Family Ties
~Damon~
hostill b
I know some of you are probably sitting there wondering why things are about to get a little bit interesting.
Well, you’re right. They are. My family is a whole lot, and when I say a whole lot, I mean the kind of people who can turn a simple dinner into a battlefield. That is one of the reasons why I never told Lyra about them.
Not because I was never going to, but because I had planned to do it on my own time. My plan was to tell her when the pups were at least two years old, when she had settled into her place as Luna, when nothing could shake her footing beside me.
But life doesn’t always wait for your perfect plan, does it? Things happen, and now we are here, at the front gates of my family’s home, with Lyra about to learn truths I had every intention of keeping buried for a little while longer.
We were more than twelve in the family before I left the house. Twelve siblings, cousins, the kind of number that makes a house feel like a pack within a pack.
That house was always loud, always full, always chaotic, and to escape it, I left for another country to build a family with Camilla. Looking back now, I can say it without hesitation: that was the worst decision I ever made.
Did my family like Camilla? Hell no. They never liked her. They didn’t like her sharp tongue, her arrogance, the way she carried herself like a queen when she was not one.
They didn’t even try to hide it. The judgment was always on their faces, and they didn’t bother to soften their words when she was in the room. But Tasha–Tasha was worse.
Even my own mother, her grandmother, did not like her. Not only because she had taken mostly Camilla’s genes, which made her more human than wolf, but because of what she did. Something despicable. Something unforgivable.
And now you might be wondering why Lilian, my sister, is standing there throwing tantrums, insulting Tasha to her face without hesitation, right in front of Lyra.
Well, let me burst your bubble. The reason she does it, the reason the hatred spills out of her so easily, is because Tasha slept with her son. Yes. Tasha slept with her cousin when she was fifteen.
Her cousin was the one who took her virginity card, and she knew he had a mate at the time. She was not
innocent. She was not blindsided. She knew and still chose to spread her legs for him.
Would you call Tasha a w***e? Absolutely, because that is what she has always been. Wild, reckless,
shameless from the very start. Where did she get that trait from? It sure as hell was not from me. Maybe it
came from her dead mother, because I know it did not come from my bloodline.
Now here we were, in front of the compound, and instead of walking in quietly like I had intended, Tasha had already opened her mouth and given Lilian a reason to explode. Lilian was already boiling, and then Tasha, in her stupidity, threw oil straight into the fire.
“Aunty Lilian, how many times do you want me to apologize to you?” Tasha’s voice was sharp, shaking, but loud enough that every wolf nearby turned their head. “I said I was sorry for what I did. I was fifteen. That was
Family Tues
years ago. Just forgive me already and stop acting like a child.”
The words came out fast and heavy, and I could feel Lyra stiffen beside me. She had no idea what this was
about, but she knew it was about to turn ugly. Lilian’s lips curled back into something that was not a smile. It
was pure disgust.
“You dare stand here in front of me, in front of my brother, and raise your voice at me as though you are the
victim?”
“You ruined my family, you humiliated my son, and you destroyed his mate bond. And now you stand here
and tell me to stop acting like a child?”
Tasha’s hand balled into fists at her sides, and I could see the tears burning in her eyes, but she still shouted back. “I said I was sorry! I said it over and over. Do you want me to cut myself open and bleed at your feet before you forgive me? I was fifteen! I was stupid! How much longer are you going to hold this over me?”
Lilian scoffed. “For the rest of my life. Because what you did is unforgivable. You were not just stupid. You were vile. You knew he had a mate and you still spread your legs. You destroyed a bond the Moon Goddess herself had blessed. And now you dare to raise your voice at me as though I am the problem?”
Tasha’s voice cracked as she screamed back, “You think I don’t regret it? You just want to keep punishing me so you can feel better about your perfect son who knew exactly what he was doing with me!”
“What he was doing to you?” Lilian hissed. “Do not twist the truth to paint yourself as a victim. You spiked his
drink, you little brat. You forced yourself on him when he was vulnerable. You pretended you were his mate,
whispered lies in his ear, and then had the audacity to act like it was mutual.”
Tasha’s head snapped up, her eyes wide, her voice trembling but loud. “But I didn’t make him hard, Aunty!
That wasn’t me! His body reacted. You can’t blame me for that!”
