Chapter 172: 172 - have both
172
~Damon’s POV
I walked back to the palace, every step heavier than the last. My chest was burning with anger. My fists clenched so hard my knuckles turned white, and all I could hear in my head was Lisa’s broken voice. Luca touched me... And that bastard actually touched her in my presence.
The thought alone made me want to tear the world apart.
As soon as I pushed open the tall doors, Rowan and Kael were already waiting in the main hall. Their faces were stormy, their jaws tight, their eyes sharp like blades. They didn’t even need to ask me anything; they already knew.
Rowan’s voice came first, rough and full of rage.
"Tell me it’s not true, Damon. Tell me that filthy bastard didn’t lay a hand on her."
I shook my head slowly, anger biting deep into my throat.
"He did. We all saw it. And she said Luca wasn’t brave enough to do it on his own. Someone is behind him."
Kael let out a growl that echoed through the walls, his fists slamming hard into the armrest of the chair beside him.
"I’ll rip his heart out with my bare hands. How dare he touch her? How dare he even think about her?"
Rowan stood and paced like a caged beast.
"There’s no punishment fit for something like this except death. He dies. Tonight."
I clenched my fists tighter, my body trembling with the force of my rage.
"I agree. He doesn’t get to breathe the same air as us. He doesn’t get to live after tainting her."
Kael looked straight at me, his eyes burning.
"She’s our mate, Damon. Ours. No one should even look at her with that kind of thought. And yet this filthy dog touched her? We end him. We make sure no one else ever dares to think of her that way."
I nodded.
"Then it’s settled. We kill him."
Rowan’s voice was a snarl.
"Not just kill. He deserves pain first. He deserves to suffer."
Kael’s lips curved into something dark.
"The torture chamber. We drag him there and make him scream. We’ll make him regret being born."
I felt the fire in my chest flare hotter.
"Let’s go now. I can’t stand waiting another second."
That was the first time we brothers agreed on the same thing. We stormed down the stone corridor together, three shadows fueled by rage, our steps loud and sharp. The guards on duty bowed quickly, their eyes darting nervously as we passed, but none of us slowed down.
The air grew colder the deeper we went into the palace, the walls darker, the silence heavier. The torture chamber sat in the lowest part of the fortress, a place where no light dared to linger.
When we reached the thick iron doors, two guards were standing outside, rigid and tense. Rowan barked at them.
"Open it."
The guards obeyed, unlocking the heavy chains and pulling the door wide. The stench of blood hit us instantly, sharp and metallic. I didn’t care. My eyes searched the room, ready to feast on Luca’s fear.
But then my breath caught.
He wasn’t alive.
He was hanging limp from the chains, head bowed, blood soaking his shirt. His chest wasn’t moving. His eyes were shut forever.
Rowan’s voice was sharp.
"What the hell is this?"
Kael roared, grabbing the nearest guard by the collar and slamming him against the wall.
"Who killed him?!"
The guard’s voice cracked, his face pale.
"My lord, I swear...we don’t know. He was alive when we chained him. We checked. Hours later, when we returned, he was already dead."
I moved closer to the corpse, my heart pounding in fury. This wasn’t us. Someone had stolen our justice.
Rowan’s voice was like thunder.
"Don’t lie to us. You were guarding the door. How could someone get in and kill him without you noticing?"
The second guard dropped to his knees, trembling.
"We... we don’t know. No one passed us, my lord. No one."
Kael shoved the guard harder against the wall, his teeth gritting.
"You expect us to believe that? He’s dead inside, and you didn’t see a thing?!"
The guard choked out his words.
"My lord, I swear on my life... we saw nothing. We heard nothing. It was silent."
I walked slowly toward them, my voice low and dangerous.
"Then you’re either blind... or you’re lying."
Kael’s hand tightened around the guard’s throat.
"Maybe if I cut your tongue, you’ll finally tell the truth."
My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.
"Who? Who dared to touch what was ours to handle?"
The guards remained silent, shaking under our stares. I turned to them, my voice like fire.
"You saw nothing. You heard nothing. Then your lives are useless to us."
Rowan held up his hand.
"Not yet. Killing them now won’t give us answers. We’ll keep them alive for now, but they will live every day fearing the day we come for them."
Kael dropped the guard to the ground with a snarl.
"Fine. But if I find out you’re lying... I’ll make your death worse than his."
I turned back to Richard’s corpse, staring at the lifeless body. He wasn’t even worth a burial.
"Throw him to the vultures," I ordered coldly. "Let the scavengers tear his body apart. That’s all he deserves."
The guards bowed quickly.
"Yes, my lord."
We left the chamber, our steps heavy with rage and unfinished hunger for justice. My blood was still boiling. I wanted to destroy something, anything. But when we returned to our quarters, the sight waiting for us froze me in place.
Belinda was sitting on the couch. Her back was straight, her face hard, her eyes sharp with anger. She looked like a queen ready to deliver judgment.
The moment we walked in, she stood and walked toward us, her gaze locked on me.
Her voice was calm but firm, filled with steel.
"You need to make a choice. All of you. Especially you, Damon."
I swallowed, my throat tight.
"What do you mean?"
Her eyes darkened, her anger clear.
"Lisa. I will not share my place with her. I will not tolerate her shadow over me anymore. You must choose between me and her."
Rowan frowned.
"Belinda..."
But she cut him off, her voice sharp as a blade.
"No. Don’t speak. This isn’t a discussion. This is my demand. If I am your Luna, if I am truly the one you claim to protect, then prove it. Choose me. Or choose her. But you cannot have both."
Her eyes burned into mine, filled with hurt, with anger, with challenge. And then, without waiting for my answer, she turned and walked out, the sound of the door slamming behind her echoing in my chest like thunder.
I stood there frozen, my heart tearing inside me. My fists clenched helplessly.
Rowan let out a slow breath, shaking his head.
"She’s serious."
Kael growled low.
"And she has every right to be. Damon... this is on you."