Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Damien
I gripped the steering wheel so tightly I could hear the soft crack of my knuckles. The leather of the steering creaked under the intense pressure I was putting on it. My foot slammed the accelerator harder as trees blurred past the windows, my heart pounding to the rhythm of my wolf’s howl.
She was out there. The woman who had become the center of my world, alone, heavily pregnant, and defenseless.
My chest burned like something was trying to claw its way out. I hadn’t felt panic like this in my entire life. My panic felt cold, suffocating, and sharp enough to slice through steel. I prayed to the Goddess, to fate, to any power that still gave a damn that I wasn’t too late.
Rielle’s words echoed through my skull, her cruel mock that, by the time I get there, Ivy would have torn Raven apart. I couldn’t let myself think about that. I couldn’t let myself imagine. I refused to believe that.
Raven was strong. She was tenacious and stubborn. She would hold on. She had to.
And damn it, I needed to tell her. By the Goddess, I needed to tell her I was sorry and that she mattered more than I ever let on. I needed to tell her that I loved her.
The gates of the Ivory Moon Pack came into view just as the sun crested fully over the horizon, casting long shadows across the cracked road. It was barely 8 a.m., but the world already felt too loud, too bright, and too late.
My tires screeched as I rounded the bend and came to a hard stop. A barricade of massive wooden spikes, iron rods, and a line of guards in formation, twelve of them, maybe more, blocked the road. Their shoulders were squared and their eyes unreadable. They were Ivory Moon Pack soldiers.
My claws twitched beneath my skin. I shoved the car into park and threw the door open, slamming it behind me.
“Move!” I roared, my voice thundering across the clearing.
The guards didn’t flinch. One of them, a tall male with a crooked nose and silver streaked hair, stepped forward.
“You’re not permitted to enter, Alpha Damien,” he said, flatly. “The pack is under lockdown. A sanctioned blood duel is in progress. No outsiders are allowed.”
“I do not give a damn about your lockdown. Step aside. Now!”
The guard didn’t move. “We have strict orders not to let you through.”
A sound floated over the trees, out in the distant, but unmistakable. It was a loud cheer from a crowd—a ring of voices, loud and frenzied, rising and falling in waves.
My stomach dropped as the cold realization hit me. She was there, in that circle, fighting Ivy. And I was wasting time here. I took a step forward, my voice low and lethal. “If you value your lives,” I said, “you’ll get out of my way.”
The guard’s jaw clenched. “We can’t. ” That was all I needed to hear.
My claws tore through my skin in an instant, my canines dropping sharp and savage. Power rushed through my limbs. My wolf surged forward, snapping at the edges of my control, and I let him.
The first guard lunged, but I moved faster. One swipe, and his throat opened like paper. Blood sprayed across the dirt. The second didn’t have time to scream. The third tried to shift before I gutted him.
Two fell with a single swipe, their chests caved in, ribs shattered. The rest finally realized what they were dealing with. They shifted. Fast. Wolves of varying sizes: brown, black, russet, snarled and leaped at me. Bloody fools, I welcomed them.
My wolf burst free of my skin, massive and furious, my fur bristling as I hit the first wolf mid-air.
My teeth sank into his spine and crunched.
He dropped limp. Another came from the side.
I slammed into him, ripping his leg clean off before turning to bite the throat of the one who tried to circle behind me.
Blood soaked the earth. Claws scraped my ribs, but I barely felt it. They weren’t fighting to kill. They were fighting to hold me back. That made them weak.
But I was fighting for her, and that made me unstoppable.
I tore through the last of them, my chest heaving, blood dripping from my muzzle.
Their bodies lay scattered behind me, twitching, broken, some still alive and groaning, but I didn’t look back.
I took off, still in wolf form, racing past the barricade, paws pounding against the ground like thunder.
The cheering grew louder with every stride. A cold dread gripped my spine.
Please don’t be too late.
Please hold on, Raven.
I’m coming.
The roar of the crowd hit me again before I even broke through the trees. I burst into the clearing at full speed, dirt kicking up behind my paws, blood still slick on my fur. The world was noise, cheers, howls, and shouting, but all of it faded the moment I saw her. It was Raven in her wolf form.
I recognized her instantly. Not because I’d seen her like this before, I hadn’t. But somehow, I just knew.
The dominance I’d sensed from her during training, the one she seemed perplexed about when I pointed it out, was pouring off her now in powerful waves.
It was undeniable, fierce, and commanding.
She had told me she couldn’t shift and that after watching her parents be murdered, her wolf had gone silent.
But now she stood at the center of the dueling square, silver fur gleaming in the morning sun, streaked with blood like war paint. She was tense and coiled and radiant with power.
I skidded to a halt, breath ragged, my wolf panting hard as I stared. At her feet lay Ivy, a broken, bloodied mess.
Raven’s wolf leaned forward without a moment’s hesitation and sank her teeth into Ivy’s neck.
