Chapter 144 144
Fernando’s lips curved into a proud smile as he clasped his son’s shoulders, giving him a firm, masculine pat. “Son.”
Damien returned the gesture with a restrained smile of his own before Fernando stepped back and lowered himself onto the couch.
Dominique stood a few feet away, leaning lazily against the wall. His arms were folded across his chest, one boot crossed in front of the other, gaze fixed downward in brooding silence.
Damien dragged the chair away from the desk and turned it to face his father before sitting down.
“I’m glad you’re back,” Fernando said, his deep voice thick with sincerity. There was no mistaking the genuine happiness in his eyes at seeing his son after so long.
“I’ll leave once this issue is settled,” Damien replied evenly.
Fernando inclined his head. The words might have stung, but if they did, he gave no sign of it.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
Even though both brothers now carried the mantle of Alpha, they still sought their father’s counsel. Old habits, old respect never truly faded.
“She’s my classmate,” Damien began, his jaw tightening. “Her fucking stepfather has been torturing her. Forcing her.” The words scraped out of him. Just speaking them ignited a savage fury in his veins, his wolf clawing at the surface. He forced himself to rein it in.
“The bastard’s wealthy. Powerful. Connected. She and her brother aren’t safe there. I brought them here for now. It’s the safest place. Once I’m finished dealing with him, we’ll move.”
Fernando studied his son with narrowed eyes, as though searching for something Damien himself hadn’t yet realized was there.
“Why didn’t she run? Ask for help?” Fernando questioned.
“Mathieu has leukemia,” Damien muttered, frustration roughening his tone. “She didn’t spell it out, but from what I gathered, he’s been blackmailing her using Mathieu.”
No matter how stoic his expression remained, the golden glint of his wolf flashing in his eyes betrayed him. So did the barely restrained violence in his voice.
Fernando nodded slowly. “I understand, son. But what happens if she discovers who we are?”
The former Alpha’s concern wasn’t suspicion it was protection. He still carried the weight of the pack on his shoulders.
“She won’t,” Damien said calmly. “She’s staying in the house down the street. I’ll make sure they don’t leave often.”
Another nod.
“If he’s fine with it, then so am I,” Dominique added gruffly, pushing off the wall. Damien gave his brother a small, appreciative nod.
“Fernando, why are you”
Sofía’s voice cut through the room and then stopped.
She stood frozen, breath catching in her throat.
Damien rose so abruptly his chair scraped harshly against the floor. A tight knot formed in his throat.
Sofía’s chin trembled. Tears welled, blurring her vision. “D… Damien?” she whispered.
Her heart was laid bare in that single word.
As though he could hear her unspoken plea, Damien closed the distance between them in long strides and wrapped her in a crushing embrace.
“Damien. Oh, Damien.” Sofía sobbed, clinging to him as if he might disappear again. “I’m not letting you leave this time,” she murmured against his chest.
He quickly brushed away the tear that escaped his own eye.
He had missed her more than he had allowed himself to admit. Phone calls were hollow substitutes for warmth, for presence, for the comfort of simply being near her.
“CHARLOTTEEEEE!” Eugénie’s shriek pierced through the packhouse, loud enough to wake the dead.
Sofía pulled back just in time for Eugénie to launch herself at him. She wrapped herself around him so tightly her feet left the floor. Damien caught her instinctively, a small, genuine smile touching his lips as he hugged her back.
Charlotte appeared at the top of the stairs, her face pale, eyes wide. Recognition dawned and then her expression crumpled. Tears filled her eyes before she turned and bolted back toward her room.
Damien’s heart dropped. He hurried after her.
He found her sitting on her bed, back pressed to the headboard, knees pulled tightly to her chest. Her face was buried in her arms as quiet sobs shook her shoulders.
“Hey,” he said softly, sitting near her feet.
She didn’t answer. The crying only deepened.
The sound of it tore at him. It fucking hurt to see her like this and to know he was the cause.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
“No, you’re not,” she shot back, lifting her head just long enough to glare at him before hiding her face again.
He swallowed hard.
“You forgot me,” she choked out. “I was hurting too. I needed you, but you weren’t there. You didn’t even let me comfort you. Phone calls weren’t enough. I needed my brother.”
Her hiccups broke through the words. She wiped her tears, but they kept falling.
Each sentence hollowed him out further. Charlotte had always been the closest to him among his siblings. And he had left her knowing how sensitive she was left her to deal with her pain alone.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, guilt gnawing at him from the inside.
“Please, Charlotte… stop crying,” he pleaded.
She peeked at him through tear-filled eyes. Slowly, she lowered her legs and sat cross-legged, wiping her cheeks and sniffing as she stared down at the bedspread.
“Okay,” she whispered.
Charlotte had always been like this the gentlest of them all. Sweet. Humble. Almost angelic.
“Won’t you welcome me?” he asked softly, standing.
She looked at him for a long second. Then she was off the bed and in his arms, hugging him with surprising strength.
“God, Charlotte, when did you get this strong?” he teased lightly, holding her close.
His little sister was precious beyond words. Maybe it was because she was a hybrid. Maybe it was because she understood him in ways no one else could. Their bond had always been different—deeper.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered into his chest. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”
He shook his head gently.
She was too good. Sometimes her goodness unsettled him.
“Come on,” he said, brushing her hair back. “If we stay up here any longer, Eugénie’s going to accuse me of loving you more than her and start a war downstairs.”
Charlotte let out a soft giggle.
For the first time in what felt like ages, Damien felt like himself.
And if not for that brown-eyed girl with the beautiful smile, he wouldn’t have returned at all.
Somehow, Jacqueline had drawn him back whether for her safety or something deeper, he couldn’t say. But the truth remained: she was the reason he came home.
Seeing his family again lifted a small but significant weight from his chest.
Unknowingly, she was changing his life in ways he hadn’t thought possible.