Page 12 of Howl For A Kiss (Rebellious Mates #3)

TEN

DAMON

D amon's eyes cracked open to unfamiliar surroundings—hardwood floors, cream-colored walls, and the unmistakable ache of sleeping upright against a door frame. His internal clock told him it was just past dawn, and the realization of where he'd spent the night hit him like a slap in the face.

Christ. He'd fallen asleep in the hallway outside Elena's bedroom.

The Beta of the most powerful pack in the Pacific Northwest Cascade territory had spent the night on the floor like some lovesick pup.

His wolf rumbled restlessly, completely unrepentant about the protective vigil.

The mate bond pulsed stronger this morning, a constant thrumming under his skin that made every instinct scream to stay close to Elena.

Damon pushed himself to his feet, his joints protesting the uncomfortable position.

The same churning thoughts that had plagued him before exhaustion finally claimed him returned with vengeance.

Elena was growing more attuned to their connection—last night's transformation had awakened something primal in her wolf that recognized him as mate.

Which made his deception infinitely more dangerous.

He moved quietly to his adjacent bedroom, grateful that none of her rebels seemed to be early risers. The last thing he needed was questions about why he'd been sleeping outside her door like a guard dog.

His small attached bathroom offered blessed privacy.

Damon stripped off his clothes—the same thermal henley and dark jeans he'd been wearing for two days straight—and turned the shower as cold as it would go.

The shock of frigid water against his overheated skin did little to calm the restless energy thrumming through his system.

Elena.

Her name echoed through his mind as he braced his hands against the tile wall.

The memory of her naked form in the moonlight, all pale skin and dangerous curves, made his body respond despite the cold water.

But it wasn't just physical desire driving him to distraction—it was the way she'd looked at him with growing trust, the soft kiss she'd pressed to his cheek last night, and the vulnerability she'd shown him over the past two days.

And he was lying to her about everything that mattered.

Damon's jaw clenched as guilt twisted through his chest like a blade.

Elena had already questioned his tactical knowledge twice, her survival instincts picking up on the inconsistencies in his story.

She was too intelligent and too observant to be fooled much longer.

Fifteen years of leadership experience couldn't be disguised as rebel training, no matter how skilled Logan Cross was.

She'll know soon enough that you're not just some Silvercrest rebel fighter, his wolf growled. She'll eventually figure out you're the one who enforced the very laws she's fighting to change.

The cold water couldn't wash away the bitter taste of self-recrimination. How could he explain that he'd questioned those same laws? That he'd documented every abuse and every injustice, while being forced to maintain order under Alpha Alaric's rigid rule?

Elena saw the world in absolutes—oppressor and oppressed, traditional and progressive. She wouldn't understand the impossible position he'd been trapped in since age eighteen.

She'll cast you out the moment she learns the truth.

And then he wouldn't be able to protect her.

The Council already considered her a significant threat as the rebellion leader who stole their ancient records.

But if they discovered she was a rare type of hybrid, pure and powerful, that would be the end of it.

Human operatives were just the beginning—the Council had resources and connections that could destroy her and everything she'd built.

Damon turned off the water and grabbed a towel, his movements sharp with frustrated energy. The mate bond pulsated between them, growing stronger each hour they spent in proximity. Elena's wolf had recognized him last night—he'd felt the exact moment of awareness.

Elena has to know now. Or at least feel it.

Which meant his time was just about up. Every lie and every misdirection were building toward an inevitable explosion that would shatter whatever fragile trust they'd built. And when that happened?—

His phone buzzed against the bathroom counter, the vibration cutting through his spiraling thoughts. Lena's name appeared on the screen, and Damon stared at it without moving to answer.

Lena represented everything he was hiding from Elena—his real identity, his position in pack hierarchy, and his complicated loyalties.

If he answered that call, he'd have to face the reality waiting back at Silvercrest territory.

Kieran's patience with his extended leave.

The Council's growing suspicion of Kieran's moderate reforms. The delicate political balance that required Damon's presence and expertise.

Two weeks, Kieran had said. Your leave can't be indefinite.

