Chapter five
1112 Words
Damien's POV
The world tilted off its axis.
Aria—my omega Luna, my barren mate—stood before me radiating power that made my Alpha wolf cower. The Lycan Princess. The missing heir to the throne.
"You lied to me," I breathed, still on my knees.
She laughed, bitter and sharp. "I gave up everything for you. My crown, my family, my identity. And you call that a lie?"
"You let me think you were nothing—"
"I let you think I was yours." Her voice cut through me. "I trusted you to love me without titles or power. How foolish of me."
Prince Ethan stepped forward, his presence suffocating. "Rise, Alpha Damien. We need to discuss your treatment of my sister."
I forced myself to stand, my legs shaking. Around us, my pack remained kneeling, overwhelmed by royal power.
"Your Highness, I didn't know—"
"Would it have mattered?" Ethan's eyes flashed gold. "Would you have treated her differently if you knew?"
Yes. God, yes. I would have worshipped her, protected her, never—
"Where's your w***e?" Aria asked casually. "Shouldn't she be here, clinging to your arm?"
"Don't call her—"
"What? What shouldn't I call the woman you marked while bound to me?" She stepped closer, and I instinctively backed away. "The woman you put in my bed? The woman carrying your bastard?"
"She's pregnant with my heir!"
"Is she?" Aria smiled coldly. "Are you certain?"
"The doctor confirmed—"
"Your doctor. Your friend." She pulled out her phone, showing me medical records. "Did you know she was treated for infertility two years ago? Remarkable recovery, wouldn't you say?"
The ground shifted under me again. "That's... that's fake. You're making this up."
"Am I? When did she conceive, Damien? You were at war for six months. You met her five months ago. Yet she's somehow two months pregnant?"
The math didn't... no. It had to work. It had to.
"Serena!" I called out.
She appeared in the doorway of the pack house, then froze. Even from here, I could see her face pale at the sight of the royal convoy.
"Come here," I commanded.
She approached slowly, her hand on her stomach. But something was different. Her confidence was gone.
"Serena, tell them about the pup. When did we—"
"I'm not feeling well," she said quickly. "The stress—"
"Answer him," Ethan commanded, his royal authority absolute.
She fell to her knees, unable to resist. "I... I..."
"When did you conceive?" I demanded, my own Alpha command joining Ethan's.
"I didn't!" The words burst from her. "I'm not pregnant! Your father made me do it. The debt—he said if I could secure a mating, the Northern Alliance would clear everything."
The world went silent.
My father. The former Alpha, who still pulled strings from retirement. Who'd been pressuring me about heirs since I took over.
"You lied." My voice came out strangled. "You let me destroy my mate bond for a lie?"
"You were so eager to believe it!" Serena cried. "So ready to throw her aside! I just gave you an excuse!"
I turned to look at Aria, horror washing over me. What had I done?
"Aria—"
"Princess Aria," Ethan corrected sharply. "You've lost the right to familiarity."
"I need to speak with my mate—"
"The mate you were planning to reject?" Aria's voice was ice. "The mate you called barren? Worthless? A failure?"
Each word was a dagger. I remembered everything I'd said, everything I'd done.
"I didn't know—"
"That's the point!" She roared, her Lycan form rippling just beneath her skin. "You didn't know, and you didn't care! I was your mate, and that should have been enough!"
"Princess," one of Ethan's guards approached. "Your father is requesting a video call."
The blood drained from my face. The Lycan King. I'd abused his daughter.
Aria took the tablet, and suddenly the Lycan King's face filled the screen. His eyes—Aria's eyes—found her immediately.
"My daughter," his voice was rough with emotion. "Come home."
"Father—"
"No arguments. You've been gone long enough." His gaze shifted to me, and I felt death looking back. "Alpha Damien. We'll discuss your crimes against the crown later."
Crimes against the crown. For hurting a princess.
"Your Majesty, please—"
The call ended.
"Pack your things," Ethan told Aria. "We leave within the hour."
"Wait!" I grabbed Aria's arm. The moment I touched her, electricity shot through me—the mate bond screaming to life. "You can't leave. You're my Luna!"
She looked at my hand on her arm, then up at me. "Actually, I'm not."
"The mate bond—"
"I reject you." The words came out clear and strong. "I, Princess Aria Lysander, reject you, Alpha Damien Storm, as my mate."
Pain exploded through my chest. The bond shredded, tearing at my soul. I collapsed, my wolf howling in agony.
"No! Please!" I gasped. "Aria, please!"
She knelt beside me, her voice soft but final. "You rejected me first, Damien. Every day for weeks. You just didn't say the words."
Through the haze of pain, I watched her stand and walk away. My wolf was dying, screaming for our mate.
"Stop her!" I ordered my pack.
No one moved.
Marcus stepped forward. "Alpha, with respect, you've lost the right to give that order."
My own pack was turning against me.
"She's a liar! She deceived us all!"
"She loved you," Mia spoke up, tiny omega Mia, standing tall. "She gave up a throne for you. And you threw her away for a fake pregnancy."
The pack murmured agreement. They'd all witnessed my treatment of her, my cruelty.
"Alpha," my father emerged from the crowd. "What have you done?"
"You!" I snarled at him. "You arranged this with Serena!"
"I arranged an alliance. You're the one who destroyed your mate bond." He looked disgusted. "The Lycan Princess. You had the Lycan Princess as your mate, and you ruined it."
Aria returned, dressed in royal blues now, looking every inch the princess she was. She didn't even glance at me writhing on the ground.
"Aria!" I called desperately. "I love you!"
She paused at the car door. "No, Damien. You loved the idea of me. The submissive omega who worshipped you. But that was never who I really was."
"I can change!"
"Too late." She got in the car.
As the convoy pulled away, I howled—a broken, desperate sound that echoed through the night. My mate, my princess, my everything was gone.
And it was entirely my fault.
- Writer
