Chapter 13 - Damien
If there’s one thing that pisses me off more than anything, it’s people questioning my decisions.
Especially when it comes to Jade.
I grip the edge of the table and stare down at the neatly arranged documents spread in front of me, feeling the tension coil tight in my chest. For weeks now, rumors have been swirling. Accusations, sideways glances, secret conversations behind closed doors. And all of them lead back to the same tired conclusion: Jade.
They think she’s behind the attacks. They think the dark magic plaguing the packs is her doing. But they don’t know her. They don’t know what she’s been through. And most of all, they don’t know how badly they’ve screwed up by pointing the finger at her.
I slam my fist down on the table, and the sound reverberates through the empty room. Enough is enough. If I’m going to clear her name, I need to do it with evidence so solid, no one can argue against it.
I’ve spent hours pulling together everything I could find—time stamps, logs, witness statements, anything that proves Jade couldn’t have been responsible for the attacks. I know it won’t fix everything, but it’s a start. And I’m damn well going to make sure people listen.
“Lucas!” Gary calls as his broad shoulders fill the doorway. He’s followed closely by Patrick, who’s wearing his usual smug expression, like he’s already decided this meeting is a waste of time.
Great. Exactly the energy I need.
“You’re late,” I grumble, barely glancing up from the papers I’m organizing.
Patrick raises an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “This better be good. You’ve been dragging us into these meetings for weeks now, and frankly, I’m getting tired of hearing the same excuses.”
I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to stay calm. “It’s not excuses this time, Patrick. It’s proof.”
Gray crosses his arms and leans against the wall like he’s already decided to disagree with whatever I’m about to say. “Proof? Of what? That Jade isn’t involved? Listen, I’ll admit I’m not as convinced as I once was, but we need some hard evidence.”
I give him a hard look. “That’s exactly what I’m going to show you.”
I don’t blame them for being cautious. Hell, if I didn’t know Jade like I do, maybe I’d be cautious, too. But this is different. I’m not letting them take the easy way out by blaming her for something she had no part in.
I clear my throat and gesture to the documents in front of me. “I’ve pulled together a timeline of every attack, every incident, and compared it to where Jade was during those times. The evidence is clear—she couldn’t have been responsible for any of them.”
Patrick snorts. “You really expect us to believe that? You think some papers are going to change our minds?”
“I don’t care what you believe, Patrick,” I snap, my patience running thin. “But you’re going to look at this, and you’re going to listen.”
Gary raises an eyebrow but stays quiet as I push the papers across the table toward them.
“Start with the first attack since she’s been in town,” I say. “The one that happened three weeks ago on the outskirts of East Hills.”
They both lean in, glancing down at the documents. I point to the highlighted sections, each one showing Jade’s exact whereabouts on the night of the attack.
“She was with me the entire night. We were in my cabin, well away from the area. I’ve got witness statements from two pack members who saw us leave Starfire Hollow city square. They can verify we left and headed in the opposite direction. Security footage from my property backs it up.”
Gray frowns as he looks over the page. “And the second attack?”
I flip to the next section. “Jade was at Starfire Hollow at the time. I was handling pack business, and she was with Penny, keeping her busy at home. There’s no way she could’ve been involved.”
Patrick leans back in his chair. His expression is still skeptical, but at least he’s paying attention now. “And the most recent attack?”
I nod, turning to the final section. “We were together in the woods, investigating. Remember? You were there, both of you. You saw us.”
His face tightens at the reminder, but he doesn’t argue. Instead, he flips through the papers one last time before dropping them on the table with a sigh.
“So what are you saying, Damien?” Gray asks.
“I’m saying it’s time to stop blaming Jade for something she didn’t do,” I reply. “We’ve been wasting time chasing ghosts while the real threat is still out there. And if we don’t focus on finding the actual culprit, more of our pack members are going to die.”
Patrick is the first to speak, and when he does, his voice drips with sarcasm. “You’ve made your case, Lucas. But just because Jade wasn’t physically present during the attacks doesn’t mean she’s completely off the hook. Magic works in mysterious ways, you know.”
I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to snarl at him. “That’s a convenient argument, but it doesn’t hold water. She still would’ve had to use a spell, which none of us saw her do. I trust Jade. She didn’t do this.”
“Trust is a funny thing, Damien,” Patrick says with a smirk. “It can blind you to the truth.”
Before I can respond, a slight rustling catches my attention. My eyes flicker to the hallway outside the door, and I see a shadow move. Jade.
I glance back at Gray and Patrick, who are still absorbed in their bickering, and I make a decision. “We’re done here. You have the evidence. It’s time to stop pointing fingers and start finding the real enemy.”
Without waiting for their responses, I push back from the table and stride toward the door. As soon as I step into the hallway, I see Jade standing there. Her face is twisted in anger.
“Jade?” I say.
She doesn’t look at me. Her jaw is set, her eyes hard. I can feel the heat radiating off her like she’s a boiler ready to explode.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
“Eavesdropping. What does it look like?”
