Chapter 18 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
BREAKING POINT
ZARIAH NIGHTBORNE POV
Damien's penthouse was everything I expected. Floor to ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, modern furniture that probably cost more than most houses, and a view that made the entire city look like it belonged to him.
Right now, I didn't care about any of it.
His mouth was on mine before we made it past the entryway, his hands gripping my waist, pulling me flush against him. I gasped against his lips, my fingers working at the buttons of his shirt.
"Zariah," he breathed, his voice rough with need. "Are you sure about this?"
"Shut up and kiss me."
He did. Hard and demanding, backing me toward the bedroom. We shed clothes along the way. My jacket. His shirt. My heels kicked off somewhere near the couch.
By the time we reached his bed, I was down to my bra and skirt, and he looked at me like I was something sacred he'd been denied too long.
"God, you're beautiful," he whispered.
I pulled him down onto the bed, refusing to let sentiment ruin this. I needed this. Needed to feel something other than fear and rage and constant vigilance.
Needed him.
His hands roamed my body, relearning curves he'd once known. When his mouth found my neck, I arched into him, a soft moan escaping my lips.
"I've missed this," he murmured against my skin. "Missed you. Every day."
"Less talking," I managed, tugging at his belt. "More action."
He laughed, low and dangerous. "Always so impatient."
"You have no idea."
What happened next was a blur of sensation. His hands, his mouth, the weight of him pressing me into expensive sheets. We moved together like we'd never been apart, like our bodies remembered even when our hearts were still broken.
When it was over, we lay tangled together, both breathing hard, neither speaking.
The reality of what we'd just done began to settle in.
"Stay," Damien said quietly, his fingers tracing patterns on my shoulder. "Tonight. Just tonight."
I should've said no. Should've left before this got more complicated.
But I was tired. So damn tired of fighting alone.
"Just tonight," I agreed.
He pulled me closer, and for the first time in weeks, I felt almost safe.
Almost.
But safety was an illusion. And I was about to learn that the hard way.
\---
I woke to my phone vibrating violently on the nightstand.
Damien stirred beside me, his arm tightening around my waist. "Ignore it."
"I can't." I grabbed the phone, seeing Veda's name flashing. "It's Veda."
I answered. "What's wrong?"
"Everything." Her voice was tight with panic. "You need to get back here. Now. Your mother collapsed. She's asking for you, and Zariah, she's saying things. Things about the Luna Code. About why you were really sold."
My blood turned to ice. "What things?"
"I can't explain over the phone. Just get here. Fast."
The call ended.
I was out of bed immediately, grabbing my clothes.
"What happened?" Damien asked, sitting up.
"My mother. Something's wrong." I yanked on my skirt. "I have to go."
"I'm coming with you."
"No." I turned to face him. "This is family business. I need to handle it alone."
Hurt flashed across his face, but he nodded. "Call me if you need anything."
I hesitated at the door, looking back at him still tangled in sheets, looking rumpled and concerned and far too tempting.
"Last night," I started.
"I know," he said softly. "Just tonight. I remember."
I left before I could change my mind.
\---
The compound was chaos when I arrived. Rogues running everywhere, voices raised, something major happening that I couldn't quite pin down.
I found Veda in the medical wing, pacing outside my mother's room.
"What's going on?" I demanded.
"She woke up screaming about an hour ago. Started talking about the curse. About what she did to you when you were born." Veda grabbed my arm. "Zariah, she's been carrying this secret for twenty six years. And it's destroying her."
I pushed past her into the room.
My mother lay in bed, looking frailer than I'd ever seen her. When she saw me, tears streamed down her face.
"Zariah," she whispered. "My baby girl. I'm so sorry. So sorry for what I did."
I sat beside her, taking her hand. "Mom, what are you talking about?"
"The curse. The one I placed on you the night you were born." Her voice broke. "I thought I was protecting you. Thought if no Alpha could claim you, you'd be free. But all I did was doom you."
My heart stopped. "What curse?"
"The Luna Code in your blood, it's not just inheritance, baby. It's ancient magic. And I altered it." She gripped my hand tighter. "I made it so no Alpha could ever truly claim you as a mate. No bond would hold. No mark would take. I thought it would keep you safe from their wars, their politics."
The room spun. "You cursed me?"
"I cursed you to be alone. To never know the bond our kind is meant to have." She was sobbing now. "And then your father sold you anyway. And I couldn't undo it. The curse is permanent. You'll never be able to complete a mate bond, Zariah. Never."
I pulled my hand away, standing, trying to process what she was telling me.
Every Alpha I'd ever know. Every potential mate. It would never work. Never last.
Because my own mother had made sure of it.
"Why?" My voice came out strangled. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I watched your grandmother be claimed, controlled, used as a weapon until it killed her. Watched my own mother before her suffer the same fate." She looked at me with devastated eyes. "I thought if you couldn't be claimed, you'd be free. But I was wrong. So wrong."
I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.
All this time. All the fighting to avoid being claimed. And I'd been fighting against something that was already decided.
I would always be alone.
"Zariah," my mother reached for me.
"Don't." I stepped back. "Just don't."
I walked out of the room in a daze.
In the hallway, Elara waited, her face pale. "You heard?"
"Every word."
"I'm sorry." She hugged me, and I stood there numbly. "I'm so sorry."
"It doesn't matter." My voice sounded hollow even to my own ears. "It changes nothing. I'm still who I am."
But it changed everything.
Because now I knew. Damien, Kael, any Alpha who thought they could claim me. It was impossible. My mother had made sure of that.
I was destined to be alone.
Veda appeared, her expression grim. "We've got another problem. Lucien's called an emergency Council meeting. He's making his move."
"What kind of move?"
"The kind where he's offering the Council access to your Luna Code bloodline. He's auctioning you off, Zariah. To the highest bidder."
Of course he was.
"When?"
"Three days. At the full moon." Veda's jaw clenched. "He's already got buyers lined up. Every major Alpha in the region."
I felt nothing. Just cold, empty numbness.
"Then we crash his auction," I said flatly.
"That's suicide."
"Good." I met her eyes. "Because right now, I don't particularly care if I survive this."
Elara grabbed my arm. "Don't say that. Don't even think it."
"Why not?" I pulled free. "I'm cursed. Literally cursed to never have what everyone else gets. To always be alone. So why not go out taking every bastard who tried to cage me straight to hell?"
"Because we need you," Elara said fiercely. "Because those girls you saved need you. Because I need you."
I looked at my sister, so young, so hopeful.
And felt my resolve crack just slightly.
"Fine," I said quietly. "We'll do this smart. But we're ending this. One way or another. In three days, Lucien and the Council learn exactly what happens when you try to control a cursed Luna."
Veda grinned. "Now that's the Zariah I know."
My phone buzzed. Damien.
"Everything okay? You left in a hurry."
I stared at the message for a long moment.
Then typed back: "We need to talk. Meet me at the compound in an hour."
Because if I was cursed to never bond, he deserved to know.
Even if it destroyed us both.