---- Chapter 23 Damien POV: | didn't remember moving. One moment | was in the shadows, the next | was a whirlwind of pure, unrestrained Alpha fury. A guttural roar tore from my throat, a sound of absolute rage and betrayal that silenced the entire bar. | grabbed Lyra, yanking her off the other Alpha's lap so hard she shrieked. "The pup," | snarled, my face inches from hers. "Tell me the truth." Her eyes widened in terror, the facade of the cunning seductress crumbling to reveal the pathetic, cowardly rogue beneath. "Damien! What are you doing here?" "The truth!" | roared, shaking her. The other Alpha, Marcus, scrambled to his feet. "Hey! Get your hands off her!" | didn't even look at him. My eyes were locked on Lyra. "You lied," | whispered, the sound more menacing than any shout. "You lied about everything." Her face went pale. "I... | don't know what you're talking about." ---- That was it. | saw red. | threw her aside and launched myself at Marcus. We crashed over a table, the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood filling the air. He was an Alpha, but he was drunk and soft. | was fueled by a pain so deep it had become a weapon. The fight was brutal and short. | left him bleeding on the floor and turned back to Lyra, who was cowering in the corner. | grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the bar, ignoring her protests and the fearful stares of the other rogues. | drove her back to the house, the silence in the car thick with my murderous rage. | didn't trust myself to speak. The moment we were inside, | threw her to the floor. "You will go to the Elders. You will dissolve our connection. You will take your pup, and you will get out of my territory and never come back." She scrambled away from me, her eyes darting around like a cornered animal. "Fine! | don't want to be tied to a pathetic, bankrupt Alpha anyway!" She ran upstairs, and | let her go. My rage was spent, leaving behind a hollow, aching void. It didn't change what | had done. It didn't bring Elara back. | spent the next week selling the last of my land, my house, my cars. | gave a generous portion to Kai and the few loyal wolves who had stuck by me, ensuring they would be accepted into other packs. | left a trust for the pup, not ---- because of Lyra, but because he was an innocent in all of this. Then, with a bag full of the most precious gems and ancient artifacts my money could buy, | left. | followed the whispers, the legends, bribing old information brokers and calling in favors | never thought I'd use. After weeks of travel that felt like years, | finally found it. An island that didn't exist on any map, perpetually shrouded in a swirling, silver mist. The Moon Goddess Island. | stood before a massive, shimmering barrier of pure energy. It hummed with a power so ancient and immense it made my Alpha wolf cower. Through the mist, | could see the faint lights of a palace that seemed to be carved from moonlight itself. Music and laughter drifted on the air. They were celebrating. | had to get to her. | took a running start and threw myself at the barrier. It was like hitting a solid wall. A wave of pure, white-hot energy threw me backward, slamming me into a tree. My bones screamed in protest, and blood trickled from my mouth. "You are not welcome here, Bloodstone Alpha," a voice echoed in my mind. The Mind-Link, a gift meant for pack connection, was being used as a weapon of ice. It was cold, impassive, and belonged to one of the guards. "| need to see Elara!" | shouted, staggering to my feet. "I'm her Mate!" ---- "The Princess has no Mate," the voice replied, laced with contempt. "You saw to that yourself. This is a celebration of her return and the full awakening of her White Wolf blood. You have no place here." Desperation clawed at me. "Please," | begged, falling to my knees. | opened my bag, spilling the priceless gems onto the damp earth. "Take it all. It's everything | have. Just... just tell her I'm here. Please. Tell her I'm sorry." There was a long silence. The warrior's mental presence was a wall of disciplined ice. | stayed on my knees, my head bowed, the rain starting to fall, soaking me to the bone. Finally, the voice returned, a flicker of something-pity, perhaps-in its tone. "I will pass on your message. But do not hope for much, rejected one. The pain you caused runs deep."