Lilian laughed then, a dark, humorless laugh that made the hairs on Lyra’s arms stand on end beside me. She shook her head, her eyes never leaving Tasha. “Can you believe her, Damon? After all these years, your
daughter is still the same little bratty b***h she has always been. She cannot admit fault, cannot face her
shame, cannot own her sins. She ruins lives and then dares to argue as though she is the wronged one.”
Lilian’s fury did not ease. She stood with her chest rising and falling heavily, her eyes locked on Tasha like
she wanted to rip her apart with her bare hands.
“I hope you are not staying in the same house with us, because if you are, I will make sure you regret it. Every
day that you breathe under this roof, I will remind you of who you are and what you did. I will not let you sleep, I will not let you eat in peace, and I will not let you forget the disgrace you brought into this family.”
Tasha flinched at the words. She looked at me, silently begging me to intervene, but Lilian was too far gone in her rage to stop on her own. I had to cut her down before the entire pack saw our family unravel completely
in front of them.
“Calm down, Lilian,” I said, my tone deep, commanding, and leaving no room for debate. “Just calm down.”
Her head whipped toward me, and for a second she looked like she wanted to argue, but I stepped forwa and held her gaze.
“She isn’t staying here, do you understand me? There is already a house arranged for her, but it is not here. She will not be living under this roof. That is final.”
Lilian’s nostrils flared, and her fists tightened at her sides, but my words hit her hard enough to slow her rage.
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Family Ties
Her eyes searched my face, daring me to waver, daring me to show weakness, but I stood my ground and let
her see the iron in my stare.
“Go inside,” I said again. “I will explain everything to you once you are calm. Not here, not like this Go
For a long moment she said nothing. Then she let out a sharp exhale and shook her head, muttering, “Handle her, Damon. For your sake, you had better mean it.”
Lilian’s nostrils flared as she held my gaze, her fists still clenched tight at her sides.
She turned as if she was done, but instead of walking away immediately, her eyes shifted. They slid past me and landed on Lyra, who sat in the car watching all of this unfold with wide, uncertain eyes.
Lilian’s expression changed, not soft but curious, sharp in a different way. Her lips curved into a smile that
did not reach her eyes, a smile full of calculation.
“And I will also like to know about this beautiful young girl you brought along with you,” she said, her voice
laced with interest that was almost too sweet to be real. “Because something tells me she is not here by
accident.”
Lyra blinked, caught off guard, her lips parting as though she wanted to speak but no words came out. Then
Lilian left.
I turned hard to face Tasha, and I let my voice carry the kind of authority that left no room for argument.
Follow the guard. He will take you to the house you’ll stay in.”
Her lips shook, her voice cracked as she tried. “But Dad-”
“Not another word from you, Tasha,” I snapped, my tone deep enough to make the guards stiffen. “Leave now.
”
She swallowed whatever was left in her throat, her eyes wet and her face still red from the bruises.
With her shoulders trembling, she lowered her head and obeyed, walking after the guard without daring to
look back. I watched her go, my jaw locked, my chest full of anger that had nowhere to land. She never
learned.
When she was gone from sight, I finally turned back to Lyra. She looked shaken, her wide eyes following every
movement like she was still trying to piece together what had just happened.
I forced my voice to soften. “Kitten, how are you feeling? I know it was a lot to watch. I’ll help you with your
bag. Just go inside, take a breath, and I’ll join you.”
She nodded slowly, her lips parting as though she wanted to say something but the words didn’t quite come
out. I reached into the car to take her bag, trying to ground her with the small act, but that was when I heard
the sound of footsteps.
The front doors opened, and my body went rigid before I even saw him, because I knew that walk, I knew that presence, and when his figure came into the light, my chest tightened.
My twin.
Daren.
He stepped out with that same arrogant smirk he had always carried.
He spread his arms slightly, his grin sharp and mocking. “Damon,” he drawled, his voice full of that lazy
Family Ties
charm that had always hidden his venom. “Looking good, brother Welcome back home”
Beside me, Lyra froze. Her breath caught, and I felt her staring, her gaze darting between me and Him like her brain couldn’t make sense of what she was seeing. Her lips parted, stunned, her whole body going still.
Oh f**k.
Royalty Writes
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