Chapter 112: 112 - your brothers
112
~Damon’s POV
I stepped out of Lisa’s house, still feeling the faint warmth of her lips against mine. I couldn’t help it; a small smile tugged at my mouth as my fingers brushed across them. That kiss... it wasn’t planned, it wasn’t meant to happen, but it did. And the strange thing was, I didn’t regret it.
"Time to go," I said quietly, almost as if I didn’t want the world to hear. My voice was steady, but inside, my thoughts were a mess.
"Yes, Alpha," my guard replied immediately, walking ahead to open the car door for me. I slid in, leaning back against the seat as the driver started the engine. The ride back to the palace was silent, except for the soft hum of the car. I didn’t speak. I didn’t want to. My mind was replaying the moment I kissed Lisa.
But the palace came into view too quickly, snapping me out of my thoughts. I straightened in my seat as the car slowed. Once we stopped, my guard stepped out first and held the door for me again.
As I walked inside, the familiar cool air of the palace wrapped around me. My boots echoed softly against the polished floor as I made my way along the corridor to my room. I was already thinking about closing my door, sitting down, and just... breathing for a while.
But then I saw her.
Belinda.
She had just stepped out of her room, her hand on the doorknob, as if she had been about to leave. The moment her eyes landed on me, her expression shifted.
"Damon," she said, her voice sharper than I expected.
Before I could even react, she closed the space between us, grabbed my arm, and pulled me inside her room. The door shut behind us with a firm click.
The next second, my back hit the wall.
Her hands were on my chest, pressing me there, her eyes burning into mine.
"Is Lisa fine?" she demanded, her voice hard, almost like she was spitting the words out.
I stared at her, caught off guard by the intensity in her tone. "Belinda..."
"Answer me!" she snapped.
"She’s fine," I said simply.
Her gaze didn’t soften, not at first. Her eyes locked on mine, cold and sharp, as if she could slice through every excuse before I even said it. But then I caught it, the tiny tremble in her lips, the slight unevenness in her breathing, and the way her eyes glistened like she was holding back tears that she refused to let fall. She was angry, yes, but there was hurt buried deep in that anger.
"Is this right, Damon?" she asked again, but her voice was quieter now, almost breaking. "Is it right for you to neglect me, your true Luna, and go after an ordinary human?"
I let out a slow breath, trying to keep my own temper in check. "Belinda, it’s not what you think."
"Oh, really?" she said bitterly, her voice coated in sarcasm. "Because I think it’s exactly what it looks like."
"She lost her father," I said firmly, holding her gaze. "I was only there to pay my condolences. That’s all."
She shook her head, a humorless smile tugging at her mouth. "That’s all? You honestly expect me to believe that? Damon, I can read you better than you think. I’ve watched you for years. I know the way your eyes shift when you’re lying. I know the way your voice changes when you’re trying to hide something." She stepped closer, her tone sharpening. "You went to her, Damon. Not me. You didn’t come to the Luna who has stood by you, who has fought for you, who has loved you. And you call that nothing?"
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself not to look away. "Belinda, this isn’t about you or her. It’s about respect. Her father just died. Do you expect me to stand by and do nothing?"
She suddenly stepped closer, her movements slow but deliberate, as if every inch she closed between us carried the weight of all the things she’d been holding back. Her voice dropped lower, softer now, almost trembling with something between anger and longing. "And what about me? What about what I’ve lost?" Her gaze searched my face like she was trying to find the part of me that used to belong only to her. "You’ve kept me here, close but not close enough. You look at me, but you don’t see me anymore."
I stood there, silent, the air feeling heavier with each word she spoke. Her eyes locked onto mine, and there was no escaping the raw truth in them. "Do you even know how it feels, Damon?" she continued, her tone breaking just slightly. "Watching you walk out, knowing you’re going to her?"
Her words hit something in me, but I still didn’t answer. I couldn’t, not with the way she was looking at me, hurt and desperate, like she was begging me to give her a reason to keep holding on.
Then she stepped even closer, erasing the last bit of space between us. Her face was just inches from mine now, and I could feel the heat radiating off her skin. Her breath brushed against my lips when she whispered, almost like it was a secret meant only for me, "Let me remind you what we have."
Her hands moved slowly, sliding up my chest, over the lines of muscle, until they rested firmly on my shoulders. Her touch was familiar, too familiar, and my body reacted before my mind could catch up. She tilted her head, closing the gap, her lips angling toward mine with quiet determination.
"Belinda," I said sharply, turning my head away just in time. My voice cut through the moment like a blade, but it was the only way to stop what I knew we couldn’t afford to start.
She froze.
I took a step back, putting some space between us. "You know the pack’s rule," I reminded her. "No intimacy with another until one is rejected."
She looked at me for a long moment... and then she smiled. But it wasn’t a sweet smile. It was sly, almost daring.
"That rule," she said slowly, "has already been broken."
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes never leaving mine. "Your brothers. They broke it for me. And they didn’t seem to have a problem with it."
Her words hit me like a sudden gust of wind. My eyes narrowed. "They... what?"
She stepped closer again, lowering her voice like she was sharing a secret. "They made exceptions for me. You could too, if you wanted."