Damon's POV
I blocked Rhein out.
Kill her?
No way. I knew Aria.
She'd clung to this marriage like a lifeline—just for protection from the Silvermoon pack. Someone like her would never have the guts to die.
She'd give up. Before I had to kill her.
I believed it.
And I was wrong.
What I didn't expect was that even under this crushing force, her grip on Lilith didn't loosen.
This wasn't a contest of strength.
It was a stubbornness that burned through her soul.
A madness that would rather shatter everything than yield.
What the hell gave her the right?!
Just as my rage was about to spiral completely out of control, to do something irreversible—
Her body finally hit its limit.
She swayed violently, her knees buckling, about to collapse.
But she didn't.
With the last of her stre