There was a sickening crack, a spray of blood, and then Ivy’s head rolled across the ground.
The crowd exploded into noise again with shouts, cheers, and howls of triumph.
But I didn’t move. I couldn’t. My entire being had gone still.
She did it.
She survived.
She won.
A growl rumbled in my chest, not from rage but from awe. My wolf swayed forward on instinct, ears twitching, tail lowered in something close to reverence. Then Raven’s wolf turned and looked at me. And in that exact moment, the moment our eyes locked, it felt like the world tilted.
Something massive snapped into place inside me, like a damn lock finding its key, like a fire being fed oxygen for the first time. It was the bond, the mate bond.
I felt it slam into me, raw and holy and soul deep. It wasn’t just magic, it was her. Her scent, her presence, her fire. It was as if the universe had reached down and stitched her soul into mine.
Her wolf froze and then took a step toward me. In that instant, I knew she felt it too. We both lifted our heads and howled, long and loud, our voices twining together in a sound that sent tremors through the crowd.
Then we moved, slowly, circling each other. Our fur brushed. Sparks flew across my skin at every point of contact. Her body was warm, and her energy felt so familiar. It felt like home.
We pressed our muzzles together, then paced beside each other in perfect sync, as if we’d done this a thousand times before. When I shifted back into my human form, she followed. There she was—my Raven, tired, brave, bloodied, and beautiful. She was breathing hard, her eyes full of emotion.
I crossed the space between us and pulled her into my arms. Her skin was warm against mine. My hands trembled as I held her.
“You’re…” I couldn’t breathe. I almost couldn’t speak. “You’re my fated mate.”
She paused for a moment like she was coming to that realization, too. Then she nodded slowly, tears shining in her eyes. “That must be how I got my wolf back. I could feel it, you know? For a while now. Like being around you was waking something up in me.”
I pulled back just enough to see her face. And by the Goddess, she was everything. I looked down at Ivy’s body, the blood, and the crowd. Then I looked back at Raven and felt something shift in my chest. Something open.
“Being around you woke something in me, too.” My voice was low and steady, but thick with emotion. “It happens every time I’m near you. Like something in me snaps awake just because you exist.” I laughed softly, but it was bitter, almost breathless.
“I’ve been going insane, Raven. Since the moment I laid eyes on you. I think I’ve been obsessed with you without even realizing it. You’ve taken over every thought I have, every second of every day.”
I paused, my heart pounding. “I’m in love with you, Raven. I have been for a long time.”
Her eyes didn’t leave mine. Not once. Not even to blink. I went on.
“I found out Ivy was working with Rielle. They planned to trap you and enforce the duel. When I realized what was happening, that you were in danger, I nearly lost my mind.”
I shook my head, my voice cracking. “I’m sorry for every time I made you feel like you weren’t seen or heard.
I’m sorry for trying to take over your choices and for acting like I knew what was best for you.
That wasn’t control, it was fear. I couldn’t bear the thought of you getting hurt.
That’s why I asked you to stop working. Not because I didn’t trust you, but because I know how draining pregnancy can be, and I wanted to carry every burden so you wouldn’t have to lift a single finger. ”
I breathed in, steadying myself.
“I had my suspicions about Rielle. I had people watching her. Every instinct in me wanted to stand by you the moment she touched your nest. But I held back, because I needed proof. I needed to be sure before I moved, and I couldn’t risk raising her suspicion.
And I’m sorry, Raven. I’m sorry I ever made you feel like you were the one in the wrong. ”
I cupped her face, my thumb brushing a streak of dried blood from her cheek.
“I don’t want to live in a world without you.
You complete me, Raven.” My hand dropped to her belly.
“You, and this baby. You’re everything. And I know I can be a stubborn bastard, but with you, I want to be better. You bring out the best in me.”
I swallowed thickly. “I want you, all of you. I want to spend my life with you, raise our pup with you. I want to be yours. Forever.”
Raven’s breath came fast. Her lips parted in a soft, trembling smile. Her voice cracked as she whispered, “You drive me crazy.”
A wet laugh escaped her. “You make me want to throw things half the time, but you also make me feel calm and safe, like I can breathe. And I think, no, I know I’m in love with you.”
Emotion swelled in my chest, and then I kissed her.
My wolf howled within me, pure bliss and a strong sense of protectiveness overwhelming me.
It wasn’t a kiss of possession. It was surrender.
Everything I was, everything I had, I poured into that kiss, into the feel of her lips, the tremble of her hands, the strength of her heartbeat against mine.
Her fingers gripped my arms, holding on like she’d fall without me. But something was wrong. Her breathing hadn’t slowed. Her hand moved shakily to her belly. She pulled back from the kiss, a sound escaping her throat, half gasp, half groan.
My hands caught her shoulders. “Raven?” Her face contorted, and she grabbed my arm hard. “I think,” she whispered, her voice strangled. “I think the baby’s coming.”