---- bleeding. The silver had prevented proper healing, leaving raw, infected wounds that should have killed a lesser wolf. "Alpha," Marcus whispered, horrified. "Why didn't you tell us? Why haven't you let the healers treat you? " Damon didn't respond, just took another drink. "Alpha, what was this all for?" Thomas asked desperately. "Two packs cooperating in a strong alliance, political stability, and Lydia is your destined mate according to the moon reading. You never opposed the arrangement before. Why are you so determined to cancel it now, no matter the cost?" Lydia appeared in the doorway, her expression triumphant. "T'll tell you why," she said coldly. "Because he fell in love with someone else. He fell in love with Sage Rivers. He was supposed to use her, but ended up getting himself trapped instead. Tell me, isn't that the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard?" ---- The pack members looked at each other, struggling to process this information. Several shook their heads in denial. "That's impossible," James said quietly. 'How could the Alpha fall in love with Sage Rivers? She was just... she was just part of the plan." "Why is it impossible?" Lydia's voice turned sharp and cutting. "Look at him now! If he didn't love her, why would he cancel a advantageous marriage alliance? Why would he take 999 silver lashes rather than bind himself to me? Why would he risk losing everything-his title, his power, his pack-all for a woman who's already rejected him?" Everyone fell silent. Thinking back to Damon's strange behavior over the past months, they began to see the signs they'd missed. The way he'd always asked about Sage's wellbeing during pack meetings. How he'd personally overseen every detail of their planned mating ceremony. ---- The fury in his eyes when she'd been attacked. The complete breakdown when she left. "Alpha," Marcus asked tentatively, his voice barely above a whisper. "Did you really fall in love with Sage Rivers?" They all turned to look at Damon, who had remained motionless and silent throughout the entire conversation. "Damon," Thomas asked carefully, "is what Miss Ashford is saying true?" For a long moment, Damon said nothing. His bloodshot eyes stared at the wall, seeing something none of them could see. Then, without warning, he suddenly smashed the wine bottle in his hand against the floor. The glass exploded in a shower of sparkling fragments, whiskey splashing across the expensive carpet. The sound was like thunder in the quiet room. He looked up at all of them with wild, red-rimmed ---- eyes, his face a mask of pain and rage and desperate honesty. His voice, when it came, was hoarse from weeks of alcohol and suppressed screaming. "Yes, I fell in love with her! So what? Is that not allowed?" The words hung in the air like a confession of murder. "T fell in love with the woman I was supposed to use! I fell in love with my enemy's sister! I fell in love with someone who will never forgive me for what I did!" He laughed, the sound broken and terrible. "Are you satisfied now? "