Chapter 256 256
Sabine POV
“Damien, release her!”
Maurice and Aurélie shouted in unison, both of them stepping in beside him. It was Aurélie’s arm gripping Damien’s that finally cut through his rage, grounding him just enough to make him let go.
I dropped from where he’d been holding me suspended, helpless and hit the floor hard, dragging in desperate, burning gulps of air.
“What did you do?” Aurélie demanded, stepping fully in front of Damien, shielding me with her body.
“I just wanted to help him…”
“What the fuck did you do?” Damien roared, his eyes darkening to such a deep navy they were almost black so close to Maurice’s that it sent a chill through me.
“I gave him something,” I said hoarsely as I forced myself back to my feet. “Just a kitchen knife.”
“Sabine, no…” Lucas gasped from behind Damien.
Every head snapped toward him.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. I had used him. I’d betrayed his trust, and I hated myself for it.
“Lucas?” Damien turned slowly to his beta, his aura thickening, darkening, crushing the air around us.
“She baked bread,” Lucas said tightly. “She only asked me to take it to the cells so he could eat.”
“It’s not his fault,” I insisted. “I used him.”
“You’re damn right you used him,” Damien snarled. “What the fuck were you thinking, you stupid little bitch?”
I knew I’d done wrong. I knew that.
But the way he said little bitch lit something hot and furious inside me.
“I’m not like you, Damien,” I shot back. “I can’t make life-and-death decisions without feeling guilt. I saw a man in need, and I wanted to give him a chance.”
“He would have killed my mate and my children,” Damien roared. “He was locked away for a reason. Now I have two pack members dead and two families I have to tell.”
The thought slammed into me.
Guards with children of their own. Children who would never see their fathers again.
“Was there a message?” Damien growled, stepping forward.
Maurice and Aurélie moved instantly, blocking him barely. He was still close enough that I knew he wanted to rip my face apart.
“To Gaston?” he pressed.
“Yes.”
“Saying what?” His voice scraped raw as he fought his shift.
“That I would return to him,” I said quietly, lowering my gaze, unable to face the shock on Maurice’s expression.
“After everything we’ve done for you,” Aurélie said, her disgust unmistakable, “you would go back to him?”
“He’s my father.”
“A father who stole your inheritance to gain power,” Damien snapped, “who attacked my family and funded the deaths of innocent people.”
“He’s still my father, Damien!” I shouted. “You don’t get along with him that’s fine. But I do. He was never cruel to me. He loves me.”
“Love?” Damien scoffed, stepping back. “If that’s the kind of love you want, then take it. Go on. I won’t stop you anymore.”
“Damien,” Maurice warned, his growl sharp.
“No,” Damien snapped. “She doesn’t deserve you. She’s twisted just like her wolf will be. Better she’d died in that warehouse.”
“Damien!” Aurélie gasped.
Maurice shoved him back, his own control hanging by a thread.
“You heard me,” Damien barked at me. “Go.”
The word landed but my body wouldn’t respond.
I stayed frozen as he shot me one final, lethal look before turning away and storming toward the stairs.
I knew it then.
To him, I was already dead.
“I want all warriors ready for battle in ten minutes,” he ordered over his shoulder before disappearing upstairs.
Every gaze turned on me.
Hatred burned in many of them an expression I knew would never fade, never be forgotten. They judged me without knowing my reasons, without understanding my heart.
“Aurélie…” I tried.
She shook her head and walked away, following Damien.
One by one, the people I’d grown used to over the past month turned their backs on me.
Silent tears slid down my face as the weight of what I’d caused crushed my chest. Preparing for battle over two people in a car? Even as I thought it, I didn’t believe it. These wolves protected alliances, kingdoms. If they were afraid, it was for a reason.
“How could you?” Maurice’s voice broke.
That hurt more than anything.
“I escaped one prison just to end up in another?” I whispered.
“That’s how you really felt?” he asked quietly. “I was trying to protect you. You don’t know what he’s truly like, Bee. He won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” I said desperately. “I thought Stéphane would run. I’m sorry.”
I stepped toward him, reaching out, my chest aching at the thought of losing him.
“It’s too late for that now,” he said, shaking his head.
Then he turned away.
Like the others.
And somehow, his rejection hurt the most of all.
Oh God.
What have I done?