Chapter 50: ⁵⁰: pain

I could feel every fibre of my being flaring with anger.

Before I even realised it, my eyes had filled with tears. The door behind us closed with a soft click.

Without thinking, my hand rose to my cheek, quickly wiping away the stray tear that had escaped without my permission.

"Athena..." Damian stepped in front of me, concern written all over his face when he noticed I hadn’t moved. "Are you okay?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Harry..." I whispered, my voice trembling ever so slightly. "Harry has started living here."

I looked around the room again. "His cologne... It’s everywhere."

A wave of nausea rose inside me. Just breathing in the scent that Harry always wore made my stomach churn.

It felt as though every trace of him was mocking me. Not only had he stolen my rightful position... He had also taken Father’s place.

"You mean..." Damian asked, looking around the room in confusion, "...he’s living in your father’s room now?"

A bitter scoff escaped my lips. "Yeah." I clenched my fists. "Maybe he thinks that just because he’s calling himself the Alpha of this pack... he’s worthy enough to sleep in my father’s room."

The thought alone made my blood boil. Without another word, I began searching the room. Drawer after drawer. Cabinet after cabinet. Every shelf. Every corner.

I desperately hoped to find something... Anything... That still belonged to Father.

A photograph. A journal. His favourite book.

Even a single piece of clothing. Anything that proved this room had once been his.

Deep down... What I truly wanted was to destroy everything Harry had brought into this room. I wanted to rip his belongings apart.

Throw them outside. Burn every last trace of his existence until nothing remained but Father’s memories.

But I couldn’t. Not now. The slightest sign that someone had entered this room would tell Harry exactly what I don’t want him to know, the most.

That I was still alive.

So I forced myself to remain calm. Even though every second inside this room felt unbearable.

After searching the final dresser, I slowly closed it. Nothing. There was nothing.

I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, trying to contain the rage threatening to consume me.

"He removed everything.".My voice came out barely above a whisper.."Nothing that belonged to my father is here anymore."

The realisation hurt more than I had expected. "I thought...".I paused, my throat tightening.."I thought I could at least find one picture of him."

A tear slipped down my cheek. "But there’s nothing."

It was as though Father had never existed. As though Harry had erased every trace of him from this room. The thought was almost unbearable.

"Athena." Damian’s gentle voice pulled me back from the edge. "It’s okay." He stepped closer, speaking in the calmest voice he could manage.

"If there’s nothing here, we’ll look somewhere else." He glanced around thoughtfully. "Your room. The storage rooms. The other rooms in the house."

He met my eyes with quiet determination.

"We’ll find something. I’m sure of it."

My frantic thoughts finally slowed. I looked at Damian. For the first time since entering the room, a small spark of hope returned.

"...You’re right." I took a deep breath. "My room." Without another second to waste, I hurried out of the room and rushed toward my bedroom.

Damian immediately followed close behind.

"Athena, we have to be careful! What if someone sees us?" Damian called from behind as he quickly caught up with me.

"No guards are allowed inside the residence," I replied without slowing down. My mind was too consumed by everything that had happened to care about anything else. "It seems Harry hasn’t broken that rule... at least not yet."

"But, Athena—"

I heard only that much before a sudden force hit me. It felt as though someone had shoved me from the front.

My legs gave out beneath me. A weak cry escaped my lips as I collapsed backwards, a blinding pain exploding through my body.

It felt as though something inside my wounds had violently ripped them open.

"Athena!" Before I could hit the floor completely, Damian caught me from behind, wrapping an arm around me to keep me from collapsing. "What happened?!"

Until now, the pain from my wounds had been steadily increasing, but it had still been bearable. I had hidden it from Damian. I didn’t want him worrying any more than he already was.

But this... This was different..This wasn’t pain. It was agony.

"Mygh... wound..." I managed to gasp, my words coming out broken and barely recognisable.

My entire body trembled uncontrollably. The pain was so overwhelming that my vision began to darken around the edges.

"Athena!" Damian’s voice was filled with panic. "What is happening to you?"

I wanted to answer him. I truly did. But my tongue felt impossibly heavy. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t form the words.

Everything around me became blurry.

I could hear Damian calling my name over and over again, but his voice sounded distant, as though it were coming from somewhere far away.

The pain only continued to intensify. It felt as though something hidden deep inside my wounds had awakened. As though invisible claws were tearing me apart from the inside.

Every breath became a struggle. Every heartbeat sent another wave of unbearable pain through my body.

I felt like I was dying.

But... Why? Why had it suddenly become this severe? I had been walking perfectly fine only moments ago.

Then... My eyes drifted toward the door of my bedroom. It was only a few steps away. I had been completely fine... Until I got close to it.

My breathing hitched. Could it be... Was this because I had approached my room?

The thought flashed through my mind like lightning. If my guess was right...Then I had to get away from it. Immediately.

Summoning every last bit of strength left in my body, I slowly lifted my head.

Damian noticed the movement and immediately leaned closer, desperate to hear what I was trying to say. His face was filled with worry.

I forced my lips to move despite the excruciating pain. "T-Take..." The words barely came out.

"...meghe..."

Another wave of agony tore through me.

"...aghway..."

I clutched weakly at Damian’s sleeve, silently begging him to understand.

Damian’s eyes locked onto mine. For a brief moment, something flashed across his face. Understanding. He had understood what I was trying to say.

Without wasting another second, he carefully lifted me into his arms.

One arm slid beneath my knees while the other supported my back, pulling me effortlessly into a princess carry.

My body had become completely limp. As Damian stood up, my right arm hung lifelessly over the side, swaying weakly with the movement.

Even my neck no longer had the strength to support the weight of my head. Seeing this, Damian immediately adjusted his hold.

He pulled me closer against his chest, allowing my head to rest securely against him before turning away from my bedroom.

Then he ran. The moment we moved away from my room... The unbearable tearing sensation vanished. It disappeared so suddenly that it almost felt unreal.

The pain from my wounds remained, and my body still felt completely drained of strength, but that horrifying feeling as though something inside me was ripping me apart from within was gone.

My breathing slowly steadied.

So... It really was connected to my room. But why? What was inside that room that had caused such a violent reaction?

It had felt as though something had awakened inside my cursed wounds. As though an invisible force had suddenly recognised something nearby and tried to kill me on the spot.

The cursed wounds... They had almost seemed alive. Like two merciless entities sharing a single purpose.

To end my life.

With my vision still blurred, I forced myself to look back over Damian’s shoulder.

My bedroom door grew farther and farther away as he hurried down the staircase, moving as quickly as he could to carry me away from whatever had triggered the attack.

Exactly as I had asked him to.

Yet my mind refused to leave that room behind. What was in there? What could make the dark magic react so violently?