Chapter 23 Luna Cassandra handed the voice recording to Alpha Adrian, who quickly dropped her off at the pack guesthouse before slamming his car door and driving away. Adrian played the recording over and over as if he could not believe the words he heard.Damien's confession and Selene'lack of rejection were like daggers to his pride,and Adrian laughed like a maniac. "I didn't wish to do this,Selene-it was you who forced me!" Later that evening, after Selene's regular check-up,she drove silently beside Damien Blackthorn,still thinking of Adrian knowing about their children and even believing the pups belonged to Damien. The man she had spent her life with had never understood her,while Damien loved her without condition,always standing by when she said she was too broken for another relationship.Instead of dropping her at her den,Damien entwined their hands slowly;Selene felt her cheeks flush as he led her back to his packstead to show her the place he called home. "Selene,I know how hurt you are,"Damien said. "You need not love me,but if anything happens you are always welcome in this home-if not as a mate then as a friend.I promise I will protect you. As soon as they entered his villa, curiosity overcame Selene and she asked hesitantly, "Damien,about what happened with Luna today...weren't you two together at the college?Jessica told me you were her boyfriend." Damien froze. His eyes widened in shock."What?Selene,never once in my life have I had any feelings for that woman,nor was I a couple with her at college. Truth be told,she stalked me when we were in college and it was only after a formal complaint that she stopped. You can even find it in the wardens'records." "She used every scheme to put me under her control,and on the night of the college party she drugged my drink. Do you remember how you found me unconscious that day in the inn room and rushed me to the healer?" Selene's eyes filled with tears at the memory-a blurred recollection of sixteen-year-old hope pinned to the young Damien. At the time Jessica had known Selene liked Damien and had claimed to be his girlfriend,making Selene never find the courage to confess. The night Selene found Damien passed out had felt like a nightmare and she had dragged him to the healer without hesitation."That night at the healer's lodge, Jessica was caught by the college committee and suspended. The entire college knew about the incident," Damien said. "How is this possible?" Selene muttered,stunned. "How could she stoop so low?Both the Blackthorn family and the Rivers family promised to bind her to Adrian-" "Do you think she considered Adrian, who was an illegitimate child,worthy of herself? That woman long knew Adrian would never inherit the Blackthorn name properly;she would never be the matriarch of the pack. Everyone is just a tool to her-to think Adrian fell for her tricks."Selene was still processing the shock when a troubling question surfaced. "But what letters was she talking about?I never got any love letters from you, Damien. Every time Jessica pretended you wrote to her or gave her a gift,she flaunted them to me... The only confession I received was four years ago while working at your grandfather's estate. Someone Chanter 23 212 15.3% 9:44 pm P secretly left a diary on my desk every day,and soon we started exchanging thoughts. Later Adrian told me it was him." Damien froze mid-step. "Impossible."His expression darkened with disbelief."Selene, the love letters and all those gifts Jessica claimed-I sent them to you. To think they ended up in that woman's hands. And what diary did Adrian exchange?It was my diary!" He hurried inside and returned with an old,worn journal that looked painfully familiar.Only that secret pen pal could have held it. Selene's lips trembled as a ringing sound echoed in her ears. Her eyes widened."No...that can't be right.I exchanged the diary with Adrian-how?" "He wrote me these beautiful,heartfelt things,"Damien said."I thought he understood what my biological parents never would. The love he showed Jessica and the cold indifference toward me -in the dark I thought Adrian was the only person who treated me kindly.It's part of why I fell for him,but the truth is it was you all along."Selene nearly lost her balance;Damien gathered her in his arms as she cried softly. He was there when I woke;he made me believe in love." Damien's face went pale.His voice dropped to a whisper."Selene...it wasn't Adrian who saved you that day.It was me." Selene stared at him,horror washing over her until her face was ashen."What?" "I was the one who saved you,Selene." 9:44 pm P Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!