Thirty

Damien sat down on a wooden chair in his room looking at the night through his window with his index and thumb finger on his jaw.

He was deep in thought as a lot of events had clouded his mind; from the recent death to the mysterious murderers and now, Kira's disdainful attitude towards him.

The sudden deaths of his people worried him more than anything else and he couldn't help but wish the situation was as easy to curb as other situations had been. There have been so many complaints concerning the dead bodies that keep showing up and most of his people are of the belief that either the rogues or the Redmooon pack are to blame.

"Creatures cursed by the sun," he muttered to himself. He couldn't help but wonder what they looked like and most importantly, how they operated in such discretion.

He knew Kira's idea of letting the people know made perfect sense but he also knew how difficult it would be to appease and calm them down when they find out about Kira and the fact she lived in the pack as well. He was more worried about Sheila and her reaction when she came to know of everything that was happening and the solution he had thought of.

He had promised Sheila to always protect her since she was such a fragile woman but lately, he worried that he might not be able to protect her like he promised her.

Thoughts of Kira also popped into his mind and as hard as he tried to forget her attitude towards him earlier today, he couldn't help but be reminded of it.

He blamed his wolf for making him feel guilty about his reaction to Kira. He felt a pinch in his heart as he thought of her and what she had said to him. From a very young age, he looked forward to being the Alpha his people looked up to and being a selfless Alpha was the kind of Alpha he wanted to be for his people.

If becoming one with Kira was the right thing to do, he was prepared for it but he also blamed his wolf for making him think that way. He kept wondering if his wolf was really starting to influence his thoughts and decisions about Kira and maybe that was why he couldn't help but worry about her.

"What in the world got you so lost in thought?" Sheila asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up slightly to see Sheila standing above him and a small smile crept on his face.

"Hey Sheila," he greeted with a short yawn.

"Is there something bothering you? You didn't even notice when I walked in," She pointed out as soon as she noticed the sullen look on his face. She could tell that he was worried and deep in thought about something.

He took her hands in his and smiled. "Nothing could ever bother me when you're around me," he tells her cheesily, making her blush hard at his words.

He got up from where he sat, pulled her closer to him and rested his forehead against hers.

"Now that you are here, I know I'll be fine," he whispered.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Sheila said to him as she wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer to her.

He sighed as he placed his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet smell. "Fuck. Now, this makes me feel way better," he muttered, placing soft kisses on her neck.

"Come on Damien. Talk to me already and don't try to distract me cause I can assure you that it won't work on me. Anyway, does your mood have anything to do with the recent death cases in town?" she asked him.

"Do you think Kira had a point?" he asked all of a sudden and the moment she heard Kira's name from his mouth, she felt the knot in her stomach tighten. She had not met Kira yet but she already harbored a strong feeling of dislike for her in her heart.

"What does she have to do with what I asked?" she asked, not bothering to hide the irritation in her tone.

"I know what I'm about to say is gonna sound crazy but, the fact that Kira and I are mates isn't exactly a coincidence. According to some crazy prophecy, our packs are supposed to come together and unite as one so we can fight against some terrible creatures that were cursed by the sun," Damien explained to her, completely oblivious of the fact that his words only infuriated her even more.

"What stupid prophecy are you going on about Damien? Who told you something so foolish? Let me guess, it's the moon goddess again? She allegedly spewed another nonsense and you're just buying into her shit?" Sheila spat out in disdain.

"Come on Sheila, don't talk like that," Damien warned.

"Oh please Damien! Spare me the rubbish. Why do you even believe any of that nonsense? What harm will it bring you if you just reject her and send her packing? What is this supposed danger that would befall you if you marry another and not the stupid destined mate? I'm actually curious to know Damien so go ahead and tell me,"

"I want to know why it's so hard for you to just kick her out like we agreed we would from the very beginning. I'm even starting to think you want to choose her over me and let me tell you sweetie, that will never happen cause I will not be replaced. You will never be with her and just so you know, everything is a lie. The prophecy, absolutely everything is a lie and this nonsense of the moon goddess knowing who's best for you is not only outdated, it's also false and plain stupid!" Sheila spat out and Damien was too stunned to speak.

It was at that point he realized that he should have just kept to himself cause the last thing he expected was seeing Sheila go off with so much rage.

"What did that Kira girl say to you that made you believe such ridiculous stories? Go ahead and tell me cause I'm suddenly so interested. She would have probably told you that both of you getting together for the sake of the pack is the only way to end the recent situation in the pack, right? Well of course she would say that Damien," Sheila scoffed.

"She would say that cause she most likely wants you to herself and she's trying everything she can to convince you that you two belong together and the fact that you can't see that is pissing the fuck off Damien!" she hissed.

Damien felt the urge to face palm himself. He already had so much on his mind and instead of helping him, Sheila was only making things much worse for him. She was supposed to be his safe place but the fact that she ignored the fact people are dying and only nagged at him because of Kira, made him feel disappointed in her.

