Chapter 5 The Lie Beneath the Moonlight
Ariel stayed silent the whole time, and after a while, she couldn’t bring herself to keep playing along.
“It’s getting late. I’m heading home.”
Damon stood to follow her, but a few of the elite beta warriors quickly blocked his path.
“Alpha, it’s been ages since we’ve all gotten together. You can’t bail now!”
“Yeah, just let Luna head back to sleep. We still need to talk to you about a bunch of stuff.”
Ariel gently pulled her hand from Damon’s grip and said softly, “I know the way. I’ll head back on my own—you stay.”
Before her words had fully settled, she turned and walked off.
She moved quickly—so fast that Damon didn’t even have time to stop her.
As soon as she stepped out of the forest, Ariel reached into her coat pocket and found a phone that wasn’t hers.
Black casing. It was Damon’s.
She frowned and turned around. Damon was an Alpha—he needed his phone to handle pack affairs.
As she made her way back toward the clearing, she saw Isabelle darting through the trees from the other side.
The woman kept checking her makeup in a compact mirror, completely unaware of her surroundings as she headed straight for Damon.
Ariel’s hand tightened around the phone. She followed Isabelle at a careful distance.
Sure enough, Isabelle came to a stop right in front of Damon.
The moment she arrived, she threw herself into his arms.
He caught her easily, wrapping an arm around her waist and affectionately brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “You got here fast.”
Isabelle rested her head on his shoulder with a coy smile. “I missed you. As soon as I got your call, I rushed over.”
Damon chuckled. “Then you deserve a reward.”
He pressed a hot kiss to her lips, and soon the two were locked in a passionate embrace.
Ariel could clearly smell the heavy Alpha pheromones in the air.
“Alright, alright, stop showing off already!”
His so-called “brothers” didn’t look the least bit surprised. They just laughed and teased like it was no big deal.
Ariel stood a short distance away, staring at the scene bathed in moonlight, and felt cold to her very core.
So everyone knew about him and Isabelle.
They’d all been putting on an act just for her.
“Alpha, now that Isabelle’s here, can we finally play something spicy?”
The beta warriors grinned and exchanged glances, then whistled.
A moment later, the Omega she-wolves who had left earlier all came wandering back, cozying up to the men at their sides.
The game was simple: spin the bottle. Whoever it landed on had to pick truth or dare.
And the loser had to let the winner bite their neck—a sign of dominance in werewolf culture.
After several rounds, the bottle finally pointed at Damon.
The betas cheered, the energy in the clearing reaching a fever pitch.
“Alpha, when’s the last time?”
The question was laced with suggestive laughter. Everyone knew what it meant.
Damon raised a brow, unfazed. “Yesterday. In the car.”
The clearing exploded.
“No way! Damn, that’s wild!”
“Come on, how was it? Spill!”
Isabelle had already gone bright red, burying her face in his chest. Damon smirked and answered slowly, “She served me well. It was… unforgettable.”
“Hahahaha! Told you! The wife at home’s never as sweet as the flower on the side!”
“Exactly, Alpha. Guys like us? We’ve all got women on the side.”
“As long as you don’t get caught, you can live the dream for life. Luna’ll never find out.”
One by one, they kissed and fondled the Omega women beside them like it was nothing.
Damon’s smile faded.
His face darkened slightly. He spoke coldly, “Don’t let Ariel find out. Or you know what’ll happen.”
“Of course, of course!”
“She’ll never know.”
Every single word wormed its way into Ariel’s ears.
Laughter echoed through the woods, but she felt nothing but cold. Her entire body was numb, her legs like lead. She turned and walked away like a ghost with no soul.
Rain poured down in the empty forest.
Cold raindrops pelted her skin, making everything feel even more real.
She didn’t know how long she wandered.
Longer than the snowy night when she was sixteen, when she fell into a vampire trap and was forced to eat wolfsbane… and Damon carried her home on his back through the storm.
So it’s true. Even the most sincere love can vanish in an instant.
