Chapter 17
Damon lifted his gaze ever so slightly.
For a brief, fleeting moment, he truly believed Ariel was standing before him.
“Ariel! You’re back! You finally came back! I looked everywhere for you–l
searched the entire western packs and still couldn’t find you…”
He pulled the trembling little Omega into his arms. A few warm tears slid
down his cheeks, soaking into her clothes and making her shiver with fear.
But the illusion shattered just as quickly as it came.
Something was wrong–she didn’t smell like Ariel at all.
She wasn’t his Ariel.
Damon shoved her away violently, then slammed her down onto the table,
pressing her with a hand so large and forceful that her face flushed crimson,
her eyes rolled back, and her breath became faint.
Chapter 17 The Husion of Retum
The Omega girl writhed in panic, struggling to break free from Damon’s iron
grip.
“Alpha! Stop! You’ll kill her!”
His packmates rushed in, grabbing Damon’s arm and pulling him back before
it was too late.
It was only then that he came to his senses. With disgust, he withdrew his
hand and gave everyone in the room a frigid stare–memorizing each face.
“I warned you,” he growled, voice deathly cold. “I warned all of you. But
someone still couldn’t help themselves. Fine. From now on, we’re no longer
friends. From this moment on, we’re nothing but rivals. If it weren’t for you,
wouldn’t have betrayed Ariel.”
I
His words landed like ice water, sending a chill through everyone present.
In the western region, Thornfang Pack was the dominant power. To anger
Damon was to gamble with their own fates.
11:35 AM
Chapter 17 The Husion of Return
The wolves exchanged nervous glances. Panic grew on every face.
One of them slapped himself across the cheek, furious with regret. The others
followed, their self–reproach heavy and visible.
They’d give anything to take back what they did.
If only they’d kept their mouths shut. If only they’d just stayed by Damon’s side
and shared a few drinks–none of this would have happened.
If only they hadn’t encouraged him to take a mistress, maybe things would
have turned out differently.
But it was too late for “if.”
Damon, still soaked in alcohol and misery, returned to the now–chilly house.
He printed backup copies of the photos Ariel had once thrown away and
carefully placed them back where they used to be.
The ones with no backups–those were gone forever.
Chapter 17 The son of Retu
He tried so hard to restore the house to how it had been.
But no matter what he did, it wasn’t the same.
Without Ariel, the house had no soul.
Standing by the window, Damon suddenly realized that from this exact angle,
he could see the entire garden.
She must’ve seen everything that day.
She saw him kiss Isabelle.
Pain struck him like lightning–he clutched his chest, gasping for breath.
The agony only sharpened his awareness.
“Beta… Any news on Ariel?”
“…Sorry, Alpha. Nothing yet.”
He ended the call. Same answer as always.
1190 AM
Chapter 17 The Illusion of Retur
He had already sent out high–ranking warriors to track her down.
But she had erased herself completely.
She’d deregistered from the werewolf census, removed her mate mark, and
even used a fake ID to board the plane.
She had purchased tickets to multiple destinations across the globe.
Even with Thornfang Pack’s strength, their overseas reach was weak. Finding
Ariel was like searching for a needle in the universe.
She had wiped herself from existence.
And with that, their marriage ceased to exist as well.
Whether he signed the mate bond termination or not no longer mattered.
That paper Ariel left behind… was nothing more than a farewell letter.
