Chapter 9 +25 Bonus Chapter 9 Elysia's POV Three months later. My belly was a heavy, perfect sphere. Our pup was due in a month. Adrian took care of my every need, even holding my arm when I walked. "A message from your friend," he said, handing me a comm crystal. It was Maya, my friend from the Blackmoon Pack. "Elysia, you have to see this," her voice was buzzing with gossip. "It's about your ex." An image appeared on the crystal. It was the Blackmoon Pack's great hall. Damon sat at the head of the table, surrounded by a few of his men, empty bottles everywhere. "Finally free!" one of them cheered. "No one telling us when to hold meetings or when to train!" "Yeah!" another agreed. "Elysia was a damn control freak. Always breathing down our necks about patrols, training schedules... even who we were sleeping with." "That's how she-wolves are," a third man slurred. "Always think they're right about everything." The image of Damon raised his glass. "To a new beginning!" he said, his voice drunk. "To a life with no one telling us what to do!" "Cheers!" I watched the video and shook my head. "Are they regretting it now?" Adrian asked. I kept watching. The footage skipped ahead a few weeks. Same hall, but the mood was completely different. The men sat around the table, their faces grim. "More trouble on the border," one said. "The Silverclaws are refusing to renew the trade agreement." "Why?" Damon asked, his voice weary. "They said we're not credible. The Moonstone incident destroyed their trust in us." 1/3 Chapter 9 "Then send someone to negotiate." "Who? We don't have a negotiator like Elysia anymore." Silence. +25 Bonus "There are also financial problems," another man said. "Without Elysia's strategic planning, our income is down forty percent." "The combat training is a mess, too. The new instructor is useless." "Pack morale is low. Everyone is asking when we can get Elysia back." The Damon in the video looked ten years older. I turned it off. "I've seen enough," I told Adrian. "Let's go see my father." Two hours later, we arrived at the Thundering Peaks territory. As we neared the great hall, a voice, raw with desperation, echoed from within. "Please, Alpha Thunder! You have to help me!" Adrian and I exchanged a look. It was Damon. We quietly approached the door and peered through the crack. Damon was kneeling before my father, his eyes red and swollen. He'd clearly been crying. "I know I was wrong!" he sobbed. "I know I shouldn't have deceived Elysia, or used magic to control her! But I really do love her!" My father sat on his high-backed throne, his expression cold. "Love?" his voice was a low rumble. "You call that love?" "I can change! I can become the man she wants!" Damon looked up, his eyes full of desperation. "Just help me convince her!" "Convince her of what?" my father's voice grew colder. "To forgive a liar? To go back to a man who doesn't deserve her?" "I can be worthy!" Damon pleaded, his voice cracking. "Don't you understand? Without her, I'm nothing! My pack is falling apart! I have nothing left!" "You're getting what you deserve," my father said, standing up. His powerful Alpha presence crashed down like a flood. "Damon Blackmoon, you stole six years of my daughter's life with your lies. You think a pathetic apology can fix that?" "I'll give my life to make it right!" Damon cried. "Your life is worthless." Pe2/3 2/3 Chapter 0 Just then, I pushed the door open. "Father," I said. Both men turned to look at me. The moment Damon saw me, hope exploded in his eyes. "Elysia!" He struggled to stand. +25 Bonus But Adrian was a blur of motion. He stepped between us, his boot connecting with Damon's chest in a sickening thud. The impact sent Damon flying backward to slam against the far wall, blood spewing from his lips. "Stay on your knees where you belong," Adrian's voice was ice. "You lost the right to stand in her presence a long time ago." Damon tried to get up, but Adrian's dominance pinned him to the floor. "Elysia, please..." he held out a trembling hand. "I need you... My pack needs you..." I looked at him, feeling nothing. "Damon, a shattered mirror can't be made whole again," my voice was quiet, devoid of all emotion. "There is no going back. You need to move on."