Chapter 179 Damian's POV
I lay back on the bed, counting down the minutes.
Twenty-five. Twenty. Fifteen.
Then I heard it. A distant explosion. Muffled by distance and walls, but unmistakable.
Shouts erupted throughout the compound. Footsteps running. Guards mobilizing the storage room had blown. Right on schedule.
I got up and looked out the window. Smoke rose from the far side of the compound. Flames visible through the darkness.
Xavier would be investigating, discovering the bodies realizing that his lieutenant was dead.
I needed to be visible, accounted for above suspicion.
I left my room and headed toward the commotion, making sure to be seen by multiple guards along the way.
Xavier was standing near the burning storage building, barking orders. His face was twisted with fury.
"What happened?" I asked, approaching carefully.
"Explosion. In the storage area. Multiple casualties."
He turned to me, his eyes searching. "Where were you?"
"In my room. Resting after taking the potion you gave me. Why?"
"Marcus is dead along with three of my best guards. All killed before the explosion, this wasn't an accident, this was an attack."
My heart raced, but I kept my expression concerned. Confused. "An attack? By who?"
"I don't know but someone infiltrated the compound. Kill my men, set this explosion to cover their tracks."
"Could it be a Blue Moon Pack? A sabotage mission?"
"Possibly, or a traitor within our ranks."
His eyes narrowed. "Someone who doesn't want this attack to succeed."
I needed to redirect his suspicion, fast.
"The prisoners in the cave. Could one of them have escaped? Killed the guards and tried to destroy evidence of their captivity?"
Xavier considered this. "Possible, though I don't see how they could have gotten out. The cave is heavily guarded."
"Maybe we should check. Make sure they're all accounted for. If someone escaped, they could still be in the compound planning more sabotage."
"You're right." Xavier turned to one of his commanders. "Send a team to the cave. Full headcount. Report back immediately."
The commander saluted and ran off.
I had just sent guards to the exact place Kira was infiltrating. Trying to free prisoners.
I had potentially signed her death warrant.
But what else could I do? If I didn't suggest checking the cave, Xavier might suspect I knew something. Might start looking at me as a traitor.
"Come with me," Xavier said suddenly. "I want to see your condition. See if the potion worked."
We returned to my room. Xavier made me remove my shirt.
The fake curse marks had washed away during the fight, my skin was clear, healthy, no sign of dying.
Xavier's eyes widened. "The curse is gone. You are healed."
"The potion. It must have worked better than you expected."
"No. The potion was only meant to ease symptoms. Not cure the curse completely."
He stared at me. "What happened? What did you do?"
Think fast and come up with something believable.
"I don't know. I drank the potion like you said. Then I felt this surge of power, like something inside me broke free. The pain vanished, the curse marks faded. I thought it was the potion's magic working."
Xavier studied me for a long moment. I could see him trying to decide if he believed me.
Finally, he smiled. "Erebus's magic is powerful. Perhaps it recognized your willingness to serve, perhaps it broke the curse early as a reward for your loyalty."
"Perhaps."
He grabbed me in a tight hug. "My brother. Truly my brother now, healthy and strong, ready to fight beside me."
"Ready to fight," I agreed, my stomach churning with disgust.
Xavier pulled back and grabbed something from a bag he'd brought. "Here, your warrior outfit and this."
He handed me clothing marked with Dark Moon Pack insignia. And a necklace bearing the Alpha symbol.
"You are not just a warrior, you are my brother. My second-in-command, you will wear my symbol, stand beside me as we destroy our enemies."
He was giving me access, authority, and the ability to move freely through his forces.
This was exactly what I needed to sabotage the attack from the inside.
But it also meant I would have to stand beside him. Watch him kill my friends, pretend to support the slaughter.
"I'm honored," I said, taking the clothing and necklace.
"Get dressed, then come with me. I'm presenting you to the troops. Showing them that my brother has returned. That our bloodline stands united under Erebus."
