Chapter 34 Chapter 34
ANNA’S POV
The hall was dead silent, though my heart was pounding like it wanted to escape my chest.
I blinked, unable to believe what I was seeing. Damon was already at the center, standing tall, calm, and deadly. The entire room froze. The guards released me immediately, backing away with trembling hands. Even Amanda—the Luna of the Pack—shook slightly. My stepmother’s face was also pale, her usual cruel smile gone.
My chest tightened. I couldn’t believe it. Damon… he was here to save me.
And Elijah—the Alpha, the one everyone claimed was strong—he hadn’t even come. He was the Alpha, yet he had failed me. My own heart ached with a strange mixture of relief and anger. Relief because Damon was here, my body already trembling in his presence. Anger because his brother—the one I had been so foolish to fall in love with—was nowhere to be found.
Damon’s dark eyes swept the hall, and everyone in the room shrank back instinctively, except for one Alpha king.
A bold, arrogant man stepped forward, clearly wanting to show he was not afraid of Damon or anyone. “You’re just a man, Damon.” he said loudly, his voice shaking slightly but still defiant. “You think you can walk in here and command us? You—”
Damon didn’t move.
He tilted his head slowly, his lips curling into a faint, cruel smile. “I think?” he questioned softly, almost teasing. “No. I don't think. I know I can walk in here and command all of you.”
The king’s chest puffed. “You have no right to threaten me—or any of us. You—”
Damon’s eyes narrowed.
He took one step forward, and the room shivered as if the walls themselves feared him. “I warn you,” Damon said quietly. “I warn you right now not to tempt or push me to kill you. If you know what's good for you, sit down!”
The king’s smirk disappeared, just slightly. “You can't tell me what to do. She—Anna is not yours to protect—”
Damon’s hand shot out faster than I could even process. He grabbed the king by the throat, lifting him off the floor with one arm. The man gasped, clawing at Damon’s hand, but I was quite certain his grip felt like iron around the man's neck.
His eyes widened in terror.
“You don’t get to speak,” Damon said softly, his voice low, teasing even, but filled with anger at the King for challenging him. “You don’t get to stand. You don’t get to even breathe.”
The King tried to struggle, but Damon’s strength was overwhelming. I could see the fear in his eyes as he realized the mistake he had made. The other kings, even those who had tried to look brave, froze in horror.
Damon’s smile widened just slightly, slowly, teasing, and cruel. “I will give you one last chance.” He leaned in closer, his face almost gentle—but the danger was clear. “Explain why you thought this was acceptable. Explain why you hurt Anna.”
The man’s voice was strangled, barely a whisper. “I… I… we only wanted to—”
Damon tightened his grip. “Enough!”
With a final twist of his wrist, the king went limp in his hand. Damon let him drop to the floor with a sickening thud.
He was dead.
I pressed my hands to my mouth in horror, unable to breathe. I couldn’t look away. His presence was overwhelming, terrifying, and yet… I felt safer than I ever had. My body pressed instinctively against the nearest guard who had backed off, but it wasn’t enough.
I actually wanted to be closer to Damon.
Damon turned slowly, his gaze sweeping over the room. “Anyone else want to test me?” His voice was calm, deliberate, like a predator taunting prey.
No one moved.
No one dared to stand up to him.
Amanda stepped forward, trying to regain control. “Damon… you don’t understand—”
His gaze snapped to her, piercing, teasing, and dangerous. “Oh, I understand perfectly. You wanted to make her dance for all these cowards. You wanted to show everyone she was weak. You wanted to humiliate her. Trust me Amanda, I understand.”
She frowned, the cold confidence she had always carried fading. “I—I was teaching her respect for the Pack...” she whispered.
Damon’s laugh was quiet, slow, dangerous. “Respect? You call this respect?” He gestured at the room, at the kings, at the guards, and at the way they had watched me suffer. “This is cowardice an cruelty. You call this respect? How about I show you what respect means?”
He stepped closer to her, just enough that she could see his control, and his power. “No one touches her. No one humiliates her. No one. Absolutely no one! Do you understand?”
Amanda’s lips trembled. “Y-yes…”
Damon’s attention shifted, and I felt my stomach twist. He looked at me, his expression softening just slightly. “Anna,” he called out softly, “are you hurt?”
I shook my head, my voice barely a whisper. “No… just… scared.”
His lips curved faintly, teasing.
“I'll get you out of here, Anna.”
Then he walked toward me, slowly, deliberately, and radiating so much power. My knees went weak. I wanted to shrink, to disappear, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
He stopped in front of me, and before I could say anything, he scooped me into his arms effortlessly. My breath stopped, my hands instinctively clutching his coat. His warmth pressed against me, his strength holding me as if I weighed nothing.
I couldn’t speak.
My mind spun, my body trembled. I pressed closer, my cheek against his chest. His steady heartbeat under my ear calmed me, even as the fear and awe of what had just happened left me shaking.
Damon straightened and held me tightly. He carried me toward the doors as everyone—kings, Amanda, even my stepmother—stood frozen. They couldn’t move or speak.
And then it hit me.
Elijah had really failed me. He was supposed to be the Alpha of this pack. He had been the man I fell in love with and was supposed to protect me. But he hadn’t.
Not when I needed him most.
And yet here I was, in Damon’s arms. The same Damon Elijah had warned me about. The one everyone called dangerous.
But Damon wasn’t dangerous.
He had just saved me from humiliation, from fear, from everything Elijah should have done. Relief washed over me, and my heart raced in a way I hadn’t expected. My body felt warm, safe, and something else too… drawn to him.
I hated Elijah for not protecting me.
And yet, in the same heartbeat, I couldn’t help the way my chest tightened around Damon. I was falling for the man who had actually been there. The man who had saved me.
And deep down, I knew this was only the beginning.