He Knows the Door to My Soul and Who Forgot to Novel 41

Natalia is injured during a hunt and requires stitches. As the healer treats her wounds, she instinctively holds Damon’s hand, who comforts her by brushing her hair back. Damon expresses regret for not sensing the feral wolf that attacked them, but Natalia reassures him that it wasn’t his fault since the wolf was unexpected. Despite her injury, Natalia tries to maintain her dignity as whispers spread among the pack, criticizing her weakness and Damon’s failure to secure the hunt.

When they arrive at the feast, Andrei appears triumphantly dragging a massive elk he hunted alone, drawing admiration from the crowd and casting Damon and Natalia in a negative light. The crowd’s comments sting Natalia, especially as other Alphas reassess their pack’s strength. Frustrated, Natalia boldly addresses the crowd, explaining that Damon chose to protect her over pursuing the elk, emphasizing that true strength lies in valuing loved ones above pride and glory. She publicly thanks Damon and pretends to kiss him, a gesture meant to sway public opinion in their favor.

The crowd’s attitude shifts, now admiring Damon’s devotion rather than Andrei’s solitary victory. Natalia feels a mix of satisfaction and guilt for manipulating the narrative and using Damon in her performance. Damon suggests leaving soon to rest her leg, but Natalia insists they stay for the feast to avoid appearing weak. As the feast preparations begin, Damon stays close while Natalia sips mulled wine, trying to ease her pain.

When Damon leaves briefly to use the restroom, Natalia is left alone to gather her thoughts. Her moment of solitude is interrupted when Andrei unexpectedly approaches, offering her a plate of cooked meat, signaling that the tension between them is far from resolved.

Natalia

“Those are deep,” the healer said with a sigh as she finished examining my wounds. “You’ll need stitches.”

I bit down on my lip as the healer began cleaning the wounds. The alcohol burned worse than the initial injury, and I grabbed Damon’s hand without thinking. He squeezed back, lacing his fingers through mine, his other hand coming up to brush my hair back from my sweaty forehead.

“We should have been more careful,” Damon muttered as he watched the healer work. “I should have sensed that

wolf coming, but I was too busy fighting-”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I cut him off through gritted teeth as the needle pierced my skin. “None of us expected a feral wolf in the middle of a hunt.”

By the time my wound was cleaned and stitched, word had clearly spread. As Damon helped me limp out of the medical tent toward the feast grounds, I caught the whispers following us.

“-heard they didn’t even see the elk-”

“-too busy with each other to pay attention-

“She must be a weak Luna if she can’t handle a simple hunt without a male carrying her to safety…”

My cheeks burned, but I kept my head high. They didn’t know what had really happened out there, didn’t know about Andrei cornering me or the fight between the two brothers. All they saw was an injured Luna and an Alpha who had failed to bring home the prize.

“Maybe we should just go,” I said quietly as we reached the main gathering area. Tables had been set up in a large circle, the torches already lit against the approaching dusk. A large bonfire had been set up in preparation for the roast. “My leg-”

“We can go if you want,” Damon replied gently.

But even as he said it, I knew it wasn’t the right decision. If we scurried away now, it would just paint us as an even weaker couple. Our whole reason for attending this hunt had been to avoid coming across as weak, and if we left before the feast even began just because of some cuts on my leg…

Just then, a collective gasp rose from the crowd, and we both turned toward the tree line.

Andrei slowly emerged from the forest dragging the massive bull elk behind him, its impressive rack of antlers leaving deep furrows in the dirt. Blood coated Andrei’s hunting leathers, streaking down his chest and arms. But it was his eyes that made my breath catch–cold and determined, fixed directly on Damon and me.

He’d done it. He’d taken down that enormous animal alone, after everything that had happened. After our fight, after the feral wolf… He had finished the hunt and claimed victory.

Voices exploded around us.

“Alpha Andrei took it down single–handedly!”

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“Now that is true Alpha strength.”

“Meanwhile, his brother couldn’t even protect his own Luna…”

Each word felt like a papercut–small and fairly insignificant, but when there were so many, it was just as painful as the three deep gashes on my legs. What made it worse was that I saw several Alphas from other packs exchanging looks, reassessing, recalculating. If they thought Damon was weak, if they thought our pack was

vulnerable…

“That’s enough,” I said, loud enough for nearby onlookers to hear. The words burst out of me, fueled by frustration and the memory of Andrei’s mouth on mine, his hands tangling in my hair. How dare he stand there looking victorious when he’d cornered me in the woods like prey?

The crowd turned to look at me, and I straightened despite the pain in my leg. “You want to know why we didn’t finish the hunt? Why my mate chose to carry me to safety instead of chasing after some elk?”

I paused, making sure I had everyone’s attention. Andrei had stopped dragging his prize, those green eyes narrowing as he watched me.

