Chapter 22 Chapter 22
ANNA’S POV
My body trembled in Damon’s arms. Every breath I took came out shaky and shallow, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it replaying in my ears.
He was holding me tightly, like he was afraid I’d break—or disappear.
The guards had backed into the shadows, heads bowed, afraid to meet his eyes. I could feel Damon’s fury radiating from him like heat.
“What the hell is this?” he growled, his voice low but sharp enough to slice through air. “Who gave the order?”
The guards said nothing.
“Answer me!” Damon barked, and his voice shook the walls.
One of them swallowed hard. “It was Luna Amanda,” he admitted, his tone trembling. “She told us to—”
Before he could finish, Damon’s hand shot out. His fingers curled around the man’s collar and slammed him into the wall. “You touch Anna again, and I’ll tear your throat out myself.” he hissed, his eyes glowing faintly with that dangerous hybrid fire.
“Damon—please.” I reached out, my hand brushing his arm. “Don’t hurt them. Please. I just want to leave.”
He froze for a moment, his chest heaving, then released the guard roughly. “Get out!” he ordered, his voice lower now—but colder. “Both of you. Before I change my mind.”
They didn’t hesitate. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving the two of us alone.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The only sound was the faint hum of the torches and the erratic rhythm of my breath.
Damon turned to me slowly. His expression softened, though the storm in his eyes didn’t fade. “Anna…” he called out quietly, stepping closer.
I shook my head, trying to hide the tears still running my cheeks. “Why would Amanda do that?” I whispered. “She was my best friend. She used to protect me from people like them.”
Damon’s jaw tightened. “Amanda’s not the girl you remember again. Power changes people.”
His words sank into me, and I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly aware of how cold the room was. The chill bit into my skin, making me shiver. Damon noticed instantly.
“Come on,” he murmured. “You shouldn’t be here.”
He took off his cloak and draped it over my shoulders. The warmth was immediate, and comforting. It smelled like pine and smoke—like him.
“Thank you...”
My voice still trembled.
He glanced down at me, his eyes flickering between concern and something I couldn’t quite name. “Don’t thank me,” he muttered. “You don’t deserve any of this, Anna. None of it.”
He turned toward the door, but paused when he saw the bruises on my arms—faint red marks where the guards had held me. His eyes darkened again. “I'll make sure Amanda pay for this!” he growled.
I grabbed his wrist before he could move. “No, Damon. Please. You’ll only make things worse.”
He looked at me for a long moment, silent. “You’re still defending her?”
“I’m not,” I whispered. “I just… I don’t want anyone else getting hurt because of me.”
He exhaled sharply and turned away, his fists clenching. “You’re too kind for your own good.”
I lowered my head, my fingers tightening around the edge of his cloak as the memory of Amanda’s laughter replayed faintly in my mind.
“She was the only friend I had in this pack,” I murmured, more to myself than to him. “When everyone hated me… when they didn't care for me, when they mocked me for being a servant—she was there to comfort me.”
Damon turned slightly, listening.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, forcing myself to keep talking even as the pain crept up my chest. “She used to sneak me food when the kitchen maids refused to serve me. She held my hand when the others threw stones and said I didn’t belong here.” My voice cracked. “She told me that one day, I’d find a place where I’d be loved.”
A sad chuckle escaped me before I could stop it. “And now look at her… look at me.”
The night air brushed against my face, stinging my eyes. “I don’t understand what changed,” I confessed, staring at him. “Maybe it was power. Maybe it was jealousy. Or maybe… maybe she was just pretending to be my friend all along.”
Damon didn’t say anything. He just stood there, silent, the faint glow from the torches outlining the tense lines of his jaw.
My voice trembled as I finished, “It hurts, Damon. More than anything else that’s happened tonight—it hurts that she hates me.”
He turned fully then, his expression unreadable. For a moment, I thought he might tell me to forget her, to move on—but instead, he simply stepped closer and rested a hand on my shoulder.
“Some betrayals cut deeper than any blade,” he said quietly. “But they also teach you who you are when the world turns against you.”
His words settled deep inside me—
Maybe he was right.
Maybe losing Amanda was the price of surviving this place.
Damon led me out of the storage room, his hand moving close to my back as if he didn’t trust me to walk on my own. Every step we took through the corridor made my heart ache a little more.
When we stepped outside, I closed my eyes for a moment, just breathing it in.
Damon turned to me again. “You can’t stay in your servant quarters tonight,” he told me quietly. “Amanda won’t stop. She’ll only find another way to break you.”
My throat tightened. “But where would I go?”
He hesitated for a moment, then said, “With me.”
I looked up sharply. “What?”
He met my eyes. “You’ll be safe in my quarters. No one dares enter without my permission. Not even her.”
I shook my head slowly. “If Elijah finds out—”
“Elijah doesn’t scare me, Anna...” Damon replied flatly. “I don't care about my brother. I'll protect you since he failed to do that.”
His words made something twist painfully inside my chest. I still remembered the way Elijah used to look at me—like I was his whole world. Now, that same man stood beside Amanda during the coronation after he made her his Luna.
I swallowed hard, fidgeting with my gown. “I can’t let you get involved in this, Damon.”
He gave a soft, humorless laugh. “Too late for that.”
Before I could argue, he reached out and gently brushed his thumb against my cheek, wiping away the last tear. His touch lingered—warm, careful, almost reverent.
“From now on,” he said quietly, his gaze locked on mine, “No one touches you! I’ll protect you, Anna.”
I swallowed hard again, my chest tightening as I stared at him. My heart stumbled. Everyone had called him dangerous—Elijah, the guards, even Amanda.
But they didn’t know him.
He wasn’t dangerous.
He was everything I’d been too afraid to want.