Chapter 117: No Right
“You bastard!” Xavier roared from behind. He lunged forward, but Magnus caught him by the arm, pulling him back.
“Not now, Beta Xavier...” Magnus's voice was a low rumble, his intense eyes never leaving Damien.
Meredith shook her head, blinking back the burning tears forming in her eyes. Her chest heaved rapidly to contain her overwhelming emotions.
“That's not true…” she whispered breathlessly. “You loved me—”
Damien's low chuckle cut through her heart like a sharp blade, silencing her. He arched his brows.
“Loved you?” he mocked, a smirk playing on his lips. “You think an Alpha like me would lower himself for someone like you?”
The words struck her like daggers, each syllable slicing deeper than the last. Her vision blurred, and her legs felt like they were about to give out.
No, he's just lying, she told herself. Damien wouldn't say that to me...
“You must be even more delusional than I thought,” he added.
Meredith gasped softly, a strangled sound escaping her lips. The world seemed to tilt around her.
“Little Wolf…” Magnus called from behind.
But she shook her head firmly. “No! I can handle this alone," she said, reassuring them. "Please let me, Magnus…”
Magnus and Xavier exchanged a hesitant glance but stayed put. Their muscles tensed like coiled springs as they clenched their jaws, restraining themselves from punching Damien on the spot.
Meredith's heart raced as she opened her mouth to argue, to beg, to say anything that would make Damien remember. But he suddenly leaned down, his face inches from hers. His minty breath was hot against her cheeks.
“Look at yourself,” he murmured, his lips twisted. “Do you really think I'd ever claim someone like you?”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “But...” That single word was the only thing Meredith could say.
Damien watched it fall, and his smirk widened. Her breath hitched, and her entire being trembled.
This isn't Damien, she thought, hoping to bring back the man she once loved. This isn't my mate...
The man she loved would never say these things. He would never break her like that. He would never look at her as if she was nothing.
Her lips parted slightly. “Damien, please…”
But his gaze didn't soften. He didn't waver. Instead, he laughed once more, the sound echoing in the silence.
“Pathetic,” he repeated. “Just get the fuck out of my sight…”
Meredith finally collapsed, her knees hitting the cold floor with a horrible thud. Her body trembled as silent tears spilled down her cheeks. Her heart and soul felt like they were shattering into pieces.
Before she could even process everything, a loud crack split through her ringing ears. She saw how Damien's head snapped to the side as Magnus’s fist collided with his jaw, sending him stumbling backward.
A snarl erupted from Magnus’s throat, his chest heaving violently.
“You son of a bitch!” Magnus roared furiously. “How dare you talk to her like that?!”
Before Damien could react, Xavier was already there. With a growl, he drove his fist into Damien's gut, knocking the breath from his lungs.
Damien groaned as he staggered, clutching his stomach. He wiped the fresh blood that trickled from his lips. Then, he straightened himself slowly, exhaling as if he expected the blows. As if he didn't care.
“Are you done?” Damien's voice was empty.
Magnus and Xavier were breathing heavily. They clenched their fists, rage simmering beneath their skin.
Meredith, still on the ground, could barely lift her head. Tears streamed down her face as she took a shaky breath.
“Stop…” she begged.
Her hands trembled as she pushed herself up on unsteady arms. “Please don't hurt each other…”
Xavier and Magnus’s concerned eyes flickered toward her. She struggled to her feet. She stumbled forward, placing herself between the men. She outstretched her arms in an attempt to create a barrier.
“Please,” she cried. “This isn't the way..."
Her eyes locked onto Damien's, searching them for any trace of the man who had loved her obsessively, possessively, and unconditionally. Her vision blurred, her heart aching so badly it almost leaped out of her ribs. She clutched her chest, trying to steady her breathing.
Suddenly, there was a soft gasp. The woman in Damien's bed had woken up. Her long, dark hair cascaded around her shoulders in loose waves, and her doe-like brown eyes widened as she scrambled toward him.
She had delicate features, with high cheekbones and a slender frame. She threw her arms around Damien, pressing her small form against his bare chest.
