07

SIENNA

The next morning, the mansion was quiet, too quiet. Even the servants’ chatter seemed to vanish when the Alpha’s boots sounded against the marble floors.

Rhys was back from patrol.

I kept my head low, scrubbing the soot from the hearth while his footsteps passed through the corridor. The air thickened with his scent; cedar, smoke, something wild that never quite faded.

“Alpha,” Elira’s voice floated toward him, sweet and silvery. “You’re early. Breakfast is ready.”

He didn’t answer. Just a grunt, deep in his throat.

Typical.

From where I knelt, I saw the hem of his cloak brush past the doorway. He didn’t look my way, but somehow, I felt his gaze linger. The weight of it.

I straightened, wiping my hands on my apron, heart thudding harder than it should.

“Tea,” Elira ordered softly from behind me. “For the Alpha. Quickly.”

“Yes, Luna.”

The porcelain trembled in my hands as I poured the brew, careful not to spill. I carried it down the hall, knocked once, and entered when his voice, low and distant, answered, “Come in.”

He stood by the window, broad shoulders outlined against the pale light. His hair was damp, dark against his neck, his sleeves rolled to the elbow. Scars lined his forearms…clean, old, deliberate.

I set the tray down. “Your tea, Alpha.”

He turned slightly, eyes…steel gray, sharp flicking over me once. Not in curiosity. Just…taking measures.

“Leave it,” he said.

“Yes, Alpha.”

I was halfway to the door when his voice stopped me.

“You’ve lost weight.”

The words weren’t soft, or kind. Just stated, flat and factual.

I froze. “No, Alpha.”

His gaze stayed on the steaming cup. He didn’t argue, but the air around him shifted…tense, heavy.

He walked to the desk, pushed the papers aside, and tore a piece of bread from the plate nearby. When he spoke again, it was barely above a murmur.

“Eat.”

“Alpha, I…”

He didn’t look up. “You’ll eat.”

Something in his tone made refusal impossible. I hesitated, then took the bread, biting slowly, aware of his silence pressing against the room.

He didn’t ask why I hadn’t eaten. Didn’t ask who had stopped me. He wasn’t a man who asked. He noticed.

The only sound was the faint clink of his ring against the glass as he drank.

When I finished, I whispered, “Thank you.”

He nodded once, still not meeting my eyes. “You’ll rest after chores. Tell Rhea to handle the east wing.”

That was all. Command, not concern. Yet something in his voice made my throat tighten.

“Yes, Alpha.”

As I reached the door, he spoke again, quieter this time. “Goldie.”

I turned. His eyes were darker now, distant. “You don’t have to break to survive.”

My breath caught. For a second, he looked haunted. Then it was gone. The Alpha again…cold, unreadable, made of stone and shadows.

“Go,” he said.

I left, the weight of his words clinging to me long after the door shut.

Outside, Elira was waiting at the end of the hall, smile perfect, voice honeyed. “Did our Alpha enjoy his tea?”

I forced a small nod. “Yes, Luna.”

Her gaze flicked to the bread crumbs on my fingers, and that smile faltered…just slightly.

Then she laughed softly. “How lovely. He must be in a generous mood today.”

I bowed my head. “Seems so.”

Her eyes narrowed, though her lips stayed curved. “Careful, Sienna. Moods change.”

“I know,” I said quietly.

Her heels clicked once against the marble as she stepped closer, lowering her voice. “Don’t start believing his silence means favor. Rhys pities creatures he doesn’t understand. Once he does, he forgets them.”

I held my ground, staring past her shoulder. “Then I suppose I’ll be forgotten soon enough.”

For a moment, her expression cracked, barely but enough.

She recovered quickly, smiling that perfect Luna smile again. “See that you are.”

She turned away, her perfume trailing behind her like frost.

When she disappeared around the corner, I let out the breath I’d been holding. The hall seemed colder somehow, quieter. But under it all, something new pulsed in my chest, small, stubborn, dangerous.

Rhys hadn’t spoken much. He hadn’t promised anything. Yet for the first time since I came here, someone had looked at me without contempt.

It shouldn’t have meant anything but it did and Elira had seen it.

If there was one thing I’d learned in this house, it was that a woman like her never lost quietly. She might act all lovely towards me and sweet but deep down, I knew the kind of woman she was, a woman who wouldn’t go down without a fight and then burning everyone along with her.

“What have I gotten myself into?”

With each step I took heading towards my room, I wondered if I'd be able to survive all of this. Or would it have been better facing the consequences of my actions with Damon? I rebuked that thought immediately because I knew what that would mean for me. My mother would be utterly disappointed and the thought of harming my child, curse or not was something that didn’t sit well with me.

“Curse you Damon! Curse you for keeping me this way.”

Tears threatened to fall when I realized the ridiculousness of it all. Given the fact that I didn’t do much in the Silverfang pack but yet, I was treated better than how I was now. Here, everyone wanted to have their pound of flesh, I was literally a walking corpse waiting to be slaughtered at the slightest mistake.

Already, I could feel myself getting heavier from the weight of carrying a child. It wasn’t going to be easy for me especially with the responsibilities I had to carry but I had no one to complain to. It was either that or death, a very tight option but if I had to be ridiculed and scorned to keep my child safe, I would do that a million times.

This was only for a time being and as I finally shut the door to my room, I said a silent prayer to the moon goddess to help me survive it all.