Chapter 4
The silence in the room was deafening. Damon stared at the burial receipt in his hands, his pupils contracting to pinpricks as the
words sank in.
“Baby Blackwood… burial plot… paid in full…”
His hands began to shake. For just a moment, I saw something crack in his expression-a flicker of fear, of dawning realization.
Then Serena snatched the paper from his hands.
“Oh my goodness, Damon! Look at this!” She waved the receipt dramatically. “It says it’s for ‘Baby Blackwood’! Why would anyone buy a grave for a perfectly healthy child?”
Her voice was pure poison disguised as concern. “Unless… unless this is some kind of sick psychological game she’s playing to get
your attention?”
Damon’s face went through a series of emotions-confusion, denial, and finally settling on rage. He grabbed the receipt and
slammed it against my face so hard the paper cut my cheek.
“Aria! What kind of pathetic, twisted trick is this supposed to be?”
“You think I’m stupid? You think I’ll fall for some fake receipt you had made up to manipulate me?”
His voice rose to a roar. “Do you even deserve to be called my mate anymore? Jealous, vindictive, and completely unhinged! And
you’ve clearly lost your mind if you think this ridiculous stunt will work!”
The denial in his voice was almost desperate. He needed to believe I was lying because the alternative was too terrible to face.
“You know what? I’m done with your jealousy. If you can’t handle me having other people in my life, then maybe Ethan should be
the one inheriting my position instead of our son!”
Serena’s eyes lit up like she’d won the lottery. She tried to hide her expression of pure triumph, but I caught it.
“Oh, Damon,” she said breathlessly. “You don’t mean that. Ethan would be honored, but-”
“With his mixed-blood Omega lineage?” I cut her off, my voice dripping with contempt. “Who in this pack would follow a half-
breed leader? Who would respect someone with diluted bloodlines?”
I laughed bitterly. “Your precious position, Damon-give it to whoever you want. My son and I don’t need your scraps.’
Damon’s face flushed red with fury. “Such lies! Everything you do, everything you say-it’s all just jealousy, isn’t it? You can’t
stand that I care about someone else!”
“You’re making up stories about death and graves because you’re desperate for attention!”
The exhaustion hit me like a physical weight. I was so tired of fighting, so tired of trying to make him see the truth.
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“Damon,” I said quietly, “can’t we just let each other go? Can’t we just… end this?”
His entire body went rigid. “End this? END THIS?”
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His lips pressed into a thin, vicious line. “You are MY mate, Aria! We made sacred vows before the Moon Goddess herself! Those bonds aren’t broken just because you’re having a temper tantrum!”
“Without the Moon Goddess’s permission, you’re not allowed to leave my side! You belong to me!”
Something inside me snapped. “The Moon Goddess doesn’t protect betrayers, Damon! She doesn’t bless murderers!”
“We’re finished! Do you hear me? FINISHED!”
The change in Damon was instant and terrifying. His eyes turned blood red, the veins in his neck bulging as his wolf fought to
surface. His hair literally stood on end as his Alpha power flooded the room.
“You… don’t… get… to… decide… that.”
Each word was punctuated by a step toward me. His hands had partially shifted into claws.
“I decide when we’re finished. I decide what happens to you. I decide everything!”
He lunged at me with inhuman speed. I barely had time to throw up my arms before his fist connected with my temple.
Stars exploded across my vision. The world tilted sideways and went black.
When consciousness returned, I immediately wished it hadn’t.
The stench hit me first-a nauseating mixture of human waste, mold, and decay. My werewolf senses, normally a blessing,
became a curse as every disgusting odor assaulted my nostrils.
I was chained to the wall of what looked like a servants’ toilet, probably unused for years. Silver chains bound my wrists and
ankles, burning my skin with every movement.
“Finally awake, are we?”
Serena stood in the doorway, immaculate as always, looking down at me like I was something she’d scraped off her shoe.
“How does it feel, Aria? How does it feel to be exactly where you belong?”
She stepped into the filthy room, careful not to let her expensive dress touch anything.
“Do you still think you’re some noble Luna? Some high-ranking mate?” She laughed, the sound sharp and cruel. “Look at
yourself. You’re nothing but a filthy slave chained in a toilet where you belong.”
