Damien’s Distance
1116 Words
Mira found Damien where she knew he would be, buried in his study, surrounded by open maps, thick-bound reports, and the ever-burning scent of cedar and ink. The heavy oak door creaked slightly as she pushed it open. He didn’t look up. His eyes were fixed on a scroll laid out before him, his brow wrinkled in thought, one hand scribbling notes while the other held a half-empty glass of whiskey.
“Damien,” she said, stepping inside.
Still no response.
“We need to talk.”
That got his attention. Damien glanced up, his expression unreadable, eyes cool and guarded, like a soldier caught off-duty. He blinked slowly, setting down the quill.
“What’s on your mind, Mira?” he asked, voice flat.
She closed the door behind her with a quiet click. Then she walked to the center of the room and stood still, arms crossed tightly over her chest, as if holding herself together.
“Vivienne,” her voice low and firm.
Damien’s gaze shifted. He leaned back in his chair and took a slow sip from his glass, exhaling softly. “What about her?”
“She’s gaining influence,” Mira said. “Quietly. Carefully. But it’s spreading.”
Damien raised an eyebrow. “She’s just being friendly.”
Mira’s tone turned sharp. “She’s recruiting.”
Damien, setting the glass down. “Recruiting what? Friends? She’s an omega, Mira. No one sees her as a threat.”
“You don’t,” Mira snapped. “But others do. The younger pack members hang on her every word. She flatters them, whispers promises, and encourages their doubts. She is building a faction, Damien. Right under your nose.”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You’re overreacting.”
Her hands dropped to her sides. "No, I’m not. I’ve watched her. I’ve heard her. She tells Elric he’s the future of the pack. She tells Jana she’s the next great healer. She tells Rhys he will outrank everyone soon. And they believe her, because she speaks like she has authority.”
Damien’s expression softened, but Mira didn’t miss the edge of irritation in his voice. “Vivienne comforts them, some of the younger ones feel overlooked.”
“She’s undermining me,” Mira said, her voice tightening. “Not as your Luna, but as a leader.”
Damien stood slowly, circling the desk, placing himself between her and the window where the early afternoon sun slanted through.
“She is not trying to replace you.”
“No,” Mira said. “She doesn’t have to. She’s just making me irrelevant.”
Damien looked away for a moment, jaw clenched. Mira stepped closer.
“I’m your mate, Damien,” she said, her voice breaking. “Not just a figurehead.”
“You think that’s how I see you?”
She laughed bitterly. “I know that’s how the pack sees me. And I know you have done nothing to change that.”
Damien turned toward her, his eyes hardening. “You are wrong.”
“No. I see now how easily I was silenced. How quickly you let someone else, someone weaker, take the space I once held.”
“Vivienne is not weaker,” he said sharply.
Mira’s brows lifted. “She’s not a warrior. She’s not trained. She’s not built for leadership. She manipulates. And you have handed her power wrapped in affection and excuses.”
Damien walked back behind the desk. His hands braced the surface as he leaned forward. “Vivienne gave me peace when you gave me pressure.”
Mira pull back.
He looked up, instantly regretful, but the words hung heavy between them.
She took a step back. “Peace? You mean silence. You mean submission. You wanted me to play the perfect Luna and not challenge you. And when I stopped fitting that pattern, you found someone who would.”
Damien’s voice dropped. “You stopped being my partner, Mira. You pulled away.”
“I pulled away,” she echoed, shocked. “Because I was drowning! I gave up everything to fit this role, to stand beside you, to be what the pack needed. And when I looked for help, you were already holding her hand.”
The room was silent.
Damien turned his eyes to the window. “You are not the only one who gave something up, Mira.”
“Oh, really?” Her voice was now weak. “What did you give up, Damien? Me?”
He looked at her again, and there it was, the exhaustion, the guilt, the unspoken truth.
“I never meant for it to go this far,” he said. “Vivienne wasn’t supposed to… She was supposed to be support. A calm presence. It helped with the pack’s unrest. With the border tensions. I thought…”
“You thought I would just fade into the background,” she finished. “Smile and nod while she sank her claws into everything I helped build.”
Damien sank into his chair, eyes closed. “It wasn’t meant to be betrayal.”
“But that’s what it is.” Her voice was soft. Not angry. Just tired.
“I don’t need to be Luna if the title means nothing,” Mira said. “I don’t need the crown. I need respect. Purpose. A partner who sees me.”
Damien looked up, real pain in his eyes now. “I do see you.”
“No,” she said gently. “You see what’s convenient. You see who stands still and stays quiet. I came here today to tell you that I’m stepping back.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I’m rebuilding the warrior corps,” she said. “I’m training again. I’m gathering those who remember what it means to serve without flattery and politics.”
Damien stood. “You can’t do that without my permission.”
Her eyes glowed. “I don’t need your permission. I only need my purpose.”
They stared at each other, two leaders, two former lovers, two halves of a bond now shattered under the weight of silence.
Finally, Damien’s voice dropped. “If you walk this path… things between us may not recover.”
Mira nodded once. “Then let them fall. If they were built on silence, they were never solid.”
She turned toward the door.
“Mira,” he called, softer now. “I never stopped caring for you.”
She paused, hand on the handle. “Then you should have fought for me.”
And then she was gone. Leaving Damien alone with his maps, his regrets, and the bitter scent of betrayal.
- Writer