“Because when a feral wolf attacked me, Damon didn’t hesitate. He chose to protect me over winning some competition. He chose his mate over his pride.” I let my gaze sweep over the assembled wolves. “That’s real strength. Any Alpha can kill an animal. But putting someone else’s safety above your own glory takes true courage.”

I turned to Damon then and reached up, cupping his face between my palms, and pulled him down toward me.

“Thank you,” I said. “For choosing me.

I tilted my face up, angling it just right, and pressed my lips to the corner of his mouth. To anyone watching, it would look like a real kiss. But only Damon and I knew the truth–that my lips had barely even grazed his, that it was all for show.

Still, I felt him tense beneath my touch, felt the way his hands came up to rest on my waist. For a moment, I thought he might turn his head and make it real.

But then I pulled back, turning to face the crowd again with what I hoped looked like love–drunk satisfaction. The whispers had changed completely now, full of approval and even some swooning from the younger attendees. Damon the devoted mate. Damon the protector. Damon, the strong male who had given up victory for love.

Over Damon’s shoulder, my eyes found Andrei’s across the feast grounds. Even from here, I could see that familiar muscle jumping above his jaw. Then, without a word, he turned away and continued dragging his elk toward the preparation area.

Smug satisfaction filled my chest. I’d turned his victory into ash, transformed the narrative from his strength to Damon’s devotion. The whispers that followed him now weren’t full of awe but questions–why had he chosen the elk over an injured woman? Where had he been when his brother was carrying me back to safety?

But underneath the satisfaction, guilt twisted in my stomach. I’d just manipulated an entire crowd, twisted the truth to serve my purposes. I’d used Damon, too by pretending to kiss him, making him part of my performance without a care for his true feelings.

Chapter 41)

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Was I really any better than Lilith? She manipulated situations for her benefit, played games with people’s perceptions. And here I was, doing exactly the same thing.

“We can leave soon,” Damon said, pulling me out of my train of thought. “We should get you home anyway. That leg needs rest, and you’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“After the feast,” I said, finding my voice again. “We can’t leave before then. It would make us look weak.”

Damon nodded and began to guide me toward a table near the fire pit. Truthfully, even though the meat hadn’t even begun to cook yet, my mouth was watering and my stomach was growling.

After helping me into a seat, Damon hovered nearby, talking to some of the other Alphas but never straying far. A team butchered the elk and began to prepare it, and soon the smell of roasting meat filled the air. Damon pressed a cup of mulled wine into my hands and I sipped it gratefully

savoring the warm, tangy sweetness—not to mention the way it slightly dulled the pain in my leg as I watched the huge hunks of meat turn on the spit.

“I need to use the restroom,” Damon eventually said, touching my shoulder. “Will you be alright for a few minutes?”

I nodded, waving him off, and offered him a small smile. “Go. I’m not going anywhere with this leg.”

He hesitated but finally walked away, disappearing into the crowd. I took a deep breath, grateful for a moment alone to collect my thoughts.

I should have known it wouldn’t last.”

A plate appeared in front of me, loaded with perfectly cooked meat. I looked up to find Andrei holding it out to me.

The chapter closes on a complex note, capturing the fragile balance between appearance and reality in the lives of Natalia and Damon. Despite the physical pain and the sting of whispered judgments, Natalia finds strength in asserting the truth about Damon’s choice to protect her, redefining what true strength means in their world. Her public defense of Damon not only shifts the pack’s perception but also reveals her deep, if conflicted, loyalty to him. Yet beneath the surface, her feelings of guilt and the awareness of the manipulation she employed add layers of emotional tension, highlighting the sacrifices and compromises they both endure in the name of love and survival.

As the feast begins and the scent of roasting meat fills the air, the momentary calm offers a brief respite from the turmoil. Damon’s protective presence and Natalia’s quiet resilience underscore the enduring bond between them, even as shadows of doubt and unresolved emotions linger. The chapter leaves us poised at the edge of uncertainty, with Natalia’s inner conflict and the unspoken dynamics between the brothers hinting at challenges yet to come, all while emphasizing the profound courage it takes to stand together in the face of adversity.

The next chapter promises to delve deeper into the tangled emotions and simmering tensions that have been ignited by the events of the hunt. Natalia’s clever public defense of Damon has shifted the pack’s perception, but beneath the surface, the true feelings and fractures between the brothers are far from healed. As the feast continues, expect the fragile peace to be tested, with undercurrents of jealousy, rivalry, and unresolved anger threatening to spill over.

Natalia’s internal struggle with her own actions—her manipulation of the crowd and use of Damon as a pawn—adds a compelling layer of complexity to her character. The arrival of Andrei with a plate of meat hints at a confrontation or unexpected gesture that could either deepen the divide or offer a surprising twist. Readers will be left wondering how these interactions will unfold, what secrets might come to light, and how the bonds between these characters will be reshaped in the face of pride, pain, and loyalty.

Sara Lili

Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.