Chapter 54
Violet's POV:
The apartment door opened. I didn't need to turn around. The mate bond flared, telling me exactly who it was.
"You're awake?" Daemon's tone was flat, neutral.
I turned slowly, clutching a photograph. "Your methods are ruthless enough." The words came out sharp, anger bleeding through. My hand shook as I held up the image. "Where has Wildfire Pack offended you? I already agreed to the rejection ceremony—why are you still holding these photos to threaten my family?"
Daemon's brow furrowed. He stepped closer. "What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." I gestured at the scattered photographs. "I've already agreed to everything. I'll do the rejection ceremony, I'll leave. Why do you still need to go after my parents?"
His jaw tightened, a muscle jumping near his temple. "You said you wanted the rejection ceremony," he said, voice dropping dangerously. "From the very beginning, I never once initiated that conversation. It was always you."
The correction hit like a slap. "Because I knew you wanted it," I protested. "You love Celeste. Why would you want to stay bonded to me when you could have her?"
His silence was answer enough. He didn't deny it. That silence cut deeper than words.
My mind flashed to my previous life when these photos leaked to the media, destroying my father overnight. The timing had been perfect—right after I'd pushed for the rejection ceremony. It couldn't be coincidence.
"Mom and Dad when those photos went public..." The words escaped before I could stop them, my voice breaking. I hugged the photographs, tears spilling down my cheeks. "It's all my fault. Everything that happened to them was because of me."
I was crying openly now, ten years of guilt pouring out.
"You already have Celeste," I choked out between sobs. "You don't need me anymore. Why won't you just let me go? Why do you have to destroy my family too?"
Silence. Then the couch dipped beside me, warm fingers brushing my wet cheeks with unexpected gentleness. Daemon's thumb swept across my cheekbone, wiping away tears.
"Stop crying." His voice had gone soft, almost pained. "Just... stop."
I couldn't process this gentleness. For one insane moment I was transported back ten years to when I'd believed he might love me.
But that was illusion. He loved Celeste.
"I agreed to everything. You don't have to use my parents against me. I'll leave with nothing." I managed, pulling back from his touch.
Daemon's hand dropped, fingers curling into a fist.
"I'll leave with nothing," I repeated, voice steadying. I stood, setting the photographs on the table.
I walked to the bedroom, movements mechanical. I found my coat and bag.
When I emerged, Daemon stood by the window, staring out at the river. He didn't look at me as I walked past.
"When you have the rejection ceremony documents ready," I said quietly, hand on the doorknob, "give me these photos too. That's my only condition for leaving with nothing."
I didn't wait for his response. The door closed behind me with a soft click that felt far too final.
Outside, December air hit hard. I found a secluded alley and let Ember take over, bones shifting until I stood on four legs. The transformation hurt, emotional turmoil making everything sharper.
Then I ran.
Ember tore through the forest, powerful legs eating up miles. We ran until our muscles screamed, using physical pain to drown out emotional agony.
By the time we reached Wildfire border, I was shaking with exhaustion. I shifted back, fumbling into spare clothes with trembling hands.
I made it home. The hot shower did nothing to warm the ice in my chest. I kept replaying Daemon's silence about Celeste, but also how he'd wiped my tears.
I finally checked my phone. The group chat was exploding with messages from last night.
Sienna: "Vi, where the hell are you? Are you okay?"
Jade: "That was INSANE. Daemon literally beat that guy half to death."
Lily: "He looked like he was going to kill someone when you left with him."
And then, buried in the flood: "Wait. Did anyone else notice how POSSESSIVE he was? 'She's MINE'? Girl, I think Daemon might actually be in love with you."
I stared at that message, something bitter rising in my throat.
I typed back: "He's not in love with me. He has photos, Sienna. Of my dad and Kayla."
My phone rang within seconds.
"What?" Sienna's voice was sharp with fury. "He WHAT?"
I explained everything—waking at Riverside Pines, finding the photographs scattered on his coffee table, my confrontation with him.
"That absolute bastard," Sienna hissed. "He's been planning this all along. Waiting for the perfect moment to destroy you and your family. No wonder he wouldn't let you go."
I closed my eyes, leaning back against my pillows. "Listen, I need your help with something. This afternoon. The investigator found out that Kayla's mate Caleb hangs out at some dive bar in Riverside Pack called The Rusty Anchor. I want to go talk to him."
