Chapter 181

• Damien POV
• By my eighth birthday, I could already see that he had broken her. The woman who had once been full of warmth and softness had grown gaunt, hollowed out by rejection. She had surrendered long before her body finally followed. It was then that my wolf first revealed himself to me born not of pride or dominance, but of grief. He came to shield me from the devastation of losing her.
• As I grew stronger through my teenage years, the mishandling stopped. He no longer dared raise a hand to the son who despised him. The pup he had never imagined would surpass him began to outgrow him first in strength, then in presence, until I became a wolf larger than he ever was. He retreated as I advanced, putting distance between us as though my very existence threatened him.