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Something flickered in his expression—hesitation. Just enough, but it disappears as fast as it came.

"Call off your wolves, or the boy dies.""Damon—""Aurora, stay out of this." His voice is sharp and courteous, meeting me like a slap in the face, but I don't relent. If I have to beg to get my son out of here alive, then so be it. I'll definitely get back at Damon, but I need to get Ronan away from him first.

The battle around us intensifies, but it doesn't take much to tell who is winning. The screams, the growls, and the snapping of bones are a testament to lives given for the sake of what each wolf believes in.

A warrior walks into the room, whispering something in Damon's ears, and the cold, murderous look he had earlier returns to his face.

"Call it off.""You can't win this." Liam steps in, Selene hot on his trail. "More than half of your warriors are dead, and what is left of them won't take much to finish off. Let the boy go."

Damon let out a dry laugh. "You don't get it, do you? I can always raise a new set of warriors, but him," his eyes move to Ronan, "you will never replace the loss."He straightens, locking his eyes on Lucien this time. "I would advise you to choose wisely this time. I hear you have a history of making the wrong decisions."

Lucien's eyes narrow, and his hands roll into a fist, clenching hard. The veins in his body are pronounced, and his jaw is taut from how hard he's grinding his teeth.

"He's bluffing," Selene says, studying Damon.

Damon smirked, tightening his grip on Ronan. "Are you willing to bet his life on that?"

My stomach twists. I take a step forward before I even realize what I am doing. "Damon," I say, my voice steady despite the terror gripping me. "Please."

Damon let out a slow, exaggerated sigh. "I had plans for us, you know. I didn't expect to like you, but you turned out to be quite fascinating."

I feel my stomach churn in disgust. "I was never yours."

His expression hardens, something sinister flashing in his gaze. "No. But you were useful. Using you to lure him out of his pack while we struck and sticking around you to get some intel. You contributed to my success, darling."A disgusting smirk stretches his face, and I find the urge to hurl a projectile of vomit at him. That is why Lucien was late to save me. It would also explain Damon turning up without a call, but I was too angry at Lucien to pay attention to all of it. The strategic appearance at my house shortly after I came back from Blackwood. All of it to access the situation of things. In all of these, one thing stood out to me. Lucien. He came to me straight from a battle with an injured leg.Understanding dawns like a sickening weight in my chest. "You used me." I always had suspicions, but hearing it from him was different.

A flicker of something—regret, maybe—passes over his face, "Not entirely."

I seize the moment, taking another step forward. "So, what was the exception? Was there anything that would've changed your mind?" I don't know what my end game is, but I can tell the conversation has distracted Damon a little. His grip on Ronan loosens.

"You should've been mine. Together, we would've easily taken him, but you chose him over me," Damon spat, looking at Lucien with disgust.

"Look at him. He's so weak and pathetic he can't even access his wolf or keep you safe."

"I would rather die than ever be yours." The words leave my mouth before I can stop, and I instantly realize the gravity of the mistake I've made.

Damon's face twists in fury. "Then you can watch as your son dies."

Everything happens in a blink. Damon's arm moves, and a sharp glint of his knife flashes under the golden ray of the evening sun, its tip pressing against Ronan's throat.Ronan whimpers, his tiny body trembling, and a scream builds in my chest. My wolf tears through my flesh and releases herself in a flash.

A few wolves I never noticed hiding in the background rush into the space, heading straight for Selene, Lucien, and Liam.

Lucien moves first, but his movement is slowed by the lack of his wolf and the slight limp in his leg, which gives Damon a chance to switch the blade to his other hand and slice through Lucien.

The wound bleeds out, staining his shirt and making tiny droplets on the floor, but Lucien doesn't stop. He can't. His hands find Damon's throat, gripping and squeezing tightly, eyes wild with fury.

I shift back to my human form, my legs moving before I give the signal. I seize the opportunity to pull Ronan from Damon's weakening grasp.

His little arms wrap around me instantly. His sobs are muffled against my chest. Relief is so sharp that it is painful tears through me.Damon thrashes beneath Lucien, gasping, but Lucien doesn't falter. Even wounded, he still maintains his grip.

Selene's voice slices through the chaos. "Aurora!"

And that's when I see it. The amount of blood that has pooled on the ground and the slight tremble in Lucien's shoulders. He is doing his best to hold on, but he's growing weaker, and Damon is slowly gaining on him.In a fraction of a second, Damon flips them over, trapping Lucien beneath his body and digging his fingers into the cut. Lucien's cry of anguish bounces off the walls and shoots straight into my chest. I look around me. Everyone is busy. Liam is struggling with a wolf on top, and Selene has a she-wolf throwing claws at her.I'm frozen in place. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I've never been in combat before. Lucien screams again. This time, his voice is muffled by Damon's psychotic laughter."Is this your alpha? This is who you've chosen to protect your pack? Look at him." Damon grabs Lucien by the jaw, forcing his face to me. "Is this the mate you've chosen for yourself?"

Emotions tighten my throat at the sight in front of me. I pull Ronan into me, shielding his eyes with my palms. He doesn't deserve to see his father humiliated like this. "Get away from him!"

"Or what, Aurora? Look around you. Everyone is busy. No one is coming to save you." He directs his next words at Lucien. "I'm going to drain you first. Then, I'll marry you're cute little mate over there and pump her full with my kids."

Lucien's eyes lit with rage. He tries to land a blow on Damon, but his reflexes are slow, and his swing is weak. Damon catches his arm, twisting it to an abnormal degree before driving a claw into his side and discarding him to the side like a ragged doll."Lucien!" I scream, rushing to his side with Ronan beside me while Damon laughs. "Pathetic.""Hey, hey." I tap Lucien's cheeks, forcing his eyes open.He tries to keep them open, but he's too weak. The blood from his first injury and the new one mingle to form a little pool next to me.He holds out an arm to me, groaning at the pain from the effort. I waste no time in slipping my fingers into his. "Stay with me, please. Please, Lucien, stay with me." I turn to Ronan, who is clutching me with tear-filled eyes. "Stay with us."My voice is shaky, and I can feel the tears stinging behind my eyes. Lucien tries to talk, but he can only manage a cough. The light in his eyes slowly starts to dim."To kill both father and son. How glad that makes me," Damon mocks behind me, sending a cold shiver down my spine. It was him. He killed Lucien's father.