Chapter 1
DAMON’S POV
Five months.
Five damn months since my wolf, Dusk, stopped speaking to me.
Not one word. Not since that night.
Usually, he had something to say about everything—the food I ate, the people I wanted to punch, the decisions I made.
Now?
Nothing but silence.
“Are you planning to sulk forever?” I asked, tightening my training gloves.
Silence.
I clenched my jaw.
“Fine. Be an asshole.”
I slammed my fist into the punching bag.
Again.
And again.
Somewhere along the way, I’d gotten used to it. To the silence. To having no one but myself inside my own head.
But three days ago, something changed.
Dusk started getting restless.
He still wouldn’t speak. Wouldn’t explain. He just paced inside my mind, over and over, as if he were searching for something—or someone.
I threw another punch, harder this time.
“I’m done chasing you,” I muttered, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “When you’re ready to talk, you know where to find me.”
The silence returned.
I grabbed my water bottle and headed for the showers, with no idea how to fix the mess inside my head—or what the hell I was supposed to do with the rest of my life.
As I walked into my room, I found Jules sitting on my bed, looking up at me with a sweet smile.
“Damon! You’re back.” Her voice was soft, almost singsong, as she rose and walked toward me. “I was waiting for you.”
“Hey, Jules,” I said, keeping my voice neutral.
She reached for my hand, her fingers slipping between mine as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
“I thought we could spend some time together today. Just us.” She tilted her head, looking at me hopefully.
I forced myself to relax.
Jules hadn’t done anything wrong by wanting to spend time with me. And despite Dusk’s inexplicable dislike of her, I was trying to make this work.
So I gave her a small smile.
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
Jules spoke excitedly. “Maybe we could grab breakfast, visit the mall uptown, and spend the rest of the day together? We barely get any time alone lately.”
I almost told her that we saw each other practically every day, but swallowed the words.
“Sounds good,” I replied.
And just like that, my day was no longer mine.
We started with breakfast at a cafe she liked. She talked about everything and nothing, telling me about pack gossip, a dress she’d seen, and a couple planning their mating ceremony. I nodded at the right moments, asked questions when I was supposed to, and even managed a few genuine smiles.
After breakfast, she dragged me through the mall, stopping at nearly every other shop. She wanted my opinion on clothes, accessories, and things I couldn’t imagine ever having an opinion about.
“This one or this one?” she asked, holding up two nearly identical bracelets.
I stared at them for a moment.
“The first one?”
She laughed. “You didn’t even look properly!”
“I did look.”
“Damon!”
I smiled apologetically, and she finally chose one herself.
We had lunch at another place she loved, followed by a walk through the park. She insisted on taking pictures together, and I obliged, putting an arm around her whenever she asked. By evening, we had watched a movie she’d been wanting to see, and I had listened to her discuss nearly every scene on the way back.
It wasn’t a bad day.
That was the thing. Jules was pleasant company when I made the effort, and she seemed genuinely happy to have me beside her. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings simply because I was tired.
But by the time we returned to the pack house, all I wanted was a hot shower, my bed, and a few hours when nobody expected anything from me.
“I had such a wonderful day,” Jules said as we reached my door. She slipped her hand into mine and looked up at me. “Can I come in? We could spend some more time together.”
Every muscle in my body seemed to tense.
“I’m sorry, Jules. I’m exhausted. Training was harder than usual today, and I think I need to sleep early.”
Her smile faltered.
“Oh.” She glanced at the door, then back at me. “I thought we could just talk for a little while.”
I hated the disappointment in her voice. I hated that I was making excuses to avoid someone who had done nothing more than want my time.
But I was exhausted, and I didn’t know how to explain that without making her feel unwanted.
“Rain check?” I offered, forcing a smile. “We can spend time together tomorrow.”
She hesitated before nodding. “Okay. Goodnight, Damon.”
“Goodnight, Jules.”
I waited until she had walked away before slipping into my room and closing the door.
For a moment, I simply leaned against it, eyes shut.
Finally, some peace.
I dragged a hand down my face and headed for the shower, too tired to figure out why the thought of spending the rest of my life with Jules felt so exhausting.
It wasn't that I hated her. Unlike the asshole who'd stopped talking to me, I was at least trying.
