CHAPTER 128: KILL HIM.

CHAPTER 128: KILL HIM.
~Damon’s POV~

They all left the ancient chamber one by one, Eric grumbling under his breath, Mira whispering something worried, Ava clutching the prophecy scroll to her chest as if it were a lifeline.

And me?

I stayed behind.

The lantern crackled softly, throwing shadows against the stone walls. I stared at the empty doorway long after Ava disappeared down the hall.

Everything had changed so fast.

Everything… and yet nothing at all.

I exhaled sharply. “You’re losing your mind, Damon.”

No one answered. The room was silent, except for the low hum of dust and the whispers of old secrets.

A knock sounded.

Eric pushed the door open slightly. “You coming, or do you want to sleep on the scrolls tonight?”

I didn’t turn. “Go ahead. I’ll be out in a minute.”

He snorted. “Sure. But just so you know, Mira is panicking, Ava looks like she’s about to faint, and the elders want a meeting in the morning.”

“Good,” I said flatly.

Eric blinked. “Good? Which part?”

“All of it.”

He stared at me for a second. “You’re weird, Damon.”

“Get out,” I muttered.

He left, closing the door behind him.

Silence returned.

I finally sat, elbows on the table, palms pressed to my face. The truth was simple:

I shouldn’t be happy.

Kieran was in a coma. Livia was queen. The pack was collapsing. The prophecy was unraveling.

But they were all here.

Ava… was here.

At my side.

Where I had always wanted her.

I leaned back slowly. “This is not how it should’ve happened,” I whispered.

But the selfish part of me, the part I had buried for years, felt a dark, quiet satisfaction.

She wasn’t with Kieran anymore.

She wasn’t looking at him.

Wasn’t running toward him.

Wasn’t choosing him.

She was standing beside me. Trusting me.

Breathing the same air.

Asking me for guidance.

And it was killing me.

Because she still loved him.

I saw it in the tremor of her voice when she said his name.

In the fire in her eyes when she vowed to save him.

In the way she held the scroll, as if it contained the cure to his suffering.

I closed my fist on the table. “He doesn’t deserve that devotion.”

The door creaked again.

Mira poked her head inside. “Damon? Ava is asking if you’re okay.”

My chest tightened.

Of course, she was.

I cleared my throat. “Tell her I’m fine.”

Mira frowned. “She thinks you’re upset.”

“I’m not,” I lied.

Mira stepped inside and folded her arms. “You care about her.”

I froze. “Watch your words.”

“No.” Mira took another step. “Someone needs to say it.”

“I said…”

“You love her.”

My jaw clenched. “Drop it.”

Mira shook her head. “You can’t hide it. Not from me. Not from Eric. And definitely not from Ava.”

“She doesn’t know,” I snapped.

“Because you haven’t told her,” Mira shot back. “But she will. Eventually.”

“I don’t want her to know.”

Mira blinked. “Why?”

“Because she’ll run,” I said quietly. “And right now… I can’t afford to lose her.”

Mira stared hard at me. “You think she’ll run back to Kieran?”

“She never ran from him,” I whispered. “She always ran toward him.”

Mira hesitated. “Damon… you’re not thinking of doing something reckless, right?”

I turned my face away. “I’m thinking of protecting her.”

“By doing what?”

“By making sure nothing threatens her again.”

Mira’s voice dropped. “Not even Kieran?”

I didn’t answer.

Mira took a step back, eyes wide. “Damon… don’t. Don’t do this.”

“You think I want to?” My voice cracked. “You think I don’t fight myself every second not to interfere?”

“Damon—”

“She’ll choose him.” My voice was barely audible. “Even after everything, even after the betrayal, the poison, the prophecy… she’ll choose him.”

Mira softened. “You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

Because Ava’s heart was painfully transparent.

Mira swallowed. “So what… you’re planning to stop Kieran from waking?”

I closed my eyes. “I’m planning to protect her.”

“That’s not the same thing,” she whispered.

“It is to me,” I said.

Mira hesitated. “Damon… this—this isn’t you.”

“You don’t know me as well as you think.”

“Then let me remind you.” Mira stepped forward. “You’re the one who saved rogues when other alphas would’ve killed them. You’re the one who refused to take in a Luna because you didn’t want to force anyone into a bond they didn’t want. You’re the one who…”

“Enough.”

Mira’s breath hitched at the tone.

I rose slowly. “Don’t preach to me about who I am. I’ve fought wars you never saw. I’ve buried people you never knew. And I’ve watched the one woman I…”

I stopped.

Mira whispered, “You love her.”

I shut my eyes. “Yes.”

“But hurting Kieran won’t make her love you.”

I looked at her sharply. “And letting him wake up will guarantee she leaves.”

Mira didn’t speak.

I walked past her and placed a hand on the lantern, dimming its light.

“When she looks at him,” I murmured, “I cease to exist.”

Mira whispered, “And if she never gets to see him again?”

I paused at the doorway. “Then maybe… she’ll start seeing me.”

Mira looked horrified. “Damon… she’ll hate you.”

“Maybe,” I said softly. “But at least she’ll be alive to hate me.”

“And when will the prophecy be fulfilled?” Mira demanded. “When will she become powerful? When will she realise what you did?”

I leveled her with a cold look. “Then I’ll deal with that when it comes.”

Mira shook her head. “Damon, please—”

“Go,” I said quietly.

Mira froze. “Damon—”

“I need time. Alone.”

She swallowed hard, then slowly backed out.

Silence returned once more.

I pressed my hands against the table, breathing slowly, forcing my heartbeat to calm.

I should want Kieran alive.

I should want stability for the kingdom.

I should want peace between the packs.

But all I wanted…Was her.

Ava.

The woman who trusted me.

The woman

n I would burn kingdoms for.

The woman who would never look at me the way she looked at Kieran.

Unless…he never woke up.

I lifted my head, staring into the shadows.

“Forgive me, Ava,” I whispered. “But he had his chance.”