THE ASHWOOD LEGACY

DAMIAN'S CHOICE

Chapter 12 — Damian's Choice

"You cannot seriously be considering personally guaranteeing that woman's safety." Margaret's voice carried the particular sharpness she reserved for moments when she believed her son was about to make an unforgivable mistake. "Damian, think about what you're proposing. If something goes wrong during that ritual—"

"Then it will have gone wrong under my watch, exactly as it should, since I'm the one who put her in this position in the first place." Damian didn't look up from the paperwork on his desk, though he hadn't actually read a single line in the last ten minutes. "You wanted this verification, Mother. You called the council. If you didn't want me involved, you shouldn't have set this in motion."

"I set this in motion to protect this pack's interests, not to hand you an excuse to reopen a wound you should have let heal three years ago."

"It never healed." He finally looked up, and something in his expression made his mother go still. "The bond never fully severed, Mother. I've felt it every single day for three years, and I felt it flare back the moment she walked into that boardroom. You didn't just reject an inconvenient omega on my behalf. You forced me to sever a bond with the last living Ashwood heir, and you did it knowing — or at least suspecting — exactly what that would cost."

Margaret's composure cracked, just slightly, just enough for Damian to see something that looked almost like guilt flicker behind her eyes before she smoothed it away.

"I did what was necessary to secure this pack's future," she said. "The alliance with the Hale family—"

"Was never worth what it cost." His voice dropped low, dangerous, more alpha than son. "I'm guaranteeing Elena's safety personally, and if the verification confirms what Tobias believes, pack marriage law is going to require me to end my engagement to Vivienne regardless of what either of us wants. You should prepare yourself for that possibility now, rather than fighting me on it later."

"And if you break your engagement, and the council decides you're unfit to lead this pack because of the instability it causes—"

"Then I'll forfeit the alpha position." He said it simply, without hesitation, and watched his mother's face pale at words she clearly hadn't expected him to be willing to say. "I would rather step down as alpha than spend the rest of my life married to a political arrangement while the bond I actually chose withers because I was too much of a coward to fight for it."

Margaret stared at her son for a long moment, and when she spoke again, her voice had lost some of its sharp edges, replaced by something more tired, more uncertain than he'd heard from her in years.

"You truly believe you can win her back. After what you did to her."

"I don't know if I can," Damian admitted. "But I know I have to try, because the alternative is watching her walk into that verification ritual believing no one in this pack is willing to fight for her — and that's not a mistake I'm willing to make twice."

He rose from his desk, already reaching for his jacket, the conversation clearly finished as far as he was concerned.

"Damian." His mother's voice stopped him at the door, quieter now than he'd heard it in years. "If her bloodline is confirmed... there are things about the Ashwood line, things beyond marriage law, that you need to understand before Friday. Dangers I haven't told you about yet."

He turned back, something cold settling in his chest at the uncharacteristic hesitation in her voice.

"What kind of dangers?"

Margaret's expression closed off, retreating back behind thirty years of careful composure. "Speak to Tobias. He'll know how much you're ready to hear." She turned back to her desk, effectively ending the conversation. "Just be careful, Damian. Whatever you're walking toward on Friday, I don't think either of you understands yet how large it actually is."