His Blue Moon Princess
Chapter 39

I can't act scared or even shocked by Damian's words. With what the brothers went through, they might have been the ones to die if things had gone differently. Also, I realize that what Damian did was also his way of protecting his brothers. How could he endure seeing his younger siblings hurt for so many years while holding his hatred in? Back when Alec beat me, I had no one to hold dear, no one to protect. But for them, things were different. Liam knows his older brothers shielded him from their father's madness, yet he still couldn't escape it.

"His Beta knew what we were planning, but he didn't say a thing to our father. He had come to hate him, too, yet he had to obey. Our father even beat up his son once, to punish him. How could he not despise him? That's when I understood I had more allies than I thought." A faint smirk appears at the corner of his lips, for a split second. He helps himself with a glass of wine, while I'm having water. The dishes between us are getting cold, but neither of us cares. I'm too immersed in his story to think about my plate. "So Nate and I got ready, taking our time. We allied with rogues like the Mura siblings."

"Bobo's family?"

"Yes. Our father was so harsh, he never wanted to take in new wolves in the pack, even some desperate families that stood at our borders. So Nathaniel came up with the idea of starting his own Pack, the Velvet Moon Clan. That way, he could rally more wolves, and our father had no idea. It was almost too easy. When they saw how strong Nate and I were getting, and our Alpha potential, they submitted without a fight. They didn't ask for anything as long as I wasn't like my father. The pack got so big so quickly, we couldn't believe it. Until then, we had thought we would have to wait for years until we could take my father head on!"

"Why? Wasn't it only about dueling him for the Alpha position? What does it have to do with the size of the Velvet Moon pack?"

Damian stays silent for a while, and I wonder what he is so reluctant to say. Eventually, he sighs and looks at me straight in the eye. "Because we wanted to be sure that, no matter the outcome, my father wouldn't be able to survive." "... What do you mean?"

"I wasn't sure to win, Nora. And if I died during the fight, Nate and I wanted to be sure someone would finish the job. And if someone did, we had to be sure my father's wolves wouldn't take him out."

It takes me a few seconds to realize.

"...It was about Liam. You wanted to be sure that even if you died, Liam could kill your father and take his place."

Damian nods. "I knew I could hurt him badly enough, but I wasn't sure I could win. So Nate came up with that idea. That even if I died, we would make sure Liam killed him. But we also had to make sure no one would kill our little brother before he could get to our father, and that people would support him afterward."

"Hence the Velvet Moon Clan. It wasn't just a branch Clan; you wanted it to be able to take on the Blood Moon Clan."

Damian chuckles. The waiter comes back to take away our empty plates. My mate grabs my hand once again, intertwining my fingers with his.

"Back then, it was still called the Black Moon Clan, but yes, that was the idea. However, it didn't even come to a real fight between the two groups. When I turned nineteen, I defied my father while we were alone. He didn't take me seriously and attacked me. We started fighting in his office. We made so much noise that a lot of people came. Nate, Liam, the Betas, and about twenty people each from the Black Moon and Velvet Moon Clans. But it turns out, half of the people from his pack were actually cheering for me." They once again underestimated how despised their father was. Or maybe people felt Damian already had what it took to be a better Alpha. In any case, I'm not even surprised.

"Most of those who were for my dad held onto the fact that he was the one that had chased all the vampires and witches away. I can't really blame them for that, though. He was an insane and violent man, but as an Alpha, he was still the strongest wolf around." "But you did beat him," I said.

"Not easily, trust me. People were shocked by how adamant I was about finishing him off. Most of them had no idea about what he had done to us all those years. But if anyone tried to intervene, Nate, Neal, or Seamus killed them on the spot." "...Seamus?"

"My father's Beta, Seamus Graves. I told you, he had our back. He couldn't attack our father directly, but he did kill anyone from the Black Moon pack who opposed us. Lots of people were shocked, but Seamus had made up his mind years ago. When I finally won, I wasn't in good shape, but he killed two wolves who tried to attack me. He was seen as a traitor, but he was the one who helped us the most take over the Black Moon Clan." "What happened to him?"

Damian shakes his head. "He left the territory. He said he should have died with his Alpha, but he still had his sons, and he didn't want to do that to them. So he asked me to banish him. We don't know about his whereabouts. Maybe he joined another pack or is still alone."

I feel a bit sorry about the man. If we look at the bigger picture, he helped the Black Brothers in so many ways, for the sake of protecting his own. Yet it cost him so much: betraying his Alpha and leaving his family. Now that I think about it, Bobo did say one of his sons was now Nathaniel's Beta. Isaac Graves, was it? I suppose the Beta genes runs in their family...

"Anyway, after the fight, many other packs that were fed up with our father's Clan tried to attack us. It was chaotic for a few days."

I remember that. The word that the "Mad Black King" had fallen spread quickly, and many packs got crazy, hungry for power. The head Alpha had overshadowed so many people for years, and as soon as he was gone, many thought their time had come. However, the Black Brothers quickly made it known that the Blood Moon Clan could take anyone and was not to be underestimated. The former pack had become bigger and even stronger. People were shocked that it had grown enough to actually have a secondary Clan, the Velvet Moon. And all of that had been done secretly, to boot. Clans that had tried to fight were wiped out, and opposing werewolves were submitted in no time. Just like that, the previous territory established by their father got even bigger in only a few weeks' time. "I can't believe this all happened when you guys were still teens..." I whisper.

"Our mother passing away accelerated things. Things got way worse in a few weeks' time, and if we didn't act, I was afraid he was going to kill us first."

I nod. If he had no problem hitting his children when they were young, who knows what would it have been like once they reach adulthood... It's a miracle they survived that far.

Once again, I replace myself thinking about their mother. I can't even imagine what she went through, being unable to help her children. If it was as bad as Damian said, and I don't doubt it was, how could she never notice? Her sons, enduring her husband's insanity. I imagine young Damian, Nathaniel, and Liam living each day in fear while their powerless mother was on a hospital bed. And yet all they did was protect each other and love her.

I silently make the promise to myself to never be as helpless as she was. Not only do I want to stand by Damian's side even more, but I also feel like I should do what their mother couldn't. I want to be that Luna, the one that can protect her pack and her children. I feel my wolf growling fiercely inside, and she's more than up for that challenge.

While I'm thinking, so is Damian. He is frowning, and his silver eyes are fixated on his meat, though it's obvious that he doesn't see it. And I feel his thoughts echoing mine all too clearly. I can guess what's on his mind right away.

"You are not going to be like your father, Damian," I say softly to him.

He raises his head, surprised, and this time I'm the one putting my hand on his and doing the talking.

"I know you are afraid of being like he was, because you are both strong Alphas, and I understand. But you two are different. You can control yourself. All you wanted was to protect Nathaniel and Liam. Even now, you are always trying to protect me. And you listen to your brothers, to your Beta. Your father didn't care about anyone but himself. You are a fighter, but that doesn't make you an evil person. Just a strong Alpha."

He stays silent for a while, making me wonder if my words had any effect on him. But after a while, he finally smiles. Then, he brings my hand to his lips, kissing it while looking me into the eyes with a resolute look. "I will protect you, Nora, I swear to the Moon Goddess Mother. I'm not letting what happened to my mother happen to you; I won't lose you. You have no idea how much I need you. I need you to keep me sane, to remind me what's right and what isn't. I can fight anyone, but I will do whatever it takes to protect you."

I smile, but why do I feel like his words have a deeper meaning than what I hear...?