The lost mate
Chapter 67: Return to Crescent Moon

Chapter 67: Return to Crescent Moon

The car ride to the Crescent Moon Pack territory had been quiet. Too quiet. Annie sat in the passenger seat, her hands clenched tightly in her lap, eyes fixated on the road ahead. Emily and Heather were watching Ryan while they were gone.

Damien glanced at her, sensing the tension. His hand slipped off the steering wheel, reaching over to gently squeeze hers. Annie looked at him and smiled.

As the pack house came into view, towering and imposing against the trees, Annie’s heart clenched. She hadn’t been here in years, and yet it felt like only yesterday she had walked these grounds. The same old feeling of unease settled in her stomach. The car came to a stop, and Annie finally exhaled, realising she’d been holding her breath. She glanced over at Damien, who offered her a reassuring smile.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice soft but steady.

Annie nodded, though she didn’t trust her voice to speak. She wasn’t okay.

Damien stepped out of the car, moving around to open her door. When she got out, she felt every curious and shocked stare. Pack members all stopped in their tracks, eyes wide as they whispered amongst themselves.

"It’s her..."

"She’s really back..."

"So the rumours were true."

Damien took her hand. He offered her a small, encouraging nod.

"Come on, honey," he murmured, just loud enough for everyone to hear.

She nodded again, this time more confidently, and together they made their way towards Alpha Jackson’s office. By the time they reached the office door, she had almost stopped breathing entirely. Damien, noticing her tension, gently tugged on her hand, pulling her back to the present.

"Annie," he whispered, his voice low and calming. "It will be ok."

She looked up at him and nodded, and Damien pushed open the door.

Inside, Alpha Jackson sat behind a large wooden desk, his piercing eyes immediately locking onto them as they entered. His gaze flickered to Annie, a strange mixture of surprise and something else passing through his eyes.

"Good to see you again, Annie," Jackson said, his tone neutral.

Annie swallowed hard, her throat dry as sandpaper. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Memories of their last encounter—the anger, the abuse—flooded her mind, making her feel small and vulnerable all over again.

Damien, sensing her struggle, took a step forward, his posture protective but not aggressive. He addressed Jackson with the authority of an Alpha prince.

"Alpha Jackson, we’re here because there are things we need to discuss."

Jackson’s gaze flickered between the two of them, lingering on Annie for just a moment too long before he nodded slowly. "I imagine you have plenty to say."

Annie’s heart raced, and she could feel her pulse pounding in her ears. Every nerve in her body screamed to flee, to run far away from this place and never look back. But then she felt Damien’s hand in hers again. It was the only thing keeping her grounded.

She nodded and turned to face Alpha Jackson. "It’s good to see you too, Alpha Jackson," she said, her voice steady despite the storm raging inside her. "We have a lot to talk about."

***************

Damien guided Annie into the chair besides him. His hand remained firmly on her shoulder, a subtle gesture of support as they faced Alpha Jackson. Annie, still shaken by the resurfacing memories, remained silent, though her hands were clenched tightly in her lap.

Leaning forward slightly, Damien fixed Jackson with a sharp look. "Now that we’re all on the same page," he began, his voice low but commanding, "let’s get straight to the point. Five years ago, why did you imprison my mate?"

Alpha Jackson leant back in his chair, a slow, amused smile creeping across his face. He chuckled lightly, as though the whole situation was a minor inconvenience rather than the life-altering event it had been for Annie. "I knew you would ask me that eventually," he said, his voice oozing with the smooth charm.

Jackson folded his hands over his chest.

"I didn’t know Annie was your mate back then. How could I? She was just another wolf in my pack. And you..." He trailed off, allowing his words to hang before continuing, "You had been drugged. I had to protect my pack’s reputation, didn’t I? An Alpha prince, unconscious and vulnerable, within my borders? It was chaos. How would I know that an Alpha could mate with a commoner?"

Annie stiffened at Jackson’s words, anger simmering beneath the surface. But Damien remained calm, his expression unreadable as Jackson continued.

"I did what I could under the circumstances," Jackson went on, shrugging as though he were discussing a routine business decision. "My pack was in an uproar. The Alpha prince was taken down by some unknown assailants. I had to maintain order. I had to maintain my reputation. You understand, don’t you?"

Damien’s jaw clenched slightly, but he didn’t interrupt. He was waiting, letting Jackson dig his own hole.

"Now, as for Annie," Jackson added, casting a sideways glance at her. "If she hadn’t run away, we might’ve figured things out sooner. We would have realised she was your mate. But instead, she chose to flee, and well... things spiralled, didn’t they?"

Annie could feel the blood rushing to her ears. She wanted to scream, to tell Jackson he had no right to twist the truth like this. But Damien placed his hand over hers, silently telling her to wait.

"So, you see," Jackson said smoothly, spreading his hands as though the entire situation was out of his control. "I did what was necessary. If she had stayed, none of this would have happened. We could have resolved it quietly."

Damien cut him off, his voice like ice. "You didn’t give her a choice."

Annie finally spoke, her voice trembling with anger. "You knew I was innocent. You knew I had nothing to do with what happened to Damien. But you locked me up anyway. You left me to rot."

Jackson’s gaze shifted, but he kept that smug veneer in place. "Like I said, Annie, it wasn’t personal. I was just doing what needed to be done. If you had stayed—"

"If I had stayed, I would’ve been dead," Annie snapped, her eyes flashing with the pain and fury she had kept bottled up for years.

Damien squeezed her hand gently, his silent way of telling her that he was with her in this. Then he turned his full attention back to Jackson. "You talk a lot about maintaining order and reputation, but what you really did was cover your own back. You let Annie become a scapegoat for something she had no part in."

Jackson’s smirk faded for real this time, but he still attempted to hold his ground. "I did what was best for my pack. You would have done the same."

Damien’s eyes darkened, his Alpha aura crackling in the air. "I protect my pack, yes. But I don’t sacrifice innocent lives for the sake of my own reputation. Annie didn’t deserve what you did to her."

Jackson’s composure wavered, just slightly.

"What do you want, Damien?"

Damien leant forward, his gaze never leaving Jackson’s. "I want the truth. All of it. And I want to know who else was involved."

Jackson swallowed, realising that he was in deeper than he had anticipated. "There’s nothing more to tell," he tried, but Damien’s eyes narrowed.

"Try again," Damien said quietly. "And this time, I suggest you be honest."