Chapter 289: Take You Home
To say I was confused was a mass understatement. I hoped that Damon was merely exaggerating. Even if I wanted him and Blaise here for emotional support, Thunderstrike was the last place they should be, when the pack was on the verge of tearing itself apart due to internal politics.
Having them here would make Darach’s rule even more precarious and undermine whatever tiny progress I had made in the afternoon!
However, deep down I knew that Damon was not a man who indulged in theatrics. For better or worse, he meant his words. If I didn’t stop him, he would be right at Thunderstrike’s doorstep by morning, with a totaled car to show for his efforts.
I quickly jabbed at the call button, willing him to pick up. Hopefully, I would catch him before he was already on his way.
Thankfully, the call went through.
"Damon, I need to―"
"Harper, just hang in there for now. I’m coming to pick you up," Damon said without preamble. My heart sank at his words.
"No! Don’t pick me up! Don’t come here at all!" I all but yelled into the phone. "Damon, please be reasonable. I’m perfectly fine here. There’s no need to overreact!"
I heard a pronounced scoff from the other end of the call before Damon growled back.
"Don’t give me that nonsense. Kyle has already reported to me what’s happening in that shithole. Harper, I know you’re not telling me everything."
"That’s because there isn’t anything to tell!" I protested. "Really, Damon! I’m fine! I understand you’re worried, but you need to trust me," I said, while internally cursing Kyle for his big mouth.
Of course I knew he would be reporting things to Damon, but couldn’t he at least wait for the day to be over to let Damon know about this turn of events? Was he giving Damon a live update as he fought off the wendigos?
"I have things under control. I even managed to take Dahlia Elrod down a few pegs on my own. Trust in my abilities, Damon," I said.
"I do trust you," Damon said, his voice softening for the briefest of moments. "It’s the rest of Thunderstrike I do not trust."
His voice hardened as he began to rant about Thunderstrike, or more precisely, Darach.
"You call Darach being unable to control his own wolves ’fine’? I heard what happened at your introductory dinner― the situation in Thunderstrike is a lot more dire than I thought. That man could not get his wolves to show him any respect, let alone get them to respect you. The longer you stay in Thunderstrike, the more likely you’ll be caught in the crossfire."
"We just got started on the wrong foot. Things will get better― they already have!" I insisted to Damon. Why was he so insistent on seeing the negative side of things?
"How does a plague of wendigos descending onto Thunderstrike on your second day count as ’things getting better’? Were you hoping for vampires instead?" Damon asked sarcastically. "If I don’t bring you back now, who knows what else might happen? I’m not taking any chances with your safety."
"Don’t even joke about that," I hissed. I was beginning to feel more upset the more words escaped his mouth. "That’s a problem you have to solve first― and you should, instead of driving here to take me back. Did you forget why I had to leave to begin with? How will it look to everyone if I don’t even last a week in this new pack? How can I face Darach and Milo?"
"Who cares about their opinion? Your safety matters more!" Damon roared.
"I care about their opinion! And you should too!" I burst out angrily. "Damon, you do want me to be your luna, yes? Then you have to trust me to handle things here! You can’t just dive in here and try to save me when there’s a tiny inconvenience!"
"A wendigo attack is not a tiny inconvenience!" Damon yelled back. "Especially not one that occurred due to a lapse in security measures! Thunderstrike is a bomb waiting to go off, and I’d be damned if I let you explode into smithereens!"
"Risk is part and parcel of life. Don’t tell me you were expecting this assignment to be a bed of roses when you chose to send me here!" I declared, incensed at his audacity.
"I miscalculated," was Damon’s reply with gritted teeth. "Do you want me to admit that I’m wrong? Because if so, then yes― I made a mistake sending you to this place. Darach Elrod could not be trusted to wipe his own ass, and I’m not going to consign you into being his nursemaid."
"His nursemaid?!" I squawked in indignation on Darach’s behalf. Damon had no idea how hard Darach was trying to hold everything together. "Darach is doing his best, and I’m going to help him. How could you go back on your word?"
"What is my word compared to your life?" Damon retorted easily. "Anyway, there is no point arguing about this. My decision is final― pack your bags. You’re coming home to Fangborne."
"You― The utter nerve―" I was so furious, I was near-incoherent at Damon’s insensitivity to Darach’s situation.
I hoped he could feel my outrage and ire through the bond, even if I couldn’t feel his.
"Damon, you sent me here to learn to be a luna, so that’s what I’m going to do. If you take me away, I will never speak to you again! So don’t you dare come here!" I said vehemently into the call before hanging up, seething to myself.
The nerve of that man! Even if he was my alpha mate, that didn’t give him a right to steamroll over my decisions! If Damon came and indeed brought me back, I could just imagine the rumors that would fly afterward.
The damage it would do to my reputation among the different packs once I took the position of luna would be insurmountable.
’Can you believe Luna Harper didn’t last 3 days in Thunderstrike as a charlie?’
’I heard she fled after a wendigo attack.’
’What can you expect from a human? They’re so weak.’
’What does Alpha Damon see in her?’
I grinded my teeth. Not if I had anything to say about it.
First things first, I had to give Kyle a piece of my mind.
