Chapter 9: A Promise of Regret
1788 Words
Damian’s POV
She actually agreed.
I stared at the woman in front of me—stubborn, yet bowing her head—and malice braided with triumph licked through my chest like flame.
Even now, on the third day since Nora came to me and admitted she was wrong—since she became my little shadow again—I still could hardly believe it: Nora had compromised… for another man.
Same situation as before: Nora obeyed. Only this time, it wasn’t for me. It was for him.
I’d never seen anything like it.
Back in Shadow Pack I’m the Alpha’s son, the future Alpha. Everyone answers when I call. And it’s not just the title—I win my own fights. I’m not some Beta’s shield-bearer who needs rescuing. Warriors respect me. Girls in the pack scream my name.
But Nora? First she rejected my confession in Shadow Pack. So what if it started as a prank? I never intended to follow Selena’s script to the letter. I’m the one who’ll be Alpha; even if I told Nora it was a joke, I wouldn’t be stupid enough to announce it in front of the entire pack.
Publicly humiliating an Omega who was loyal to me—sure, the others would say they approved; no one respects an Omega, and my friends never respected Nora. But if I’d done it outright, even they would have found me… disturbingly cold.
People are greedy. They want an Alpha who’s powerful and untouchable, yet also gentle and kind. That doesn’t exist. I don’t fake virtues I don’t have—but I also don’t parade cruelty. It distances the pack.
Besides, that day, Nora—an Omega, my tail who always trailed behind me with those rain-soaked puppy eyes—went for Selena’s throat. The sharp, unyielding light in her eyes… I admit it caught me. I promised Selena I’d “confess” and toy with Nora, but I never told her for how long. I planned to keep Nora as my girlfriend until I got tired.
Instead, Nora rejected me. Then at Silvermoon Academy she set her sights on another man—and now she refuses my touch, wagging her tail for him?
Unacceptable.
What’s mine stays mine—even if I don’t want it yet.
And I never told Nora I didn’t want her.
What’s irritating me more: last night, a sudden notice—royals moved their visit up. Not next week. Today.
The king and queen’s schedule change blindsided everyone. I was up all night with the Event Committee.
Naturally, I worked Nora hard too. Mercy is wasted on this little tail. I could’ve sent her away or spared her Selena’s orders—but leave her idle and she’ll run to that boy, Kade, smiling in a way that makes my blood boil.
Now the academy is decked out—silver-white banners along the halls, windows polished to glassy bones. Students in crisp suits and formal dresses. Flowers and nerves mingling in the air.
I’m already in a suit, seated while my committee officers report. Good progress. Tight timeline, but the welcome program is ready. Tasks done. I nod, dismiss them to wash up and dress, promising what they want tonight—watches, ties, party invites, extra tutoring. I always buy loyalty with little gifts. It works.
They file out. Then Nora appears. She hesitates, but steps up. Under my scrutiny she opens her mouth.
“Today’s the day the king and queen arrive. You promised: if I became your shadow again, you’d stop going after Kade.”
Her first words wobble. But as she speaks, her tone firms; those stubborn eyes settle.
There it is again.
I swallow. That look that makes Nora seem infuriatingly appetizing.
I’ve gone through half the girls in the pack because I can. And because I haven’t found a mate who actually pulls me—or my wolf—at the soul. My wolf hasn’t scented anything on Nora—yet—but I can’t deny it: stubborn and small, pale and flushed with a thread of red, she’s… interesting.
Then she says his name—Kade—and the taste turns bitter.
I stand, close the distance, lean against the wall—shoulders loose, eyes sharp as a blade. “I don’t recall promising that. Learn how to negotiate before you try to bargain with me, little tail.” I smile, cold. “Royal visit or not, I won’t spare him.”
Her chest tightens; anger outruns fear. She steps in, eyes locked on mine. “You’re going back on your word! Maybe you didn’t say it outright, but that was the deal. Otherwise why would I have swallowed all that humiliation these last days?”
Silence snaps taut.
I snort a laugh. “Nora, don’t kid yourself. Humiliation? Since when did you have dignity to lose? Shall I list the things you used to do for me in Shadow Pack?”
I grip her shoulders and haul her closer until there’s no air between us.
She calls what she’s done for me humiliation, yet for a boy she’s known less than a month—Kade—her face lights up. I could tear him apart for that alone.
Her fists clench; our noses nearly bump. No flinch. “You’re vile,” she says, voice shaking but clear.
My smile widens with fury—and a strange thrill. Kade stole the attention that should be mine… and yet Nora, like this—defiant, sparking—makes my blood sing.