I tried to speak, but my throat was raw and my jaw ached from Damon’s blow.
Serena’s smile widened. “Oh, but I have something very interesting to tell you. Something that will make this all so much more…
satisfying.”
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She knelt down, bringing her face close to mine. Her breath smelled like expensive perfume and lies.
“Your son was only five years old when he died. But my Ethan? He’s already six. Do you know what that means, Aria?”
The implication hit me like a physical blow.
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“I was with Damon first,” she continued conversationally. “I was pregnant with his child before he even met you. He was mine
from the very beginning.”
“But you think Damon loves you?” She threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, sweet, stupid Aria. You have no idea what he really
thinks about you.”
“He told me how much he despises you. How your whining and neediness make him sick. How he has to force himself to touch
you because you’re so pathetic.”
Each word was designed to cut deep, to destroy whatever remained of my self-worth.
“Just looking at your face makes him want to vomit. His words, not mine.”
I should have been devastated. A month ago, these revelations would have destroyed me completely.
But now? Now I felt… nothing.
I no longer loved Damon. His opinion of me had become as irrelevant as yesterday’s weather.
My lack of reaction clearly frustrated Serena. She grabbed my hair and yanked my head back, forcing me to look at my reflection
in the cracked mirror on the opposite wall.
“Look at yourself! Look at that pathetic, ugly face! No wonder you couldn’t keep your man!”
I saw myself in the mirror-bruised, chained, broken. But I also saw something else. A cold determination that hadn’t been there
before.
“Oh, and about your son…” Serena’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I want you to know something special. Something that will make this perfect.’
She leaned in closer, her voice full of malicious glee.
“I tampered with that silver cage. I made sure those spikes were extra sharp, extra painful. I wanted him to suffer, and he did. Oh,
how he suffered!”
My blood went cold.
“He was in agony for hours before he finally died. Hours, Aria. And it’s all because of me.”
She stood up, brushing imaginary dust from her dress.
“He screamed for you, you know. Cried for his mommy to save him. But mommy was too weak, too pathetic to protect her own child.”
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“From now on, the Luna position is mine. The inheritance will go to my son. And you? You’ll be nothing but a lowly slave for the
rest of your miserable life.”
Something primal and savage rose up inside me. The grief, the rage, the sheer injustice of it all coalesced into pure, murderous
intent.
I smashed my head into the mirror, ignoring the glass that cut my scalp. My hand closed around the sharpest shard I could find.
“Serena!” I snarled, lunging forward as far as the chains would allow. “I’m going to rip your throat out!”
But she was already backing away, her eyes bright with triumph.
“Damon!” she screamed. “Help me! She’s trying to kill me!”
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway. Damon appeared in the doorway like an avenging angel, his face dark with fury.
“What the hell is going on here?”
“She attacked me!” Serena sobbed, throwing herself into his arms. “I was just trying to give her some water, and she went crazy!
She said she was going to kill me and my children!”
“Liar!” I spat, but Damon wasn’t listening.
His boot caught me in the ribs, sending me crashing back into the wall. Glass shards from the broken mirror scattered across the
floor, several of them embedding in my skin.
“Damon, I’m so scared,” Serena whimpered against his chest. “What if she breaks free? What if she hurts Ethan?”
Damon’s eyes were cold as winter when he looked at me. “Aria, I’ve been too lenient with you. Too forgiving. You’ve forgotten
your place.”
“I warned you what would happen if you threatened my family again. Did you think my words were just empty threats?”
He began walking toward me, his intention clear in every step.
“Time for you to learn some respect.”
But as he raised his hand to strike me, something unexpected happened.
The pendant around my neck-the one that had been dormant for years-suddenly erupted with brilliant silver light. The
radiance was so intense that Damon had to shield his eyes.
Power flooded through the room, ancient and undeniable.
The door to the servants’ toilet exploded inward, torn from its hinges by invisible force.
A group of elderly figures in ceremonial robes stood in the doorway, their faces grave and their eyes blazing with righteous anger.
“Who dares harm our Child of the Moon?” Elder Magnus’s voice boomed through the small space, carrying the weight of centuries of authority.
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