Chapter 54: Shot

“Let’s not make this a bloodbath…” Zach warned. “Hand her over to me,” he ordered.

The woman in the red coat shook her head slowly, her gun already raised and pointed straight at him. Zach didn’t seem scared by it. “You are calling for war, Alpha Zach. Alpha Alexander won’t take this lightly,” the lady warned.

Zach scoffed and took a step forward, making the lady tighten her hold on the trigger.

“If I were you, I wouldn’t move an inch, Alpha Zach,” she warned. “These bullets aren’t ordinary. They are silver-tipped; they will pierce your bones before you can even shift. Turn around, leave with your men, and we will pretend this never took place.”

Zach’s eyes flared with rage, his muscles bunching as if he were about to spring despite the threat.

Inside the car, Sofia’s heart hammered against her chest. She felt like a carcass being fought over by vultures.

Suddenly, the roar of another engine tore through the stand-off. Headlights cut through the darkness like twin blades.

“Shit,” Sofia whispered, her breath hitching. She recognized the sleek, black silhouette of the lead car. It was Damien.

The car screeched to a halt, the tires throwing up gravel that pelted the side of the sedan. Damien didn’t wait for his guards. He threw his door open, his presence so suffocatingly powerful that even Zach’s men took a step back.

“Damien!” Zach called out, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and fear. “I’ve got her cornered. These Silver Moon bastards thought they could steal your property.”

Damien didn’t even acknowledge Zach. He didn’t look at the lady in the red coat or the gun pointed at Zach. His eyes were locked on the backseat of the sedan.

He moved with a terrifying, singular focus. The lady in the red coat swung her gun toward him, but Damien’s aura hit her like a physical blow, making her hand tremble. He reached the sedan, his hand gripping the door handle and ripping it open with such force the hinges groaned.

“Sofia,” he rasped.

Before she could scream or scramble away, his large, scarred hand reached into the car. He gripped her arm and pulled her out into the biting night air. Sofia stumbled against him, her body colliding with his hard chest.

“Please,” she sobbed. “Damien, please just let me go.”

Damien’s grip tightened, but not in a way that hurt. It was possessive and desperate. He ignored her pleading and turned to the lady in red. “Tell Alexander he will hear from me soon.” He released the words like a threat before pulling Sofia along with him.

Opening the car, he pushed her in and got in while his driver hopped in and started the car.

Inside the car, Damien was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling like a caged beast. His hands were clenched.

“You should never have run,” he growled, not looking at her. “You will pay for this, Sofia… you will pay.”

Sofia shrank into the seat, her arms wrapped around herself. Her whole body was shaking. “I was trying to live,” she whispered. “I was trying to get away from you.”

That did it.

Damien slammed his fist into the back of the driver’s seat. “Away?” he snapped, finally turning toward her. his eyes burning gold in the dark. “There is no ’away’ from me, Sofia. Not for you. Not ever.”

Before she could respond, the driver suddenly swore under his breath.

“Alpha,” he said sharply, slowing the car. “Something’s wrong.”

The road ahead was empty—but too empty.

Damien’s instincts screamed.

“Stop the car,” Damien ordered.

The moment the tires slowed, headlights exploded to life on both sides of the road. Black SUVs burst from the tree line, engines roaring, forming a tight circle around them.

An ambush.

“Zach,” Damien snarled.

Gunfire erupted.

The back window shattered, glass raining down inside the car. Sofia screamed, ducking as bullets tore through the metal frame.

“Get down!” the driver yelled.

Damien was already moving. He shoved Sofia flat against the seat and threw his body over her just as another round ripped through the door.

His wolf roared.

“This ends now,” Damien growled.

He kicked the door open and stepped out into the storm of bullets like a king walking into war. His aura exploded outward, heavy and crushing. Several men hesitated. One even stumbled back.

“Stay in the car!” he ordered Sofia without looking back.

He shifted halfway—claws tearing through his hands, eyes blazing gold. He lunged toward the nearest shooter, snapping bones, sending bodies flying.

But there were too many.

“Alpha, look!” one of his men alerted.

He turned just in time to see one of Zach’s men had circled behind the car. His gun was raised. A clean shot. Aimed straight at Damien’s back.

Sofia saw it too, but she didn’t think. She moved—throwing herself out of the car, screaming his name as the gun went off.

The bullet hit her flesh.

Sofia gasped as pain exploded through her shoulder, the force spinning her sideways. She hit the ground hard, the world blurring as blood soaked into her uniform.

Damien felt it. He felt her pain like it was his own.

The sound that tore from his throat was not human.

“SOFIA!”

Damien shifted fully, bones cracking, skin tearing as his massive wolf burst free. Rage, pure and unstoppable, consumed him. He slaughtered everything in his path—guns, men, fear—until the road was slick with blood and silence screamed in their place.

When it was over, Damien was back on his knees beside her.

Sofia lay pale against the asphalt, blood pooling beneath her. Her breaths were shallow. Her eyes fluttered open when she felt his hands shaking against her skin.

“You’re… safe,” she whispered weakly. “I didn’t… let them…”

Damien crushed her to his chest, hands slick with her blood, his voice breaking completely.

“Don’t you dare,” he choked. “Don’t you dare die on me.”

Sofia smiled through the pain, her trembling fingers caressing his face. “Tell me something, Damien… why did you suddenly change? Why did you suddenly hate me? What happened? What did I do?” she asked, choking.

Damien shook his head as he slowly lifted her up and rushed toward the car.

He shoved the back door open and climbed inside, pulling Sofia with him. He sat down hard on the seat, dragging her gently onto his lap, cradling her broken body against his chest as the car sped forward.

Blood soaked through his fingers. Her breathing was shallow now, each breath a struggle.

Sofia lifted her trembling hand, her fingers brushing his jaw. Her touch was weak, fading. “Damien…” she whispered. “If I’m dying… I deserve to know.”

His jaw clenched. His eyes burned as he shook his head. “Don’t talk like that.”

She coughed and shook her head. “Please. Why did you change? Why did you suddenly hate me? What did I do?”

The car swerved as Damien wrapped his arms tighter around her. His voice cracked, raw and broken.

“You betrayed me.”

Her eyes widened, confused. “Betrayed you… how?”

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