---- Chapter 26 Damien POV: The title hit me like a physical blow. "Alpha Damien." She said it like she was addressing a stranger, a business associate. Not the man whose soul was supposed to be tied to hers for eternity. "Elara, please," | choked out, my hands falling uselessly to my sides. "Don't call me that. It's me." Her expression didn't change. A perfect, polite mask. "What is it you want?" "l came to get you. To bring you home," | said, the words tumbling out in a desperate rush. "l know everything. About Lyra, the lies. It was all a mistake. I'm getting rid of her. I'm dissolving the connection. We can fix this." | took a step closer, pleading with my eyes. "I never touched her, Elara. | swear it on the Moon Goddess. | was just trying to do the right thing, to protect what | thought was my warrior's child. It was never about her. It was always you." The lie felt like ash in my mouth, but | was drowning and would grasp at any piece of driftwood. For the first time, an emotion flickered in her eyes. It wasn't ---- love. It was pity. A deep, profound pity that was a thousand times worse than hatred. "You really think I'm that foolish?" she asked, her voice soft, but every word was a razor. She held up her hand. In her palm rested a small, milky white crystal. A memory stone. "My father's pack has ways of learning the truth, Damien." She closed her fingers around the stone, and an image shimmered into existence in the air between us. It was my bedroom. Our bedroom. And it was me, with Lyra. The images were raw, undeniable. The sound of her fake moans, the sight of my own weakness as | sought oblivion in her arms. The memory stone didn't just show the scene; it projected the cloying scent of Lyra's perfume, the stench of betrayal. The projection vanished. The silence in the hall was absolute. "You," she said, her voice barely a whisper, yet it cut through me, "make me feel sick." The floor gave way beneath me. The last of my strength, my pride, my hope-it all shattered. The lie was exposed. My pathetic attempt to salvage some shred of dignity was gone. | did the only thing | could. The one thing no Alpha should ever do. | fell to my knees. ---- "Elara," | sobbed, the sound torn from the deepest part of my soul. | reached out, my hand grabbing the hem of her silver gown like a drowning man clutching a rope. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. | was weak. | was a fool. Please... please forgive me."