Alpha Damon (Sienna) novel Chapter 91

Damon:

The walk down the hallway was quiet. Neither Sienna nor I said a word.

Truth be told, neither one of us knew what to say, and I was thankful for the silence. Right now I needed it. I needed it to allow myself the moment to think.

And that silence brought that for me. It gave me the moment to allow myself to process how I was feeling, especially after last night, especially after everything.

I did not even know what brought me back to the Infirmary later that night, but I knew this when I saw her asleep the way that I did. I wanted nothing more than to hold her in my arms. And when I carried her in my arms, when her head lay on my chest, I found myself getting lost in her, growing mesmerized.

Sienna was just a step ahead of me, her robe brushing her ankles as she moved with careful grace. She hadn’t said anything since the maid left, and I didn’t press her. Not yet. There were still too many words hanging between us, unspoken, heavy, dangerous.

But I couldn’t ignore the shift.

I couldn’t ignore how the two of us had managed to have one conversation without arguing. It was a change in the two of us. Her strength was something that I found myself right now admiring. I wondered, what would have happened if I had seen it earlier?

She looked back at me once, her eyes lingering on mine for a heartbeat longer than they used to. She didn’t look away as fast. She didn’t flinch when I stepped close.

That was new.

That was her giving me a sliver of trust again. She was allowing me to step up. She was allowing me to show her that I was willing to change for my daughter, for her to stand by her side.

And that meant to me more than I could admit. Everything that she was doing meant to me a lot more than I could admit.

When we reached the nursery, the door was already open. The soft lull of Isla’s whimpering filled the air, gentle and unsure. I stepped in first, my eyes immediately finding the small bassinet nestled beside the window. Light filtered in from the drawn curtains, casting a soft glow across her tiny form.

Isla.

My daughter.

I still wasn’t used to saying that, let alone feeling it. But every time I saw her, those sleepy eyes, her soft, downy hair, her fists clenched in defiance, I felt something anchor inside my chest. I felt a bond that pulled me closer to her, like my wolf wanted nothing more than to bond with her, and it was me who was stopping him from doing so.

It was something terrifying and undeniable.

Sienna moved around me, her steps instinctively going to the bassinet. But Isla’s cries faded the second I crouched beside her, brushing my knuckles against her cheek. Her tiny hand flailed toward me, wrapping around my finger like it belonged there.

“She remembers you,” Sienna whispered, the softness in her voice surprising even her. “Sure, members recent. She seems to have memorized it.”

I looked up at her. She was staring, lips parted slightly, like she didn’t expect me to be this way.

Truth was, I didn’t either.

“She’s strong,” I murmured, gently sliding my hands beneath Isla’s back and lifting her. She settled against my chest without a fight, her tiny head nestling under my chin as if she already knew the shape of me. “She’s calmer when I hold her now. Like she knows. It’s as if she feels me towards her, she feels the bond between the two of us, that I am her father.”

“She does,” Sienna said, quieter now. “She hears your heartbeat. She knows it. She knows your scent. She knows how he looks like. She knows your face. She would recognize you in an instant.”

My throat tightened.

I looked down at the tiny bundle in my arms and for the first time in what felt like forever, I didn’t feel like the Alpha.

“I’m still learning,” I admitted. “I never thought I’d be a father this way. Or to her. But I’m not going anywhere.”

Sienna stared at me for a moment. “That’s the first time you’ve said that.”

I tilted my head. “What?”

“That you’re not leaving.”

I looked back down at Isla, then up at Sienna again. “You’re right. But because this time I’m determined.”

I stood slowly, shifting Isla to one arm. Sienna stepped closer instinctively, brushing her fingers lightly over her daughter’s back. Her hand grazed mine for a second, accidental, but electric.

“We’re still figuring this out,” I said. “But I’m here. And I’ll protect both of you. No matter what.”

She blinked rapidly, nodding once before whispering, “Okay. We’ll just have to wait and see where things lead us.”

It wasn’t a promise.

But it was a start.

And for now, I’d take that.