Chapter 6: I Underestimated You
999 Words
Chapter 6: I Underestimated You
(Seraphina Vance's POV)
His words slammed into me, and my eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "Are you suspecting that I deliberately tried to monitor you?"
My voice trembled, cracking under the weight of his accusation. Hot, stinging tears welled in my eyes, blurring his cold face into a shimmering distortion. It felt like looking at him through broken glass.
"But I didn't do this," I pleaded, shaking my head so hard my hair whipped around my face. My hands were shaking uncontrollably. "I had no idea there was a camera in that toy! I would never!"
His gaze remained as icy as a winter storm, and his lips curled into a sneer. "Binding myself to a scheming she-wolf like you," he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "seems to be the biggest mistake I've ever made."
"Binding to me… was a mistake?" The words were a physical blow, a silver dagger twisting in my heart. A crushing wave of grief and injustice washed over me, and I couldn't stop the retort that clawed its way up my throat.
"On what grounds do you say that about me? How well do you even know me? You know nothing!"
My voice shattered with emotion. It was one thing to find a hidden camera, a terrifying violation I’d only heard whispered warnings about from other she-wolves. But to be accused by him, the man I had saved and cared for, was a unique kind of torture. I hadn't done it! The very idea was repulsive!
The tears I’d been desperately holding back finally spilled over, tracing hot paths down my cheeks. My trembling hands gestured uselessly toward the crushed plastic and wires in his palm.
"I've lived in this lodge for months," I said, my voice dropping to a raw whisper. "That toy has been on that shelf the entire time. If I was some kind of spy, why in the world would I put a camera in a place I have to look at every single day? It makes no sense!"
The logic was so painfully obvious. But Damien's cold silver eyes held no hint of understanding, no flicker of warmth. He opened his mouth, likely to deliver another cruel blow, but was cut off by a frantic, thunderous banging on the front door. The sound was so violent it seemed to shake the very foundations of the lodge, making us both freeze.
"Seraphina! You b***h!"
Julian Thorne's voice, thick with rage and alcohol, roared through the wood. My blood ran cold, turning to ice in my veins.
"I waited for you at the mating ceremony hall for half an hour! Half an hour! You made me a laughingstock in front of the entire pack, and you're here, cheating on me with another man!"
His fists pounded against the door again and again, a brutal, rhythmic assault. The wooden frame groaned and shuddered. I could hear the sickening c***k of splintering wood. "If I hadn't seen the surveillance footage, I never would have known you brought a stray mutt back to your den! I know you're in there! Open this door!"
The surveillance footage. The words hit me like a physical shock. My mind reeled as the horrible pieces clicked into place. Julian had been watching me. The camera… it had to be him. He must have planted it during one of his visits. The thought made my skin crawl. He’s such a p*****t!
"b***h!" he slurred, his voice growing louder and more unhinged. "Acting all pure and innocent with me. You just finished having s*x with me, and now you're messing around with some other stray behind my back! YOU w***e!!!"
"You won't open the door? Fine!" The next second, a massive crash echoed from outside as he threw something heavy against it. The impact was so forceful that my small collection of books tumbled from their shelf, scattering across the floor. One more strike, and the lock splintered. The door flew inward, crashing to the ground with a deafening bang.
I screamed and stumbled backward, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. In my panic, I bumped into Damien's solid chest. Humiliation and hurt from our argument flooded back, and I instinctively tried to pull away. I wouldn't burden him with my problems.
But a large, warm hand suddenly clamped down on my arm, pulling me firmly behind him. His grip was strong but not painful, a solid wall positioning me safely at his back. Then, his deep, cold voice cut through the chaos. "Stay put."
The command sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. Despite everything he’d just said to me, in that one moment, I felt safe.
Before I could even process the protective gesture, Julian stormed in. He brandished a heavy iron bar, his blue eyes bloodshot and wild with drunken fury. He spat viciously on my clean floor. "You damned adulterers! Did you think you'd be fine if you just hid in here?!"
"Julian," I tried, my voice shaking. "You were the one who cheated first. Our betrothal is over. Who I'm with now has nothing to do with you…"
"Shut the f**k up!" he roared, his face contorted in a mask of pure rage. "After I kill this pretty boy, then I'll deal with you, you b***h!"
He was beyond reason. He raised the iron bar high above his head, muscles straining, and swung it with vicious, murderous force right at Damien's skull. My blood froze. Damien was still injured! He’d lost his wolf! A blow like that would kill him!
"Damien, watch out!" I shrieked.
Just as the bar was about to connect with his head, a large, well-defined hand shot out, catching it in mid-air. The sickening clang of metal meeting flesh echoed through the room, but Damien didn't so much as flinch. The iron bar stopped dead as if it had hit a solid wall of granite. My jaw dropped in utter shock.
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