Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The Goddess’ Curse

Damon’s POV

The ropes cut into my wrists, raw and relentless. Every movement drags fire across my skin, but I shift anyway. Pain cracks through me like glass, yet sitting still feels worse—like surrender, and surrender isn’t mine to give.

The campfire spits sparks, and the shadows stretch and twist across the dirt as if alive. Every eye in the circle is fixed on me, greedy and calculating. Ryder’s words ECHOES in my skull: He dies at dawn...

I spit. Blood hits the ground with a wet, metallic hiss.

Kyra sits across from me, chained, her wolf restless beneath her skin. Once, it screamed—once—and that memory digs deeper than these ropes ever will.

Ryder paces, boots squelching in mud, the knife spinning lazily in one hand. His gaze isn’t human; it doesn’t see me as a man. It sees me as a problem to erase.

“What’s the plan, Ryder?” I ask, smirking through the ache. “Give a speech, or just enjoy the view of tied-up men?”

A few soldiers chuckle, nervous. Ryder sweeps the camp with a glance that freezes their laughter. Silence falls like a weight. Only the fire murmurs against the quiet.

He crouches, pressing the knife against my chest. Cold. Precise. “You talk brave for a dead man.”

I let out a laugh that tastes bitter. “Brave? No. Bored.” Blood slides from my lip, warm and coppery.

Ryder’s eyes flare, then narrow. Too sharp. Too steady.

Kyra’s voice cuts through, trembling, carrying a dangerous edge. “Enough. If you want him dead, do it now. Why wait for dawn?”

I meet her gaze. Hate’s there, yes, but something else—something unspoken—lurks beneath.

Ryder sneers, cloak dragging in the mud. “Dawn is when curses break. When they bind. At dawn, his blood feeds something greater.”

I laugh, low, bitter. “Killing me changes nothing. My father would burn this camp to ash before sunrise.”

He leans close, breath hot and poisonous against my ear. “Your father won’t move. You’re nothing but his bastard. Think he risks himself for you?”

Jaw locks. “Watch me outlive you.”

The chains jerk violently, sharp agony flaring through my wrists. Vision blurs. I don’t bow. Not now.

Night stretches on. Soldiers mutter and laugh, tasting my fear before it exists. One kicks me hard.

“How’s it feel, Alpha’s pup? Worm food by sunrise?”

I cough blood at his boots. “Better than you. You’ll always be nothing.”

Fist rises—but Ryder’s voice slices through. “Enough!”

The soldier freezes, trembling. Ryder’s gaze alone could make men crumble. He turns it on me. “Before dawn, Damon, you’ll break. Tell me where Ethan hides. Beg me before you die.”

I shake my head. “Not in this life.”

A thin smile. “We’ll see.”

Hours bleed together. My throat is raw, eyes heavy, every muscle screaming. I don’t close them. Kyra doesn’t either. Her chains restrain her, but her wolf twists impatiently under her skin. Watching her claws at me, silent and aching, hurts in a way nothing else can.

She leans slightly forward, voice low and raw. “Why didn’t you let me hate you?”

I draw a breath. “You do hate me.”

“Not enough.” Golden eyes glimmer with moisture. “I’m supposed to want it. You’re supposed to die.”

I smirk weakly. “Sounds like your problem.”

Chains slam. Soldiers jerk back as her growl rolls across the camp. They don’t come closer.

“Why didn’t you let me reject you?” she whispers.

One long breath. Eyes locked on hers. “Because I’d rather choke on this bond than lose you.”

The fire crackles. The truth slices through the night. Her lips move, but no words come.

A wing cuts the sky. A raven lands on Ryder’s tent, black as smoke, cawing harsh and sharp.

Ryder yanks the scroll from its leg, jaw tight. “They’re moving. Ethan’s pack. Coming south.”

Chaos erupts. Soldiers shout, flames flare higher.

He glances at me. “So your father… he does care.”

My chest tightens. Maybe he does. Maybe not. Ryder believes it, and that’s dangerous enough.

“Double the guard!” he roars. “If Ethan’s near, we bleed him too!”

The camp descends into frenzy. Swords clatter. Men shout. Fire roars.

Kyra’s eyes find mine. No words are needed. Bond screaming between us.

A soldier shoves a canteen at me. “Drink. Last mercy.”

I glare. “You first.”

He tips it into the dirt. “Rot, bastard.”

Kyra spits. “Cowards. Every one of you.”

A hand lifts toward her. Chains jerk. The post cracks. I bare my teeth. “Touch her, and I’ll rip your throat the second I’m free.”

Fear freezes him. Then he backs off.

Kyra whispers, “Why?”

“Because you’re mine.”

She flinches, deep. Fire sinks low. Body heavy. But I’m still standing.

Ryder returns, knife gleaming, crouched low. “You feel it? The end. Taste the ash.”

I smirk. “All I smell is your fear.”

Knife presses flat against my throat. “At dawn, I carve that smirk off.”

“Enough!” Kyra shouts, voice cracking. Wolf eyes blazing gold. “Stop dragging it out if you want him dead.”

Ryder smiles, cruel. “Oh, Kyra… I want you to watch. Feel him slip. Then thank me.”

“Never.” She spits.

He laughs, low and sharp. “We’ll see.”

The camp quiets. Chests hammer, breaths shallow.

Kyra whispers, voice trembling, “Damon… if they kill you—”

“They won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

Heavy breath. “If they do… burn this place down.”

Her eyes flare. Almost nod. Almost.

The sky lightens, pale. Dawn creeping. Soldiers whispering, blades ready.

Ryder steps into the center, knife raised, thunder in his voice. “Dawn is here. The Alpha’s son dies now.”

The crowd roars.

Guards drag me forward. Chains bite deep. Wolf claws at the edges of my skin. I meet death standing.

Kyra screams. “STOP!”

Heads turn. Ryder pauses, blade poised.

“What now, Kyra?”

Chest heaving. Wolf blazing gold. Eyes locked on mine. Lips trembling.

Then one word shatters the world.

“Mine.”

The camp explodes—gasps, shouts, fury. Ryder freezes, rage twisting his face. Bond roars, fire flooding my chest.

Ryder’s voice cuts through the air, steel and venom. “Then you’ll kill him yourself.