Chapter 284 It happened again

Chapter 284: Chapter 284 It happened again

Aria’s POV

"Aria!"

"Child—"

Grace’s voice cracked like she was about to burst into tears. Luna Elena looked like her knees were about to give out.

Andrew was the first to snap out of it, barking Damian’s name sharply, realizing he’d completely lost control.

But Damian’s gaze was still unfocused, distant.

He stared at everything in front of him, brows furrowed tight, like he was drowning in chaos.

My palm split open in an instant. Blood moved slowly down my wrist in thin streams, dripping onto the floor one heavy drop at a time.

And still, Damian didn’t let go. His strength didn’t ease. The knife kept inching forward, slow and deliberate.

I heard the sharp intake of breath around me as I threw every ounce of strength I had into pushing back against his force.

The pain made it hard to breathe. "Damian, what’s happening to you?"

I could feel it—he wasn’t present. It was like his soul had slipped away, leaving something hollow and dangerous behind.

The others finally moved, rushing forward to help. They saw how badly my hand was bleeding, saw that Damian wouldn’t release his grip, and everyone was terrified that forcing him would injure us both. Elena and Grace were calling his name, Andrew was practically shouting.

But it was like he couldn’t hear any of them.

Not Elena. Not Grace. Not even Andrew.

Nothing seemed to reach him.

"I’m fine," I said quietly, steadying my voice as much as I could. I said it for them—but I also said it for him. "Really. I’m okay."

"..."

Damian’s eyes flickered toward me. For just a second, something moved in them—something raw and broken. His lashes lowered once, but the veins at his temples were still standing out, sharp and vivid.

Every muscle in his body was taut, coiled tight.

"Damian, don’t be afraid. I’m here. It’s okay now... it’s over..."

My chest ached watching him like this. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I kept my gaze on him soft, patient, full of warmth.

But my strength was running out. Damian’s hand was still pressing forward.

Blood dripped onto his shirt.

Elena looked like she couldn’t stand it anymore. She turned sharply to Aldric, silently demanding he do something—anything.

Then, without warning, I opened my hand completely and let the blade tip angle straight toward my throat.

"Damian."

"..."

Everyone around me went cold with panic in that final second.

But I kept my eyes locked on his, steady and certain, because I had never once doubted that he wouldn’t hurt me.

The knife clattered to the floor.

Damian seemed to snap back all at once. His hand trembled violently, and then his whole body followed—his broad frame swaying and collapsing slowly, heavily, like all the strength had drained out of him in a single breath.

Everyone rushed forward at once. I caught him, pulling his weight against me.

"A...ria?"

---

Damian’s POV

The cold bit into my skin, sharp and unforgiving.

I found I was back in that filthy warehouse, fourteen years old, ribs aching from where they’d kicked me.

The rogue wolf who’d taken me stood in front of me, grinning like he’d already won. His teeth were yellowed, breath reeking of whiskey and rot.

*Kill him. Rip him apart. Make sure he never gets up again.*

The voice in my head wasn’t mine. It wasn’t even my wolf’s. It was something older, darker, coiled deep in my chest like a serpent that had finally been let loose.

There was a knife in my hand. I didn’t remember picking it up. I didn’t need to remember—my fingers already knew the weight of it, the balance, like they’d been waiting fourteen years for this exact moment to come back around.

I didn’t hesitate. I drove it forward.

Then I heard it—a voice, soft and distant, barely cutting through the roar in my ears.

"Damian, don’t be afraid. I’m here. It’s okay now... it’s over..."

Aria.

The sound of her voice pierced through the haze like a blade of light splitting fog.

The warehouse flickered. The rogue’s body beneath my hands wavered, dissolving into nothing.

My wolf’s presence slammed into me all at once, frantic and furious.

*What did you do?! Look! LOOK AT HER!*

I blinked. My vision cleared.

Aria was in front of me, her hand wrapped around the blade, blood streaming down her wrist in thick, dark rivulets.

No.

No no no no—

The knife fell from my grip, clattering against the floor with a sound that seemed to echo forever.

My hands were shaking. My whole body was shaking.

*You hurt her. You hurt our mate.*

My wolf’s voice was raw, anguished, nothing like the steady presence that had been with me since I was a child. He sounded broken.

I hurt her.

My eyes burned, vision blurring red at the edges. I tried to speak, tried to say her name, but all that came out was a rasp.

"A...ria?"

She caught me as I swayed forward, her arms wrapping around me despite the blood still dripping from her palm.

"It’s okay now. You’re okay."

No. I wasn’t.

The memory came back in fragments, sharp and disjointed, piecing itself together in my mind. My face went cold. Something inside my chest twisted violently, a searing ache that made it hard to breathe.

It happened again.

I hurt her.I hurt my mate.

What’s wrong with me?