Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 236

Sienna:

I knew the second Damon walked into the council chamber that something was wrong. The tension in his shoulders. The silence pressing down on him like the sky had collapsed. He didn’t have to say a word, I could feel it.

I saw it in his eyes, and I felt it in his wolf, our mating bond making my own wolf whimper as she wanted to comfort him. But I could not approach him, not when I knew that there were others around, that they were watching.

My breath caught in my throat. And I looked at him, studying his expression, fighting back the urge to rush towards him, to ask him what was wrong.

Delilah, who was now amongst us within the council meeting, looked at me for a moment, but she then turned her attention to the alpha. Even she noticed that something was off. She straightened, studying his expression as she frowned.

He looked… hollow.

And then he said it.

“Caleb is

gone.’

“”

The words didn’t make sense at first. Caleb? Damon’s Beta? His best friend? Gone? I blinked, trying to process it, but Damon was already turning, pushing past the others like the walls were closing in.

“What?” I heard a few pack members mutter.

“Beta Caleb is gone?” Another pack member asked.

I didn’t hesitate. I did not wait for them to try and confirm anything from him. I did not even wait for him to stop and speak to them to explain anything.

I followed him outside, through the corridors, until we stood beneath the overcast sky. The wind tugged at his shirt, cold and biting, but he didn’t even flinch. He looked elsewhere. It was as if he was not even in front of me. He stood still, staring at nothing. He said nothing, and his racing heartbeat told me that he was thinking about a lot. Whatever had happened, whatever made him believe or say that told me that something bad was going on.

“You need to breathe,” I said softly, reaching for him. “Whatever this is, Damon, we are going to need to discuss it together. We’re going to be able to get over it together, but you are going to need to breathe.”

His head snapped toward me, eyes bloodshot and stormy. “How the hell am I supposed to breathe, Sienna?” His voice cracked. “How do I take a breath when my best friend, my brother, is lying cold with no wounds, no signs of struggle, nothing? Just… gone. Like he was erased. I am trying to find a reason to explain what happened to him. I don’t even know how he ended up that way. He went for something, he went to look out for something and suddenly he comes back, appears here and dead. We’ve been looking for him for weeks and nothing, no signs of him. We believed that he was traced somewhere. Just when we thought that we would find him, he was not there. Only for him to appear this way, lifeless, woundless, nothing had happened to him and yet he is dead.”

After a long silence, he finally pulled back. His voice was hoarse when he said, “It’s time. We call the meeting. No more waiting. I am done waiting for what is going to happen. I am done trying to understand anything when it comes to this war we are going to fight no matter what the cost is going to be.”

I nodded. “Then we fight. Together. Well, first you’re going to need to allow yourself to let out your pain fighting this way. Going to a meeting, holding a meeting is not going to do you any good. Please…”

He looked at me with something like gratitude, and something heavier.

This wasn’t just the beginning of war.

It was the moment Damon Lockwood finally broke.

And I’d be damned if I let him face it alone.

“Just this once…” I whispered. “You are going to need to allow yourself this moment.”