CLAIMED BY THE BANISHED ALPHA

Secrets

DAMON’S POV

Nyra cornered me just after breakfast. The council chamber had emptied, but she lingered near the doors, golden hair perfectly arranged, posture flawless always composed when others were watching. Another reason why she was the perfect fit for me, it had to be her and nobody else. i needed a wolf that would not only challenge me but also stand with me confidently wheni was being challenged. i needed a feam,le wolf that wouldnt crumble under the presusure of being by my side and Elodie was clearly not that kind of female wolf. she ws weak and too soft, she tried to act tough but i knew that she would crumble at the first sign of presuure. Nyra didnt need me to protect her the way Elodie would need me to and this was a fact.

When we were alone, her expression shifted.

“You left abruptly last night,” she said lightly. Too lightly. “I barely had time to celebrate with you properly.”

I did not slow my steps. “The evening was concluded.”

“And yet,” she continued, falling into stride beside me, “you didn’t invite me to your chambers as we had discussed”

There it was. Direct.

“I wasn’t aware an invitation had been requested.”

Her jaw tightened slightly. “I am your chosen mate and it has to show.”

“You are,” I agreed calmly.

“And chosen mates usually spend the night together after public declarations.”

“Usually.”

We reached the corridor that led toward my private wing. I stopped walking. She did not like that I had stopped before reaching my door. I wanted to make it very clear that she wasnt welcomed in my private wing, I knew that this was going to be a problem since it wouldn't be her first time being here but she would have to learn to follow my rules.

“You will not be entering my chambers,” I said.

Her brows drew together. “Excuse me?”

“Not for a while.”

“For a while?” Her voice sharpened. “Why?”

“Because there are matters I am handling that require focus…also because I do not answer to you nor do I need to explain myself to you or anyone else for that matter”

She studied my face carefully. Nyra was intelligent. She could sense when something was not being said. usually I tried to calm her down and appease her but i didnt have the rime or energy for that right now. I just needed to some up with a way to deal with Elodie without Nyra finding out about her. the only way i could do that was if I kept Nyra out of my room. of course I could always move Elodie, to a guest bedroom but if i did that i would loose control of the situation. too many wolves would be involved and that would risk not only Nyra finding out what was happening but everyone in the kingdom too...that would make me the laughing stock and a subject of the nastiest of gossips.

“And what matters are those?” she questioned me again bringing me back to reality

"WHat?" I asked and she shook her head

"you are not even listening to me...I asked you what matteres are those?'

“Internal.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Internal pack matters? I am your chosen Luna and yet there are matters thof the pack that you are keeping from me?”

I stepped closer not intimate, but firm and annoyed that I had to explain myself this much to her.

“Internal,” I repeated.

She searched my face for something softness, reassurance, desire.I gave her none.

“I will not compete with your responsibilities,” she said after a moment. “But I will not be ignored either.”

“You are not being ignored.”

It was not entirely untrue. She was simply not my priority… not right now and that realization irritated her more than open rejection ever could. as a matter of fact I was sure that she took my statement as rejection.

“I have stood beside you,” she said quietly. “Through council debates. Through challenges. Through speculations...through your family crap” she whispered the last part and I knew exactly what she was trying to say

“And you will continue to,” I replied.

“As what?” she asked.

There it was. The insecurity. Nyra did not fear rivals. She feared losing position.

“As my chosen mate,” I said calmly. “Nothing has changed.”

Everything had changed. She held my gaze for a long moment before stepping back.

“Very well,” she said smoothly. “But do not forget that bonds require attention.”

“I do not forget anything.”

She left with her head high. But I could feel it. The crack forming. A crack forming in our union and in her confidence. she may have not known what was hapening right now but Nyra didnt need all the fact in order to know that I was keeping something big from her. this only meant that she would start digging and that placed me in an impossible situation because it would only be a matter of time before she finally found out what and who I was hiding from her.

When I returned to my chambers later, the air shifted the moment the door closed behind me. Her scent lingered.Warmer now. Softer. Elodie had moved about the room I could tell by the subtle disturbances. The blankets had been folded. The window slightly ajar.

She was not here. Good. I loosened my collar and exhaled. The previous night replayed without invitation. The sound of her breathing on the floor. The faint rustle when she turned in her sleep. The quiet, contained sob she had tried to swallow. I had heard it. I had ignored it.My wolf had not. The pull had been relentless. Every instinct had urged me to close the distance.

To lift her. To press her into the mattress. To bury my face against her neck and inhale until the restless edge inside me quieted. Instead, I lay rigid. Every muscle locked in restraint. Because if I touched her, even once, it would not end there. The rejection had not severed the bond. It had sharpened it, it had sharpened it because I was fighting it and she started fighting it too after I rejected her. Distance did not weaken the pull. It intensified it.

The more I denied it The more my control thinned. I moved to the window and inhaled the cold air, grounding myself. This was temporary. Instinct would settle. Desire would fade. Attachment was a liability. And I did not allow liabilities, I was stronger than this. But as I stood there, alone in a room that still smelled faintly of her— I understood something that unsettled me. It was not her proximity that threatened my control.

It was her absence. And the fact that I noticed it.