Wind tore past them as the street fell quiet — too quiet. Elara's body still trembled from the surge of power she'd unleashed. Damon kept one arm clamped around her waist, his palm splayed possessively over her hip, claws half-out — ready to rip apart anything that came too close.
Lucien stood a few feet away, calmly dusting ash off his black coat as if explosions were a daily nuisance.
His silver eyes gleamed — the exact shade as Damon's during transformation.
Brothers in curse.
Opposites in everything else.
"Elara," Lucien said, voice smooth as velvet and twice as dangerous, "we have unfinished family business."
Damon placed himself fully between them, his growl low and lethal.
"You're not family," Damon spat.
Lucien arched a brow. "Says the boy who steals my bloodline's destined key."
Elara blinked. "Bloodline's… what?"
Lucien's lips curled. "There it is. He's hiding truths again."
Damon's jaw flexed; guilt flickered — brief but real.
Elara swallowed. "What do you mean destined?"
Lucien began to step forward.
Damon lunged, claws snapping out fully — slashing inches from Lucien's throat.
The air crackled with killing intent.
Lucien laughed. "Jealousy suits you, Beast King."
Damon's voice dropped to a snarl.
"Touch her and I'll gut you."
Lucien tilted his head thoughtfully. "I only touched her soul when we were children."
Elara's breath hitched. "Children?"
Lucien's smile widened. "Oh, you don't remember? Our bond was forged long before this one."
Damon's arm tightened around her like a vise. "Enough."
Elara's heart raced — confusion flooding the bond. Damon felt it instantly — and flinched.
"Elara," he murmured, softer, "he lies."
Lucien's laughter echoed unnervingly. "Do I?"
Adrian finally limped over, blood on his lip. "Backup's two minutes away. We need to move. Now."
Damon grabbed Elara's hand and yanked her toward the alley. But Lucien's voice followed, dripping venom:
"She will betray you, Damon. The system already wrote that story."
Damon froze mid-step.
Elara gasped — because the truth of that warning already hung like a blade above them.
Lucien smiled knowingly.
"Tick-tock. Fifty-five hours."
Damon trembled — with rage and terror — then shoved forward, dragging Elara with him.
They disappeared into the shadows before Lucien's laughter stopped echoing.
________________________________________
They reached a secluded safehouse minutes later — guards, reinforced security, everything tense and militarized.
Adrian dealt with the entrance codes while Damon pulled Elara into a dim hallway — not giving her a second to breathe. He slammed the door behind them.
Then he turned — fast — and caged her against the wall.
Elara's breath caught.
His eyes were wild — jealousy and fear consuming silver.
"Don't listen to him," he growled.
"He doesn't get to twist things."
Elara fought to breathe normally. "I—I'm just trying to understand—"
"There's nothing to understand," Damon cut in, angrier than she'd ever heard.
"He doesn't know you. He doesn't get to claim you."
"He's my brother," she said softly.
Damon's face twisted — hurt piercing rage beneath the surface.
"And I'm your bonded guardian," he whispered, voice rough. "That means—"
He stopped.
Words too dangerous to speak trembled on his tongue.
Elara reached up — fingertips brushing his jaw.
The touch melted his tension in a single breath.
"Damon," she whispered, "I chose you…"
His eyes widened as the bond pulsed — an echo of the kiss still burning between them.
But someone cleared their throat behind him.
Both flinched.
Adrian stood awkwardly in the doorway. "Uh… hate to interrupt the… whatever that is… but she needs medical attention."
Damon growled at him for existing.
Adrian just lifted his hands. "Try not to maul me. I'm the only one with the first-aid kit."
Damon stepped back — reluctantly — though his hand never left Elara's lower back.
A medic entered and began cleaning Elara's scrapes, but Damon hovered like a thundercloud — every time she winced, he tensed as if he wanted to murder the air itself.
"She's fine," the medic finally said. "Exhausted. Her energy output was— inhuman." She glanced at Damon's claws. "Clearly."
Damon ignored her, eyes fixed on Elara.
"You don't push yourself like that again," he said lowly.
Elara frowned. "But if I hadn't—"
"You could've died," Damon snapped. He ran a shaking hand through his hair.
"I can't—"
He swallowed hard, unable to finish. That terrified Elara more than anything.
Adrian coughed. "Right. Security protocols. Due to… all that… you two are confined to the penthouse suite upstairs. Together."
Elara blinked. "Together?"
Adrian nodded. "She can't be out of your sight. Not even for a second."
Damon's breath punched out of him — sharp and possessive.
"Good," he said immediately.
Elara's heart fluttered — and panic fluttered right with it.
Because proximity to Damon…
meant proximity to the betrayal fate claimed she would deliver.
________________________________________
They arrived at the penthouse — high ceilings, steel-reinforced windows, luxurious furniture, far too many reflective surfaces.
Only one bed.
Elara stared. "Is there a couch or… extra room or—"
"No," Damon said instantly. "I'm not leaving you alone anywhere."
He walked around the space, pacing like a beast trapped in a too-small cage.
His jealousy still simmered — visibly.
Elara sat on the edge of the bed. Her fingers trembled. Damon noticed — he always noticed.
He dropped to his knees in front of her — claws retracting as he reached for her hands.
"I'm sorry," he rasped. "I almost lost control. I almost—"
"You didn't," she whispered.
His forehead pressed to her knees — his breathing unsteady.
"Elara…"
His voice shook.
"I'm terrified."
She cupped his cheek again — the gesture now a lifeline for them both.
"Of what?" she asked.
He lifted his head — eyes glowing faintly silver.
"Of losing you."
Her breath hitched.
The bond's warmth surged.
"And of what I become when someone else talks about you like—" His jaw clenched hard. "Like he has any right."
Elara brushed her thumb over his lower lip without thinking.
"Damon," she breathed, "you're not losing me."
He surged up in one movement — chest pressed to hers — their faces inches apart.
"You kissed me," he whispered, wonder and hunger tangled together.
"I can still feel it."
Elara's cheeks heated — but she didn't look away.
"And I want to do it again," he confessed — his restraint thinning to a thread. "Gods, Elara… I want—"
BOOM.
The building shook. Lights flickered. Alarms wailed.
Damon ripped open the curtains — a shadowy figure stood on the nearest rooftop across the street.
Lucien.
Elara's blood iced.
Lucien lifted two fingers to his lips — a mocking kiss — and pointed them directly at her.
Damon's snarl was feral — unstoppable.
He grabbed his gun and reached for the balcony door.
"Stay here," he hissed.
"No," Elara said, standing. "I'm—"
He grabbed her face gently — desperation in every line of him.
"Elara. Please."
The word please stunned her.
"I can't protect you if you're in the line of fire."
"But—"
He kissed her — quick and rough — not hunger this time, but a message.
He wanted her safe.
Alive.
With him.
Then he turned — body halfway shifted — and leaped from the balcony with monstrous power.
Elara screamed his name—
"DAMON!"
Lucien was already gone.
Darkness swallowed both brothers into the city night.
Elara stood shaking — the room too big, too silent without him.
Then the system flickered before her eyes:
Warning: Bond Destabilization
Damon Blackthorn's Beast Progression Accelerating
If target is left uncalmed…
catastrophic transformation predicted.
Elara's heart stuttered.
He needed her.
Not later.
Now.
She grabbed a jacket and ran for the balcony.
She didn't care if the world hunted her.
She would chase him into the dark —
even if it made the betrayal prophecy bleed closer.
Because the only thing more dangerous than the monster Damon feared becoming…
…was what she would become
without him.