Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 70

Damon:

Sienna stood at the edge of my suite, arms folded, her eyes narrowed as if she were still trying to decide whether she was going to stab me with her glare or walk back out the door.

“You standing by the door is not going to change anything, Sienna.” I said, looking at her.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” she muttered. “I did not have to be moved to a room, I could have stayed in mine. It was not like I needed to go anywhere far. It was literally a walk down the hall.”

I raised an eyebrow, leaning against the edge of my desk. “Too late for second thoughts, don’t you think?”

“You did not give me a thought in the first place. You made a decision and now I’m forced to deal with it, aren’t I?” She scoffed. “But that is not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean, Miss Sienna?” I asked, my tone holding a bit of mockery in it as she glared at me.

“I mean you pushing your mother like that. You went against her, and for what? To make a point?” She asked, shaking her head. “What are you gaining, Damon? You’re just putting yourself in a situation where you’re standing against your mother, and not only that, you are making me stand against her. I am not going to be as strong as she is. I think that you know that very well.”

“I didn’t push her,” I said, my tone flat. “I made a decision.”

“You made a statement,” she shot back. “That I’m more important than your mother’s opinion. And that’s going to bite both of us in the ass. You are putting me in a situation where I am going to end up being thrown in the pit of fire over something that I didn’t even want to do. Do you really believe that I want to stay in your room?”

I tilted my head, watching her as she paced across the rug, clearly unsettled. “If you’re so worried, maybe you should’ve said no.”

“You didn’t exactly give me a choice, Damon.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes hardened. ” Your mother came to my room informing me that you made her decision that I did not even know about.”

“There’s always a choice, Sienna. You just didn’t take it.” I said, giving her a small smile. “Plus, we agreed that the two of us are going to be taking care of Isla together as her parents. I doubt that this should happen without staying in separate rooms.”

That shut her up for a second. She glanced at Isla, sleeping peacefully in the bassinet near the bed, before turning back to me.

“You shouldn’t be fighting your family for me,” she said, softer now. “Not when you’re already walking a thin line with everything else. And it’s not like you want anything to do with me. If we are doing this, it is simply because you want to keep me under your nose.”

“I’m not fighting them for you.” I pushed off the desk and stepped closer, my voice low. “I’m standing where I want to stand. And right now, that happens to be beside you. So stop trying to carry the guilt for it. And yes, I want to keep you under my nose because if I do not do so, you’re just going to end up jumping out the window and I don’t also want you to do that.”

Her lips parted slightly, like she wanted to argue more, but she didn’t.

Instead, she exhaled and crossed her arms again. “So… are we just supposed to pretend things are fine now?”

“No.” I shrugged. “We don’t have to pretend. But we can start acting like we’re not enemies. I believe that we made an alliance, didn’t we?”

That earned me a dry laugh. “We’re not exactly friends either. An alliance does not mean that I need to share a room with you.”

“I’m aware.”

There was a silence between us, tense, complicated. I hated how much space her presence took in my head. Hated how natural it felt, seeing her here.

I cleared my throat. “Did you turn down the job?”

Her eyes flicked toward me again. And she hesitated, just long enough to irritate me.

“I haven’t,” she said finally. “I’m still considering it. Do not get me wrong, Damon, we made an agreement. I will agree to that, but I do not trust you or anyone in the pack. I cannot find myself being turned into something that I do not want to be dealing with and I do not want to find myself being turned down. My apologies to that.”

I clenched my jaw but kept my voice level. “So, you’re still planning to work outside the pack.”

“I need something for myself, Damon. Something I can rely on if things go wrong. I’m not going to depend on you or your pack forever.”

Sienna was still staring at me. “What was that?”

“Nothing that concerns you right now,” I said, slipping the phone back in my pocket. “Just making sure things are taken care of.”

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t press.

“Go settle in. You and Isla will sleep better here.”

“If you think that this is going to be your way of redeeming yourself, then you are very wrong. I can easily just turn down the job no matter what it is that you give me.”

“We’ll see. For now, just listen and get yourself settled in. How about it…?”

She didn’t say thank you. I didn’t expect her to. But I saw it in the way her shoulders relaxed as she walked over to check on our daughter.

I let out a slow breath, eyes locked on the back of her figure.

She wanted her independence?

Fine.

She could have it.

On my terms.