The music, the lights, the laughter — all of it faded into static behind the thrum of blood in my ears. I kept my distance, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Felicia moved through the crowd like she was trying to outrun something. Maybe me. Maybe the truth. But no matter how fast she walked, my steps matched hers.
I wasn’t stalking. I was waiting.
Waiting for her to turn around and face the weight between us. Our sons. Our past. The future she refused to let me near.
She finally did, spun on her heel, eyes blazing.
“Damien,” she hissed, her voice cutting through the crowd’s murmur. “Do you have nothing better to do than follow me around like a lost pup?”
The corner of my mouth lifted, though my chest ached. “I’m not leaving until you give me answers, Felicia.” My voice was steady, low. “You can’t keep running from this.”
“I’m not running,” she snapped, but her eyes darted. Always watching. Always guarding. “I’m protecting my children. You wouldn’t understand that.”
My jaw flexed. “Don’t tell me what I don’t understand.” I stepped closer. She didn’t move. “If you think I’m walking away from this, from them, you’re wrong.”
Her anger cracked across her face like thunder. “Why are you even here, Damien? Don’t you have a wife and child to go back to? Shouldn’t you be with your perfect little family?”
The words hit harder than they should’ve. For a second, I said nothing. Then I leaned in, voice colder than the wind.
“You think Danielle was my choice? You think any of this was what I wanted?”
I saw the tremble before she turned away — not fear, but fury. Wounded pride. Betrayed hope.
And then came him.
“Is there a problem here?” Lucien’s voice slithered into the moment, smug and slow.
He stepped between us like he owned the ground we stood on. His smile was polite, practiced — and as fake as the titles stitched into his jacket.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Felicia muttered, but she looked tired. Bone-deep tired.
Lucien positioned himself in front of her like a damn shield. “Doesn’t look that way. You’re making her uncomfortable, Alpha Damien. Maybe it’s time you gave her some space.”
I growled low in my throat. “And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?”
His eyes glittered, that smirk never wavering. “Someone who knows when to back off. Something you clearly haven’t learned.”
If he got one inch closer to her, I was going to rip the smug off his face.
The tension coiled tight — a rubber band about to snap.
And then it did.
A scream shattered the night. High-pitched. Terrified.
“Rogues!” someone shouted, and panic rippled through the crowd like wildfire.
I turned on instinct, scanning the chaos for two small shapes — Max and Danny.
“Felicia!” I called, but she was already gone, tearing through the crowd like a bolt of lightning.
I followed.
I caught up just in time to see the rogue — jaws wide, teeth bared — inching toward the boys.
Her scream pierced the air. She shifted mid-leap, her claws unsheathed, her body moving like wrath made flesh.
I didn’t think. I shifted mid-sprint and slammed into the rogue with full force. Its ribs cracked beneath me. I drove it into the dirt and tore it apart before it could get back up.
Blood sprayed across the ground. Not hers. Not theirs.
Lucien appeared again, grabbing the boys. “I’ve got them!”
My growl followed him, but my focus stayed locked on the bodies around us. More rogues were pouring in. Screams and snarls echoed through the trees.
“Felicia!” Lucien called. “We need to go. Now!”
She ran to the boys and scooped them up, her breath heaving, her body trembling. I saw the tear tracks on her cheeks as she whispered to them.
I didn’t follow. Not yet.
Not until I was sure they were safe.
But one thing was crystal clear.
Whatever she thought about me, whatever pain stood between us when it came to our children, I would always be there. Even if I had to tear the world apart to prove it.