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*Chapter 77: Shielded Silence
(Radw’s POV)
I recognize this mask, this careful distance, all too well.
It merors the very treatment I once inflicted upon her, unaware or uncaring of its cruelty.
The irony burns me, bitter and undeniable, twisting painfully through my chest as she deflects each of my subtle attempts to shift the conversation away from business.
I watch her carefully as she flips through the documents, her slender fingers precise and efficient.
Her amber eyes skim briefly over each page, absorbing details effortlessly. She nods politely at my questions, answers succinctly and professionally, never allowing the smallest crack in her carefully constructed armor.
Five days she’s been her.
“You’ve barely glanced at those, and you already know what’s wrong, don’t you?”
Page three–supplier invoice is missing. Page six–there’s a discrepancy in the totals.”
“Still sharp as ever
She nods, turning another page, “Is that all you needed?”
“Just trying to have a conversation Siena. It’s been …it’s been so long.”
She finally looks up, “I thought we were reviewing documents.”
“You used to let me in more than this.”
“That was a different time. Different context.”
Different Luna.
She returns her gaze to the page, eyes flicking across the numbers like they’re more compelling than anything I could say.
“You don’t have to be this cold.”
“I’m being professional.”
She closes the folder with a quiet snap and sets it between us like a barrier.
For five agonizing days in which she’s moved gracefully and detachedly through Windhowl, checking in with Rairity, approving leadership structures, and quietly assessing pack progress.
Never once has she come to Silverfang, requested my input.
Asked me for…anything.
It’s as if she’s built an invisible wall around herself, one I can’t breach no matter how desperately I try.
Worse still is the constant presence of Alaric, that foreign Alpha whose protective hovering around Siena stirs primal, irrational jealousy in my wolf.
Each time I see Alaric’s hand brush lightly against her elbow, each time he leans in close, murmuring softly with easy familiarity, something fierce and possessive snarls inside me.
I have no right to feel it–I forfeited that long ago–but my wolf refuses logic, driven only by raw instinct and regret.
The conference room buzzed with low, formal chatter as council members and delegates trickled in, taking their seats around the long obsidian table. I barely registered the words of the diplomat beside me–my eyes were already on her.
Siena.
She took her seat directly across from me, her posture composed, her expression unreadable. Alaric slid into the chair beside her with his usual quiet vigilance, an ever–present shadow. My jaw tensed.
What is he doing here?
As the meeting began, I tried–truly tried–to focus. Slides clicked forward. Figures were discussed. Strategies debated. But my gaze kept returning to her.
She spoke only when necessary, her tone even, her words concise. And yet, every time she opened her mouth, the room listened.
Successfully unlocked!
There was no bravado, no attempt to dominate.
ity that pulled attention toward her like gravity. “Siena, do you have any updates on the venue’s security protocol?” Alpha Marcus fired off the question without warning. Siena, replied in kind, without missing a beat “Yes. Local enforcement has been briefed, and we’ve completed the first round of sweep simulations. I’ll forward the updated risk assessment by end of day.”
1/3
Chapter 77 Shielded Stance
Simple Efficient. Perfectly controlled.
Even now, after everything
Siena sits directly opposite me, Alaric subtly positioned near her side.
Councilor Vass begins, “We’ll begin with final preparations for the SOA summit. Siena, your report on logistics?”
She nodded, calm as ever, and opened her folder with a soft click, “All five factions have confirmed attendance. Accommodations are finalized. The schedule is tight, but manageable. Security protocols are in place. Risk assessments have been updated and shared with your aides.”
Said Alpha Drenna, gruff, skeptical as always, “What about the southern border routes? That area’s been unstable lately”
“We’ve rerouted delegates through alternate paths. Escorts from neutral territories will accompany them. No region should feel exposed or compromised.”
I watched the way her amber eyes scanned the room–not once landing on me. Every answer was precise, measured. She hadn’t lost her edge.
“Excellent. And security inside the summit itself?” Asked councilman Vass
Before Siena could speak, Alaric leaned forward, voice low and confident. “My people will be leading inner perimeter control. No one gets within fifty feet of her without clearance.”
A few council members exchanged glances.
“You’re assigning yourself to Siena’s protection detail?” I demand.
Alaric shrugs casually: “She’s a high–value target. I take my responsibilities seriously.”
The words were neutral, but his eyes flicked toward me.
A deliberate challenge.
My jaw clenched, “She doesn’t need you to speak for her,” I snap sharply.
The table quieted for a moment, the shift in tone drawing attention like blood in the water.
Siena didn’t flinch. She closed her folder slowly, her movements still maddeningly calm, “Alaric is my appointed head of security. His input is relevant. Let’s stay focused.”
Alaric didn’t smirk, but he didn’t need to.
I could feel the satisfaction radiating off him.
Alpha Drenna chuckles under his breath, “Gods, the tension in here’s thicker than the wards around the summit.
The rest of the meeting crawled by, a blur of details and projected alliances. I nodded and spoke when I had to, but my focus kept drifting back to her–how easily she wore that mask, how well she played the part.
All diplomacy and distance. Every calculated glance, every measured word–it was all a performance. And she wore it flawlessly
Too flawlessly.
Once, I’d known what was beneath it. The fire. The softness she let no one else see. The way her laugh used to catch her off guard, and how she used to reach for my hand under the table during late–night strategy meetings, when no one was looking
But now? Now she sat there like I was just another delegate. Like I was nothing more than a passing glance across a crowded room.
I watched the way she leaned slightly toward Alaric when he whispered something to her. The way she didn’t smile, but didn’t recoil either. She was listening. Trusting him.
That used to be me.
And maybe it was petty, maybe it was pathetic, but gods, it burned.
When it was finally over, chairs scraped back and voices rose in idle conversation as people began to leave. Siena stood. gathering her notes with practiced ease, already mentally exiting the room
I couldn’t let her leave again. Not like this.
“Siena-* I begin impulsively voice rougher than intended.
Alaric glances sharply toward me, a protective instinct visible in his posture, but Siena subtly shakes her head, silently dismissing him Alaric hesitates briefly before nodding respectfully, exiting the room with the others, leaving us momentarily alone.
My pulse quickens intensely at this rare chance for privacy. I swallow nervously, suddenly feeling awkward uncertain- emotions entirely foreign before Siena dismantled me.
#Chapter 77: Shielded Silence
“You look well,” I murmur clumsily, my voice breaking slightly under the weight of everything left unsaid between us. “Your work abroad–it seems fulfilling.”
She studies me silently for a long heartbeat, eyes unreadable, before nodding slightly. “It’s been healing,” she acknowledges quietly, tone carefully neutral, neither inviting further conversation nor entirely rejecting it.
“Siena, 1-” I start urgently, needing to express everything bottled inside–the remorse, the shame, the fierce regret I feel every waking moment. Yet the words falter in my throat, inadequate against the depth of my failure.
She raises her hand gently, stopping me before I can continue. Her expression softens slightly, not unkind but resolute.” We’ve both moved forward, Raiden. Let’s leave the past where it belongs.”
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