SIENNAI hesitated and for just a short moment, I considered walking away from him as he opened the door to his office. I walked in with my shoulders straight, ignoring the anxiety that was threatening to consume me whole. Somehow, someway I had to keep it together. My wolf, Bia yearned for some sort of contact, she felt the proximity between us was too wide, too apart, I ignored her whining and I headed towards the chair to settle down into the seat opposite him. A moment of uncomfortable silence stretched out between us before he decided to break it. “I thought about what you said” he said. “About someone starting up the fire in an attempt to kill me in a way that would look like an accident.”“And? Do you believe me or not” I raised an eyebrow, looking at him skeptically. “Yes. I do” he said quietly. I blinked, maybe because I didn't expect him to admit it so easily. “Strangely enough. I trust you. I shouldn't, considering the fact that you come from a pack that detest my
SIENNASylvester frowned as he kept his gaze on my face. He looked at me intently and I tried my best to remain nonchalant under his watchful eyes. It was almost as if I was able to sense his disbelief, like he didn't believe me. But what did it matter if he believed me or not. It wasn't going to change the fact that he was with her and they were together. It wasn't going to make it hurt less. “Would you be interested in staying behind, having breakfast perhaps?” He offered. The way he looked at me rendered me breathless, it was like he was hoping that I was going to give in. I wanted to. I wanted nothing more than to spend time with me. My instincts yelled at me, screamed at me to be with him all the time and I wanted to take him up on his offer but I also knew that Tamara was going to look for a way to get under my skin, especially if we were going to have breakfast together. She was going to fuss over him and make a show of claiming him. I wasn't entirely sure that I could endure
SIENNAI felt my shirt cling to me in sweat as I continued to strike the punching bag. Somehow I couldn't exert or drift my mind away from the anxiety that clinged to the walls of my stomach. I was beyond exhausted and tired and yet, I couldn't get over him. I sighed, placing my hands in my knees, trying to control my heavy breathing. I could feel the pounding in my head and I decided to take a seat, to regain some of my energy. I thought I would be able to take my mind off him but somehow but I couldn't. “Getting tired already?” My head snapped up towards the direction of the entrance and I spotted Benjamin walking in.I wiped the sweat from my forehead and tried to muster up a smile that I didn't quite feel. I thought training would be able to make me feel better. But it didn't. I felt worse. “Are you okay?” His voice was laced with concern as he looked at me. I wasn't okay, I was far from it but there was no way that I couldn't tell him that I was thinking about Sylvester. It wo
SIENNAHe had that effect on me everytime. The one where only one glance at him rendered me breathless. My heart picked up in speed and it was almost like I couldn't seem anyone in the room apart from him. I wondered how he did it, how he was always able to look so effortlessly gorgeous without even trying too hard. I stidied the sharp edges of his face, the slight smile lines, the little dimple that appeared on his left cheek each time he smiled. I took in all the little details and studied him. I felt a sudden rush of heat beneath me and I shivered at the strong effect that it had on me. As if he knew he was being watched, his eyes caught mine across the room and the corners of his lips tilted up into a smile, his eyes glistened with something that I couldn't quite decipher and his eyes raked over me as he smiled at me. I became very self conscious, my heart pounding frantically. I watched as he excused himself and tried to pave his way over to me through the crowd of small cliques
SIENNAI was very conscious about the feel of my hand in his as we paved our way through the crowd. The feel of the fresh breeze against my face was relieving. We headed past the fountain into the garden. The glass of champagne was still in my hand. My heart fluttered against my chest as he held my hands. We walked side by side into the lonely garden. I didn't expect that he would turn down Tamara for me. I know I shouldn't give more meaning to it, maybe I shouldn't overthink things but I couldn't just crush the hope that was beginning to well up in my chest. It had to mean something.I listened to him talk about how he dreaded birthdays. “I guess you coming was one of the highlights of my birthday,” he said and my cheeks flushed with color. I was glad that it was dark, so he couldn't really see me or notice how his words wanted to make me giggle excitedly, like a lovesick school girl.“Why don't you like Birthdays” I asked curiously and he stared into the empty distance. Like he
SIENNAMy eyes fluttered open in panic. My eyes raked over the room as I tried to register my surroundings. I wasn't in my room. That much I knew. I touched the back of my neck. I didn't feel so feverish anymore. The pounding in my head had reduced to a loud thud and the nausea in my belly had subsided. Yesterday I was in the gardens with Sylvester and all of a sudden. I had felt everything all at once. I groaned, raising my hand to my head and closing my eyes. The door creaked open and my eyes fluttered open almost immediately. Sylvester walked in. He looked as if he had not gotten any sleep at all. His hair was tousled and the eye bags were visible under his eyes. Hie shoulders sagged with relief as his eyes caught mine. “You are okay,” he said. the relief was evident in his voice as he walked over to take a seat beside the bed. I frowned at him, my brows furrowing in confusion. “What's going on?” I said. He hesitated for a moment. “You had your tummy pumped. Apparently, the g
SIENNA “How do you feel?” Tamara asked softly. I fought against the urge to narrow my eyes at her and tell her to leave me alone. But it wasn't entirely impossible that she was coming from a place of concern, plus Sylvester might not really appreciate me being rude to his fiance especially after he offered me hospitality and concern. So I swallowed my distaste and I softened my facial expression.“I'm alright, thank you” I said curtly. When she dropped the cup of tea beside the bedside table, I knew I wasn't going to drink. I could no longer trust anything inside Sylvester's Mansion. For all I knew, everything could be poisoned. I felt better but at the same time I felt weak, I knew eventually I would have to get it together. I wanted to rest for just a couple of hours more before I gathered the strength to leave Sylvester's manor. “Your father doesn't know about what happened” Benjamin said and I felt the tightness in my chest loosen a little. “I knew you wouldn't want him to kn
SIENNAI was too conscious about the feel of his hand against mine, I was very aware of the way he threaded his fingers through mine to show mine. My heart pounded quite ridiculously within my chest as I sneaked up a glance at him. The proximity between the both of us was very close. Side by side we walked down the hallway. Benjamin was nowhere to be seen but I wasn't worried because Sylvester had explained it earlier. Apparently. He had to return back home so that it wouldn't be too suspicious that we didn't return yesterday night. He was going to tell my father that today has been quite packed and I had to catch up with meetings and there was a possibility that I might not even return home today because of how busy I was. It was quite a convincing and father was most likely to believe it. I felt bad for having to lie to my father like this but I also knew that he was someone who could exaggerate matters out of proportion. If he found out about the incident of me being poisoned and
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