CHAPTER 5
2143 Words
STEFANNY WATSON
I am standing, feeling myself crumble inside as I look at Damien.
Tears stream down my face, and I can barely look him in the eyes.
The man I have always loved is there, with a look of pain so deep that my heart shatters more with each passing second.
“Tell me the truth. I deserve that.”, he asks, his voice firm but laden with sadness.
I sob, trying to find words that can somehow fix what is broken between us.
“I... I'm sorry.”, I whisper, but I know these words will never be enough.
He shakes his head, and his eyes, filled with hurt, pierce my heart.
Damien steps closer, and instinctively I recoil, trembling.
Fear and guilt consume me at once. My body is tense, as if expecting an impending blow, even though I know the worst has already happened.
“What happened between you and Maycon on the night of the attack? I saw the way you, and he looked at each other in the bathroom.”
His question slices through the silence like a sharp knife.
Guilt looms large within me, and there is no escaping it anymore.
The tears keep falling, and I struggle to find strength, but the truth is clear.
He already knows. I don’t need to answer. The pain in his gaze tells me he has understood everything.
He takes a step back, and disbelief takes over his face.
“With him? You’re pregnant with him? My best friend?”, his voice trembles, heavy with indignation and pain. The shock on his face is unbearable.
“I... I don’t know...”, my voice comes out in a barely audible whisper, but I know my words are devastating.
Damien’s expression, once filled with pain, now transforms into something darker.
Anger.
Anger that makes the air around us feel heavier.
“How could you do this to me?”, he asks, his voice broken by hurt and betrayal.
His hands tremble, and I know he is fighting against his own instincts. But his anger is stronger.
With a sudden movement, he grabs the vase on the nightstand and throws it against the wall.
The sound of shattering glass echoes through the room, making me recoil, scared.
“He will pay for touching my wife...”, Damien growls, his eyes darkening with fury.
“Damien! What are you going to do?”, I scream, following him as he storms out of the room.
Something terrible is about to happen, and I can feel it in every fiber of my being.
He grabs his phone and, with a swift motion, makes a call.
“Call all the members of the pack. We will have a banishment meeting tonight.”, he orders, his voice deep and authoritative.
I freeze for a moment.
“Damien, please!”, I plead, my voice is nearly breaking.
But he doesn’t hear me. He completely ignores me, his mind is already consumed by a thirst for revenge.
“I trusted him. I trusted Maycon my whole life, and he betrayed me in the worst possible way. He no longer deserves to be Beta!”, Damien shouts as he walks out the door and gets in the car.
Despair washes over me.
I run to get dressed quickly and follow him to my car.
I cannot let him do something he will regret.
Fear tightens my chest as I follow him down the dark road that leads to the woods.
I know the place. I know it’s where the most important pack meetings take place.
When I reach the forest, the howls of the wolves echo in the air, and the tension is palpable.
Everyone is there. I park the car and run into the woods, guided by the howls and the shadows moving between the trees.
I arrive at the meeting place and see the werewolves gathered in a circle, their eyes shining under the moonlight.
In the center stands Damien, imposing and looking at everyone around him. His gaze is cold, distant, and different from the man I knew.
I stop when I see two Lycans bringing Maycon to the center of the clearing. My heart tightens at the sight of him.
He is looking down, defeated. I know what’s about to happen.
“Damien!”, I shout, trying to run to him, but one of the pack members grabs me tightly, preventing me from moving forward.
Damien completely ignores me.
He raises his voice for everyone to hear.
“We are here tonight because Maycon betrayed me. He betrayed your Alpha! He broke the most sacred oath by touching my wife!”
The werewolves around begin to agree, howling and murmuring words of anger.
Everyone is turning against Maycon. The betrayal of Beta is unforgivable, and the pressure from the pack increases with each second.
“I trusted you like a brother, Maycon. For years, we fought side by side, and you were always my right hand. But now... you no longer deserve that title.”, Damien pauses, his voice filled with contempt.
Maycon lifts his eyes, his face marked by regret.
“I take responsibility for my mistakes. But that doesn’t change how I feel about her.”, he admits, his voice low but firm.
Maycon’s words cut me like blades. I try to fight against the arms holding me, trying to get closer, but I can’t move.
Damien looks at him with pure hatred.
“In the presence of all here tonight, and as part of the rules of our pack, I challenge you to a duel. A duel between Alpha and Beta, where you will have to prove your honor.”
My eyes widen, and I feel terror rising in my body.
A duel means one of them will come out injured, or worse. If Maycon loses, he will be banished from the pack forever. My heart races.
“If you lose, you will be exiled. I am banned forever from this group. You will no longer have a right to your place among us.”, Damien continues, his voice as hard as steel.
Maycon nods, accepting the challenge. He slowly gets up, and the two face each other in a tense moment.
The tension in the air is palpable, suffocating.
Suddenly, Damien’s transformation begins.
The surrounding air vibrates with supernatural energy.
