Chapter Forty Seven.

Chapter Forty Seven.
Jace's POV:

I noticed Damon on the balcony. He had a tray in front of him that held a bottle of alcohol and cigarettes. I knew Damon wasn't the type to smoke or drink unless he was stressed.

I knocked slightly on the glass door, getting his attention. He looked taken aback at first but his face softened after realizing that it was just me.

I slid the door open, and sat on the chair opposite him. He was about to take another sip out of his alcohol but I snatched the cup from him and gulped it down instead.

“Damn! How do you drink this poison?” My face scrunched up in disgust at the taste.

He chuckled at my reaction. “What do you want, Jace? I want to be alone right now and you are kind of ruining that."

“I can tell that you're bothered, Damon. Is it the issue with Jhelani? You know she didn't mean to act that way, right?” I said, diverting his attention from the alcohol. “You would also get pissed if someone scolds you after an eight hour shift.”

He chuckled softly. “You just know how to make the situation better with humor, don't you?”

I shrugged. “Can you just not be so hard on her? She's already going through a lot and right now all she needs is our support. Just give her that, okay?”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I'm happy that she's found something she likes, but not at the expense of her health. Does that actually make me a bad person?”

I shook my head. “You're not a bad person.”

He scoffed, “Then why am I being treated like one? She left the kitchen to go eat in her room and you think I'm not a bad person?”

I patted his back gently. “You're not. Afterall, you worked your butt and made a lot of phone calls just to make sure she gets this job again.”

I signed dejectedly. It was something I didn't want her to know. The last thing I needed was for her to think she didn't do this on her own and it's kind of our fault she lost it in the first place anyways.

“You need to find a way to make it up to her,” I continued. “You can start by ordering take outs for her every now and then or having lunch with her during her breaks just to make sure she eats a decent meal.”

He sighed and nodded slowly, staring at the glass in his hand like he could find answers at the bottom.
“Maybe you’re right,” Damon said quietly after a while. “I’ve been too tense lately, and I guess I took it out on her. I just don’t want her to push herself too hard. She’s not built for that kind of stress.”

I smiled a little, happy he was finally calming down. “You care too much, that’s the problem. She just doesn’t see it yet. Give her time. You know how stubborn she can be.”

That got a small laugh out of him. It was soft, almost tired, but still a laugh. He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the night sky. “You ever feel like no matter what you do, it’s not enough?” he asked. “For the pack, for her, even for yourself.”

“More times than I can count,” I said honestly. “But that’s why you’ve got people like me around. You don’t have to lift everything alone.”

Damon turned to look at me. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something back, but then we heard something. A faint sound, almost like a footstep outside.

We both went still.

He slowly set his glass on the table. “You heard that?”

“Yeah,” I whispered. My eyes scanned the balcony. “You think it’s one of the guards?”

He shook his head. “No one should be out here this late.”

We moved carefully back inside. The house was quiet. Damon motioned toward the hallway while he walked toward the living room.

The sound came again, this time closer. It wasn’t loud, just a light scrape.

I met Damon’s eyes, and he nodded. We both reached the back door at the same time. He opened it slowly. The yard looked empty, but I could feel someone out there.

“Hey!” Damon called out, his voice firm. “Who’s there?”

There was no answer.

Then a shadow moved near the fence. I didn’t even think—I ran after it. Damon followed right behind me. The figure was fast, moving like he already knew the place.

“Stop!” Damon shouted again.

The intruder didn’t stop. He jumped over the fence and disappeared into the trees. Damon cursed and slammed his hand on the wooden rail. “He’s gone.”

“Wait,” I said, spotting something on the ground. I bent down and picked it up. It was a small, black piece of fabric with a silver mark stitched on it.

My heart sank. “Damon,” I said, handing it to him. “Look at this.”

He frowned, turning it over in his hand. The symbol was clear—a crest with a curved blade and a circle.

“The Council,” he muttered, his jaw tightening.

I looked around again, uneasy. “So they’re watching us now.”

Damon’s expression darkened. “Looks like it. They must have followed one of us back here.”

“Why?” I asked, though I already had a feeling.

“Because they’re afraid,” he said quietly. “They know Jhelani’s power is growing. And they know what that means for them. The wolves in the pack are dying.”

“This isn’t just about her anymore,” I said. “They’re watching us. All of us.”

Damon clenched the patch in his hand. “Then we’ll give them a reason to be afraid.”

We stood there for a while, saying nothing. Whatever the Council was planning, it wasn’t going to stop here. And for the first time in a long while, Damon looked ready to fight back.