Genevieve

Chapter 16: Truth

The confession came as a shock to his pack and the girls. None of them expected it and people instantly gasped and then began talking about Damien. But Damien didn't care much about the rest, he only cared about how his mate would react, who stood frozen in front of him. She didn't look at him or say a word. Damien grew tense and the silence was killing him. Clara was flabbergasted when Damien said the words, but she hadn't lost. She was confident that his mate wouldn't want him after hearing the confession, and then Damien would come crawling back to her.

Gen and Bella were lawyers, so they had to judge every situation objectively. They couldn't be biased or let their emotions affect their decision.

"Tell us more." Gen spoke, breaking her silence. Clara was agitated, what was Gen doing?

"What more do you want to know? He is a murderer. He killed his parents!" Clara tried to divert everyone's attention, but the girls weren't fazed. Bella gave Damien an assuring nod, which encouraged Damien to think back to the details of the horrendous day.

"I was ten when my parents began preparing me to become the next king. My parents wanted me to attend councils and meetings, but I wasn't really interested in them. I liked spending time in my room in solitude. I liked to read, paint and draw. But my parents didn't like that and punished me whenever I did something I liked. They would hit me, scold me, and force me to change myself. They told me that I was useless, unworthy and a disgrace." He paused. "There came a day when I couldn't bear it anymore and then they told me that they didn't want a child like me, so they tried to kill me, so I-" His voice cracked, and tears began flowing down his eyes.

"Your parents just wanted the best for you. But what did you do? You killed them out of cold blood. They didn't do anything wrong; it is normal for parents to hit and scold their child. The problem is you! You are a monster!" Clara attacked him.

"There isn't a day when I regret killing my parents. I beg them for forgiveness every day. I should've tolerated everything and worked harder for them. It was all my fault. I am a monster. I am a monster." He began to chant and cried profusely.

Gen didn't waste a second and went up to hug him. The hug felt so foreign to Damien since it was his first time receiving it, but he made him feel lighter. She broke the hug and then looked into his eyes.

"You are not a monster. Repeat after me: I am not a monster." Gen told Damien and he did as he was told.

"I am not a monster." Damien spoke through his tears.

"Stop feeding him with crap, Clara. You don't know shit." Bella spoke offensively since she had had enough.

"It was not your fault Damien. You have suffered from physical, mental, and emotional abuse. What your parents did was wrong. They tried to kill you first, so whatever you did was self-defense. Don't listen to Clara." Gen urged.

"Besides, you were a child. You have all the right to play, have fun and do whatever you want. I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you. You are so strong to speak about it today and I can imagine the immense burden you must've been living with up till now." Bella spoke.

Damien absorbed their words and felt a wave of relief pour over him. He felt like a burden got off his chest. The onus of the murder didn't lie on him.

"Damien don't listen to them. These humans know nothing about us. We are a pack; we are a family. We don't kill family, that is wrong! I am your queen! Listen to me!" Clara tried to convince him helplessly.

Damien never wanted to make Clara his queen. He was willing to wait for his mate. But when the girls accidentally went over to the Eastern Kingdom instead of the West, Clara convinced him that his mate didn't want him and that no one would want to be his mate. At that time, he fell for her words and decided to make Clara his queen.

But now Clara could clearly see the shift in Damien's eyes. He realized that he was being brainwashed by Clara and fed lies. He wouldn't be manipulated anymore.

"You are not my mate Clara; you are not the queen." Damien reminded Clara and it was as if the bubble around her broke and she was brought back to reality. All this time she acted as the queen and had forgotten that she wasn't the king's mate. She could see him slipping away from her. She had used her strongest card and it didn't work as she had expected. She had to think of a backup plan. She was the queen; she didn't care who Damien's mate was.

"You couldn't even tell them about your true identity Damien. You lied to them and told them you're Maed. You lie, you conceal, you hide. You are weak, you need someone strong by your side. You need me." Clara was desperate at this point.

Damien immediately looked at Gen and Bella to see how they respond, and they looked at Damien for answers. It was difficult for Damien, but he had to speak the truth.

"I never wanted to lie to you two. But as a wolf, when I saw that Gen was scared, I assumed that it was because of the scar on his face, which makes me look scary. It is true that I lack confidence, which is why I resorted to the cloak and didn't reveal my real identity. But whatever I said now was true." Damien felt like a letdown, and he hated to admit that Clara was right about a few things.

"You're ugly Damien. Go see yourself in the mirror. You see that long scar grazing your face, that makes you ugly. You think your mate will accept you? No. No one in the kingdom wanted you as a mate. I accepted you! I agreed to be your mate. It was you who came to me, not the other way around. You cannot discard me now that you've found your mate!" Clara lashed out, losing her temper.

"Just when I thought that you couldn't stoop any lower, you decide to prove me wrong." Gen mocked.

"You know who is the ugliest in the room? You. And I won't even comment on your face or your body. It is your personality that is ugly. Your mouth, your thoughts, your nature." Bella attacked.

"You don't even deserve to be the queen. Do you have any idea how a queen should be? She should be compassionate, supportive and full of love." Gen paused. "All I see in your eyes is hate, jealousy and greed."

Gen and Bella were never this rude, but this situation was getting way out of hand. Never would they have imagined that they would use such harsh and strong language, but they couldn't control their anger anymore.

Clara couldn't stand this humiliation and made her final threat.

"If I can't be the queen, I won't let anyone else be the queen either."

And then she turned into her wolf and pounced on...