Chapter 7: Still Sunrise
1304 Words
Damian's words hung in the air, heavy and impossible to ignore.
“You can wallow in heartbreak, or you can take your life back. The choice is yours.”
He says it like it’s that simple. Like my entire world hasn’t just been turned upside down, like I’m not standing here shaking from the weight of everything that’s happened tonight.
I wrap my arms around myself, trying to fight off the chill of the night air,or maybe it’s the way his eyes are boring into me, sharp and unrelenting.
The worst part is that a tiny, desperate part of me wants to believe him. Wants to trust that he can fix everything, even though I know better.
I don’t even know him.
And he’s not just some regular guy. He’s Damian Blackwood. The brooding, dangerous Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack. A man who’s spent years building a reputation as someone you don’t cross.
And he’s older. So much older. He has this commanding presence, this calm intensity that makes me feel like I’m way out of my depth.
What the hell am I even doing standing here with him?
“This is crazy,” I say, my voice shaky but firm. “I can’t do this.”
Damian didn’t move. His blue eyes stay locked on mine, unreadable but somehow still piercing. “You can. You just don’t want to admit it yet.”
I glare at him, anger bubbling up under the surface. “You don’t know me.”
“Don’t I?” he counters, his tone calm but cutting.
“No,” I snap, my fists clenching at my sides. “You don’t know anything about me. About my life. About what I’ve been through.”
“I know enough,” he says, stepping closer. “I know that you’re standing here because you have nowhere else to go. I know that your pack sees you as nothing. I know that you’ve spent your whole life waiting for someone to see your worth. And I know that tonight, you realized Maxwell Grayson isn’t that person.”
His words hit like a punch to the gut.
My throat tightens, and I look away, blinking back the tears threatening to spill again. “Stop reminding me,” I whisper, my voice cracking.
He didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink. “I’m not the one who broke you, Raven. I’m just the one offering you a way to put yourself back together.”
I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “And all I have to do is pretend to be your mate and have your kid? Yeah, that sounds super healthy.”
Damian smirks.“You don’t have to like it. You just have to think about what it means.”
“What it means?” I repeat, my voice rising. “It means I’d be tied to someone I don’t even know for the rest of my life. Someone who’s what: thirteen, fourteen years older than me?”
“Thirteen,” he says, his tone flat, as if the number doesn’t faze him at all.
I stare at him, thrown off by how blunt he is. “That doesn’t bother you?”
“Should it?” he asks, tilting his head.
“Yes!” I snap. “It should bother you, and it sure as hell bothers me. You’re thirty-five, Damian. I’m twenty-two. I don’t even know what I’m doing with my life, and you’re talking about heirs and power and—”
“And what?” he cuts in, his voice sharper now. “You think you have time to figure it out? You think this pack is going to let you ‘find yourself’ after what happened tonight? Grow up, Raven. They’ll tear you apart the second you walk back into that territory.”
I flinch, his words hitting too close to home.
“I’m offering you something they never will,” he continues, his tone softening slightly. “Freedom. Power. Respect. You’ll be more than the girl they threw away. You’ll be untouchable.”
Untouchable.
The word sends a shiver down my spine.
I force myself to meet his gaze, my chest tightening. “And what about you?” I ask. “What’s in this for you, Damian? Why me? Why now?”
For a moment, he doesn’t answer. He just looks at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. When he finally speaks, his voice is quieter, more measured.
“Because I’ve been where you are,” he says. “I know what it’s like to lose everything. To have nothing left but the pieces of who you used to be.”
I stare at him, startled by the raw honesty in his tone.
“And I know what it’s like to take those pieces and build something stronger,” he continues, his gaze steady. “Something no one can take from you again.”
The silence stretches between us, heavy and charged. I don’t know what to say.
“Look,” he says, his voice shifting back to its usual calm bluntness. “You don’t trust me. I get it. You don’t know me, and you sure as hell don’t owe me anything. But the offer stands.”
I swallow hard, my hands shaking at my sides.
“You’ve got until sunrise,” Damian says, his tone final. “If you’re not ready by then, I’ll leave. And you can go back to your pack, back to your old life, and hope that one day they’ll stop seeing you as the girl who wasn’t enough.”
The words sting, but I can’t deny how much truth they hold.
Damian took a step back, his eyes never leaving mine. “The choice is yours, Raven. But don’t waste it.”
He turns and starts to walk away, his boots crunching against the forest floor.
“Wait,” I say, my voice trembling.
He stops but doesn’t turn around.
“What happens if I say yes?” I ask, barely able to get the words out.
He glances over his shoulder, his expression unreadable. “Then you get a new life. A new name. A new future. No strings, no regrets.”
His words send a chill through me, and I nod slowly.
He doesn’t say anything else, just disappears into the shadows, leaving me standing alone in the darkness.
The forest feels colder without him there. I wrap my arms around myself, my mind racing as I replay everything he said.
He’s right about one thing; I don’t have time.
But how the hell am I supposed to make a decision like this?
I sink to the ground, my back pressed against a tree, and bury my face in my hands. My thoughts are a tangled mess, and the weight of everything feels like it’s crushing me.
Damian Blackwood. An Alpha I barely know. A man thirteen years older than me, with a reputation that makes even the strongest wolves think twice about crossing him.
And yet, he’s offering me something no one else ever has.
A way out.
A chance to be something more than the broken girl Maxwell left behind.
But is that enough?
What happens if I say yes? What happens if I throw myself into this plan, into his world, and lose myself all over again?
What happens if I don’t?
The thought of going back,to the pack, to the whispers, to him,makes my stomach turn.
But the thought of tying myself to Damian,of stepping into a life I can’t possibly understand, isn’t much better.
I tilt my head back, staring up at the sliver of moonlight breaking through the trees.
The seconds tick by, each one dragging me closer to sunrise.
I don’t know what to do.
And that’s the scariest part of all.
- Writer
