Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 131

Damon:

Delilah’s scent was the first thing I caught the second I turned down the hallway.

It was subtle, soft and floral, but it carried that underlying sharpness, the kind that crawled under the skin no matter how much you tried to ignore it. She stepped out of the guest room, still in that silky robe the maids had brought for her. Her eyes flicked toward me, a slow, calculated glance.

I didn’t stop. I didn’t speak. I didn’t even acknowledge her.

Not today. And not ever. I did not plan on giving her the response that she was looking for.

I heard her sigh as she walked the other way, likely toward the infirmary or wherever she felt like pretending she belonged. She was going to prison to get some medication or whatever it was that she wanted. She was going to be dismissed back to her room. I did not want her roaming around the maids guards and my mother already had that instruction.

“Son.”

My father’s voice grounded me more than I expected it to. I turned and saw him approaching with his usual unreadable expression, though his eyes flicked in the direction Delilah had just walked off in.

He stopped beside me, arms folded. He did not speak, allowing me the moment before he asked the question that I knew was playing in his mind.

“So… what’s her story?”

“I don’t know,” I muttered honestly. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Because no matter how hard I try, I find myself getting lost in more complications.”

Kael raised an eyebrow. “You brought a woman into your home who you can’t figure out? You of all people getting lost and complications is not something that I would expect. Especially not to other women.”

“She was injured. Bleeding. Lost.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I couldn’t just leave her there, not when she was pleading for help.”

“But your instincts tell you something’s off. And everything about her seems strange. Her calculations, the way she walks, the way she’s roaming around, exploring, looking around, eyeing every camera, understanding what is going on. Have you not noticed it?”

I nodded.

“Of course I noticed it, but not it’s not the problem.” I muttered under my breath.

“No, it is not. It is the fact that your wolf responded.”

My jaw clenched. This was the last thing that I wanted to be the reality, but I knew that he was right. My wolf did respond, and I did not understand why. I still couldn’t.

He studied me for a long, quiet moment. “And Sienna?”

I didn’t speak.

Not immediately.

Because the truth was, I hadn’t seen her since last night. I hadn’t gone to her. Hadn’t kissed her. Hadn’t wrapped her in my arms the way I should have after everything she’d done for me, for my mother. For the entire pack, the way that she stood, the way that despite everything that she’s been through, she still stood.

I had let that space grow… and now?

She was filling it.

Not with another man.

But with distance.

With silence.

And now it was not something that I liked as I found it tightening around me, reminding me that you could just leave.

“I need to check on her,” I muttered under my breath, already stepping away from him.

I headed straight toward the nursery, expecting to find the usual scene, maids whispering, Isla napping. But instead, I found her.

Sienna stood at the head of the room, her voice calm but firm as she gave directions to two of the maids. She was dressed for work, hair pinned, blouse crisp, and trousers that hugged her hips perfectly. She looked radiant. Composed. Focused.

But distant.

Like she had shut herself off again.

And I knew damn well I was the reason.

And I stood there like a fool, watching her go.

The maids who were in the room had their eyes on me, waiting for what was to happen, waiting for my reaction. They were frightened, I could tell, but this was not something to be frightened about.

Then…

A smirk broke across my lips.

So that was it?

She was jealous.

That tight-lipped smile, the clipped tone, the cool brush-off, that wasn’t anger.

That was possessiveness.

It was Sienna’s way of staking a claim without saying a word. And damn, if it didn’t send a fire through my chest that I wasn’t expecting. The lying to say that I did not like it for her to show any emotion that showed that I was hers. Just as much as she was mine.

But I wasn’t about to let her go in alone today.

Not when I could walk right beside her.

I turned on my heel, the smile still tugging at my mouth.

Let’s see how long she could keep that distance.

Because if Sienna De Luca thought she was going to play my game…

She better be ready to lose to the one who taught her how to play.