Chapter 19 19

Chapter 19 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN

THE PRICE OF LOYALTY

ZARIAH NIGHTBORNE POV

Damien arrived exactly one hour later, looking concerned and slightly disheveled, like he'd rushed over the moment he got my text.

I met him in the private study, away from prying eyes and curious wolves.

"What happened?" He reached for me, but I stepped back. "Zariah?"

"My mother cursed me." The words came out flat, emotionless. "When I was born. She placed a curse on my bloodline so no Alpha could ever claim me. No mate bond. No marking. Nothing."

The color drained from his face. "What?"

"I can never complete a mate bond, Damien. It's impossible. My mother made sure of it." I laughed bitterly. "She thought she was protecting me. Keeping me free. Instead she just guaranteed I'd be alone forever."

He was quiet for a long moment, processing. "There has to be a way to break it."

"There isn't. It's permanent. Ancient magic woven into my DNA." I met his eyes. "So whatever you think is happening between us? Whatever feelings you have? They don't matter. This doesn't go anywhere."

"That's not true."

"It is." I turned away, unable to look at him. "Last night was a mistake. We both knew it. I just didn't realize how big of one until now."

"Zariah, look at me."

I didn't.

He crossed the room, his hands gentle on my shoulders, turning me to face him. "I don't care about the curse."

"You should."

"I don't." His voice was firm. "Mate bond or not, I love you. That doesn't change just because some ancient magic says it's not allowed."

"You say that now. But eventually you'll resent me. Resent that you can't have what every other Alpha gets." I pulled away. "It's better if we end this before it gets worse."

"Is that really what you want?" He stepped closer. "Or are you just scared?"

"I'm not scared."

"Liar." His eyes held mine. "You're terrified. Because for the first time, someone's telling you they want you for you. Not your power. Not your bloodline. Just you. And you don't know what to do with that."

The truth of his words hit too close.

"It doesn't matter what I want," I said quietly. "In three days, Lucien's auctioning me off to the Council. Every major Alpha will be there, bidding on access to my bloodline. And I'm going to walk right into that meeting and burn it all down."

Damien's expression shifted. "You're planning something."

"I'm planning to end this. Once and for all."

"How?"

I smiled, cold and calculated. "By giving them exactly what they want. Me."

"Absolutely not."

"It's the only way."

"There has to be another option."

"There isn't." I walked to the desk, pulling out the plans Veda and I had been working on. "We let Lucien think he's won. Let him bring all the major Alphas together in one room. And then we take them all down at once."

"That's suicide."

"Maybe. But it ends the war. Destroys the Council's power structure. And frees every pack from their corruption." I looked at him. "It's worth it."

"Not if you die."

"I've already accepted that possibility."

"Well I haven't!" His voice rose. "You want to throw your life away for some grand gesture? Fine. But don't expect me to stand by and watch."

"Then don't watch." I met his eyes. "Go back to your penthouse. Your business empire. Your normal life. This was always going to end badly. We both knew it."

He stared at me, hurt and anger warring on his face.

"You're pushing me away," he said quietly. "Because you're scared of letting someone in. Of being vulnerable."

"I'm pushing you away because I don't have a choice. The curse guarantees that."

"The curse guarantees you can't complete a mate bond. It doesn't guarantee you have to be alone." He crossed the room again, taking my face in his hands. "I'm not going anywhere, Zariah. Whether you like it or not. Curse be damned."

Before I could respond, he kissed me. Hard and desperate and full of everything he couldn't say.

When he pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

"Three days," he said. "You have three days to come up with a better plan. One that doesn't end with you dead. Because if you walk into that Council meeting planning to sacrifice yourself, I'll drag you out myself."

"You can't stop me."

"Watch me."

He walked out, leaving me alone with my thoughts and the crushing weight of everything I'd just learned.

\---

Two days passed in a blur of planning and preparation.

The rogues trained. Weapons were gathered. Alliances were formed with smaller packs tired of Council corruption.

But underneath it all, I felt the clock ticking down.

On the morning of the third day, I woke to find Kael sitting in a chair beside my bed.

"Jesus!" I bolted upright. "How did you get in here?"

"Veda let me in. Said you needed to hear something." His expression was serious. "And she was right."

"Hear what?"

He handed me a tablet. "Look at this."

I took it, scanning the document on screen. Financial records. Money transfers. Dates and amounts that made my blood run cold.

"What am I looking at?"

