DAMON'S POV
Year 1900 - 19th Century
"Father has arrived!" Adam shouted, his voice full of excitement as he bolted outside.
My heart leaped at his words. I dropped the book I had been engrossed in, its leather cover hitting the wooden floor with a dull thud, and rushed after him. It had been a full year since Father had left for the war in Russia. They called it the Boxer Rebellion, and Father had joined the Russian forces aiding in suppressing the uprising in China. His absence had left a void in our lives, and Mother, especially, had seemed almost lifeless, her once-vivid grey eyes dulled by fear and worry.
As Mother set down the basket of clothes she'd been drying, her face lit up with a rare expression of joy. "Lucas!" she cried, her voice trembling as she picked up little Bella, who was just four years old. Elijah, at only seven, ran close behind her, his small legs moving as fast as they could.
Father embraced Adam first, his eldest son, with a firm hug before sweeping Mother and Bella into his arms, showering them with kisses. He clasped Elijah close and then turned to me, his eyes briefly meeting mine. There was joy in his gaze-or perhaps relief-but there was something else too: a shadow, a sadness that lingered even as he smiled.
We celebrated his return that evening, the small house alive with laughter and the aroma of roasted meat. Yet, beneath the surface, there was tension. It clung to Father like a second skin, and while the others didn't seem to notice, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
As night fell, the festivities gave way to silence, and one by one, my family retired to bed. As usual, I stayed awake, the last to succumb to sleep. It was during those quiet hours that I heard them.
At first, it was muffled-Mother and Father arguing behind their closed door. Then the sound grew louder, more heated. Curiosity got the better of me, and I crept closer, pressing my ear against the wood.
Mother's voice was sharp, filled with anger and betrayal. "What do you mean you sacrificed our family? For what? To win a war that had nothing to do with us?"
"I didn't think it was real, Sarah!" Father's voice was pleading, desperate. "We all thought it was just a game, a harmless exchange. The woman asked us what we would give to come out alive, and I-"
"You said you would sacrifice everything! *Everything*! That includes our children!" Her voice cracked as tears filled her words. "You've cursed us all, Lucas. Do you understand what you've done?"
Father's response was quieter, almost a whisper. "I didn't mean to. I swear to you, I didn't. But we need to leave this place before they find us."
Mother's sobs filled the silence that followed. "Leave? Where will we go? You've damned us all to hell, Lucas. There's no escaping this."
Their voices lowered further, and I strained to hear, but Father must have sensed me. The door creaked slightly, and I bolted back to my bed, heart racing. I didn't fully understand what they were talking about, but the weight of it pressed down on me, heavy and suffocating.
I lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to piece it all together when the first scream pierced the night. It was Mother.
I shot up as Adam rushed into my room, clutching Elijah. "We're being attacked!" he said, his voice trembling.
Before I could react, two large men burst into the room, their torches casting eerie shadows on the walls. "Take them!" one barked.
"Let me go!" I shouted, struggling against the man who grabbed me. He dragged me outside, where the chaos unfolded under the pale light of the full moon. My family knelt in a line, forced to their knees by more men. Little Bella's cries filled the air, her small frame trembling in Mother's arms.
Then I saw her-the woman. Her beauty was otherworldly, her dark hair flowing like liquid night, her pale skin glowing in the moonlight. She moved with an elegance that belied the malice in her blood-red eyes.
"Shh, little one," she cooed, brushing a finger against Bella's tear-streaked cheek. "Do not be afraid."
"Please don't hurt her!" Mother begged, her voice breaking.
The woman sighed as if inconvenienced. "Unfortunately, I must. Your husband has doomed you all. I cannot allow you to turn into one of *them*."
Her words were cryptic, but they sent a chill down my spine. The snapping of bones and a guttural roar interrupted the scene. My father transformed before my eyes, his body twisting and contorting until he stood as a massive beast, his dark fur glistening with blood.
"Run!" he growled, his voice barely human.
Mother shoved me forward, Elijah clinging to my arm as we bolted into the forest. Behind us, the sounds of battle raged-growls, screams, and the clash of bodies.
The woman appeared in front of us, impossibly fast, her white dress now soaked with blood. Her red eyes gleamed with malice as she smiled, her sharp canines glinting in the moonlight.
