Chapter 231 The traitor was him, of all people
Chapter 231: Chapter 231 The traitor was him, of all people
Damian’s POVThe holding cells beneath the east wing were designed for one purpose: to break wolves who needed breaking.
The walls were reinforced steel lined with silver.
The doors were triple-locked. And every breath drawn in here carried traces of wolfsbane—not enough to kill, but enough to weaken even the strongest wolf.
Rick led me down the narrow corridor, past empty cells, until we reached the last one.
And then he stopped.
"He’s in there," Rick said quietly. "And Damian—whatever he says, whatever he does—don’t let him get under your skin."
I didn’t answer. Just nodded for Rick to open the door.
The lock disengaged with a heavy clunk, and the door swung open.
I stepped inside.
The cell was dimly lit, the only light coming from a single bare bulb overhead. And sitting in the center of the room, chained to a chair with silver cuffs, was a man I’d trusted for over a decade.
My Delta. My third-in-command. The wolf responsible for border patrols, hunting parties, and tactical operations.
Garrett Cole.
The air left my lungs in a rush.
Garrett had been with me since he was nine years old. He’d been a war orphan—his entire pack wiped out in a territorial dispute—and I’d taken him in when no one else would.
Trained him. Trusted him. Given him a place in my pack when the rest of the world had abandoned him.
And now he was sitting in front of me, bruised and bloodied, with that same damn tattoo I’d seen on the assassin burned into his forearm.
"Garrett," I said quietly, my voice dangerously calm. "Care to explain?"
He looked up at me, his dark eyes flat and unreadable. "What’s there to explain? You already know what I did."
"I know you betrayed me." I took a step closer, my wolf prowling just beneath my skin. "What I don’t know is why."
Garrett laughed—a sharp, bitter sound that made my teeth grind. "Why? You really want to know why?"
"Yes."
"Because you’re a hypocrite, Damian." He leaned forward as much as the chains would allow, his expression twisted with something I couldn’t name. "You stand there acting like some noble king, like you actually care about the wolves in your pack, but it’s all bullshit. You only care about power. About control."
"That’s not true—"
"Isn’t it?" Garrett’s voice rose. "You took me in, sure. Gave me a place in your pack. But you never saw me as anything more than a tool. A weapon you could use when it suited you."