---- I thought about the young woman I'd been ten years ago when we first met. How Damon's eyes had shone with adoration as he promised to love only me forever. "you swore an oath," I said quietly. ''You said loyalty was a wolf's nature." "T've been loyal! Keeping one Omega on the side isn't betrayal-it's practically expected!" Before I could respond, the front door opened again. Serena entered with her chin ducked submissively, but I caught the flash of triumph in her eyes. "Damon, I'm sorry to interrupt," she said ina voice like honey. "But if Aria doesn't want us here, perhaps Ethan and I should find somewhere else to stay..." She had a small overnight bag in one hand and held her son's hand with the other. Clearly, she'd been listening outside the door, waiting for the ---- perfect moment to make her entrance. "Absolutely not!" Damon strode over and took the bag from her. "This is your home now. No one is going to drive you away." Serena's son-Ethan-immediately ran to the coffee table where I kept a small wooden box. Before I could react, he'd opened it and dumped the contents onto the floor. My son's baby teeth scattered across the hardwood like fallen stars. "Don't touch those!" I lunged forward, desperate to protect the only physical reminders I had left. But it was too late. Ethan's shoe had already crushed one of the tiny teeth into powder. Both children started wailing immediately. Serena scooped up her son with practiced ease, crocodile tears streaming down her face. "T know you hate me," she sobbed to Damon. "But ---- please don't let her hurt my baby. He's been through enough trauma already." "Damon, she tried to grab Ethan!" Serena's voice rose to a hysterical pitch. "Right in front of you! What will she do when you're not here to protect us?" I was still on my hands and knees, frantically gathering the remaining teeth. One was missing entirely, ground to dust under a six-year-old's foot. The last physical piece of my son. Gone. Damon moved to the wall where he kept his disciplinary tools. The silver-spiked whip was traditionally used only on rogue wolves or criminals. Never on a mate. Never on the mother of his child. "you need to learn your place," he said, his voice ---- deadly calm. "I've been too lenient with you. Too forgiving." The first lash caught me across the cheek, splitting the skin to the bone. Silver burned like liquid fire, ensuring the wound would never heal properly. The second strike landed across my shoulder, tearing through fabric and flesh alike. "This is what happens when you threaten my family," Damon growled, raising the whip again. " Remember this lesson, Aria. There won't be a next time."