But how could he leave Elena now? How could he walk away from his mate when she needed his protection the most? The very idea made his wolf snarl with territorial fury, his claws practically extending at the thought of abandoning her.

The phone continued its insistent buzzing, Lena's name flashing accusingly. Damon ran his hand through his damp brown hair, noting how the auburn highlights caught the bathroom's harsh fluorescent lighting.

God, he was in deep.

Fifteen years of careful emotional control, shattered by a blonde rebellion leader with fire in her veins and a white wolf that called to his very soul. The irony was not lost on him—the woman who could save him was the same one who would likely destroy him once she learned who he really was.

The phone fell silent, then immediately started ringing again. Lena's persistence meant something important was happening back home. Probably updates about those ancient records Elena's team had died to retrieve, or news about the Council's next move against Kieran's progressive policies.

Damon grabbed a pair of black cargo pants and a white thermal henley that Cade had provided yesterday—a small kindness from the burly rebellion leader who'd been surprisingly accommodating.

Getting dressed gave Damon time to think and to strategize his next move like the tactical expert he'd trained to be.

Tell her the truth before someone else does.

The logical part of his mind knew that was the only viable option. But his wolf recoiled at the risk, unwilling to chance her rejection. Not when their bond grew stronger each moment, and not when she looked at him like he might actually be worth saving.

Damon stared at his reflection in the small bathroom mirror—all sharp angles and carefully controlled expressions. The Beta who'd served the Silvercrest pack faithfully for fifteen years. The man who'd enforced laws he hated and buried his doubts beneath duty and obligation.

Elena deserved better than his deception.

But she also deserved protection from the forces gathering against her. And right now, Damon was the only thing standing between his mate and the Council's brutal punishment.

Damon stared at his phone as it buzzed insistently on the bed, Lena's name flashing on the screen with relentless persistence. His wolf paced, torn between the desperate need to stay close to Elena and the responsibilities he'd abandoned back at Silvercrest territory.

Lena won't give up until I answer.

Damon soon realized he'd promised Elena just yesterday that Lena and Zoe would contact them the moment they decoded those ancient records.

Records that had cost Tyler his life and nearly gotten Elena killed.

He couldn't let his personal fears about revealing his Beta identity keep vital intelligence from reaching his mate.

Elena deserves the truth about those documents, even if she doesn't deserve the lies I've been telling her.

Damon grabbed the phone before it could ring again, his thumb hovering over the answer button.

Every instinct screamed at him to ignore the call and to protect the fragile trust he'd built with Elena over the past two days.

But his conscience—the same one that had documented every pack law abuse for fifteen years—wouldn't let him prioritize his deception over her safety.

He answered on the fourth ring.

"Lena."

"Finally." Her voice carried the sharp edge of urgency. "We have critical intel."

Damon's grip tightened on the phone. "What did Zoe find?"

"She's cracked a significant portion of the ancient records Elena retrieved. The genetic experimentation at the Granite Ridge facility—it's not the entire Council behind it. Just one elder."

"Which one?"

"We've narrowed it down to either High Elder Thorne or Elder Isolde. But Damon, there's some other news."

His wolf stilled, recognizing the gravity in Lena's tone. "Go on."

"Elena needs to hear this directly. Is she available?"

Damon glanced toward his bedroom door. "Give me a minute."

He went to Elena's bedroom, his combat boots silent against the hardwood floors. Her door stood slightly ajar from when he'd checked on her earlier, and through the gap, he could see her curled beneath the quilted blanket, her blonde hair spilling across the pillow like liquid gold.

Beautiful. Even in sleep, she takes my breath away.

Damon knocked softly on the doorframe. "Elena."

She stirred but didn't wake up. He tried again, louder this time.

"Elena, wake up. Lena's on the phone with intel about the ancient records."

Her eyes snapped open, instantly alert in the way of someone accustomed to danger. Those light blue eyes focused on him with laser intensity.

"The records?" She sat up quickly, her fitted white top shifting to reveal the curve of her collarbone. "What did they find?"

"Lena wants to tell you directly." Damon moved into the room, noting how Elena's presence immediately calmed his restless wolf. "I'm putting her on speaker."

Elena swung her legs over the side of the bed, her pants wrinkled from sleep. "Do it."

