Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 171

Damon:

The drive back home was suffocating in a way I hadn’t expected. In a way that I knew that I would not be able to tolerate. Had it been anyone else, I knew that I wouldn’t have been as patient, but I understood her very well. No matter how hard I was going to try and cheer her up right now, I knew that she did not need that from me. She just needed me to sit by her side.

Sienna sat, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her eyes focused on the passing scenery outside the window. She didn’t speak. She didn’t cry. She didn’t even look at me. She did not bother saying a word since we got inside the car. All she asked for after our conversation was to go home, and though I did not want us to go home yet, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to deny her that. She needed her peace. And she needed our daughter. I knew that she was the only person that could bring her the strength that she needed.

But that silence, that damn silence, was worse than any words she could have thrown at me.

I would have rather that she screamed. I would have rather that she told me how she felt, that she told me that she was angry.

I would have rather that she even questioned why I did not tell her, but she was understanding about it.

I reached over once, resting my hand gently on top of hers. She didn’t pull away, no, she let me touch her, but the absence of her usual warmth, her spark, was painfully obvious.

I didn’t push.

I didn’t dare.

I knew that I shouldn’t.

She needed time.

And maybe, just maybe, she needed to believe that she could fall apart without me rushing in to fix it.

Maybe she just wanted her momentum to be able to do this one way or the other. She wanted to be able to stand on her feet on her own.

When we pulled into the estate, she unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out before I even had the car fully parked. I sighed and handed the driver of the car keys. He was going to handle the parking. I caught up with her just in time to see her walking inside, her steps hurried but still graceful.

I wanted to take her hand in mine, but when she wrapped her arms around herself, I sighed and looked away. Doing my best to hide the flutter of pain that almost formed on my face, I put myself in her situation. And I knew that I shouldn’t be as selfish. I should be the one to give her her space because I knew that if I was in her place she would be doing the same.

She didn’t say a word as she moved through the halls.

She didn’t look at me.

She made her way straight to the nursery, where Isla was curled up peacefully in her crib.

I stood in the doorway, watching as she scooped our daughter into her arms, holding her tightly against her chest like she was anchoring herself with the only piece of peace she had left.

A tear slipped from her eyes. My heart ached, and I took a step back.

Just give her space. My wolf urged me not to. He fought under my skin. He withered about, but I knew to fight him. I knew to keep him under control and not give in to the instinct that I had.

I sighed, dragging a hand through my hair.

“She alright?” came a low voice behind me.

I nodded once, stepping aside as he moved past me, giving him the space to approach her.

As I stood there alone in the hallway, staring at the woman I loved more than anything, I realized something with crystal clarity.

No matter how strong she was,

No matter how brave she tried to be,

She was human.

She was hurting.

And it was going to be my job, from now on, to be the man strong enough to stand beside her. To hold her through the storms that hadn’t even arrived yet. To protect her not just with my claws and my power, but with my heart.

Because Sienna wasn’t just my mate.

She was my Luna.

And no one, no one, was going to tear her down again.