He felt guilty that he was partly to blame for the way she was suddenly acting jealous and inconsiderate but at the same time, he couldn't help but wish she had never walked in at all. He had intentionally hidden himself here to give himself space to just think and stay away from any more complaints.

"That's enough Sheila!" he hissed with an eye roll, raising his voice only slightly to avoid infuriating her even more than she already was.

"Did you just roll your eyes at me Damien?" Sheila asked and Damien couldn't help but feel even more frustrated.

"It's not what you're thinking Sheila so relax yourself and listen, I don't mean this in a bad or insulting way at all but at this moment, the only thing I need from you is space. I need to think about the recent situation in the pack and come up with how to put an end to them and I don't have time to clear up any misunderstandings with you," he told her as calmly as he could.

She glared at him. "Are you serious with me Damien? You're really asking me to give you space? Really sweetie? You're just gonna kick me to the curb just like that all because of that bitch you know nothing about? Is this really what we're now about? After so many years of being your support system and sticking by your side? How unbelievable Damien. You really are a bastard," Sheila hissed and Damien groaned in frustration.

He could not believe she was really making everything about herself and trying to gaslight him when his intention was simply to help her understand him. He thought he could communicate with her and maybe through her, get ideas or at least encouragement of any kind but she couldn't even reason with him at all.

"Oh, so now you're wearing a frown? Are you really starting to think the moon goddess is right? Do you really believe a relationship with Kira would be an actual...," she was saying but Damien cuts her off

"That's enough Sheila!" He snapped, hoping he didn't sound too harsh cause the last thing he wanted was having to deal with Sheila and her waterworks.

Tears formed in Sheila's eyes as she looked at him and he immediately cursed under his breath. "Fuck!"

"You yelled at me Damien," she sulked.

"You really yelled at me," she muttered amidst tears, making Damien mentally curse himself.

He moved closer to her in an attempt to console her.

"I'm so sorry Sheila, I didn't mean to raise my voice at you," he tells her but she simply flinched when he attempted to touch her.

"Don't touch me Damien," she warned sternly.

"I beg you Sheila, please don't cry," he pleaded.

"It's just everything happening right now is crazy and I'm just trying to handle things but yet, I still don't know what to do and I'm lost. I'm the Alpha Sheila and my duty comes before anything else and yet, I just feel like I'm doing something wrong. I know you probably don't believe me but I can assure you that something weird is going on and it's really messed up. Fortunately, Kira has more knowledge about them than I do and that's why we're working together," he explained hoping that would be enough to pacify her but instead, it escalated.

Sheila scoffed. "Kira has more knowledge? Really? That's a ridiculous excuse Damien. How the fuck is she more knowledgeable than you are? How does she know it and why do you even believe her? She is just like every other female who is willing to do and say anything to get their mate's attention. The moon goddess is just fucking biased cause I've been with you all this years and instead of her to just pair us, she brings in a complete stranger as your mate and your enemy at that! How sure are you that it's not all just a scheme to make you hand over our pack to them on a silver platter?" she yelled furiously.

Damien rubbed his eyes with his index and thumb finger. There was no way in hell he'd be able to convince Sheila and he knew that. He honestly wouldn't have believed Kira if he hadn't experienced some of the things she had told him himself.

He already knew Kira wasn't an ordinary wolf and he had seen that with his own two eyes. She had told him of certain things before it happened and she had also told him of their kind getting killed by some creatures cursed by the sun and as it seemed, she wasn't lying. He would have believed it was another wolf who had attacked them had he not seen the way his members died.

He wanted to explain all of this to Sheila but he could already tell it would be fruitless anyway. It was obvious that Sheila was only capable of understanding his words based on how she wished to understand him.

"I'll go to see her myself and put her in her place since you don't have the guts to do it yourself. I don't want to have to deal with this anymore Damien. I don't deserve it so you better make a choice. It's either you throw her out yourself or I will," Sheila spat out.

Damien said nothing to her. It's obvious she wouldn't understand and her tantrums were the least of his problems.

"Tell me where she stays and let me go talk to her," Sheila said and Damien could not believe she actually meant what she said.

He knew better than to let them meet cause knowing Kira and her temper, if Sheila made the mistake of going too far with her actions, she would most definitely end up getting hurt and he definitely didn't want that to happen.

"Sheila, I beg you, don't do it," he pleaded, holding her back and Sheila struggled to get out of his hold.

"Let go of me Damien! I won't spare that bitch! She has to go!" She threatened angrily.

"You don't have to do this Sheila. Kira should really be the least of your problems. You know I'm yours alone and nothing can change that. She is just here for the sake of her people, nothing else," he assured her as he held onto her waist firmly.

Sheila relaxed in Damien's hold.

"You promise?" she asked and he nodded his head in confirmation.

She heaved a sigh of relief. "You better not be playing with me Damien cause I promise you, if she goes out of line, I'll kill her myself," Sheila spat out in annoyance and Damien mentally rolled his eyes whilst heaving a sigh of relief that he was finally able to calm her down.