SIENNAI was almost convinced that my teeth were going to fall out from eating so much sugar and yet this was a memory that I never wanted to let go of. I made a mental note in my mind that I was going to develop a habit of coming into town often. I certainly could not remain cooped up at home all the time. I never knew that Benjamin could be so flirty, although It disconcerted me in a way.The fluttering that I felt within the confines of my belly added to my confusion. Even if I felt a bit awkward, especially after my incident with the waitress, conversation still flowed smoothly between us and we laughed over memories of us coming to this place when we were younger. I guess we all grew up too fast. I considered taking a picture of the scene and sending it to Hailey to let her know how much I missed her and how I wished she was here, but I snapped my head out of the thought and decided that I would do it some other time. When we were finally done with the ice cream and the food, Ben
SIENNAI turned to him in surprise, mainly because I wasn't expecting him to still be here. He ought to have gone home by now. Benjamin tensed and I could tell that he was doing his best to remain composed and not to react in a way that was going to make me uncomfortable. Sylvester’s shirt was undone slightly and his hair was tousled as if he ran his hands through them more often than usual, maybe tugging at them in frustration. He looked tired from a hard day's work. I noticed how much his gaze darkened as they fell to me and Benjamin’s joined hands.I suddenly felt uncomfortable and I was tempted to pull my hands away but for some reason decided not to. I was going to hurt Benjamin's feelings just to soothe away his displeasure. But at the same time, why did I feel like I was doing something that I wasn't supposed to be doing? I ignored the Unnerving feeling and I raised an eyebrow at him. “Sylvester? What are you still doing here? It's late,” I finally said and I could hear him sc
Chapter Seventy FourSIENNAI was afraid to believe it made sense of whatever Sylvester was trying to say. I was trying to make sense of what he had told me. How he was willing to make a demanding sacrifice because of me. I didn't think that he was capable of that kindness. I didn't want the resentment that I had for him to shift into my former emotions for him. If I thought that I was exhausted then it had certainly intensified now. I noticed how close we were and I didn't want to allow myself to dwell too much on the thought. Somewhere in the deepest corner of my heart. I knew that he was right. I was certain in the deepest corner of my heart that he was right. I felt my stomach clench with disappointment when he walked away from me and headed over to the other side of his desk. “Come and take a look at this,” he said and I hesitated and walked over to where he stood on the desk. I watched as he arranged papers on the desk. I headed over to him and tensed as he stood beside me. “I
SIENNAAs I led the way back to the room. I hoped with everything within me that I wasn't going to encounter anyone. It was late, early in the morning per se and it didn't exactly help matters that Clara's room was exactly opposite mine. I turned around and narrowed my eyes on him, sending a quiet message for him to be silent but his eyes glistened with amusement and I could have almost sworn that I saw his eyes coming alive with mischief. I shot him a look and I exhaled when I realized that we didn't encounter anyone on the way to my room. I quickly opened the room door and tilted my head for him to quickly come in and when he did, I quickly shot the door and bolted it for extra caution. If there's anything that I didn't want to do. It was to be caught off guard. I closed my eyes and sighed. “I could have just decided to go home because I know how much of a risk you're taking to keep me here,” he said. “It was too risky to let you go home,” I finally said after the uncomfortable
SIENNAI was very conscious of his hard body against mine, of the warmth that radiated from him as he pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arms around me. The reflection of the moon cast a sort of ethereal glow across the bed, lighting the room up in a sort of magical way. I had changed into my silk nightdress, into something more comfortable for the night. I was still in shock, for making the most stupid decision that I could ever make in my entire existence. Despite telling myself that I wanted nothing to do with Sylvester. Here he was, on my bed with me and here I was, basking in the warmth of his hands, in the taste of his tongue. I didn't even try to stop him as his hands ran across my body. My hands took the liberty of exploring his as well and all I wanted to do was touch and touch until my hands were content. Which I doubted that they would ever be. I closed my eyes and smiled as he pressed a tiny kiss against my forehead. My heart clenched slightly when I remembered th
SIENNAMy heart clenched. Things were back to being awkward between us. Sneaking out of my room had put me on edge but fortunately, it would seem that I was lucky because no one encountered the both of us leaving my bedroom. He had driven home to freshen up and rest and a part of me couldn't help but think that he was driving home to Tamara. Tamara. Her name still made me rush with anger anytime I thought about her smirk, about how she had flashed me a taunting smile the last time that I saw her. Her name left a bitter taste in my mouth and I was barely able to stop myself from thinking about her. She was still a big elephant in the room. She was the unspoken problem that held Sylvester and I apart. None of us had the courage to talk about her yet. My skin became hot with heat when I remembered what happened last night between Sylvester and I. The thought alone was enough to make my lips go dry. “It seems your attention is elsewhere, Sienna,” my father said dryly. My head snapped to
