Chapter 51

(Juliette's POV).

"Ares!" I gasped in shock as I opened my eyes.

I immediately sat up with panic on my face as I nobly remembered what happened.

"Ares!!!" I shouted with my mind in turmoil. I looked around the room and my eyes widened as I began to realize that I was in my room. And what struck me even more was the figure of the man who was now sitting on the single chair beside the bed.

"Are you awake?" he asked, getting up from his seat. "How are you?"

My eyes widened. My body was shaking violently with feelings of disbelief, longing, hate, and fear all mixed together. I couldn't let go of the man who now stood towering over me. He looks more mature and muscular but in my eyes.

"D-Damian," I whispered. My voice was trembling. I squeezed the edge of the blanket that covered half of my body. "H-How did you get here?" I asked in confusion.

I hadn't seen Damian in six years. My eyes heated up with the urge to cry. The pressure in my chest from the longing and hatred I felt made it difficult to breathe. He looked at me with the same longing in his black eyes, making me feel even more devastated by it.

How could he be here and find me? What the hell is going on? And again, I remember the wolf that attacked me saying he wanted to kill me because of Damian. Were they Damian's enemies?

I still remember very well that Ares and I were in danger because some wolves were trying to kill us. I struggled to fight back, but in the end, I collapsed and became unconscious. I thought they would take me somewhere to torture me, or maybe kill us right then and there. But I didn't expect that I was still alive and in my homeroom with Damian here.

"What are you doing here? Where's Ares?!" I shouted hysterically. Ares wasn't there and I panicked that they would do something bad to him.

I try to get out of bed, but I immediately groan in pain from the cuts on my body. I almost fell to the floor if Damian didn't hold my body and help me sit back on the bed.

"You're still hurt. Stay in your bed until your condition is better," he said softly but demandingly.

I immediately pushed his body away and looked at him sharply. "What are you doing here? What's going on?! Where's Ares?!" I shouted in my loud voice.

"Ares is in the living room with Gabriel. You don't need to worry. He's fine," he informed me.

"Then what are you doing here, huh?! Do you know that they came to attack me because of you?!" I snapped. I glared at him with exploding anger. "For years I lived happily and peacefully with Ares and now suddenly a wolf is trying to hurt us because of you!!!"

"Juliette, Relax. Calm down..." he said. He grabbed my shoulder, but I brushed him off roughly. He presses my shoulder again, and I can't do anything about it when we're both outmatched in strength and I'm not okay.

"You're an asshole, Damian. Why do you have to make my life hell again? What have you done to make them try to kill us? What did we do wrong?!" I shouted. I slapped him hard across the face to vent my emotions and he just stayed silent as I took the rough treatment from me.

"Do whatever you want, I will accept it without protest. But please, calm down first. You are wounded. If you are like this, your wound will not heal quickly," he informed me.

I growled in protest. "I wouldn't be like this if you didn't have so many enemies. You're a monster with no feelings. If they wanted revenge, why didn't they come to you and kill you directly!!!" I shouted.

I felt so scared and sad that I couldn't think straight. I already had Ares whom I loved so much and I lived only because of Ares. there was nothing more I needed than to see him grow up. But everything fell apart again because of Damian.

"You know, that they knew that you were my weakness. For years I tried to find you and they did too," Damian tells me, "I did my best to protect you. Making sure you stayed safe. Moving faster than those who seek to harm you," he said.

I frowned, confused by his words. "What do you mean?"

"I found you a few months ago. I was so grateful and happy that I wanted to see you right away, but I knew you wouldn't like it..."

"You knew and you still came here. Try to ruin my life again?!" I shouted, interrupting him.

"I had to, Juliette. They came to hurt you. I couldn't keep quiet. I thought I could handle everything. I thought about protecting you and Ares secretly, but they just attacked you. I had to come to your rescue because you are my top priority."

I froze without being able to say anything. So for these few months, he had been watching me secretly? How could I not be able to sense his presence? Is that why I've been feeling delusional lately? Because I thought I was dreaming that Damian was standing in front of the window watching you until I could smell his lingering scent. I thought it was because I missed him so much that I was hallucinating. But it turned out to be him.

"Juliette..."

"Don't touch me. And don't say my name," I hiss, glaring at Damian.

"You still hate me, but you have to come back to me. It's for Ares' safety. You wouldn't want to see him get hurt, would you?"

"Are you now using Ares' safety to threaten me into returning to you?!" I shouted. I gritted my teeth in anger. "How Dare you do that to me, huh?! You bastard!"

"If you think so, it's up to you. You must return to me if you do not want them to harm Ares. The choice is yours, Juliette."