Page 63 of Bound to the Guard

The Doctor trembles, tears slipping down his cheeks. “Please, I can help you. I can tell you about the network, about the people behind it.”

A sense of finality settles over me. “We don’t need you for that.”

Damien unholsters his gun, but turns to me. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait outside? You don’t have to stay.”

Part of me wants to agree, to turn away so I can hide from the truth of what’s about to happen. But I can’t. I need to see for myself that the Doctor can never hurt anyone else the way he hurt me. “I’m sure.”

“Okay.” He touches my cheek. “That’s your right.”

I take a deep breath as I turn back to the Doctor. He’s still begging, his words a jumbled mess of pleas and offered bribes. But I don’t hear them anymore. All I see is the man who stole my life, who took everything from me and left me broken and scarred.

Damien steps forward, his movements calm as he raises his gun, the metal glinting in the dim light of the room.

The Doctor shakes his head as he realizes what’s about to happen. “Please.” His frantic eyes latch on to me. “Please don’t let him do this. I was good to you!”

The gunshot rings out, the sound sharp and final. The Doctor’s body jerks, a hole appearing in the man’s forehead. But the shot doesn’t come from Damien.

Damien spins toward his twin. “What did you do? He was my kill!”

Caleb holsters his gun. “Seven may have needed to see this, but he didn’t need the memory linked to you.”

I stare at the Doctor’s lifeless body, waiting for a rush of emotions that never comes. I don’t even cry.

“The first time is always hard,” Milo murmurs. “Are you okay?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I… I thought I’d be more angry, or scared, or… satisfied. But I just feel…”

“Numb?” Milo suggests. “Yeah, I get that. It’s like your brain doesn’t know how to process it all, so it just shuts down for a bit.”

I nod, grateful for his understanding. Milo’s been through his own hell. He’s had to fight and claw his way out of his own darkness.

Damien approaches, concern written on his face as he reaches out to cup my cheek. “You okay?”

I lean into his touch, searching for the right words. “I think so. It’s a lot to process.”

Damien pulls me close and wraps his arms around me. I bury my nose against his chest, breathing in his pheromones, the warm, comforting scent of home.

Finally, the tears come, along with a sense of relief. The specters that have been hovering around me for so long dissipate, the fear and pain starting to fade.

“It’s done.” Damien presses a soft kiss to my hair. “We’re going home.”

All the tension drains from my body, and I cling to him. It’s over. The Doctor is gone, and I’m free.

Free to live my life, to build a future with Damien by my side.

Hand in hand, we leave the building, a sense of peace washing over me. It’s not the peace that comes from forgetting, or from pretending the past never happened. It’s the kind of peace that comes from facing your fears head-on, from staring down the monsters and refusing to let them win.

The scars the Doctor left on me will fade, but they’ll always be there. They’re a part of me now, woven into the fabric of who I am. But they don’t define me. They’re not all I am.

I am more than my past. More than my pain.

“Phoenix.” I look up at Damien. “That’s my name now.”

A smile spreads over his lips. “It fits you, sweetheart.”

Behind us are the ashes of my past, and ahead is my new life with Damien. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m ready to find out.

Ready to live, to love, to be happy.

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