My gaze drops to her mouth: glossy, full, like ripe fruit.
Strange. I never looked at her properly before. Now every second feels dangerous and alive.
Anger and desire tangle, boiling my blood. I bend and kiss her.
—Sweet. Exactly as I imagined.
A razor pain slices my lip.
She bites, hard, like an angry wolf pup. Blood blooms.
She wrenches free, eyes cold as a blade. “You disgust me. More than ever—”
Crack.
Her words cut off with a slap. Selena storms in from nowhere, yanks Nora back, and hits her.
“Shut up, filthy Omega.”
Her gaze flicks from my bleeding lip to Nora’s face. She must have seen that I kissed Nora—but she pours her poison onto Nora anyway. She raises her hand for another slap—
I catch her wrist and fling it away. Selena stumbles back, stunned.
My look is a warning. “You’ve overstepped, Selena. Remember who decides everything between us. Next time won’t end with a gentle push.”
Nora’s POV
My cheek burned; the world rang.
Damian and Selena said something. I didn’t hear. I didn’t care.
All of it made me sick.
And when they thought I’d bow my head, I lifted it. Selena stared at Damian, disbelief and betrayal mixing on her face. Not my problem. I wanted her eyes on me.
I strode up and slapped her. Hard.
Crack. The echo shattered the noise.
Selena froze, palm to her cheek, staring at me like she didn’t know me.
I stared right back, gaze sharp as steel. “Didn’t the lesson in the arena stick? Then remember this slap too. One day, even if it’s all of you at once, I’ll still hit back.”
“And really—propping yourself up by leaning on men and then hitting women? That’s pathetic.” I wiped Damian’s blood from my mouth and glared.
By the door, a crowd had gathered—gasps rippled.
I’d been wrong to beg. Wrong to bow my head to people like Damian and Selena.
Even if storms follow, I should hit back. Every time.
I kept my body tight, watching Damian. If he raised a hand, I’d move. In my mind they were one pack, one attack.
He stepped toward me—no anger on his face. Instead, interest. A bright, crooked excitement. He wet his molars, reached for my waist—
Before I could parse it, another figure cut through the crowd, bringing a scent that made my eyes sting.
Kade.
He seized Damian’s hand. His voice was the dark current under ice. “Touch her again, and you’ll regret it.”
Madness flickered in Damian’s eyes; cold calm in Kade’s. Two beasts, braced.
They held themselves in check—because the king and queen were due any minute. Committee officers, already in formal wear, slipped in and murmured to Damian about the schedule.
I knew—if this weren’t the setting it was, Damian would have torn the mask away already.
Tension knifed the air; more students pressed in. Whispers swirled us into a vortex. Neither boy spoke. Neither let go. The moment stretched—
“Enough!”
A bark like a blade splitting air.
Dean of Students Harte, teachers at his heels.
His glance skimmed Damian and Selena, then landed hard on Kade and me. His brows knotted. “You two! On the day of a royal visit, you disgrace the academy?”
My heart plunged. “Dean, they started—”
I knew Harte. These past days, trailing Damian, I’d seen them chat like allies. Damian is good at turning every advantage into a connection. Harte would side with him. I had to explain fast.
He didn’t let me.
“Silence!” he snapped, face dark. “Without rules, we are nothing. Both of you—detention. Now.”
The room burst into whispers:
“Why them?”
“Damian and Selena swung first…”
“Shhh. You’ll be heard.”
My throat closed; words lodged there, useless.
Damian and Selena stood aside, composed—smug.
Harte only said, perfunctory: “Maintain decorum. The royals will be here. Don’t shame the academy.”
“Yes, Dean,” Selena chimed sweetly. Damian dipped his head, as if this were natural.
The world laughed in my face.
Kade, though, stayed calm. He slid an arm around my shoulders, quieting me with a steady rub. He didn’t argue. He only looked at them—cold—and the corner of his mouth lifted.
“You’ll regret this.”
Not loud. Unmistakable.
Harte ignored him, frowning deeper. He beckoned a teacher to escort us to detention, then nodded for Damian and Selena to follow him to the banquet hall.
Selena rolled her eyes at me, smug to the bone.
Damian paused for a heartbeat at Harte’s words—then moved along.
I stared at Kade, startled, but he still didn’t explain. His arm shifted from my shoulder to my waist as he guided me after the teacher toward detention.
He knew what he was doing—just like before.
And for the first time, my certainty began to bend.
- Writer
