---- Chapter 31 Damien POV: A roar of pure, primal fury ripped from my throat. It was not the controlled command of an Alpha, but the sound of a soul being torn in two. The entire bar fell silent. Before Marcus or Lyra could react, | was on them. My form blurred, bones cracking and reforming as my wolf tried to tear its way out. | stopped it halfway, staying in my more man-like form, but my claws extended and my fangs lengthened. | grabbed Lyra by the arm and flung her from Marcus's lap. She hit the wall with a shriek of pain and shock. "The pup!" | snarled, my voice a guttural wreck. "Tell me the truth!" She stared at me, her face a mask of terror. The cunning seductress was gone, replaced by the pathetic rogue she truly was. "Damien! What are you..." "The truth!" | roared again, advancing on her. Marcus staggered to his feet. "Hey! That's no way to treat a..." | didn't let him finish. | spun, grabbing a heavy liquor bottle from the table and bringing it down on his head with all my strength. The bottle shattered, and he collapsed to the floor in ---- a heap. | turned back to Lyra, who was scrambling away from me. "You lied," | whispered, the quiet words more terrifying than any shout. "You lied about everything." Her eyes darted around, looking for an escape. "I... | had to survive! You don't know what it's like to be a rogue!" "You used a sick child," | said, my voice shaking with a rage so profound it felt like a sickness. "You used the memory of my dead warrior. You made me reject my Mate." | grabbed her, hauling her to her feet. "We're going to the Elders. Now." "No!" she screamed, clawing at my hands. "Let me go! I'm with Marcus now!" A cold, vicious thought cut through my fury. A final piece of leverage. "Are you?" | asked, my voice dropping to a deadly calm. "Because | never went to the Elders to dissolve our bond. As far as the law is concerned, you are still my bonded female. You belong to me." The color drained from her face. She knew what that meant. In the eyes of werewolf law, she was mine to command, mine to punish. Her defiance crumbled. "You will come with me," | said, my voice laced with the ---- undeniable power of the Alpha's Command. She whimpered, her body going limp with submission. | dragged her out of the bar, past the stunned and fearful rogues, and threw her into my car. The entire way back to the house, she sobbed, not with remorse, but with the frustration of a cornered rat. | didn't care. All| could think about was the promise | made to Alaric. | was finally going to make things right.