"Damien's been moving money. Large amounts. To offshore accounts connected to the Council." Kael's voice was gentle, like he was delivering news of a death. "He's been doing it for weeks."

My heart stopped. "No. That's not possible."

"I didn't want to believe it either. But the evidence is right there. He's been selling information about your plans. Your location. Everything." Kael leaned forward. "Zariah, he's been working with Lucien this whole time. The penthouse. The legal help. Getting your company back. It was all part of the plan to gain your trust."

"You're lying."

"I wish I was." He stood. "I'm sorry. I know you care about him. But he's been playing you from the start. And in six hours, when you walk into that Council meeting, he's delivering you straight into their hands."

I stared at the tablet, my mind refusing to process what I was seeing.

The transfers were real. The amounts matched. The timing was too perfect to be coincidence.

Damien had betrayed me.

Again.

"Where is he now?" My voice came out hollow.

"No idea. But Zariah, you can't go to that meeting. Not now. Not knowing he's compromised."

I stood slowly, feeling something inside me crack and reform into something harder. Colder.

"Oh, I'm going to that meeting." I looked at Kael. "But first, I need to have a conversation with Damien Romano. One last time."

I found him two hours later in his penthouse, right where I expected him to be.

He smiled when I walked in. "Zariah. I was just about to call you. I think I found a way to break the curse. There's this witch in Romania who specializes in ancient magic, and she says if we can get a sample of your mother's blood, we might be able to reverse it."

I walked up to him slowly.

And slapped him across the face.

He staggered back, shocked. "What the hell?"

"Don't." My voice shook with rage. "Don't stand there and lie to me anymore. I know about the money transfers. The offshore accounts. The information you've been feeding to Lucien."

His face went pale. "Zariah, I can explain."

"Explain what? That you've been working with them this whole time? That everything, the penthouse, the legal help, sleeping with me, was all part of the plan to hand me over?" Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "I actually believed you. Actually thought you might be different."

"I am different! Whatever Kael showed you, it's not what you think."

"Then what is it? Because those transfers are real. The money went to Council accounts. What other explanation is there?"

"I was setting up a trap!" His voice rose. "The money was bait. To make them think I was on their side so I could get close enough to destroy them from the inside."

"Liar."

"I'm not lying!" He grabbed my arms. "Zariah, please. You have to believe me. I would never betray you. Not again. I swear on my life."

I wanted to believe him. God, I wanted to so badly.

But the evidence was right there. And I'd been fooled by him before.

"Let me go," I said quietly.

"Not until you listen."

"I said let me go!"

The Luna Code exploded outward, and Damien was thrown back, slamming into the wall.

I stood there, power crackling around me, tears finally streaming down my face.

"Stay away from me," I whispered. "Stay away from the Council meeting. Stay away from my family. Or next time, I won't hold back."

I walked out, leaving him slumped against the wall, looking destroyed.

\---

Six hours later, I stood outside the Council chambers, dressed in black, armed to the teeth, ready to walk into what might be my final battle.

Veda stood beside me. "You sure about this?"

"No. But I'm doing it anyway."

Elara appeared on my other side. "We're with you. Whatever happens."

I looked at the twenty rogues gathered behind me. My army. My family.

"Let's end this," I said.

We pushed through the doors into a massive chamber filled with Alphas. Fifty of them at least, all turned to stare as I entered.

And at the head of the table sat Lucien, smiling like he'd already won.

"Luna Zariah," he said smoothly. "So glad you could join us. We were just discussing your future."

"Were you?" I walked forward slowly. "How convenient. Because I was about to discuss yours."

His smile widened. "Bold words for someone so outnumbered."

"I don't need numbers." I stopped in the center of the room. "I just need the truth. And I'm about to give everyone here exactly that."

I pulled out a flash drive, holding it up. "Everything on here. Every corrupt deal. Every illegal transaction. Every crime this Council has committed in the last decade. And I'm about to upload it to every major news outlet in the country."

The room erupted in chaos.

Alphas shouting. Chairs scraping. Panic spreading.

Lucien stood slowly. "You're bluffing."

"Try me."

We stared at each other across the chamber.

Then the doors burst open.

And Damien walked in, flanked by federal agents.

"Nobody move," he said, his voice carrying authority I'd never heard before. "You're all under arrest."

My blood turned to ice.

Because Damien wasn't looking at the Council.

He was looking at me.

And the agents were pointing their guns in my direction.