“Stop this!” she pleaded in a hoarse voice. “What the hell's happening here?”
Magnus’s snarl deepened, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Xavier's gaze was locked onto Damien, watching him intently, every muscle in his body tensed and ready to strike.
The woman gripped Damien's arms, shaking her head frantically. “Please, Alpha,” she whispered. “You promised… You said you wouldn't let them hurt you again…”
Meredith's breath hitched. She froze, her eyes wide. Something about those words clawed at her gut, twisting it into knots.
Xavier and Magnus exchanged a tense look. But before either of them could say anything, Damien spoke.
His voice sent a shiver down Meredith's spine. “Just take her and leave.”
Magnus growled, his fists tightening at his sides. “Like hell—”
“Get her out of here, Magnus...” This time, there was something in his tone, like a silent warning that made Meredith's blood run cold.
Magnus’s jaw clenched, while Xavier let out a shaky breath, rubbing his face roughly as he tried to keep his composure.
“Please,” Damien added breathlessly.
Something held Magnus and Xavier back. Something stopped them from charging at him again. A silent understanding seemed to pass between them.
But Meredith couldn't move. She just stared at Damien, her heart breaking all over again.
I won't leave him, she thought. No fucking way.
Because in that brief moment, she saw it. The way he clenched his fists at his sides. The way his jaw locked, his throat bobbing slightly. The way his eyes flickered with something. Something almost like regret.
But then, suddenly, it was gone. As if buried and shut away. Like she had never mattered. Like she had never even existed.
She took a hesitant step forward. “Damien...”
His gaze darkened, but he didn't answer. He turned his head slightly, avoiding her eyes, as if the mere sight of her disgusted him. Then his jaw tightened, the muscles working as he ground his teeth together.
“No…” Meredith whispered, shaking her head. She took another step forward, reaching out to him with her shaking hands. “Please, Damien, look at me,” she pleaded.
Xavier and Magnus both stiffened beside her, their hands reaching for her arms as if bracing for what was about to come.
But nothing could have prepared her for this.
For Damien turning away from her completely. For his elegant arms tightening around another woman's waist. For the way his large hands cradled her swollen belly protectively.
“What?”
The air was sucked from Meredith's lungs. She staggered slightly, her hands trembling at her sides. Her world seemed to crumble, the ground slipping from beneath her feet.
“Damien…” she breathed, begging him to tell her it wasn't true. To tell her this wasn't real. That he didn't love another. That he wasn't having a child with someone else. “Tell me it's not true.” Her words were choked by sobs. “Tell me you still love me, Damien...”
But Damien didn't answer. He didn't even look at her anymore. His gaze stayed on the ground, locking his jaw as he tightened his hold on the woman.
When Damien could say nothing more, it was she who spoke instead.
“Please,” she pleaded, clutching Damien's arm desperately, leaning into his warmth. Her brown eyes glistened as she looked between Meredith, Magnus, and Xavier. “Can't you see, we're building a family. We're happy now. I know it's hard, but you have to understand. Alpha Damien's moved on. We're now building a future together, and that future includes our child..."
She continued firmly, “I know you care about him. I know you loved him. But holding onto the past… it's just tearing all of you apart. Please, don't make this any harder than it already is. We're trying to find peace after years of chaos. Let us have that chance. For his sake and for yours, you need to let Alpha Damien go.”
Her voice was soft, but the words ripped Meredith apart.
Let Alpha Damien go, she repeated to herself.
Her eyes blurred as another wave of fresh tears filled her eyes. Her breath shuddered, her chest aching so violently she thought she might collapse right there. It felt like a vice gripped her heart and squeezed it mercilessly.
No. No. Damien's mine, she told herself. He's always been mine. Isn't he?
She looked at the woman, and her gaze hardened.
“You can't just take him from me,” she spat. “Damien's my mate. My love. He's mine…”
Meredith saw a faint flicker in Damien's eyes, but the woman stepped forward slightly and blocked him from Meredith. She held her belly as if shielding it from her.
“If you don't leave, we'll call all the pack warriors,” she warned. “You're trespassing. You have no right to be here.”