

Damien’s chest rose and fell sharply, his power flickering just beneath the surface, hot and dangerous. “So this is it? You put Cole against us just so you can steal what’s mine?”

“Not steal,” Peter corrected, his eyes glinting. “Claim. You’re not meant to hold that power, Damien. I am.”

Neo shifted, his hand tightening on his blade. Bryce and Nate both exchanged tense glances, their bodies ready for a fight.

Lyra’s voice broke the tension, sharp and steady. “If you want him, you’ll have to go through all of us.”

Peter chuckled, low and cold. “Exactly what I was hoping for.”

The night seemed to close in, the shadows stretching, the air vibrating with the weight of what was coming.

Damien’s eyes locked on Cole, anger clashing with something softer,pity. He took a slow breath, steadying himself. “We’re not fighting him,” he said, his voice firm. “We’re going to save him. Cole isn’t gone. We can turn him back to human.”

Cole’s expression flickered, like the words hit something buried deep inside him, but Peter laughed dark, sharp, echoing off the walls.

“Save him?” Peter tilted his head, stepping closer, his grin widening. “You still don’t get it, Damien. The only way you can save Cole… is if you bite him yourself.”

Everyone froze.

Jack’s eyes widened. “What? That’s insane!”

Peter ignored him, his gaze never leaving Damien. “One bite. That’s all it takes. Your power will flood through him, break the hold of the hybrid, and drag him back to what he was. Human.”

Lyra shook her head violently, stepping closer to Damien. Her hand gripped his arm like an anchor. “No. Don’t listen to him, it’s a trap. He’s twisting this.”

But Peter’s words sliced through the air, unwavering. “You bite him, Damien… Cole returns to human. But you….” His eyes narrowed, gleaming with hunger. “You’ll lose your power. Everything that makes you dangerous. Everything that makes you special.”

Maya gasped, covering her mouth, her voice trembling. “He’d be ordinary.”

Damien’s jaw tightened. He didn’t look away from Cole, whose face betrayed the faintest trace of conflict, like he wanted to believe there was a way out.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Jack snapped at Peter, his fists balled at his sides. “Take Damien’s power, leave him weak.”

Peter smiled slowly. “Weak? No. Free. He doesn’t see it yet, but his power is a curse. I’ll gladly take it from him.”

Cole finally spoke, his voice low and strained. “Damien… if it’s true… if you can give me my life back…” His eyes shimmered with something raw. “Would you do it?”

The question hung heavy, thick enough to choke on.

Damien’s breath shook, his hand curling into a fist. “If that’s the price… then maybe I would.”

Lyra’s grip tightened, her voice breaking. “Damien, don’t. You’ll lose yourself.”

Peter’s smirk deepened. “Then choose. Save him or keep your power.”

The night pulsed with silence, every pair of eyes locked on Damien as the weight of his decision pressed down like iron