Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 246

Delilah:

The air outside was cold, the night air biting against my skin.

I sat alone on the porch steps, my arms wrapped around my knees, staring at the tree line. The world felt suspended, like something was coming, but no one dared name it. Everything around was dark, and no matter how hard I tried to lie to myself about it, I couldn’t help but find myself feeling weak, Weaker than I wanted to admit.

The sound of soft footsteps behind me made me tense for only a second, but I didn’t turn. Has sent filled my nostrils and I knew that here I was somewhat safe. I did not have to be on guard on a daily basis. I could at least let my guard down despite the number of enemies that lurked around. Somehow I felt safe here, safer than I ever have.

A second later, warmth settled across my shoulders.

A blanket.

I glanced up.

I did not dare mute his eyes at first, but when I looked at him, I was surprised by the gentle expression that was on his face. His eyes were too gentle for a man like himself.

Ethan stood just behind me, hands still holding the ends of the fabric he’d tucked around me.

“You’ll get cold out here,” he said softly. “I figured that bringing you a blanket would not be so bad, considering that you wouldn’t accept taking one from inside.”

I exhaled, nodding. “Thank you. The fact that I am a wolf keeps me warmer than others, but it’s still kind of gesture. Thank you for it.”

He didn’t walk away. Instead, he sat beside me, close but not too close. We sat in silence for a while, listening to the quiet of the packhouse settling in for the night. I tightened my arms around the blanket, letting out a breath that I did not realize that I was holding.

“I’m sorry,” I said finally, voice low. “About Caleb. I know that my words might not be enough, but I also believe that maybe they would do you justice. Somehow.”

Ethan didn’t answer right away. His jaw tightened, but his eyes stayed forward.

“I was supposed to watch you, I should have done so at first.” he said after a long pause. “Follow you. Report back if you left. That’s what I was sent for. Caleb went in my place. He was the one reporting back at first and then he just disappeared.”

I looked at him. He still wasn’t facing me.

“I never did report about you though,” he continued. “I never told them where you went. I just… let you go. I don’t know why, but I wanted to trust you. I think a part of me always did. And now… Caleb’s dead. And I keep wondering if I should’ve done something different. If I didn’t let him go, if I was the one reporting back, if I didn’t trust my instincts about you, maybe he would still be alive. While I’m not saying that you are bad, I’m just saying that maybe he would be alive.”

My heart squeezed. I turned toward him fully, fingers tightening around the blanket. I closed my eyes for a moment too long, squeezing them shots as I forced my emotions down.

“You think it would’ve changed anything?” I asked gently. “That if you had followed me, if you’d told them everything, it would’ve stopped whatever this is? That maybe you would have been in his place instead of him? Instead of him being that under the ground, maybe it would be you?”

He didn’t answer.

For a moment, I kissed him back.

I didn’t move. My muscles felt strained. This was the first time anyone was this intimate or gentle with me. He was not forcing his way. He was allowing me to process.

I wanted to deepen the kiss just for a moment, just to feel the gentle Ness that I felt, to feel the tenderness that he was showing me.

Then, just as gently as he came to me, he pulled away.

He didn’t say anything.

He stood and walked back inside, the door closing softly behind him.

And I sat there, fingers gripping the blanket, heart thudding like it didn’t know what to do with itself.

“What did you just do, Delilah?”