I dressed quickly in the warrior outfit. Put on the Alpha necklace.
Xavier led me out to the courtyard where hundreds of fighters were assembled.
He walked to a raised platform and held up his hands. "Warriors of Erebus! I have an announcement!"
The crowd fell silent.
"My brother, Damian, has returned to us! The curse that nearly killed him has been broken by Erebus's power! He stands beside me now, healed and ready to fight!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd. Not everyone, but enough to make it convincing.
"Together, we will march on the Blue Moon Pack! We will destroy their defenses! We will claim the blessed child! We will usher in a new era of unity under Erebus's rule!"
More cheers, louder now.
Xavier turned to me. "Say something. Inspire them."
I stepped forward, my mind racing. What could I say that would keep my cover but not encourage this slaughter?
"Warriors," I began.
"I have seen what division does to families. What choosing different paths costs. My brother and I were separated by circumstance and choice.”
“But now we stand together, that is the power of unity. That is what Erebus offers a chance to end the fighting, to bring all packs together under one banner."
It was vague enough to sound supportive without explicitly endorsing murder.
The crowd seemed to accept it, more cheers.
Then a guard came running up to the platform, out of breath, panicked.
"Alpha Xavier! Emergency!"
"What is it?"
"The cave, sir we found it, we found the bodies."
Xavier's expression darkened. "What bodies?"
"Your trusted men, sir. The ones you had guarding the cave entrance. All dead throats cut and sir-" The guard hesitated.
"WHAT?"
"There was an explosion in the cave itself. Multiple detonations. The entire structure collapsed, we can't get inside to count the prisoners. But based on the damage-"
"Are you telling me the prisoners escaped?"
"We don't know, sir, the cave entrance is completely blocked. It will take hours to dig through the rubble. But yes, sir. It's possible they escaped before the explosions."
Xavier's face went purple with rage. He turned slowly to look at me.
"The storage room explosion, the cave explosion. My dead guards."
His voice was dangerously quiet. "All happening within the same hour. After you arrived, after you mysteriously recovered from a supposedly fatal curse."
"Xavier, I don't know what you are implying-"
"I'm implying that someone orchestrated all of this. Someone with insider knowledge. Someone who could move through the compound without raising suspicion."
His hand went to the weapon at his belt. "Someone like you, brother."
The entire courtyard went silent. Every eye turned toward us.
I could feel the suspicion, the doubt, the readiness to attack if Xavier gave the order.
"I've been in my room, resting, you can ask the guards who saw me-"
"Guards can be deceived, times can be faked."
Xavier drew his weapon. "Tell me the truth, Damian. Are you a traitor? Did you come here to sabotage our attack?"
"No. I came here to be cured, to survive."
"Then explain the timing. Explain how all of this happens right after you arrive."
"I can't explain it, maybe Blue Moon Pack has spies here. Maybe the prisoners planned this escape for weeks. Maybe it's coincidence-"
"I don't believe in coincidence."
He raised his weapon, pointing it directly at my chest.
Every warrior in the courtyard drew their weapons all pointed at me. I was surrounded, outnumbered. About to be executed as a traitor.
And the worst part was, Xavier was right. I was a traitor. I had helped orchestrate this.
But I couldn't admit it, and couldn't give up now.
"If you kill me, you will never know the truth,"
I said. "You will never know if I'm innocent or guilty. If I'm loyal or a spy. You will just be killing your brother based on suspicion."
"Better to kill a suspected traitor than risk having one in my ranks during battle."
"Then do it, pull the trigger, kill me. But know that if you're wrong, you will have murdered your own brother for nothing and Erebus will not forgive that."
Xavier's hand trembled slightly, doubt flickering across his face.
He wanted to believe in me and wanted his brother back. But his paranoia and anger were warring with that desire.
The moment stretched out, tense, deadly everyone waiting to see what Xavier would decide.
My life is hanging by a thread.