I step closer, folding my arms and trying to make sense of the fire burning in her eyes. She’s angry. No, more than that—furious. And I can’t wrap my head around why. I’ve been busting my ass to clear her name, to make sure everyone knows she’s not responsible for these attacks. And this is what I get?
“What the hell is going on with you?” I ask, keeping my voice even, though the frustration is clawing at my throat. “You look like you’re ready to tear my head off, and I don’t even know why.”
Jade glares at me, and her eyes practically shoot daggers at me. “You seriously don’t get it, do you?”
I blink, completely thrown. “Get what? What the hell did I do?”
She lets out this incredulous laugh, like she can’t believe I’m even asking. “Damien, you’re running around, making these big gestures, doing all this stuff for me—stuff I never asked for. You think I need you to fix everything?”
I blink again, even more confused than before. “I’m not trying to ‘fix’ you; I’m trying to clear your name. Just like I promised you, I would do. People are pointing fingers at you for something you didn’t do, Jade. I’m not just going to stand by and let them trash you when I know you’re innocent.”
She shakes her head and steps back, and I can see the tension in every line of her body. “That’s exactly the problem! You keep acting like it’s your job to save me, like I’m some damsel in distress who can’t handle her own damn life. I didn’t ask for that, Damien!”
I take a deep breath, trying to wrap my head around what she’s saying. “Jade, it’s not like that. I’m doing this because you’re part of my pack now. You’re Penny’s mother. You think I’m just going to sit back and watch them drag your name through the mud? No. That’s not happening.”
She lets out a frustrated breath and throws her hands in the air. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me! I’ve been doing just fine on my own for years. I don’t need you swooping in and taking over like I’m some kind of problem you need to solve.”
I stare at her, baffled. “You think that’s what this is? That I’m trying to ‘solve’ you? Dammit, Jade, I’m doing this because I care about what happens to you. You’ve been through more than enough, and now you’ve got people blaming you for things you had no part in. I’m not okay with that. I’m not going to let it slide.”
Her eyes flash again, and she takes another step back like she’s trying to create more space between us. “But you didn’t have to. That’s what I’m saying. I didn’t ask for any of this! I didn’t ask you to go in there and defend me in front of everyone. I didn’t ask you to put yourself on the line like that.”
“No, you didn’t ask. But I did it, anyway. You think I’m going to let people tear you apart just because you didn’t explicitly ask me for help? I’m not wired like that, Jade. I’m an alpha. You’re in my pack now, whether you like it or not, and that means I’m going to protect you. That’s how this works.”
She stares at me, and for a second, I see something in her eyes. Something that looks a lot like hurt, though she’s doing her best to mask it. “You’re doing this out of some sense of obligation, Damien. Because of Penny. Because you feel guilty about the past. You think this is you making up for what happened between us.”
I let out a low, frustrated growl. “It’s not about guilt. Yes, I feel guilty. Yes, I regret how things went down between us. But that’s not the reason I’m doing this.”
“Then what is it?” she demands. “What’s the real reason, Damien? Because all I see is you trying to fix something that can’t be fixed.”
“It’s because I care about you!” The words explode out of me before I can stop them. They hang in the air, heavy and raw, and for a moment, we both just stand there, staring at each other.
“You… what?”
“I care about you, Jade,” I repeat, softer this time. “You’re not just Penny’s mother. You’re… more than that. I’m not doing this just because I feel some sense of duty or obligation. I’m doing it because I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt. By anyone.”
She shakes her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. You can’t just decide to care about me all of a sudden.”
“I didn’t ‘decide’ anything,” I shoot back. “It’s just the way it is. Whether you like it or not, you’re important to me, and I’m not going to let anyone treat you like you’re the problem here.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but no words come out. I can see the conflict in her eyes, the way she’s struggling to make sense of what I’m saying. For a second, I think she’ll let herself believe it.
But then, she shakes her head again, more forcefully this time. “No. This is too much, Damien. I can’t deal with this. I don’t need you to care about me. I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“I know you don’t need it,” I say, shuffling closer now. “But I’m going to do it, anyway. Because you deserve someone who cares about what happens to you. You deserve someone who’s got your back.”
Her eyes well up with something—anger, frustration, maybe even fear. “I don’t know how to handle this,” she whispers. “I don’t know how to handle you doing all of this for me.”
I reach out, gently brushing her arm with my hand. “You don’t have to handle it, Jade. You just have to let me be there for you.”
She jerks away from my touch like I’ve burned her. “I can’t… I can’t do this.”
And before I can say another word, she spins on her heels and stomps down the corridor, disappearing around the corner.
I stand there, staring after her. My chest is tight with frustration, anger, and something else I can’t quite identify. I don’t know how to fix this. Hell, maybe I can’t fix it. But I do know one thing: I’m not going to stop trying.
Because whether she likes it or not, Jade is part of my life now. She’s Penny’s mother. She’s part of my pack. And I’m going to fight for her, even if she’s not ready to fight for herself.