Chapter Ten: The Final Claim
The rooftop was too quiet.
Damon's instincts kicked in before the bullet did. He grabbed Ava, pushing her behind the marble column of the penthouse terrace just as the glass shattered near her shoulder.
Gunfire.
The sniper didn't miss. He chose not to kill.
"Stay down!" Damon barked, already on his feet.
Ava's heart pounded as security swarmed the terrace, guns drawn, shields raised. Damon stormed back inside, blood in his eyes.
"Lucien?" she whispered.
"No," Damon growled. "He doesn't play this subtle."
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❖ The Shadow Order
They came at midnight.
Black vans. No insignia. Just masked men and cold precision.
The Shadow Order—ancient enforcers of the blood pact. Damon breaking it meant war. And they weren't coming to negotiate.
Ava stood beside him in the panic room, heart pounding. "What do we do?"
Damon handed her a pendant. Inside it was a single drop of his blood. "This binds you to me. They can't harm you while you wear it."
"I don't want protection," she said. "I want to fight."
He stared at her, eyes full of storm and pride.
"Then stand with me."
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❖ Alpha Versus the Order
The fight raged through the penthouse. Damon was lethal—quick, brutal, unforgiving. One by one, the shadows fell.
Ava defended herself with fire and instinct. She wasn't trained—but she was determined.
She watched Damon take a blade to the side. She screamed, but he kept going, fueled by something deeper than pain.
Love.
For her.
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❖ The Moment of Choice
The leader of the Order stepped forward, face hidden beneath a silver mask.
"You've made your choice, Damon Blackthorn. One last offer—leave the girl, and your life is spared. Stay, and the pact consumes you both."
Damon wiped the blood from his mouth.
"I've made my choice," he said. "She is my pact now."
The pendant on Ava's chest burned hot, glowing crimson. The room pulsed with ancient energy.
"I bind myself to her," Damon said, voice clear and resonant. "Mind. Body. Soul. She is my mate."
The pendant shattered in a flash of light, sending the Order reeling.
And then… silence.
The leader staggered, mask cracked.
"A true bond," he whispered. "Impossible."
But it wasn't. Not anymore.
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❖ Aftermath
The Order retreated, defeated by what they couldn't control—love stronger than legacy.
Damon collapsed to one knee, breath ragged.
Ava knelt beside him, pressing her forehead to his.
"You chose me."
"You saved me," he whispered. "No throne, no bloodline, no empire—just you."
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❖ Epilogue: One Year Later
The sun set over a quiet villa on the Amalfi Coast.
Ava leaned on the balcony rail, smiling as Damon came up behind her, wrapping strong arms around her waist.
"We've got everything," she said. "Peace. Freedom. Love."
"Almost everything," he murmured against her neck.
She turned to look at him. "What's missing?"
He kissed her gently. "A name."
She raised an eyebrow.
He held up a ring.
"Marry me, Ava. Not because I own you. But because I want to belong to you."
Tears welled in her eyes. "Yes, Alpha."
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