SIENNAI headed out of the dining room, going into the hallway. My mind flashed to Sylvester for the shortest of seconds and I shook my head immediately and snapped myself out of it. There were more important things to focus on. Like finding the traitor. My fists clenched slightly and as I walked forward without looking, I suddenly bumped into a hard body. “What the hell!” I growled but my face instantly relaxed when I saw that it was Benjamin. He smiled radiantly at me and his smile instantly went away from his face when he realized how tense I was.“Seems like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” he teased lightly but he was trying to be cautious as he was aware that I wasn't really in a good mood. “Are you okay?” he asked and I rushed abruptly into his arms. He looked surprised as he caught me but he didn't hesitate to wrap his hands around me. His hands smoothed over my hair gently. Somehow I was simply relieved that he was here. With Benjamin here, my p
SIENNAThankfully, the tension between them diffused. Not completely but I was convinced that they chose to be civil so that I wouldn't be uncomfortable. Then we headed to Sylvester's office. Benjamin didn't like that Sylvester was helping out with all of this. I wondered what he would do if he knew that Sylvester was the main reason this was even discovered. I bet he would rather chew stone than be indebted to Sylvester. It was the same with my father and sometimes, I wondered why they even went through all the trouble to have such an alarming big ego. I looked at the papers that were scattered across Sylvester's desk. They were snapshots from the cameras placed around the pack. Hopefully, the cameras would be able to catch any fishy activities going on. I wondered why I didn't think of that sooner. Sylvester seed to always think ahead when it came to these things. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling my body become heavy with exhaustion. Just then, the door opened and we turned to
SIENNAI was beyond overwhelmed and yet I clutched my weapon closed to the side tightly. The muscles in my body were knotted into tension and no matter how tired I was, I couldn't bring myself to stop. One way or another, I needed to find Benjamin. “I can hear your heartbeat from here,'' Sylvester whispered. I could feel his lips against the lobe of my ear. I could see that some of the soldiers were searching in their human forms while some were in their wolf forms. This wasn't the time to be thinking about how he smelled or what his lips against my body was doing to me.My father had decided to stay back home. Apparently, we might have to conduct another search party for Clara. My father had said that she ran to her room when the attack started. The rogues didn't come anywhere near the house so how was it even possible that she would disappear without a trace? I couldn't even make sense of it. “You think they took her?” I blurted out the question that had been on my mind for some
SIENNASylvester and I left the den, ready to confront the return of the rogue attacks on our pack. The air outside crackled with tension, and the scent of anxiety lingered as we approached the site of the disturbance.Drawing near the borders, I observed my father who was encircled by a few pack soldiers. His stern expression betrayed a mix of anger and concern that was apparent in him. The gravity of the situation hung heavily in the air, and I steeled myself for the challenges awaiting us. I saw the force of their destruction up ahead and I crumbled as a wave of despair washed over me. This wasn't supposed to occur if we had been vigilant enough. If I had behaved like a true Alpha was supposed to, these rogues would never have breached our territory. “Sienna, you've got to stay strong. Calm down," Sylvester urged."Easy for you to say; you're not the one whose territory is being destroyed," I snapped, but I regretted my words almost immediately. Swiftly, I apologized, "I'm sorry, I
SIENNAI sighed, realizing that this was the difficult situation I had put myself in "Dad, let me explain. Sylvester—""Explain? Explain why you're associating with a Lycan. Do you know what they're capable of?" His voice grew louder with each word."Dad, Sylvester is not like the others. We've formed a bond. There is a connection between us. He's different," I insisted, the desperation I felt evident in my voice.His eyes flickered between Sylvester and me, and the disapproval he was feeling was quite obvious on his face. "Different? What in the name of the Moon Goddess is he different from all the others? So far he’s the Alpha.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Sienna, you're risking everything by involving yourself with him."“If you would calm down and let me explain to you, you’ll see how different he is,” I implored him.“Did he hurt you?”As my father continued his stern warnings, Sylvester remained silent, his demeanor composed. He looked so calm. Wasn’t he w
