Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 280

Tatiana:

The screams didn’t bother me.

I didn’t care about any of that. I wanted this. I was aching for it. I ate on it. I stood and rose with it.

The scent of blood or the cries of the wolves terrifies as the miss choked out their hopes was something that I was eager to hear. Those were sounds of progress, our promises that were being fulfilled.

But that word…

Mom.

It clawed at the edge of my thoughts, even as the war I unleashed burned across their lands.

No matter how hard I try to ignore it, it was stuck with me. I could hear it playing in my mind over and over again, as if on repeat. The way that she looked at me, the way that she spoke, the way that our eyes met. Both the woman.

I stood at the window of Giovanni’s ruined chapel, watching from afar as the forest swallowed their packhouse. I should’ve felt satisfaction. I should’ve felt power.

But instead… there was a strange, pulsing ache I didn’t understand.

Delilah.

Sienna.

She had looked at me, through me, and said it like it meant something.

Like I was supposed to remember something. Like it was supposed to mean something to me. Like I was supposed to care. I shouldn’t be caring. I shouldn’t even think about it. And yet here I was.

Not because I wanted to think of it.

And not because it should have meant anything to me.

But it was because it was different.

Like it was true.

But it couldn’t be.

This was nothing more than a lie, a game that she was playing. She was trying to manipulate me. I could see it in her eyes. Maybe she was trying to push me away from her. But why use that word?

They were dead. Giovanni told me that. He told me they died. They killed them. They were not alive. They couldn’t be alive. He would not lie to me about something like this.

I turned, storming through the dark corridor, mist swirling at my feet as I entered his chambers. He stood over a map, muttering strategy to one of the alphas we bent to our side. He barely looked up when I entered.

“Tatiana,” he said casually, like he hadn’t noticed the fury radiating off me. “I assume you’re pleased with the progress. It is growing stronger and the wolves are becoming weaker. It is only a matter of time before we’ve had them all cornered and dead and then you’re going to get your revenge.”

“Don’t play games with me.” I said, glaring at him.

He looked up now. He frowned in confusion as he tried to process what I said.

“You said they were dead,” I spat. “You told me the children were dead. You said that they were killed, that you saved the Lilah only for her to die too. You said that Sienna did not survive.”

He had played this game on me and now he was going to play the price of it.

“You betrayed me,” I said, voice low. “All this time. You kept them from me. You kept my daughters from me when I could have gotten to know them, at least in my second life, as I was not in their lives as children.”

“I saved you.” He said, wanting me to see his perspective. I scoffed and looked away.

“No. You broke me.” I said. “You lied to me. You chose your own way over me, and you chose to play me like a fool. You chose to forget who I am.”

He stepped forward, his hand brushing my jaw. “I made you powerful. And look at you now. They fear your name. They tremble at your mist. Look at them, listen to their voices. They scream and cry the second they hear you approaching. That is because I chose to hide that from you. I chose to make you grow stronger.”

I let him touch me, but just for a second. “And I will do it again if I have to. You need to stand strong because they are only going to make you weak. This life is not for you. Weakness is not for you.”

Then I leaned in, lips brushing his ear. “They’re not the only ones who should tremble.”

And as I pulled away, I saw it. That flicker in his eyes. The crack in his control.

Good.

Let him fear the storm he helped unleash.

Let him pray it doesn’t turn on him next.

“Everyone that stands in my way, that looks me in the eye is going to tremble at the mention of my name. No matter who they are. Do you understand me, Giovanni?”