Chapter 16

Damon’s phone buzzed. He glanced down, expecting a meaningless update, but the screen froze his blood and stoked his fury all at once. By the bodyguards he has appointed for her. A photo. Sloane. Jeremy nestled in Ethan Scott’s arms. The three of them laughing, like some picture-perfect little family. Damon’s jaw clenched so hard it ached. He knew Ethan. Everyone in the Blackthorn circle knew him. A wolf with a charming smile and a dangerous kind of charisma, one who twisted situations until people thanked him for using them. A manipulator in healer’s robes. And Sloane… smiling with him. Damon’s wolf snapped against his chest, demanding he go, drag her out of that place, remind her who she belonged to. His hands curled into fists, his aura flaring just enough to make the table rattle. He stood halfway from his chair, but then stopped. No. If he stormed over there now, Sloane would only defy him again. Laugh at him again. And he wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction. Instead, he san