She moved forward, her graceful steps deliberate and menacing. I had to protect my mother. Fear surged through me, but I stood my ground, gripping a stick with trembling hands. "Stay away, Demon!" I shouted, my voice breaking but firm with resolve.
The woman tilted her head and let out a chilling laugh. "Oh, how adorable," she cooed mockingly. One moment she was standing before us, and the next, she vanished. Suddenly, I was in her iron grasp, my feet dangling off the ground. Her cold, pale arms wrapped around me like a vice as she held me facing my family.
I thrashed in her hold, my breaths coming in short, panicked gasps. "Let me go!" I screamed, struggling to free myself, but her strength was otherworldly.
My mother dropped to her knees, her hands trembling as tears streamed down her face. "No! Please, let my son go!" she begged, her voice broken and desperate. "Take me instead! Please, don't do this. Take me!"
Her cries shattered something deep within me. I had never seen my mother plead with such raw anguish. My brothers stood frozen in place, their faces streaked with tears, their helplessness piercing my soul.
The woman's laugh was melodic yet filled with malice. "Such devotion," she said, brushing her cold fingers against my cheek. Her touch burned like frostbite. "But, unfortunately, I have to."
I felt a sudden, excruciating pain as her teeth sank into my neck. It was as if my very essence was being drained, my blood pulled from me in waves. My screams echoed into the night as my mother's wails grew louder, but no one could save me.
The pain was unbearable, a searing agony that made my vision blur and my body go limp. My eyelids grew heavy, and before they closed, the torment ceased. I fell to the ground like a rag doll.
My mother rushed to me, pulling my lifeless body into her arms. Her sobs were heart-wrenching as she cradled me, rocking back and forth. "Please, stay with me, my boy," she whispered through her tears. "Please, don't close your eyes. Mama is right here. Please..."
Through heavy, lidded eyes, I saw my father in his monstrous form-a gigantic beast with fur dark as night, his body dripping with blood. He charged at the woman, grabbing her with claws that could rip through stone. She fought back with startling ferocity, her strength defying reason. She struck him, sending his hulking form stumbling, but he rose again, relentless.
His claws tore through her like paper. In a frenzy, he ripped one of her arms clean off, tossing it aside as if it were nothing. His jaws clamped onto her neck, shaking her like prey. With a sickening snap, her head separated from her body, rolling onto the ground.
The sight filled me with a strange satisfaction as darkness finally took over, and I succumbed to oblivion.
---
### TEN YEARS LATER
"Please play with me! Elijah's being mean!" Bella whined, her small hands tugging at my shirt. Her golden hair framed her face, and her grey eyes were wide with frustration.
I crouched down, holding her chin gently. "Why don't you help Mother prepare something to eat? I promise I'll play with you all day after."
Her frown turned into a brilliant smile. "Okay!" she chirped, bouncing off toward the house.
Shaking my head, I turned back to grooming Storm, my black stallion. The horse snorted, tossing his head as I ran a brush over his coat. From the corner of my eye, I could feel Father's gaze. It was a burning glare, one filled with disdain.
Things had never been the same after that night. Especially for me. Father had changed-hardened, cruel, and unrelenting. And for reasons I could not fathom, he despised me. Any opportunity to punish me, whether with his whip or his fists, he took without hesitation.
I had become his scapegoat, locked away in small, dark spaces like a wild animal when I was younger. The bruises faded, but the resentment never did. My mother, though she tried to shield me, often bore his wrath for her efforts. He had become a monster in every sense of the word.
And yet, he wasn't entirely wrong. We were all monsters now.
---
Adam had been the first to embrace what we were-werewolves, creatures bound by the moon. He'd called it a blessing, a gift from the Moon Goddess Selene. Our grandmother had sacrificed herself to protect us, invoking the ancient powers of our ancestors. But for all her intentions, the result was something that couldn't be undone.
My mother detested it. She endured it for her children's sake, but I could see it in her eyes. She knew our father was the root of it all. He showered Adam, Elijah, and Bella with affection, teaching them to fight and calling them blessed. But when he looked at me, it was as though he saw a demon. And perhaps he did.
---
Mother called us to eat, her voice soft but commanding. I walked to the table, finding Adam and Elijah already halfway through their food.
"Slow down, Elijah, or you'll choke," I teased, shaking my head.
