Chapter 38: No more wolf
Lyra’s voice broke the heavy silence in the room. Everyone turned at once as Damien slowly opened his eyes. The ceiling above him was cracked, old paint peeling at the edges. His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath sharp and shaky.
He blinked, trying to sit up. “Where… am I?”
“In my house,” Maya said, kneeling beside him. “You passed out after the fight.”
Damien’s memory came rushing back, Damien attack, the burning pain, and Cole’s terrified face when he’d bitten him. His heart thudded as he sat up fully.
Cole, Nate, Bryce, and Neo stood near the wall, watching quietly. Lyra handed him a glass of water. “Easy,” she said softly. “You’ve been out for hours.”
Damien took a sip and wiped his mouth. “What happened after I… bit Cole?”
The room went silent again.
Cole shifted uncomfortably. “You tell me,” he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
Maya sighed. “That’s the problem. When you bit him, something changed, not in Cole… but in you.”
Damien frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not a hybrid anymore,” Maya said slowly. “Your wolf is gone.”
The words hit him like a slap.
He stared at her, confusion twisting inside his chest. “Gone? That’s not possible.”
Lyra nodded sadly. “It is. You’re completely human now.”
Damien shook his head, his voice rising. “No. That can’t be true. I would feel it, I’d feel something.”
“Try,” Maya said softly.
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He reached inward, searching for the familiar growl, the warm power that had always lived beneath his skin, but there was nothing. No spark, no echo of his wolf.
Just silence.
Damien opened his eyes, panic flooding him. “I… I can’t feel him.”
Maya placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Your bite transferred the last of your hybrid blood into Cole. You saved him… but it cost you everything.”
Cole’s eyes widened. “Wait, so I made him lose his wolf?”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Lyra said quickly. “He did it to save you.”
Cole clenched his fists. “But I didn’t ask him to! He shouldn’t have..”
“Enough,” Maya said sharply. “None of this helps.”
Cole looked down, guilt written all over his face. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Damien looked at him, voice low. “I didn’t either.”
Silence filled the room again, heavy and uneasy.
Bryce was the first to speak. “So… what happens now? If Damien’s human, and Peter’s out there..”
Maya cut him off. “That’s what we need to figure out.”
Neo leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “Peter won’t stop until he kills Damien, even though his power is gone he'll still come after him.”
Lyra frowned. “But if Damien doesn’t have his wolf anymore, Peter will crush him.”
Damien looked up, determination flickering in his tired eyes. “Then I’ll learn to fight like a human.”
Cole shook his head. “You can’t beat him like that, Damien. You barely survived last time.”
“I don’t care,” Damien said firmly. “I’m not running.”
Lyra sighed, stepping closer. “You’re brave, but this isn’t about pride. It’s about survival.”
“I know that,” he said quietly. “But I can’t just sit here while people die because of me.”
Maya rubbed her temples, frustration in her voice. “We need a plan. Peter’s power is growing. He’s not just hunting , he’s building something. I can feel it.”
Bryce frowned. “Building what?”
“An army,” Maya said flatly. “Rogues, wolves, hybrids ,anyone who wants chaos.”
Neo cursed under his breath. “Great. Just what we needed.”
For a long moment, nobody spoke. The sound of the wind brushing against the old window was the only noise.
Then Cole finally said, “Look, I know I’ve been an idiot. I shouldn’t have judged you before, Damien. I said things I didn’t mean. I just.” He paused, searching for words. “I was scared of what I didn’t understand.”
Damien looked at him, eyes softening. “You were right to be scared. I didn’t even understand myself.”
Cole gave a small, sad smile. “Still. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted,” Damien said simply.
The tension in the room eased a little. Lyra smiled faintly. “Finally, some peace between you two.”
“Don’t get used to it,” Cole muttered, but his tone was lighter now.
They all managed a small laugh, even Damien. For a moment, it almost felt normal again.
But then Maya closed the book she’d been holding with a thud. “Laugh all you want. This isn’t over.”
Everyone looked at her.
Maya stood, her expression serious. “Peter won’t stop until he finishes what he started. And now that Damien’s human, he’s weaker than ever. We can’t protect him forever.”
Lyra frowned. “So what do we do?”
Maya hesitated, then looked straight at Damien. “We change it.”
Damien blinked. “Change it? How?”
Her eyes darkened. “We bring back your wolf.”
The room went silent.
Cole’s jaw dropped. “You can do that?”
Maya nodded slowly. “There’s a ritual ,it's old and dangerous. It’s only meant for Alpha bloodlines. But if it works, it could restore what was lost.”
Nate’s voice was sharp. “And if it fails?”
Maya looked down, her tone grave. “Then Damien dies.”
Lyra’s eyes widened. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am,” Maya said quietly. “It’s the only way to stop Peter before he destroys everything.”
Damien’s mind spun. He felt the weight of every word pressing down on him. Human now. Weak, powerless and yet, somehow, the thought of giving up never crossed his mind.
He looked around the room, at Lyra’s worried face, Cole’s guilt, Maya’s fierce determination. These people had fought beside him, risked everything for him.
If the ritual was the only way… then he’d take it.
He straightened slowly, his voice calm but steady. “Tell me what I have to do.”
Maya met his eyes and said firmly, “We have to make you a werewolf again.”
The air went still. No one spoke. Even the wind outside seemed to pause.
Lyra’s hand trembled slightly as she whispered, “This is really happening, isn’t it?”
Damien nodded once. “Yeah, it is. I have to get my wolf back and I will."