Chapter 24 The Beta's Loyalty

Chapter 24 The Beta's Loyalty
Clara's POV

"You need to leave."
Damon's voice startles me. I'm sitting in the library, one of the few places I'm allowed without an army of guards, when he walks in and closes the door behind him.
"Excuse me?"
"Leave. Go back to your human life. Tonight, if possible." He doesn't sit, just stands there with his arms crossed. "I'll help you. Get you past the guards, give you money, whatever you need."
My book falls closed. "Does Kael know you're here?"
"Kael doesn't know a lot of things." Damon moves to the window, checking the grounds like he expects someone to be listening. "He doesn't know that half the pack is two seconds away from open rebellion. He doesn't know that Marcus has spies in our kitchen staff. And he doesn't know that you staying here is destroying everything."
"He knows I'm a problem…"
"Problem doesn't cover it, Clara." He turns to face me, and I see something raw in his expression. "Sofia died yesterday. Reed lost his arm, they had to amputate because the wounds wouldn't heal properly. And for what? So you can sit in this library reading books?"
The accusation hits hard. "That's not fair."
"Fair?" He laughs, bitter. "You want to talk about fair? My mate died three years ago because Kael was distracted trying to save one of his doomed bond attempts. Catherine, his first try at breaking the curse. She was wasting away, and Kael couldn't focus on anything else."
I set the book aside, giving him my full attention. "What happened?"
"Rogue wolves attacked our northern border. Small pack, nothing we couldn't handle. But Kael was with Catherine, trying some ritual the witch suggested. Left me in command." His jaw tightens. "I made a call. Sent warriors to intercept. It should have been routine."
"But it wasn't."
"They had silver weapons. Military grade. We weren't prepared." He's quiet for a moment. "My mate, Sarah, she was leading the defense. Took a silver bullet to the chest. Died before the healers could reach her."
"Damon, I'm so sorry…"
"Don't." He holds up his hand. "Don't apologize like that makes it better. Sarah died because Kael wasn't there. Because he was too busy chasing an impossible cure for a curse that's killed every woman stupid enough to try."
"Then why do you stay? Why be his beta if you blame him?"
"Because he's my Alpha. Because we grew up together. Because loyalty isn't something you turn off just because you're angry." He runs his hand through his hair. "But that doesn't mean I'll watch him make the same mistake twice. You're Catherine all over again, Clara. Just a different face heading toward the same ending."
I stand up, anger replacing guilt. "I'm not Catherine. I chose this knowing the risks…"
"Did you? Did you really understand what staying means?" He steps closer. "It means more wolves die protecting you. More families lose people they love. More relationships fracture because Kael can't see past saving you."
"So I should just leave? Run away and let the curse win?"
"The curse already won. Three hundred years, Clara. Dozens of Arden Alphas, all cursed to never find true love. You're not special. You're just the latest tragedy."
The words sting, but I force myself to stay calm. "If I'm not special, why does Marcus want me so badly?"
"Because he thinks you are. Because the prophecy convinced everyone you're the key." Damon moves back to the window. "But prophecies are just stories people tell themselves to make sense of suffering. Maybe the real answer is accepting that some things can't be fixed."
"You don't believe that."
"Don't I?" He looks at me with tired eyes. "I've watched Kael torture himself for years. Watched him bury three women. Watched him carry guilt that would break most people. And now here you are, another human woman convinced love will save him. It won't. It never does."
I walk over to stand beside him, looking out at the grounds where Sofia died. "So what's your solution? I leave, Kael stays cursed, Marcus attacks anyway?"
"Maybe. But at least Kael could focus on defending his pack. At least no more wolves would die protecting you."
"And what about me? The bond will kill me if I leave."
"Better you than more of my people." He says it without malice, just stating fact. "One life versus dozens. It's basic math, Clara."
The casual way he writes off my death makes something harden inside me. "Is that what you told Sarah? That she was acceptable losses? Basic math?"
His face goes dark. "Don't."
"Why not? You're asking me to sacrifice myself for the pack's good. Did you ask Sarah to do the same? Or did she just die without getting a choice?"
"Sarah died because Kael wasn't there to lead," he says through gritted teeth. "She died because he was too busy with Catherine to protect his own people. And now history's repeating itself with you in Catherine's role."
"I'm not Catherine," I repeat. "And Kael isn't the same man he was three years ago."
"You're right. He's worse. More desperate. More willing to risk everything for the slim chance of breaking his curse." Damon turns away from the window. "You seem like a good person, Clara. Smart. Brave. But staying here is selfish. You're choosing your life with Kael over dozens of other lives."
"Or maybe I'm choosing to fight instead of running away."
"Fighting implies you have a chance to win. You don't." He heads toward the door, then pauses. "My offer stands. I'll help you leave tonight. Give you enough money to disappear. Maybe even find a witch who can weaken the bond enough that leaving won't kill you."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll watch you die like I watched Catherine die. Like I watched Maria and Jessica die." His voice goes soft. "And I'll watch Kael break a little more. And I'll keep being his beta because that's what loyalty demands. But I won't pretend you staying is noble or brave. It's just slow-motion suicide dragging everyone else down with you."
He leaves before I can respond.
I sink back into my chair, his words echoing in my head. Sarah died because Kael was distracted. Sofia died protecting me. Reed lost his arm. How many more casualties before someone decides I'm not worth it?
The worst part is that Damon's not wrong. I am choosing my life with Kael over pack safety. I am causing distractions that get people hurt.
But leaving feels like giving up. Like admitting the curse wins. Like accepting that love isn't worth fighting for.
I think about Sarah, Damon's mate who died during a routine battle because Kael wasn't there to lead. Did she resent Catherine? Did she die angry, knowing her Alpha was with another woman instead of protecting his people?
And now I'm the new Catherine. The new distraction. The new reason wolves will die.
Maybe Damon's right. Maybe the brave thing, the selfless thing, is to leave.
But when I try to imagine walking away from Kael, from the bond, from this impossible situation, I can't do it. Can't picture myself back in my old apartment, my old life, pretending none of this happened.
I'm not that person anymore. For better or worse, I'm Clara who loves a cursed Alpha. Clara who watched wolves die for her. Clara who's running out of time to figure out if staying is love or just selfishness wearing love's mask.
Outside, warriors patrol the grounds. Inside, Damon probably thinks I'm considering his offer.
But I already know my answer.
I'm staying. Even if it makes me selfish. Even if more people die.
Because leaving won't save anyone. It'll just mean I die somewhere else while Kael destroys himself with guilt.
At least here, we're destroying ourselves together.
That has to count for something.
Even if I'm the only one who believes it.