The quiet hum of medical monitors was the only sound in the infirmary.
Hayley sat unmoving, her eyes locked on Riley's pale face, her fingers still curled around her Beta's hand. She had whispered those last words so was mine and they still lingered in the air like a ghost. Grief wrapped itself tight around her chest, but so did something else: guilt.
She hadn't seen Liam's betrayal coming. And if she hadn't seen that… What else was she blind to?
"Hayley."
She didn't look up. She knew that voice.
Damien stepped into the room, his steps slow, cautious. There was no smirk tonight. No teasing edge in his tone. Just something quiet… something careful.
"You should rest," he said gently.
Hayley didn't answer. She didn't move.
Damien came closer, standing just behind her. "She's stable. You did everything you could."
"I should've seen it," she whispered.
"You were busy keeping a pack together while the world cracked beneath your feet. You're not omniscient."
Hayley's jaw clenched. "But I'm Alpha. That means I don't get to make mistakes."
Damien moved to stand beside her now, leaning against the wall. "That's not what it means. It means you carry the weight when others fall."
She finally looked at him. There was something in her eyes he hadn't seen before, not fire, not fury. Just exhaustion.
And underneath it, something fractured.
"I trusted him," she said quietly. "I trusted Riley too. And now I don't know who to trust."
Damien was silent for a long moment. Then, he reached out not forcefully, just enough to gently place two fingers on her wrist.
"You can trust me," he said.
Hayley stared at his hand, then up at his face. There was no mocking grin, no rogue swagger. Just honesty.
That scared her more than anything else.
"You're a rogue," she said softly. "You shouldn't be here."
"Maybe not," he said. "But here I am."
They stayed like that for a beat too long. The silence between them deepened, not awkward, but charged.
Hayley's wolf stirred beneath her skin, not in warning this time, but in something else. Something warmer. Something aching.
She pulled her hand away first.
"Walk with me," she said abruptly, standing. "I need air."
Damien said nothing. He just followed.
***
The halls of the Silverfang Den were quiet at this hour. Most of the pack had retreated to their quarters, grief and suspicion weighing on them like lead.
Hayley led Damien up the narrow stairs to the rooftop training terrace. From there, Ravenshade glittered in the distance, bruised skies hanging above the high-rise skyline like a warning.
The wind tugged at her hair. She welcomed the chill.
"They're scared," she murmured, crossing her arms. "My wolves."
"They're allowed to be," Damien said. "You are too."
"I don't have that luxury."
He moved to stand beside her, close but not touching. "That's a lie you tell yourself so you can keep going."
She turned to him. "And what would you know about it?"
Damien's jaw tensed. His eyes flicked to the skyline. "I used to lead. A long time ago. And I told myself the same thing. That I couldn't break. That showing anything other than strength would kill the pack faster than any enemy could."
"And?"
"And I was wrong," he said simply. "By the time I let someone in, it was too late."
The wind whipped between them. Hayley studied him.
"You never talk about your past."
"Because it's over," Damien said. "But yours isn't. And if you want to keep it from ending like mine… you need to stop doing this alone."
Hayley didn't answer.
She stepped away from the ledge, pacing to the center of the rooftop.
"When I first became Alpha, they called me reckless," she said. "Too young. Too angry. Too female."
She turned back to him.
"I fought for every inch of respect I have. I had to bleed for it."
"I know," Damien said.
"No," she said, her voice harder. "You don't. Because even now they hesitate. They question me. Liam turned, and they looked at me like I was the problem. Like I let him in."
"Hayley.."
"I don't need your pity," she snapped.
Damien stepped forward.
"It's not pity," he said. "It's understanding. And maybe… something more."
That stopped her.
Their eyes locked. The wind quieted. The city fell away.
Something more.
Hayley took a step closer without realizing. Damien didn't move.
"You keep showing up," she whispered.
"You keep needing someone," he replied.
Silence again. Closer now. Too close.
Hayley tilted her head slightly, her breath catching. Damien's gaze dropped to her lips but he didn't move.
Neither did she.
A heartbeat passed.
Then another.
But the moment never broke.
Not yet.
Hayley turned away first.
"We should go back," she said.
Damien exhaled slowly. "Yeah."
But his voice was rougher. And hers hers was trembling just enough to make her furious.
***
Later that night, Hayley stood alone in her quarters, staring at the red thread on the wall that marked the Obsidian Circle's known movements. Liam's betrayal had redrawn the map. Everything she thought she knew about her enemies had been erased.
They were inside the gates now. And the next strike would be worse.
A knock sounded at the door.
Hayley stiffened. "Come in."
Riley,Still pale, still stiff, but awake.
"I shouldn't be on my feet," she admitted, leaning on the doorframe.
Hayley moved fast, grabbing her arm to steady her. "What the hell are you doing out of bed?"
"I needed to see you," Riley said.
There was something fragile in her expression.
"I didn't lie," she said softly.
"I know."
"I should've told you sooner. About Liam. About what I suspected."
"You were trying to protect me," Hayley said, repeating her earlier words.
"I was trying to protect all of us. But I got caught."
Hayley helped her sit. Riley winced.
"He said it wasn't personal," she whispered. "When he stabbed me. He said it was necessary."
Hayley's throat tightened.
"I'm going to kill him," she said.
Riley gave a weak smile. "I figured."
They sat in silence for a while.
"Hayley?" Riley asked, voice thin.
"Yeah?"
"Don't trust anyone too easily. Not even Damien."
Hayley didn't answer.
Because that warning was already too late.