Chapter 6

Damon:

I froze for a moment as I processed the situation that I was in before allowing myself to digest what just happened as Lysandra rushed out of the room, wanting to be anywhere but by my side.

“Lysandra, wait!” I called, catching up to her and grabbing her arm. She yanked it free, spinning around with tears streaming down her face. Her anger could be seen a mile away, to the point where I knew that things were not going to be ending well if they proceeded to go the way that they were. “Let me explain…”

“You!” she screamed, her voice trembling with both anger and heartbreak. “You lied to me! You rejected her, huh? That’s your excuse? You rejected her but still slept with her? You fucking slept with that thing and chose to play the game of innocent?”

“I didn’t plan for this!” I snapped, my frustration taking over my actions as I looked at the anger that she was throwing at me. “I never wanted it to happen this way!”

“No, you didn’t plan it. You just used her, didn’t you? And now she’s back with YOUR CHILD!” She yelled, pushing me back as tears streamed on her face. Her heart raced and her hands shook, and though she was crying, I could tell that she was still doing her best to keep herself calm. “That baby is YOURS, Damon. And you’ve been lying to me this whole time, pretending like you cared about us, about me! You made me question everything that I did. For months I wondered what I did wrong…”

“It turns out that it was YOU who chose to play me!” She yelled as she tightened the grip of her fists. “It was you who was choosing to treat me like some fucking fool, and here I was…”

“I rejected her for you, Lysandra. For you! I thought I was doing the right thing!” I said, taking a deep breath as I did my best to control my wolf who was threatening to spiral out on her. This wasn’t something that I wanted. What was happening here, her anger, I couldn’t blame her for it.

But I knew that my wolf did not want her, and now with a baby involved, I knew that controlling him was going to be harder.

She let out a bitter laugh, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “The right thing? That’s hilarious, Damon. You rejected her, but you couldn’t keep your hands off her, could you? And now there’s a baby involved. A baby that’s yours.”

“There’s no guarantee the child is mine!” I yelled, my voice coming out louder than I intended for it to. “Yes, I slept with her, but it was one time. It doesn’t mean…”

“We both know the truth.” She said, stopping me. “Stop lying to yourself. That baby is yours, and deep down, you know it. But you know what, Damon? It doesn’t matter anymore. Because I’m done. I am not going to be with a man who played me like some fool. I am not going to look at a person who played me as if I was nothing more than some…”

“Lysandra…”

“No!” She snapped, wiping the tears that fell on her face “You wouldn’t even touch me for months, and now I know why. I stood by your side when everyone doubted me, when everyone doubted YOU, and look where it got me.”

“Don’t act like you didn’t do it for my position,” I said coldly, looking her dead in the eye. “You wanted to be the Alpha’s Luna, not my partner. You never cared…”

I froze when she slapped me. I looked away from her as my wolf snarled, but I knew not to react, I knew to keep him in check.

“You arrogant bastard.” She said, shaking her head as she looked at me. “You’re not the only Alpha out there, Damon. And believe me, the last thing I need is to be stuck with someone like you.”

“Really?” I said, taking a step toward her, challenging her. “Every other Alpha rejected you. Don’t forget that.”

“You’re right,” she said, her voice steady now. “I don’t need to fight for someone who clearly doesn’t want me. Go to your mate, Damon. Go to your child. I refuse to be your second choice.”

My throat tightened as her words hung in the air. I wanted to argue, to deny it, but she didn’t give me the chance.

“You’ll go back to her,” she said quietly, turning away. “You’ll go back to her, and I won’t stand here waiting for it to happen. Goodbye, Damon.”

She walked away, leaving me standing in the hall, frozen.

“Damon,” a deep voice growled behind me.

I turned to find my father, Kael, standing with his arms crossed, his expression carved from stone.

“She left because of you,” he said simply, his words hitting harder than Lysandra’s slap. “For months, we’ve been searching for her, wondering why she disappeared. And now we know.”

“She left because she wanted to,” I said flatly, but even I didn’t believe the words.

“She left because she was carrying your child,” Kael snapped. “Our pack’s heir, Damon. YOUR child. And you let this happen.”

“That baby might not even be mine,” I said, the denial falling weakly from my lips.

Kael growled, the sound reverberating in the hall. “If you believe that, then go after the woman who just left you. Because if you don’t accept responsibility for your actions, you’re no Alpha.”

I swallowed hard as guilt clawed at my chest. Kael didn’t wait for a response and turned toward the room where Sienna was resting.

“She put herself and that baby in danger because of you,” Kael said over his shoulder. “She worked herself to the bone, lived in squalor, and nearly died to protect what you rejected. And now, you’re going to fix it.”

I followed him silently, the weight of his words suffocating. As we entered the room, my mother’s voice echoed loudly, filled with anger.

“You could have come to us, Sienna! You could have told Kael or me!” Evelyn’s voice trembled with emotion.

“Evelyn, that’s enough,” Kael said, his tone firm. “She’s exhausted, and the baby needs her strong.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Sienna,” Kael said, turning his sharp gaze on her. “You’re the mother of an Alpha’s child, and I will not let you leave this pack again.”

“Your son rejected me,” Sienna said, her voice shaking with restrained anger. “The second I can, my child and I are leaving.”

“You’ll go nowhere,” Kael growled. “From now on, you and Damon will raise that girl together. He will take responsibility, whether he likes it or not.”

“What?” I snapped, stepping forward. “You can’t force that—”

“I’m your father,” Kael interrupted, his voice like steel. “You’ll do as I say. That child is your responsibility, Damon. I don’t care if you hate her mother now; this is about your daughter.”

He turned back to Sienna, his voice softening slightly. “And you, Sienna, will stay. If you try to leave again, I’ll make sure you never see your child again. Am I clear?”

Sienna’s tears fell silently, her defiance flickering behind her exhaustion. My wolf stirred uneasily as the weight of the situation sank in.

This was far from over.