Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 127

POV: Seraphina

The following morning, Lady Isold requested my company for a walk. She didn't ask for a tour of the command center or the medical facilities, but for a simple stroll through the gardens we had cultivated on the island's terraced slopes. Dressed in a pale blue sundress, a wide-brimmed hat shielding her from the sun, she looked less like a fearsome matriarch and more like a gentle grandmother. I knew better.

We walked in comfortable silence for a time, the air filled with the scent of sea salt and hibiscus. The path was lined with lavender, a flower I had planted for its calming properties, a small act of reclaiming a scent Damian had nearly ruined for me.

"These are lovely," Isold said, gesturing to the purple flowers. "A difficult plant to cultivate in this climate. It requires a patient and determined hand." Her compliment, I knew, was not about my gardening skills.

She skillfully guided the conversation, asking about my family, my past, her questions gentle but precise. She listened to my carefully edited answers with an empathetic stillness that made me feel, despite myself, seen. Then, she began to speak of Killian.

"He was a very serious boy," she said, her gaze distant, as if looking back through decades. "His father was a brilliant but harsh man. He pushed Killian relentlessly, expecting perfection in all things. There was little room for softness in their home." She paused, her eyes finding mine. "But the boy's heart was always gentle. I remember finding him once, no older than ten, sitting in the snow for hours, using his own body heat to try and warm a fallen chick that had been cast out of its nest. The bird did not survive, of course. He was heartbroken. He learned then that a good heart is often not enough to change the world, but he never, ever lost that instinct to shelter a wounded thing."

The story was a small, perfect window into his soul. It showed me the boy behind the powerful, impeccably controlled Alpha. The perfect business partner, the steadfast ally, was also a lonely child who had tried to save something small and broken. The knowledge settled deep within me, a quiet, profound warmth.

We reached a stone bench overlooking the sea. As we sat, we saw Killian himself walking up the path toward us, a concerned look on his face, likely sent by his security team to check on his wandering great-aunt.

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