Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 337

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Damon:

The air split open around us.

And though everyone wanted to hide it, I saw their fear in their eyes. I was their alpha. I could feel it, I could feel them, but I still held my ground for them.

The mist surged higher, thicker, alive now with claws and teeth and screams. The ground roared beneath my feet, cracking under the weight of her magic. She was reacting, she was playing around and she was angry, angrier than she had been in a while. I must admit we seem to have left an impression on her and one that she did not want to admit.

And to make matters more difficult for her, more frustrating, my wolves did not move.

Not an inch.

Sienna’s words still rang in the air, still burned in their blood. And that was all I needed. Her strengthened her pride, the way that she had radiated it to them, the way that she stood in front of everybody, the way that she stood by my side and the front lanes. She gathered their strength, she gave them a reason to stand strong, and I knew that they were willing to hold on to it. For her, for our home, for everything that we built, they were going to stand.

I shifted fully, the sound of my bones breaking and reshaping swallowed by the thunder around us. My paws hit the frozen earth hard, and I threw back my head and howled — a sound that tore through the mist and slammed into the enemy with a force that shook even me.

The pack answered me.

Dozens of howls rose into the night sky, deafening, defiant.

Ours.

This was our land.

This home was ours and everything around it was ours to hold, was ours to stand for.

Not hers.

Never hers.

And we were not going to give it up. Not to her, not to anyone. Giovanni had played the game. The coward was somewhere hiding. He was not here. That was a surprise to me. Normally I would know him to fight. That is, of course, if he was alive. But if he were dead, we would have also known she would not hide it. The triumph would be one that she would hold on to.

I stepped forward, my claws sinking into the dirt, my golden eyes fixed on the dark wall of creatures crawling out of the fog. They didn’t hesitate this time.

Neither did I.

I was here standing strong, I had a family to protect, I had a mate that I wanted to keep safe and not only that, I had everything that I built and fought to build to hold on to.

I lunged forward, and my wolves followed me, the full force of the Lockwoods surging behind me like fire through dry grass.

The first creature hit me mid-stride, jaws snapping, but I caught it by the throat and flung it into the ground, its body shattering into dust and ash before my paws.

“Push forward!” I roared over the clash of bodies. “Don’t let them through! I don’t want any of them getting inside the house or the pack. Our ground is ours and we are going to protect it. No matter what. It’s going to happen. We are going to stand. Until we lose our breaths, until we lose our lives, we are going to stand for it.”

We barreled into the fog, claws flashing, teeth tearing. The line of creatures buckled under the weight of us, but they didn’t fall. Not yet. She was still holding them.

They were stronger this time. Smarter.

She was carving them to her own benefit. Neither one of them knew what they were doing. At least I hoped that they weren’t. They were scared. They were scarred, and they were under her control.

One of them, taller, twisted, with eyes like black holes, lunged at my flank. I rolled under it and tore its head off before it even hit the dirt.

Sienna was at my side now, her silver fur streaked with blood and fire, her claws slicing through another as it tried to strike me. Horizon, not mine, and I could tell that she was studying my expression. She was trying to understand whether or not I was hurt. My mate was trying to feel me. I smiled at her, giving her a gentle nod despite the anger that I felt.