Chapter 3

Damon’s POV

You ever feel like the universe is just out to get you? That’s how I felt as I stormed out of the dungeon, slamming the door behind me so hard I thought the hinges would fly off. My chest was burning with rage. I didn’t even know what to do anymore. That runt, Emma, still refused to confess. A week of torture, a week of pain, and she still had the nerve to deny what she did to Camila.

The image of Camila’s body lying lifeless on the ground wouldn’t leave my head. Her throat slit, her chest torn open like some savage animal had gotten to her. It haunted me, day and night. She was supposed to be my Luna, my partner, my everything. And now? Gone. All because of that crazy omega who thought she had a shot with me.

Pathetic.

I stormed into my office, my mood blacker than the night sky. Alpha Lance was already there, standing stiff as a board. His face was carved from stone, but I could see the fury floating under the surface. He was barely holding it together. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him.

“Has she spoken yet?” he barked sharply. “Did she confess to killing my daughter?”

I shook my head slowly. “Not yet.”

His face twisted with rage, and for a moment, I thought he might launch himself at me. “I can’t believe this. I should’ve never let my daughter set foot in your pack!” he spat. “She loved you. She wanted to be your Luna, and this is what she got? Death? Because some delusional omega couldn’t handle the fact that you didn’t love her?”

“Alpha Lance, please calm down,” I begged, though I knew it was a pointless plea.

“No, I won’t calm down! This is on you, Alpha Damon. Your pack. Your failure. And I’ve made my decision.”

I straightened, my stomach knotting. “What decision?”

“There will be no alliance between the Full Moon Pack and the Red Moon Pack. It’s over. My daughter is dead. There’s nothing left to discuss.”

His words hit me like a blow to the chest. “Alpha Lance, think about this. Let’s not make hasty decisions.”

“Hasty?” he snarled with a bitter laugh. “My daughter is dead, and you’re asking me to think this through? There’s nothing to think about. The alliance is dead. Just like Camila.”

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of my office, leaving me standing there in stunned silence.

“Fuck!” I roared, slamming my fist into the desk. The wood splintered under the force, but I didn’t care. Everything was falling apart. We needed that alliance. Without it, we were screwed.

“Alpha,” my beta John said cautiously.“What are we going to do? We can’t afford to lose this alliance. Not with the curse lurking around.”

I dragged a hand through my hair, pacing the room like a caged animal. “How much time do we have?” I demanded.

“Six months,” John said grimly. “Six months until the full moon, and the curse takes hold.”

Six months. Six goddamn months.

“She was supposed to break it,” I muttered. “Camila was supposed to break the curse. It took me three years to find my mate.But that bitch Emma had to ruin everything.”

What the hell do I do now? How do I tell my pack about this damn curse? They’ve been completely oblivious to it. Only the elders and the alpha family ever knew it existed.

“Maybe we could ask another pack for help,” John suggested. “Protection, maybe, when the curse hits.”

I stopped pacing and shot him a glare. “Which pack, John? Name one pack that doesn’t hate us. We’ve been on top for years. They’ve been waiting for this. They’d rather watch us burn than lift a finger to help.”

He didn’t have an answer for that.

“Why the hell did our ancestors have to piss off a witch?” I growled. “Do you even know what they did to deserve this curse? Because I sure as hell don’t.”

John shook his head. “No one knows, Alpha. It’s been a mystery for generations.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Some legacy, huh? Crowned alpha of the pack, only to face the clock ticking down. Three years to find and mark your mate—or the curse crashes down like a goddamn hammer. Death, famine, and the grand finale: a permanent shift into your wolf form. No coming back. Just endless, eternal darkness.”

“Maybe…” John hesitated, glancing at me nervously. “Maybe we could ask the vampires for help.”

I froze. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“Their coven was cursed once too,” his words tumbled over each other as he said hurriedly. “But they broke it. Maybe they can show us how.”

“The vampires hate us,” I snapped. “And we hate them. End of discussion.”

Before John could argue, the door to my office burst open, and my gamma, Alex stumbled in, panting like he’d just run a marathon.

“What is it?” I demanded sharply.

“She’s gone,” Alex gasped.

“What?”

“Emma,” he mumbled out fearfully. “She’s escaped.”

For a moment, I couldn’t even process what he was saying. “How the fuck did that happen?” I roared.

“I—I don’t know,” Alex stuttered. “One of the guards—she knocked them out, or maybe she had help, but she’s gone. She’s not in the dungeon.”

I slammed my fist into the desk again. “Find her!” I shouted. “Find her and drag her back here. I don’t care if you have to tear the forest apart to do it. Bring her back to me!”

“Yes, Alpha,” Alex said, scrambling out of the room.

I turned to John, fury blazing in my eyes. “This is on you. You were supposed to make sure she couldn’t escape.”

“She won’t get far,” he said quickly. “Not with the wolfsbane and silver still in her system. She’s weak. She won’t make it past the border.”

“She’d better not,” I growled. “Because when I get my hands on her, I’m going to make her wish she’d never been born.”

I could feel my wolf clawing at the surface, desperate to be let out, to hunt her down and end this. My mate was dead. My pack was on the brink of destruction. And it was all because of Emma.

She would pay.

I didn’t care what it took. I didn’t care how far she ran. I would find her. And when I did, I would make sure she never escaped again.