His bones start to twist, his skin stretches, and in seconds he transforms into a huge Lycan.
He is much bigger and more terrifying than anyone else there. His monstrous body dominates the space, and his eyes shine with uncontrollable fury.
Maycon also begins to transform, but while he is powerful, he is no match for Damien in size or strength.
I watch, terrified, as the two are ready for the duel.
The night is wrapped in suffocating tension as the two Lycans begin to fight.
Around them, the entire pack watches in silence, their eyes shining under the full moon, the air thick with expectation and violence about to be unleashed.
I struggle, screaming desperately as I try to break free from the strong hands holding me.
But no one helps me; no one intervenes. They are all just watching, waiting for the outcome to be written in blood.
Damien howls loudly, a sound that sends chills down my spine, as his claws extend, sharp and ready to tear apart.
His teeth are bared, the fierce light in his eyes now a reflection of his anger.
Maycon, on the other hand, stands firm, showing no fear.
He knows what’s at stake.
They both know.
And while I fear for what will happen, my heart is torn between the two men now facing off.
“How could you betray me after everything I did for you?”, Damien growls, his voice transformed, almost unrecognizable, deep and fierce in Lycan form.
He lunges forward with fury, raising his hand and striking Maycon with brutal force.
The impact sends Maycon’s body flying back, and the howl of pain that escapes his lips shatters me inside.
Blood.
I see Maycon's blood staining the forest floor, and my heart tightens in despair.
He tries to recover, but Damien’s fury is relentless.
“You caused this when you didn’t treat her with love, only with coldness!”, Maycon screams, his eyes burning with emotion, and those words seem to fuel Damien's anger even more.
They face off again with claws and bites, the sound of flesh being torn and bones cracking filling the air.
The other Lycans howl in support of Damien, the Alpha.
In a swift motion, Damien throws Maycon hard against a nearby tree, the dry sound of the impact echoing through the night.
Maycon falls to the ground, gasping, trying to get back up.
“If you lose this duel, you’re leaving. I never want to see you here again. And you will never have rights over the baby she is carrying!”
Those words hit Maycon like an invisible blow.
He raises his eyes to me, and I see shock etched on his face.
He didn’t know. He didn’t know that I’m pregnant.
“I will not abandon my baby!”, Maycon shouts, his voice choked with pain and despair.
“The baby is not yours! And neither is she!”, Damien growls, his fury growing as he prepares for the final blow.
“Let me go!”, I scream, my body trembling in pure panic.
“He’s going to kill him!”
I try to break free once more, kicking the air desperately, but the man holding me just shakes his head in denial.
“We can’t interfere in the Alpha’s matters. He knows what he’s doing.”, he says coldly.
“Damien, please, listen to me!”
I plead, my words breaking amidst the tears, but he doesn’t seem to hear.
He lunges forward, biting Maycon’s shoulder with a ferocity that makes the blood spurt, and my world begins to spin. He’s going to kill him.
Maycon's body hits the ground with a thud as Damien throws him like a broken toy.
I don’t think twice. I kick the man holding me with all my strength and run as fast as I can toward them.
My feet barely touch the ground as I try to get there in time, trying to prevent the inevitable.
“No!”, I scream, throwing myself between the two of them at the exact moment Damien raises his claws to deliver the final blow.
I position myself between them, my body trembling with fear and despair, tears streaming down my face.
“Don’t do this! Please!”
Damien stops, his eyes wide, surprised to see me there.
He takes a step back, but his heavy breathing and tense muscles show that he is still consumed by rage.
“You can’t kill him. If you do, you’ll regret it. He’s like a brother to you...”, I implore, my voice is almost inaudible.
“He betrayed me!”, Damien snarls, the anger dripping from every word.
“I betrayed you too.”, I confess, my voice faltering under the weight of the guilt I carry.
“Get out of the way, Stefanny.”, Damien demands, his voice firm and merciless.
“No!”
I stand here motionless, refusing to move aside.
“Please, Damien... Please...”, I plead, my eyes beseeching him to stop.
He takes a deep breath, his posture softening for a brief moment.
“As Alpha of this pack, I am banishing you, Maycon. Forever. Never return.”, he declares coldly, looking at the fallen Beta on the ground.
Maycon doesn’t try to get up; his eyes meet mine, and the silence between us is painful.
I wish I could do something to change what’s happening, but it feels like I’m losing everything.
Damien turns to me, his gaze hard, but there’s a vulnerability there that I’ve never seen before.
“You will have to make a choice. Stay with me. Continue our marriage. I will take care of this baby, no matter who the real father is. But if you choose him, there will be no turning back...”, he says, his voice low yet full of meaning.
My hands tremble, my heart races, and I feel the unbearable weight of this decision.
He takes a step forward, the pain evident on his face.
“If you choose him, I will reject you, Stefanny. Even loving you... I will reject you.”
My legs weaken, and the world spins around me as his words echo in my mind.
I look at Maycon and Damien and realize that I’m lost, not knowing which path to take.
- Writer
