Lena's POV
I paced back and forth in my tiny apartment, Damien's words echoing in my head: "They're watching you. If you don't stop, they'll come for you next."
I didn't know who "they" were, but I could feel the weight of his warning pressing down on me, suffocating me.
Damien Cross might be a liar and a control freak, but the way his voice cracked ever so slightly, the way his jaw tightened when he said those words—it felt real. Too real.
Still, that didn't mean I was about to back down. Ethan's journal lay open on my kitchen counter, the photo of him and Damien sitting next to it. My fingers hovered over the edges of the picture, tracing Ethan's face.
"I'm not stopping, Damien," I whispered to the empty room. "Not until I find him."
A loud knock at my door shattered the silence, making me jump.
"Lena, open the door."
Damien's voice.
I hesitated for a second, my heart pounding, before crossing the room and yanking it open.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, keeping my voice low.
Damien stood in the hallway, his tall frame filling the space. He looked as calm and collected as ever, but there was a storm brewing behind those dark eyes.
"We need to talk," he said, brushing past me into the apartment.
I scowled, slamming the door shut behind him. "You've got some nerve, you know that?"
He turned to face me, his expression unreadable. "I told you to stop digging."
"And I told you I'm not stopping until I find Ethan," I shot back, crossing my arms. "So unless you're here to help me, you can leave."
He didn't move. Instead, his gaze shifted to the counter, landing on the photo.
"Where did you get that?"
I walked over and picked up the picture, holding it out to him. "It was in Ethan's journal. Care to explain why my missing brother is posing with you?"
Damien didn't take the photo. Instead, he let out a slow breath, his jaw tightening. "It's not what you think."
"Then tell me what it is," I said, my voice rising. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you know a hell of a lot more about Ethan than you're letting on."
"I do," he admitted, his tone clipped.
I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden confession. "Excuse me?"
"I know where he is," Damien said, his gaze locking onto mine. "But I'm warning you, Lena—if you keep pushing, you're going to get yourself killed."
For a moment, I couldn't speak. The room felt like it was spinning, the air too thick to breathe.
"You... you know where he is?" I finally managed to choke out.
"Yes."
"And he's alive?"
Damien hesitated, and that hesitation nearly broke me.
"Answer me, damn it!"
"Yes," he said quietly. "He's alive."
Relief and fury crashed over me in equal measure. I crossed the room in two quick strides and shoved the photo against his chest.
"Then why the hell didn't you tell me?" I demanded. "Do you have any idea what I've been through, thinking he was—"
"I didn't tell you because it's not that simple," Damien interrupted, his voice low but firm.
"Not that simple?" I let out a bitter laugh. "My brother is missing, Damien! How is that not simple?"
"Because he's not just missing," Damien snapped, his calm demeanor finally cracking. "He's in danger—real danger. And if you keep digging, you'll be next."
The room went silent, his words hanging heavy in the air.
"What kind of danger?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Damien ran a hand through his hair, his frustration palpable. "The kind you can't imagine. The kind that makes people disappear without a trace. Ethan got too close to something he shouldn't have, and now he's paying the price."
"What did he get close to?"
Damien hesitated again, his jaw working like he was trying to decide how much to tell me. Finally, he said, "There's a war coming, Lena. A war between clans. And Ethan stumbled into the middle of it."
"Clans?" I frowned, the pieces of the puzzle not quite fitting together. "You mean werewolf clans?"
Damien's eyes darkened. "Yes."
"Jesus Christ." I ran a hand through my hair, trying to process everything. "So what? Ethan pissed off the wrong werewolf, and now he's being held hostage?"
"It's more complicated than that," Damien said.
"Of course it is," I muttered. "Because nothing with you can ever be straightforward."
He ignored the jab. "Ethan found something—something he shouldn't have. And now there are people who want him silenced. Permanently."
I stared at him, my mind racing. "What did he find?"
"That's not important," Damien said, his tone dismissive.
"The hell it isn't!" I took a step closer, glaring up at him. "If you think I'm just going to sit back and let you feed me half-truths, you don't know me at all."
Damien's expression hardened. "You're in over your head, Lena. If you keep pushing, you're going to get hurt."
"Stop trying to scare me," I said, my voice shaking. "It's not going to work."
"I'm not trying to scare you," he said quietly. "I'm trying to protect you."
The vulnerability in his voice threw me off, but I didn't let it show.
"I don't need your protection," I said. "I need answers."
"And what are you going to do with those answers?" he asked, his tone sharp. "March into a den of werewolves and demand they give your brother back? Do you have any idea what you're up against?"
"I don't care," I said stubbornly. "I'm not giving up on Ethan."
Damien stared at me for a long moment, and I could see the war raging behind his eyes. Finally, he let out a low sigh.
"If you want answers," he said, "you'll have to trust me."
I let out a bitter laugh. "Trust you? After everything you've done?"
"I don't care if you trust me or not," he said, his voice cold again. "But if you want to save your brother, you're going to need me."
Before I could respond, he stepped closer, his gaze locking onto mine.
"There's a reason Ethan's still alive," he said, his voice low and intense. "They're using him as leverage. And if you keep poking around, they'll kill him just to send a message."
The weight of his words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I refused to back down.
"What do they want?" I asked.
Damien hesitated, then said, "Me."
My breath caught in my throat. "What?"
"They want me," he repeated, his jaw tightening. "Ethan found something that ties back to me, and now they're using him to get to me."
"Why?"
"Because I'm the only one who can stop them."
I stared at him, my mind racing. "Stop them from what?"
He didn't answer.
"Damien," I said, my voice trembling. "What aren't you telling me?"
His gaze shifted to the photo in my hand, then back to me.
"You're not ready for the truth," he said finally. "But if you want to save Ethan, you'll have to trust me. And you'll have to stop digging. Do you understand me?"
Before I could respond, he turned and walked out the door, leaving me alone with more questions than answers.