SIENNAThe moon was gradually surrendering its luminous glow to the impending dawn as Sylvester and I lay entwined in the quiet haven of the cottage. My fingers traced idle patterns on his chest, and I could feel the rhythmic beat of his heart beneath my touch. The silence between us held the weight of unspoken words, echoing the complexity of our intertwined destinies. If anything, I was glad and relieved that we had cleared everything between us and that the tensions were all ironed out. And I was calm now.I knew that Tamara held no place in Sylvester's heart. She was inconsequential to him, and she shouldn’t dare overstep. If she did, I was quite capable of meting out the treatment that such intruders deserved. And I was ready to go home. Back to my pack and back to my dad. I was ready to tell my dad about Sylvester. "Sylvester," I whispered, breaking the silence that lingered in the air. He looked down at me, his gaze tender yet guarded."What is it?" His fingers brushed a stra
SIENNA“But if he doesn’t?” he asked softly“I don’t care what he thinks anymore. It’s either you or no one. But you’re never getting married to Taylor or whatever her name is”“Tamara,” he corrected, a teasing grin spreading across his face.“I don’t care what her name is, and I don’t care who she is either. She’s an Alpha’s daughter, but I’m an Alpha. If she crosses my path one more time, she’s gonna know what this Alpha can do,” I said defiantly. His eyes held a mix of admiration and pride. "Damn, you can’t imagine how turned on I am by this.”“W-wh-what?” I blushed, my face getting beet red and hot at the same time.“You want to see?” He smirked. I slapped his arms in embarrassment. “Stop it, love. You can’t say things like that.”“Are you kidding me?” He chuckled. “Stop pretending like you haven’t seen what it looks like.” He raised an eyebrow at me, the mischief glinting in his eyes.“Oh my goodness!” This was so embarrassing “You can beg. I’ll show you if you beg.” He chuckl
SIENNASylvester stood by the counter of the kitchen with a soft smile on his face as he watched me emerge from down the stairs. I wanted to watch him smile this way at me forever but at the same time, I wanted to go away from him because what he did hurt me. I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions, but at that moment, I chose to focus on the calmness I felt after the bath, which was really nice, by the way. "Feeling better?" he asked, his eyes filled with genuine concern.I nodded, still unable to find the right words to express my gratitude. The clothes he provided may have been a bit oversized, but they carried a comforting warmth that seemed to extend beyond just the fabric. It was his, and wearing whatever was his just gave me this sense of comfort. "I appreciate this," I finally said, my voice a gentle acknowledgment.He nodded in return, his gaze lingering on me. "It's the least I could do,” he said.“Of course.” The air held a fragile tension, a silent acknowledgment of t
SIENNAThese days I had come to the conclusion that maybe the only person that I put into consideration was myself. I felt selfish, I felt blind, and I felt stupid too. I couldn't make it go away. As if he was only just realizing the impact his words had on me, Sylvester crouched down and stared up at me with sad eyes. “Sienna,” he said softly but I wasn't so sure that I had in me to give him a response. “I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have said what I said. I lost control for a moment,” he said as he looked up at me. I wondered how he could bear to look up at me with the affection in his eyes when all I ever did these days was hurt him, and make it more and more obvious how much I resented him. I knew he didn't mean what he said. Yes, but that didn't mean it wasn’t true. Every bit of it was. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying very hard to put my emotions under control, to gain some sort of composure. But for some reason, I couldn't seem to do that. “I'm having a headach
SIENNA“What do you mean you were running out of options?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. My hands were starting to become clammy with sweat. I was beginning to become more and more conscious of my panic as I looked at him. So I pressed my finger against my temple just to calm myself down.He dropped the cup of tea against the bedside table as he looked at me. I didn't know what to do. “I just wanted us to be alone. The two of us needed some alone time,” he replied.“What alone time are you talking about? How do you think it's possible that I could stand to be in the same room with you, knowing that you're going to be married in less than a week!” I snapped. I was trying to let the anger and rising panic not take over me. But this was Sylvester I was dealing with. No matter how I tried to escape from my emotions, from my feelings, he sure did have a way of invoking them and they always came rushing back, no matter how much I tried to escape them. “I'm not getting married," Syl
SIENNAI wanted to die rather than feel this pain that was making me suffer. It was happening gradually and that was what I hated about shifting. It was too slow and gradual. “Sienna,” Sylvester called out again as he made his way over to me and crouched down in front of me. His face was contorted in pain, and it was just as if he was going through something similar. I didn’t think it was possible for him to feel whatever I was feeling. It just wasn't possible. I closed my eyes and sighed. Then I started to breathe in and out. I kept breathing in and out again and again. Maybe that was going to help.But I knew that I was deceiving myself. Nothing ever helped when this was happening. All I could hope for, all I could wish for was for the pain to go away. But all I did was internally count as I looked forward to the time that it would be dawn again. “I'm here,” Sylvester said softly. His hands went through my hair in tender soothing motions and I found myself leaning into his touch