Chapter 4

For a moment, Damon said nothing.

“It’s the anniversary of our son’s death,” I finally told him. “The day the snow came down and buried everything, and the day you promised you’d return but never did.”

Something flickered across his face. Regret, perhaps. Guilt. Once, I would have known exactly what he was feeling, but I no longer trusted myself to read him.

“And I’m allergic to mango,” I added, glancing at the cake in his hands.

“Wife, I didn’t know. I thought—”

“You didn’t think, Damon.” My voice remained quiet. “You simply forgot.”

He moved toward me. “Arianne, please. Don’t walk away like this. We should talk. I understand that you’re hurt, but shutting me out won’t make anything better.”

I shook my head.

“I’m not angry. I’m just tired of talking.”

I left before he could say anything else. Behind me, I heard Bianca begin to cry, followed by the familiar softness in Damon’s voice as he turned his attention to comforting her.

Once I reached my room, I shut the door and allowed the silence to swallow me.

I had no idea how long I slept. It could have been several hours or much longer when a faint noise from downstairs finally woke me. I opened my eyes slowly and found Damon sitting beside my bed, watching me as though nothing between us had changed.

“Wife,” he murmured. His voice was gentle, almost painfully familiar. “You’re finally awake.”

I said nothing.

“I made something for you,” he continued carefully. “Strawberry cake, just the way you like it. Come downstairs and have some with me?”

When he reached for my hand, I pulled it away.

“I’m not hungry.”

His fingers remained suspended for a moment before he lowered them.

“You’re still angry with me, aren’t you?”

I kept my eyes on the ceiling.

After a pause, he tried again. “Once things settle down with the pack, I’ll take you somewhere. There’s a concert coming up from an artist you used to love. We could go together, just the two of us. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

I turned my face toward the window, refusing to answer.

Damon sighed, then reached for my hand again. This time, he held it before I could pull away.

“Bianca arranged something for you,” he said. “She wants to apologize properly. She prepared an animal show. Just go downstairs and watch for a little while, alright?”

“I don’t want to.”

He ignored me.

Of course he did.

Without another word, Damon slipped one arm beneath my knees and the other around my back, lifting me as though my refusal meant nothing.

He carried me downstairs and outside.

The night air struck me immediately. I was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown, and within seconds, I was shivering from the cold.

Damon didn't seem to notice.

Or perhaps he noticed and simply didn't care enough to stop.

Ahead of us, he carried a pile of protective clothing, but none of it was meant for me.

He walked straight to Bianca.

With painstaking care, he helped her into a thick protective suit, adjusting the material around her shoulders before securing her gloves and fastening the helmet over her head. Every movement was gentle, almost reverent, as though she were too precious to risk hurting.

Then he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“Bianca, don't push yourself tonight,” he told her softly. “You and the baby are what matter most to me. Nothing should come before your safety.”

The words carried easily through the cold night air.

I stood several steps away, barely dressed and already freezing.

Then Bianca pulled the covering from the cage.

My entire body went rigid.

Two enormous animals were locked inside: a full-grown bear and a shadow lynx. Both were restless, their claws scraping against the metal bars as they paced.

The moment the cloth fell away, they stopped.

Then, almost simultaneously, both animals turned toward me.

A deep growl rolled from the bear.

Its dark eyes fixed on mine.

My heart sank.

Why were they staring at me like that?

I instinctively backed away, and then I remembered the lilies.

That overpowering scent from earlier.

My fingers curled at my sides.

No.

Surely not.

I forced myself to remain calm.

“Damon,” I called softly, “I don't feel well. Can we go back inside? Please. I really don't want to stay here.”

Once, those words would have been enough to make him panic. He would have carried me back himself, called the doctor, and demanded to know exactly what was wrong.

But Damon merely frowned.

“Arianne, don’t do this again. Bianca has spent so much time preparing everything. Can't you stay for a little while? Don't spoil it for her.”

Don't spoil it.

I swallowed against the tightness in my throat.

“I'm not trying to ruin anything. I really don't feel well. Can we leave after this? Or just go now?”

He exhaled impatiently.

“You’re worrying over nothing. Nothing is going to happen. Just stand there and watch. It won't take long.”

Watch?

The irony nearly made me laugh.

Bianca stepped onto the platform, awkward but determined, and gathered the control chains in her gloved hands.

“I practiced for days,” she said quietly. “I really wanted to do something to make up for everything. Please, Arianne. Just let me try.”

I couldn't answer.

The performance began.

The bear moved first, lumbering through the fire rings before climbing onto a narrow wooden platform. The lynx followed, graceful and powerful as it leapt across the logs.

From a distance, everything looked controlled.

“Easy,” Bianca murmured, carefully guiding the chains. “That's it. Stay calm.”

Damon applauded.

His entire face brightened as he watched her.

“That’s wonderful, Bianca. You’re doing perfectly. I knew you could handle it.”

He smiled at her as though she were the only person standing there.

He never looked at me.

Not once.

He didn't seem to remember that this performance was supposedly meant for me.

But that wasn't what frightened me most.

My breathing had become shallow.

My hands trembled uncontrollably.

The animals kept watching me.

Again and again, their eyes found mine.

There was something different in their gaze now. Something instinctive and hungry, as though they were waiting for an opportunity.

I took one cautious step backward.

Then another.

I needed to leave.

Immediately.

No one noticed.

Of course they didn't.

I was almost beyond their reach when Bianca suddenly screamed.

“Ah!”

I looked up.

She had lost her footing on the platform. Her body lurched sideways, and before she could regain her balance, she fell.

The chains slipped from her hands.

Everything changed at once.

The bear and the lynx froze.

Then both animals erupted into violent snarls.

“Bianca!”

Damon's voice cracked with panic.

He rushed toward her without hesitation.

“Bianca, are you hurt? Talk to me! Where does it hurt?”

He didn't look back.

Not even once.

He left me standing there alone.

The animals slowly turned in my direction.

My breath stopped.

“No…”

I backed away.

“Wait.”

They lunged.

The world became a blur of claws, fur, and pain.

Something struck me with enough force to send me crashing to the ground. Agony ripped through my body as claws tore into flesh, sharp and brutal, leaving me unable to think past the pain.

I screamed.

“Damon!”

My voice broke as I tried to crawl away, but another blow sent pain shooting through me. Warm blood spread beneath my body, soaking through my clothes as the world began to spin.

I could barely see through the tears.

But I saw him.

Damon stood several feet away, holding Bianca tightly against his chest.

His entire attention was on her.

He was checking her face, her arms, her stomach, making sure she and the baby were safe.

He never turned toward me.

Not even when I screamed.

Not even when my blood spread across the ground.

And in that moment, while my body lay broken beneath the beasts he had brought there, I finally understood exactly where I stood in Damon Callahan’s heart.

I was no longer the person he ran toward.

I was the person he could leave behind.