Chapter 181 181
One hour earlier.
Damien woke in the middle of the night.
The first thing his eyes landed on was her hair, spread across the pillow like a dark silk fan.
He rolled onto his side, propping his head up with one hand as he watched her sleep.
For several minutes he simply stared at her.
Like a complete creep.
But he couldn’t help it.
She looked beautiful.
Finally he exhaled and slipped out of bed. Quietly he left the room, easing the door closed behind him. He descended the stairs and wandered into the kitchen.
He was still wearing his slacks.
The memory made him snort softly.
Last night she had shyly insisted he at least behave decently if he was going to sleep beside her. She had practically forced him into wearing them.
And here he had assumed she might turn out to be a little troublemaker.
Damien pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and drained several large gulps in one go.
The last few hours had been exhausting.
Rafael and Dominique had nearly driven him insane.
The violent surge of jealousy he had felt when he saw Jacqueline near another man still made his jaw tighten. The fury had been so raw, so intense, that even he had struggled to understand it.
In that moment he had truly wanted to kill them.
His wolf had reacted viciously. Holding it back had taken everything he had.
And then Jacqueline had dropped another bomb on him.
She had said she was leaving.
Those words had twisted through his chest like a blade. And in that instant he had realized something he could no longer deny.
He didn’t want her to leave.
He wanted her to stay with him.
The memory replayed clearly in his mind how she had walked away from him on the dance floor.
He had left the manor immediately afterward, disappearing into the woods. Stripping off his clothes, he had shifted and released his wolf.
If he hadn’t, the transformation would have happened right there at the party.
He had run beneath the dark sky, the night wind rushing through his fur.
Eventually he reached a quiet clearing and slowed, drawing in a deep breath.
His gaze drifted around lazily until he noticed something familiar.
That tree.
The same place where he had kissed her with reckless passion.
The memory clung stubbornly to that patch of earth.
He muttered a curse under his breath.
He had come here to clear his mind not drown in thoughts of her.
Then the air suddenly shifted.
A burst of sparkling light flashed.
And Cécile appeared.
His wolf immediately bared its teeth at the witch, but Damien forced it back under control.
“Shift. We need to talk,” Cécile said.
His wolf practically scoffed at the command.
“Relax, Wolfie. I saw you naked the day you were born, so don’t bother acting shy,” she added with amused ease.
Damien grunted.
His clothes were lying some distance away. Before he could even move toward them, Cécile flicked her fingers through the air.
His clothes instantly dropped onto the ground beside his paws.
Turning her back to him, she walked over to the same tree and sat down. By the time Damien finished dressing and faced her again, the boy she once knew had fully become a man.
He had just pulled his shirt on when she began speaking.
“That human girl Sofía told me about her brother. I want to try curing him.”
Damien’s attention snapped to her immediately.
He moved to another tree and sank down against it, leaning his back against the trunk. One knee rose as he rested his arm on it, his head tilted back as he gazed through the gaps in the towering branches above.
“Is it safe?” he asked.
“Seventy percent chance it will work,” Cécile replied. “But there’s still thirty percent risk.”
Damien nodded slowly.
If this happened, Jacqueline would inevitably learn the truth about their world.
He had no idea how she would react.
It could shatter everything she believed.
She might accept it.
Or she might run from them, calling them monsters.
“She loves you.”
The words struck him like a slap.
His head snapped toward Cécile, eyes wide.
“What?”
“That girl. Jacqueline. She loves you,” Cécile repeated calmly, her gaze fixed on the shadowy forest ahead.
“How can you possibly know that?” he asked.
“There are things I can see that others cannot,” she answered quietly.
Damien’s hands curled into fists.
His wolf practically purred at the idea of Jacqueline loving him.
But
How could he allow that?
He had never stopped loving Gabrielle.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t erase her.
And yet… there was Jacqueline.
The girl with those huge brown eyes.
The girl who made him feel like he was losing his mind.
Even imagining her leaving sent him spiraling.
Cécile gave him a gentle, knowing smile. It carried a trace of sadness, as though she understood exactly what he was struggling with.
“I know you loved Gabrielle,” she said softly. “But love is not something small or limited. Jacqueline has already carved a place inside that frozen heart of yours.”
She paused.
“You can deny it as much as you like. But you and I both know that you care for that broken human girl.”
Damien pressed his lips into a tight line, glaring at the ground.
He hated how accurately she read him.
“Easy for you to say,” he muttered bitterly.
The older witch studied him quietly.
“So what’s stopping you?”
Damien squeezed his eyes shut, his fists tightening before he slowly opened them again and sighed.
“I do care about Jacq,” he admitted. “But every time I get close to her… it feels like I’m betraying Gabrielle.”
His jaw hardened.
He hated exposing his feelings like this but if there was anyone he could speak honestly to, it was her.
Cécile spoke casually, almost lightly.
“Gabrielle might hate you now.”
Damien’s head whipped toward her again, his gaze turning icy.
“What do you mean?” he growled.
“She would hate a masochist like you,” Cécile replied. “You’ve been punishing yourself ever since she died. Honestly, you must love suffering.”
She sighed softly before continuing.
“But truly Gabrielle is disappointed in you.”
“You know nothing,” Damien snarled.
Cécile’s expression softened.
“She visited my dreams last night,” she said quietly. “She was smiling. She looked happy beside the Moon Goddess. But when she spoke of you… her smile faded.”
Cécile’s voice lowered.
“She expected better from you. Not a man who would destroy his entire life mourning forever.”
Damien’s voice cracked.
“You’re lying.”
The grief pouring off him was almost tangible.
“I gain nothing from lying about something like this,” Cécile replied gently. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but I waited until the party ended. Then I saw you with Jacqueline.”
She glanced toward him.
“The way you looked at her said everything.”
Her voice softened even more.
“That’s when I understood why Gabrielle appeared in my dream. Everything happens for a reason. She wants you to move forward.”
Cécile slowly rose to her feet, bracing her hands on her knees.
“I have nothing to gain from telling you this,” she continued. “Whether you accept it or not is entirely your choice. Just… think clearly for once.”
She brushed the dirt from her clothes.
With a snap of her fingers
She vanished.
Damien remained where he was.
His jaw was still tight with anger.
But slowly, his vision blurred as tears filled his eyes.
Gabrielle would always have a place in his heart.
That would never change.
But Jacqueline
The girl with sparkling brown eyes and an endlessly talkative mouth
She had pulled him out of the darkness he had been drowning in.
Little by little, she had broken through the walls he had built around himself.
And now she stood inside them.
Guarding his heart like a fearless little warrior.
In that moment, Damien realized something he could no longer deny.
He couldn’t stay away from Jacqueline anymore.