Chapter 67
Chapter 67
(Raiden’s POV)
My thoughts are a storm I can’t escape,
I spent years convinced I didn’t love her, that I never could–but what if that was a lez
What if I had merely built walls so high, so impenetrable, that even I couldn’t see the truth buried beneath themt
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Restless, I pace my quarters, replaying the past with fresh eyes. Memories I once viewed with certainty now thith, their meanings unraveling under clover scrutiny,
Her persistent efforts to reach me, to understand me–efforts I once interpreted as manipulation–now reveal themselves as genuine devotion.
I see it now, the way she tried so desperately to bridge the distance between us, the way she never once wavered in her commitment, even when I gave her nothing in return.
The financial support she asked for–support I coldly denied, dismining her as nothing more than an opportunist–was never about greed. It was about her father. The father the lost, the father I might have saved had I not been blinded by resentment and mistrust.
Every harsh word, every rejection, every time I chose Lila’s presence over hers–I see it all for what it was. A slow, methodical destruction of the one person who ever truly stood by me.
And now, she’s walking away.
Horace stirs restlessly beneath my skin, unrelenting in its demands. It won’t let me ignore this any longer. It growls with frustration, its instincts crystal clear where my mind remains clouded with uncertainty.
“She is ours. She was always ours.”
But I turned my back on her, and she learned to stop reaching for me.
The weight of my failure is staggering.
One memory sears through the rest, standing out with painful clarity.
Siena, standing before the council, explaining her vision for werewolf relations–an approach I dismissed out of hand, only to watch it now become the most celebrated strategy in the competition.
Her political instincts were always sharp. Her mind, always calculating, forward–thinking. She saw opportunities I refused to consider, grasped possibilities I stubbornly ignored.
And I let my pride blind me to all of it.
I sink into the nearest chair, pressing the heels of my hands against my temples. I don’t know what to do with this realization, this guilt wrapping its claws around my throat.
But one thing is clear.
I can’t let her go without telling her the truth.
The thought terrifies me.
But not as much as losing her forever.
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Chapter 67
The night is restless toyure. Morning arrives too quickly, my thoughts no clearer than they were the night before.
But clarity or not, I know what I have to do.
I find her at the competition grounds, standing at the head of her team, reviewing their final presentations. There is something striking about her in this moment, something I should have seen long ago.
She is powerful.
Not because of her title. Not because of me.
Because of who she is.
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Windhowl’s warriors watch her with unwavering respect, their loyalty unshakable. They don’t follow her out of obligation. They follow her because she is worth following.
And I suddenly realize–I am not the only one who has misjudged her.
The entire council, the elders, the other Alphas… they all underestimated her.
And now, they stand in awe of what she has built.
And so do I.
I swallow hard, stepping forward before I can lose
my
resolve.
“Siena.” My voice comes out rough, unfamiliar.
She turns, surprise flickering across her face before it fades into polite neutrality.
“Alpha.” The word is formal, impersonal.
It shouldn’t hurt.
But it does.
“May I speak with you privately?” I ask.
For a moment, I think she might refuse.
But then, after a measured pause, she nods. “Of course.”
I follow her to a secluded conference room, my heart pounding with uncharacteristic uncertainty. The door closes behind us, sealing us away from the watching eyes of the competition grounds.
Siena folds her arms across her chest, waiting.
I don’t know where to start.
You’re my mate.
I don’t want to lose you.
I never stopped loving you–I was just too much of a coward to admit it.
Instead, I blurt out, “I’ve been thinking about our marriage.”
Siena tenses immediately.
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Chapter 67
I see the way her shoulders go rigid, the way her lips press into a thin line.
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“Raiden,” she says slowly, carefully, “the competition results are expected. I understand that Silverfang will likely triumph. Windhowl accepts this outcome.”
It’s a diplomatic response, cool and professional, but it guts me all the same.
Because she thinks that’s why I called her here.
She thinks I care about standings more than her,
And that’s how completely she has given up on me.
I exhale sharply, raking a hand through my hair. “That’s not what this is about.”
She watches me warily. “Then what is it about?”
I hesitate. Not because I don’t know the answer–because I don’t know if I have the right to say it.
I take a step closer.
Siena doesn’t back away, but she doesn’t move toward me either.
Her walls are still up.
I don’t blame her.
I’ve given her every reason to doubt me.
“I was wrong about you,” I admit, my voice low. “About… so many things.”
A flicker of emotion crosses her face, too quick for me to decipher.
But then her chin lifts, her expression unreadable. “It took you this long to realize that?”
I flinch, but I deserve that.
“Yes.” The word comes out raw. “It did.”
She exhales, shaking her head as if she doesn’t understand why we’re having this conversation.
“Raiden,” she says, and there’s exhaustion in her voice now. “We don’t need to do this. We’re past this.”
“No.” I shake my head. “I don’t think we are.”
Siena’s brow furrows slightly, but she remains silent, waiting.
I force myself to meet her gaze, to say what I should have said a long time ago.
“I never saw you,” I admit. “Not the way I should have.”
Her lips part slightly, but she doesn’t speak.
“I thought I knew who you were, but I was only ever seeing what I wanted to see. And when you didn’t fit into that, I… I pushed you away. Over and over.” I take a breath, my chest tight. “But you never stopped trying. Even when I made it impossible.”
A shadow flickers in her eyes, something wounded and wary.
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Chapter 67
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“I thought you only cared about power,” I continue. “I thought you were trying to manipulate me, to control me, when all you ever wanted was to be my partner. To stand beside me, not above me. And I” My throat tightens. “I failed you”
Siena inhales sharply, her fingers curling at her sides.
For a long moment, she doesn’t say anything.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, she asks, “Why are you telling me this now?”
I don’t have an answer.
Because I don’t know.
Because I should have told her this years ago.
Because maybe, just maybe, I don’t want to let her go,
But how can I ask her to stay when I’ve given her every reason to leave?
Siena studies me for a long, searching moment.
Then, softly, she says, “I spent years waiting for you to say those things.”
My stomach twists.
“But I’m not that woman anymore, Raiden.You have made your choices, and so….so have I.”
I don’t know what hurts more–the words themselves or the
With finality.
With absolute certainty.
Like she’s already walked away.
And maybe… she has.
way she says them.
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