She takes a step closer, her voice rising slightly, the anger she’s been holding back starting to spill over. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe she’s lying? That maybe the perfect little mark on her neck isn’t what it seem?
I exhale sharply, my patience already wearing thin. “Why would she lie about something like that?
“Why wouldn’t she?” Siena snaps, her tone biting. “She’s been playing this game for years, Raiden. Manipulating you, manipulating the pack. And you-” She shakes her head, letting out a bitter laugh. “You fall for it every single time?
Her words hit harder than I expect, but I don’t let it show. Instead, I straighten my shoulders, my voice turning colder. “This isn’t about Lila. This is about you, Siena. About you not knowing when to back down, when to stop.
Her wolf growls low in her chest, and I can feel the tension radiating off her. But she doesn’t lash out. Instead, she takes a slow, deliberate step forward, her gaze locking with mine.
“And what exactly am I supposed to stop, Raiden?” she asks, her voice soft but laced with steel. “Am I supposed to stop fighting for my place in this kingdom? Am I supposed to stop trying to protect our pack from her? Or am I supposed to stop caring altogether?”
I clench my jaw, refusing to let her words get under my skin. “This isn’t about caring. It’s about control. You let your emotions get the better of you, and it’s going to cost you–cost us–everything.”
She laughs again, the sound bitter and hollow. “Cost us? Don’t make me laugh, Raiden. There is no ‘us. There hasn’t been an ‘us‘ in years.”
Something sharp twists in my chest at her words, but I shove it down, burying it beneath the layers of anger and frustration that have built up over the years.
“I told you from the beginning what this was,” I say, my voice low and even. “A partnership. A political arrangement. That’s all it’s ever been.”
Her eyes flash with something I can’t quite name–hurt, betrayal, anger. Maybe all three. But when she speaks, her voice is calm, controlled, icy.
“Right,” she says softly. “A political arrangement. That’s what you tell yourself, isn’t it? That’s how you justify everything you’ve done–or didn’t do.”
I don’t respond. I can’t.
She takes another step closer, and for the first time, I see the cracks in her armor, the pain she’s trying so hard to hide.
“You want to talk about control?” she says, her voice trembling slightly but no less powerful. “Let’s talk about control, Raiden. Let’s talk about how you’ve spent years controlling this narrative–she spits the word like poison-”
Her words are like a slap, and for a moment, I can’t find my voice. “This was never about…I never meant to hurt you,” I say finally, the words slipping out before I can stop them.
She lets out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. “No. You just didn’t care enough not to. Just business right?”
08:37 Sun, 20 Apr
Chapter 22
02%1
+5
The silence that follows is deafening.
Siena turns away, walking back toward the edge of the terrace. Her shoulders are tense, her hands gripping the stone railing tightly.
For the first time, I don’t know what to say.
Horace growls low in my mind, his voice sharp and accusing “Fix this, he snarls. Fix it before it’s too late.”
But how? How do you fix something that’s been broken for so long?
“I don’t regret this,” I say finally, my voice quiet but firm.
She doesn’t turn around.
“Of course you don’t,” she says softly. “Why would you?”
Something inside me twists painfully at her words, but I shove the feeling aside. “This isn’t about regret, Siena. It’s about moving forward. For both of us.”
She turns then, her expression calm but her eyes bright with unshed tears. “You’re right. It is about moving forward. And I can’t do that while I’m tethered to you.”
Her words hit like a physical blow, and for a moment, I can’t breathe.
“Tell her Raiden. Tell her the mark isn’t real,” My wolf urges, but I don’t.
I will not.