Damon sat beside her on the mattress, close enough to catch her scent—something wild and clean that made his wolf rumble with satisfaction. He placed the phone between them and tapped the speaker button.

"Lena, Elena's here."

"Elena." Lena's voice filled the bedroom. "I hope you're sitting down for this."

"I'm listening." Elena's tone carried the crisp authority that made her such an effective leader.

"Zoe's translation revealed that only one Council elder has been orchestrating the genetic experiments for a very long time. We've narrowed it down to either High Elder Thorne or Elder Isolde, but we need more evidence to determine which one."

Elena's jaw clenched. "Tyler died for this intel. We're going to find that evil person responsible for all of this and make them pay for their sins."

"Good. But there's more I wanted to tell you because I have a hunch about something.

" Lena's excitement was palpable even through the phone.

"So, Zoe is absolutely brilliant with ancient texts—she cracked the second part of the Lunar Prophecy a month ago, and just last week, I managed to decode most of the third part myself. "

"The Lunar Prophecy?" Elena asked, her curiosity piqued.

"You've never heard of it?" Lena sounded surprised. "It's an ancient four-part prophecy about restoring harmony between the human and shifter worlds in our territories. The first part spoke of Maya, Kieran's mate. The second referenced Zoe herself."

Elena leaned forward. "What does the third part say?"

Lena's voice grew reverent as she recited the ancient words: " The third one who hides in the shadows will help to bridge the two worlds with their strong leadership and mind, forcing reconciliation between traditional values worth preserving and progressive changes necessary for survival. "

The color drained from Elena's face. Damon watched as recognition dawned in her expression and watched her put the pieces together with the same tactical brilliance that made her a formidable rebellion leader.

"A secret hybrid," Elena whispered, her voice barely audible. "Someone hiding their true nature. Or someone who had their true nature hidden from them, like me."

Damon's wolf howled internally, recognizing this as the moment when everything changed for Elena. For her destiny.

"Wait. So my hunch is right?" Lena's voice sharpened through the speaker. "Elena, are you saying?—"

"I just found out two days ago," Elena blurted, then immediately looked stricken that she'd revealed such crucial information. "I'm a hybrid. My father lied to me about my mother being human." She paused, swallowing hard. "I just had my first full transformation into my white wolf form last night."

Silence stretched across the phone connection, heavy with implication. Damon could practically hear Lena's mind racing as she processed this revelation.

"Elena." Lena's voice was breathless with awe. "You're really the third hybrid. You're part of the prophecy that will restore our shifter world."

"No." Elena shot to her feet, pacing to the small window. "No, that's impossible. I'm just a rebellion leader trying to reform cruel pack laws and take down the corrupt High Council."

"My mentor Rhea had a vision of a white wolf when I told her about the third part of the prophecy and the secret hybrid," Lena continued, relentless in her excitement.

"A white wolf is rare and pure—a sign of your destiny.

You have strong leadership, a brilliant mind, and you're literally forcing reconciliation between tradition and progress through your rebellion efforts. "

Elena spun around, her eyes wild with panic. "I never asked for this. I never wanted to be anyone's savior."

"Elena—" Damon started, but she was already moving toward the door.

"I need air."

She bolted from the bedroom, leaving Damon staring at the empty doorway. He could hear her footsteps echoing through the cabin, then the slam of the front door.

"Lena," Damon said, his voice rough with frustration. "This isn't good news."

"Are you insane? She's the third hybrid of the prophecy! This changes everything?—"

"No, it makes her their top target now," Damon cut her off, his protective instincts roaring to life. "The Council will stop at nothing to eliminate her once they discover what she represents."

"But Damon?—"

"I have to go." He ended the call and shoved the phone into his pocket, already moving toward the door. Elena was out there alone, overwhelmed and vulnerable, processing the devastating revelation that her entire life was tied to an ancient prophecy she'd never wanted.

And she still doesn't know that she's my mate. Or that I'm the Beta of the very pack system she's fighting against.

Damon's jaw clenched as he reached for the cabin door. His lies were compounding, building toward an inevitable confrontation that would probably destroy the best thing that's ever happened to him.