"Then I'm coming with you," Sienna said immediately. "And I'm bringing Jade and Lily too. You're not going into another pack's territory with just the two of us to confront some sketchy guy."
"Okay. Thank you."
"Always. We'll pick you up at two. Try to get some rest, okay?"
After we hung up, I forced myself to climb into bed, but sleep felt impossible.
---
The Rusty Anchor turned out to be exactly as advertised—a run-down dive bar that smelled like stale beer and cigarettes even from the parking lot.
Three burly men stood outside smoking, their eyes tracking our approach with undisguised interest.
"Stay together," I murmured to the others.
We'd barely made it halfway across the lot when the door flew open and Kayla stumbled out. I froze. Her left eye was swollen nearly shut, purple and grotesque. Blood crusted at the corner of her split lip. Dark finger-shaped bruises wrapped around her throat like a collar.
She spotted me and her face twisted with fury. "You!" She lunged forward, moving with frightening speed. "Did you pay Caleb to drag me back here? I was finally going to escape and you ruined everything!"
Before I could react, her hands closed around my throat, nails digging into flesh. Ember roared in my mind, demanding I fight back, but I couldn't—not when she looked like she'd already been beaten within an inch of her life.
"Let her go!" Sienna was the first to react, grabbing Kayla's arm and trying to pull her off.
Jade and Lily rushed forward, Jade yanking at Kayla's hair while Lily tried to pry her fingers loose from my throat.
"You think you're so perfect!" Kayla screamed, her grip somehow tightening despite three people trying to pull her off. "With your fancy pack and your rich alpha! But you're all the same—you use people like me and throw us away!"
My vision was starting to spot at the edges.
Finally, with all three of my friends pulling together, they managed to break Kayla's grip. I stumbled backward, gasping for air.
"Get her to the car!" Jade ordered. "Now!"
Lily and Sienna grabbed my arms and practically dragged me across the parking lot while Jade backed up slowly, keeping herself between us and Kayla. We barely made it inside before Sienna gunned the engine, tires squealing as we peeled out.
"Don't stop," I choked out, pressing my hand against my throat. "Just drive. Get us out of Riverside territory."
Sienna didn't argue, pushing well over the speed limit until we crossed back into neutral ground. Only then did she pull over at a gas station, her hands shaking on the steering wheel.
"Oh my God," Lily breathed from the back seat. "Vi, are you okay? Your neck is bleeding."
"It's not as bad as it looks."
"Like hell it isn't." Sienna was digging through her glove compartment for a first aid kit. "Hold still. This is going to sting."
The antiseptic burned like fire on the fresh scratches. But I sat still, my mind racing through what had just happened.
"She said someone paid Caleb to drag her back," I said slowly once Sienna finished bandaging me. "That means there really is a third party controlling both of them."
"But who?" Lily asked from the back seat. "And why target your family specifically?"
"The detective said Caleb didn't seem to care about Kayla cheating at all. Looking back now, they were probably working together from the start. Kayla seduces wealthy men, gets them in compromising positions, then they extort money. But she also wanted to use this as an opportunity to finally leave him."
Sienna was quiet for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Wait. Could it be... Daemon? You said you saw those photos at his apartment, right?"
My heart stuttered.
The pieces clicked into place. That would make them the originals. I knew how Daemon operated. He was thorough, methodical. If he paid for evidence, he'd make sure to get everything so it couldn't be used against him later.
"That makes sense," I said quietly, something cold settling in my chest. "Once the rejection ceremony documents are ready and he hands over those photos, the threat disappears completely. He gets what he wants, and my family stays safe."
My phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Dylan: "Hey, Violet. I know this is short notice, but I managed to get tickets to that musical everyone's been talking about tonight. Any chance you're free?"
I stared at the message, my thumb hovering over the screen.
"Who's that?" Sienna leaned over to peek. "Oh my God, the hot guy from the bar? Are you going to say yes?"
"I shouldn't." But even as I said it, I was thinking about how many times I'd waited for Daemon to take me anywhere over the past five years. We'd been mated five years and never once gone to see a show together.
"Why shouldn't you?" Lily challenged from the back seat. "You're getting a rejection ceremony anyway. Daemon doesn't want you. Why put your life on hold?"
She had a point. Sitting in that parking lot with my throat throbbing and my future uncertain, something shifted inside me.
I typed back: "Sounds perfect. What time?"
Dylan's response came immediately: "Seven. I can pick you up?"
"I'll meet you at the theater. Which one?"