Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 215

Delilah:

The halls were quieter than they had ever been.

Not peaceful, there was never a peaceful moment in this house. Just… still. Quiet. Anticipating. Waiting. And ready.

I had gotten used to it to the point where I did not doubt anything anymore. Anything that could happen, anything that has happened. Having enemies, having friends, alliances, all within the same house. I got used to everything that is around. And I was always surprised when anyone was willing to become friends.

I moved quickly, my steps light on the marble floor as I approached the East Wing. My palms were slick with sweat despite the cool air. Every second I was out here was a second I could be caught.

“Keep your head down. Don’t look anyone in the eye,” I whispered to Lysandra, who shuffled beside me. “I don’t want you to look at anyone. I don’t want anyone to suspect anything.”

Her eyes were empty, but she walked. She walked. That was something. It was more than I thought I’d ever see again. The last few days of care and patience had started to bring some of her back, enough to know what was at stake. Enough to understand that we were in danger, that this was not going to end well. Though she had barely altered the word, she was still managing to respond to a few things that I had said.

The loyal maids, those who still remembered what it meant to serve the Alpha’s blood, not just Giovanni, moved like shadows around us. No words were needed. Just a few nods, a flicker of trust in their gaze, and they fell into place. They wanted to help. They saw the danger that was coming, and there was something about wanting to end Giovanni’s terror that seemed to go as an unspoken vow.

Two slipped ahead of us, scouting the corridors. Another, an older woman with silver-streaked hair and sharp eyes, stayed close. She was the one who had raised Lysandra after her mother died. She was the one who fought everyone and everything to keep her safe for a long time. She had raised Lysandra to be the perfect woman. But you understood later that it would be impossible to satisfy Giovanni regardless of which he was going to do.

She’d wrapped her arms around Lysandra when the girl used to cry at night. She’d bandaged skinned knees and hummed lullabies when no one else gave a damn.

Eda had once told me, “This house was made for war, not for children. But some of us try anyway. Some of us try to hold on to a little innocence. But even that does not exist in this household. It has stopped existent for a very long time.”

We reached the courtyard, the edge of the property in view. My heart raced against my chest, but I knew that this calm was far from being the reality of things. This was just the calm before the storm.

We were almost there.

Then it happened.

A sharp whistle. A warning.

“They’re running away.” I heard a man say. “She is kidnapping the alpha’s daughter.”

Guards. Even the idea of them addressing her as the office does her and not me made me want to laugh. At least I made my point. I was not one of them. I was never going to be.

I heard the clash of steel before I saw it. The first maid lunged into action, slamming her shoulder into the nearest guard and sending him sprawling. A second rushed forward, knives flashing. Growls filthy around me. Some of the maids were human, but these men did not care.

“GO!” One of the maids screamed, shoving Lysandra toward the gate. She looked at me, her heart racing against her chest, her eyes wide. I shook my head.

“No!” I turned back, reaching for her. “We can’t leave you…”

“You don’t have time! They’re going to kill you, both of you, if they get their hands on you. We barely managed to get her to wake up. You do not want him to end up killing you and making her lose more of her mind than he already has.” she snapped. Her voice cracked, but her hands were steady. “She’s your sister. Get her out. You get out of here, save your life, and come back to entities when you are capable.”

A blade sank into her side before I could even scream.

“EDA!” Lysandra let out a strangled cry, her voice raw.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, pressing my lips to her temple. “I’m so, so sorry. I promise you that I’m going to find a way to end them all. They are going to pay for this, but first we’re going to need to leave.”

She didn’t speak.

She didn’t need to.

Because I knew what she had seen.

Because I had seen it too.

We’d escaped the house.

But we’d never escape the ghosts.

Not until Giovanni was gone.

Not until everything he built burned to ash.

And after what I just saw… I would be the one to strike the match.