Adam chuckled, his brown eyes sparkling with amusement. "I told him the same thing. One of these days, he's going to regret it."
"Stop teasing your little brother, you two," Mother said with a faint smile, though her eyes carried the weight of exhaustion.
Father's arrival darkened the room. He stepped through the door, and an uneasy silence fell over the table. I focused on my bowl, hoping to avoid his gaze.
"Move, boy," he barked, shoving me out of my seat. My bowl crashed to the floor, and before I could react, his hand came down hard on the back of my head. Pain shot through me as I hit the table.
"Clean that up," he ordered.
Mother rushed to intervene. "Lucas, please. Not today," she pleaded, her voice trembling.
Her words earned her a slap that sent her crumpling to the floor. Rage bubbled within me, but Adam's warning glance held me back.
"Don't, Damon," he murmured.
But Father wanted a fight. "Let him," he sneered. "Show us what you truly are, devil. Prove to your brothers what I've always known-you're not one of us."
---
I lost control. My growl rumbled deep in my chest as I threw the first punch, but he caught it effortlessly. With inhuman strength, he tossed me out the door. I hit the ground hard, and the wolf within me surged to the surface. My bones cracked, reshaping as my eyes burned with blood-red light, surrounded by a ring of obsidian black.
This was why I feared my wolf. It wasn't just the beast-I was something else entirely, something dark and insatiable.
Father's voice dripped with contempt. "There it is! The devil! You can't hide it any longer!"
His words blurred into the background as everything else faded. My mother's cries "he is my son!stop this!" She said standing infront of him trying to protect me, Adam's pleas-all I could hear was the roar of blood in my ears. When I came to, my hands were drenched in blood, and my mother's lifeless body lay crumpled on the ground.
I knelt beside my mother's lifeless body, her heart still warm and pulsing faintly in my hands. The scent of blood filled my senses, rich and intoxicating. It wasn't just a smell-it was a symphony, a melody that called to every fiber of my being. My hands trembled as the whisper in my mind grew louder, more insistent.
*Taste it,* the voice urged, honeyed and irresistible.
The world around me seemed to blur, the air thick with the heady perfume of blood. My tongue darted out instinctively, grazing the flesh, and the moment the crimson liquid touched my lips, a surge of ecstasy overtook me.
It was beyond anything I had ever experienced, a tidal wave of euphoria that washed away pain, fear, and reason. The metallic tang was electric, igniting every nerve in my body. My heart pounded with a primal rhythm, my veins alight with a dark fire that made me feel invincible, untouchable.
I squeezed the heart in my hands, and more of that divine nectar spilled onto my tongue. It was heaven. No, it was more than heaven-it was life itself. My wolf howled in satisfaction, and something darker purred in delight. I felt alive, powerful, and whole, as though every piece of me had fallen into place.
But then, amidst the haze of ecstasy, came another sensation-fear. Not mine, but Adam's.
"Damon!" his voice cut through the fog, sharp and desperate. He grabbed my shoulders, shaking me violently. "Look at me!"
I snarled, my wolf recoiling from his touch, but Adam didn't let go. His eyes-wide and filled with tears-stared into mine.
"Damon, snap out of it! You're not this. You hear me? You're not this!" His voice cracked, but his grip only tightened. I could smell his fear, raw and suffocating, but beyond that, I could sense his love, his desperation to pull me back.
The haze began to lift, the euphoric warmth replaced by a cold, creeping dread. My gaze dropped to the heart in my hands, now mangled and bloodied. I saw the crimson streaks on my lips, the lifeless body of my mother at my feet.
"No..." I whispered, the word trembling as realization dawned.
Adam's face twisted in pain, his tears streaming freely. "Father is coming," he said, his voice hoarse but steady. "He's going to kill you, Damon. You need to run. Now!"
My instincts screamed to stay, to fight, but Adam shook me again, forcing me to focus. "Run!" he bellowed. "Go to our place. You're faster than him-you're faster than all of us. Just go!"
My wolf stirred, recognizing the command, and for a moment, I saw something in Adam's eyes that anchored me: trust. Despite his fear, despite everything I had done, he still believed in me.
I nodded, the haze fully breaking, and without another word, I turned and sprinted into the night. My body moved like a shadow, a blur in the darkness, but my heart remained heavy, torn between the taste of heaven and the weight of my sin. I was the devil.