Ex-Alpha's Regret: Siren's Comeback novel Chapter 23

POV: Seraphina

The news of my public humiliation at the creche traveled fast. It was the final, unforgivable insult. Two days later, a storm broke over the Blackwood estate, both literally and figuratively. As a torrential rain lashed against the windows, the heavy front doors burst open, and my father strode in, flanked by two of his largest warriors. He was drenched, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated Alpha fury.

"Seraphina!" he roared, his voice echoing through the newly decorated great hall. "We're leaving. Now."

I ran down the stairs, my heart pounding with a mixture of terror and a desperate, foolish hope. He was here. My protector.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"What I should have done a month ago," he snarled, his eyes sweeping over the gaudy, unfamiliar decor with disgust. "I will not let my daughter, a Thorne, be publicly degraded and turned into a doormat. You are coming home, and to hell with the consequences."

Before I could answer, Damian appeared at the top of the stairs, descending slowly, his every movement radiating a cold, lethal calm that was far more terrifying than my father's hot rage.

"Marcus," Damian said, his voice dangerously soft. "You are on my land, threatening my mate. I suggest you choose your next words very carefully."

My father didn't back down an inch. "She is my daughter before she is your mate, and you have failed her in every conceivable way. The alliance is broken. She is coming with me."

"Is that so?" Damian reached the bottom of the stairs, stopping directly between me and my father. He was a wall of pure, immovable power. He didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to. "You seem to be forgetting the terms of our ‘alliance.' It is not a partnership between equals. It is a protection agreement. I protect your pathetic little pack from the rogues and rivals who would tear it to shreds. The alliance is not broken until I say it is."

He took a step closer to my father, his eyes glowing with a faint, predatory light.

He stared at me, his eyes searching my face, begging me to give him a sign, any sign. I gave him nothing but the lie.

"I'm happy here," I said, the words nearly choking me. "Please. Go home."

He looked from my smiling face to Damian's triumphant sneer. Defeated, he finally nodded, his shoulders slumping. He squeezed my hand one last time, a silent message of love and sorrow, before turning his back on me.

I watched him and his warriors walk back out into the lashing rain, their retreat a testament to my mate's absolute, merciless power.

The great doors swung shut, leaving me alone with my captor.