DAMIEN POV
I watched them drag Isla away, and something inside me died.
No. Not died. Transformed into pure rage.
My father stood in the doorway, blocking my path. His face showed no emotion, like he'd just ordered coffee instead of destroying the woman I loved.
"Move," I growled. My wolf was clawing to get out, desperate to chase our mate. To save her.
"You'll stay here." Victor's Alpha command pressed down on me like invisible chains. "This is for your own good, son. By morning, you'll thank me."
Thank him? For framing Isla? For turning her rogue? For planning her death?
Something snapped inside me. Twenty-five years of obedience, of being the perfect heir, of swallowing my feelings to please him—all of it shattered in one moment.
"I challenge you." The words came out steady and cold. "For Alpha position. Right now."
Victor's eyes widened. "You don't know what you're saying—"
"I know exactly what I'm saying." I stepped forward, letting my wolf show in my eyes. "You've committed crimes against my mate. Pack law says I can challenge for leadership. So I'm challenging. Accept, or step down."
"She's made you insane." Victor's laugh was harsh. "You'd throw away everything for an omega you met yesterday?"
"Yesterday, last week, last year—it doesn't matter." My hands shook with barely controlled violence. "She's mine. My fated mate. And you tried to kill her."
"I'm saving you from a mistake!" Victor's mask cracked, showing anger underneath. "That girl is poison. She'll destroy this pack, our reputation, everything we've built—"
"You mean everything you've stolen." The words felt good coming out. True. "I've watched you crush people for years. Destroy families who stood in your way. Use pack law like a weapon against anyone weaker than you. You're not protecting this pack—you're ruling through fear."
Victor moved fast, his hand connecting with my face in a brutal slap. "You ungrateful—"
I didn't flinch. Didn't back down. "That's your answer? Violence? Proves my point perfectly."
"You want to challenge me? Fine." Victor's Alpha power exploded outward, making the room shake. "I'll kill you. My own son. Then I'll kill that omega trash you're so obsessed with. And the pack will celebrate both deaths."
My wolf snarled, ready for this fight. But my human brain knew the truth—I'd lose. Victor was older, more experienced, and absolutely ruthless. He'd taught me everything I knew about fighting, which meant he knew all my moves.
But I'd fight anyway. Die trying if I had to.
"Damien, stop!" Marcus burst into the room, breathing hard. "Don't do this. Not like this."
"Stay out of it," I warned my best friend. "This is between me and him."
"No, listen to me." Marcus grabbed my arm. "I found something. About Riley. About the fire. You need to see this before you fight."
Victor's face flickered with something—worry? "Whatever he found is irrelevant—"
"Is it irrelevant that Riley was working with Celeste?" Marcus pulled out his phone. "That they've been planning to get rid of Isla for weeks? That they hired those attackers using pack funds? Your pack funds, Victor?"
The room went silent.
"Show me," I demanded.
Marcus held up his phone. Text messages between Riley and Celeste. Plans to frame Isla. Orders to make it look like arson. And worst of all—confirmation that Victor knew about the attack before it happened.
My father had known his daughter was going to hurt Isla. And he'd done nothing to stop it.
"You knew." My voice came out dead. "You let Riley attack her. You probably helped plan it."
"She needed to be scared off," Victor said coldly. "If she'd just left quietly, none of this would've happened. But she's stubborn. So we had to take stronger measures."
"Stronger measures?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You tried to murder someone because she wasn't the right social class?"
"I tried to protect my son from a disastrous mating!" Victor's control finally broke. "You think I built this empire so you could throw it away on some nobody omega? Your children with her would be weak. Omega blood dilutes Alpha strength. I won't allow it!"
"That's not how genetics work—"
"It's how pack politics work!" Victor shouted. "The other packs already mock us for even considering this bond. If you mate with her, we'll lose respect. Lose alliances. Lose everything!"
I looked at my father—really looked at him—and saw a stranger. A monster wearing my dad's face.
"Marcus, call the Lunar Council," I said quietly. "Tell them we need an emergency session. Tell them the current Alpha has committed crimes against pack law. Attempted murder. Conspiracy. Abuse of power."
"You can't prove any of that," Victor snarled.
"Actually, I can." Marcus held up his phone again. "I've been recording this whole conversation. And I have access to Riley's deleted messages. And the financial records showing pack money paid for those attackers."
Victor's face went white. "You betray your Alpha?"
"I serve justice," Marcus said firmly. "Something you forgot how to do."
My father lunged at Marcus, but I was faster. I caught him mid-leap, slamming him against the wall. For the first time in my life, I was stronger than Victor Blackwood.
"Where's Isla?" I demanded. "Which cell?"
"You're too late." Victor's laugh was bitter and broken. "I gave orders. If you challenged me, they'd execute her immediately. She's probably already dead."
The world stopped. My wolf howled in agony, feeling the mate bond stretch and tear.
No. No, this couldn't be happening.
"You're lying," I whispered. But I felt it—the bond growing weaker, like a candle flickering out.
"Am I?" Victor smiled through bloody teeth. "I told you I'd do whatever necessary to protect this pack. Even from my own son."
I dropped him and ran. Ran toward the cells beneath the estate, Marcus right behind me. The bond pulled me forward, but it was fading fast. Too fast.
We burst into the cell block. The guard lay unconscious on the floor. Isla's cell door hung open.
Empty.
"No!" I screamed, my wolf taking over. "ISLA!"
A note was pinned to the wall. I ripped it down with shaking hands.
"She ran. Shifted and escaped through the forest. My wolves are hunting her now. If you want to save your precious mate, you'd better hurry. But Damien? In these woods, accidents happen all the time. - Riley"
My sister. My own flesh and blood. Hunting Isla like prey.
"Go." Marcus pushed me toward the exit. "I'll handle your father and the Council. You save her."
I shifted mid-run, my clothes tearing as my wolf burst free. The bond was barely a whisper now, but it was enough. I followed it into the dark forest, praying I wasn't too late.
The scent of blood hit me first. Isla's blood.
Then I heard the howls. Multiple wolves. Riley's pack, closing in on their target.
I ran faster than I'd ever run in my life, branches tearing at my fur. The bond pulled me deeper into the trees, toward the sound of snarling and a single, desperate howl of pain.
I burst into a clearing and froze.
Isla was there—in her wolf form, cornered against a cliff. Five wolves surrounded her, Riley at the front. Isla's white fur was stained red with blood. She was losing this fight.
"Riley, stop!" I shifted back to human, standing between them. "This ends now!"
My sister laughed, her wolf's eyes glowing with madness. "You're too late, brother. She's rogue now. Fair game. And once she's dead, you'll be free."
"I'll never be free if you kill her!" I begged. "Please. She's my mate. My heart. You kill her, you kill me."
"Then I guess I'm killing you both." Riley lunged.
Everything happened at once. I shifted, throwing myself in front of Isla. Riley's teeth aimed for my throat. And Isla—broken, bleeding Isla—leaped over me to take the hit meant for me.
The sound of her scream would haunt me forever.
She fell, Riley's jaws locked on her neck. Blood poured onto the ground. The mate bond snapped like a broken guitar string, and I felt half my soul die.
"ISLA!" I ripped Riley off her, throwing my sister into a tree. I shifted back, catching Isla's wolf form as she collapsed. "No, no, no. Stay with me. Please!"
Her eyes found mine. One last look. Full of love and sadness and goodbye.
Then they closed.
The bond went completely silent.
Dead silent.