Alpha's Regret After She Kneels novel Chapter 52

(Raiden’s POV)

The silence in my office is suffocating

A low him from the fluorescent light overhead is the only sound, but it grates on me like nails on a chalkboard.

I’ve read the same line on this report live times now, and I still don’t know what it says.

Siena.

Her words won’t stop playing in my head, over and over, like a broken record. My father died while you were ignoring my

calls

I lean back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face. The leather creaks under me, the sound sharp in the quiet room. I can’t get the look on her face out of my mind. That mix of anger and pain, the way her voice trembled when she said

seventeen calls.

Seventeen.

I reach for my phone and scroll through my call history, though I know I won’t find anything there.

It feels like a lifetime ago, but the memory of that weekend surfaces anyway. I’d been with Lila. She had insisted she was injured and needed to be monitored and protected.

Any other time, Lila had insisted my phone remain off or with her.

I remember her smirk, the way she’d leaned across the table at dinner, her manicured nails tapping against the wine glass. “You don’t owe her anything, Raiden. She’s just using you. Cold–digger, remember? She only calls when she wants something.”

I’d believed her.

Or maybe I’d wanted to believe her. It was easier that way, wasn’t it? To think of Siena as manipulative, grasping, desperate.

Easier to justify ignoring her and avoid my failures.

But now, sitting here in this cold, empty office, I can’t stop wondering

Had Lila known? Had she deliberately kept me from answering those calls? And if she had… why didn’t I question it?

I stare at the financial records spread across my desk. Windhowl’s financial records. I hadn’t planned to go digging, but after leaving Siena’s room last night, I couldn’t help myself. And now I’m staring at numbers that tell a story I should have seen years ago,

Massive medical debts. Payments stretching back years, coinciding almost exactly with her father’s illness.

How could I be so cold?

I’d thought she was wasting pack funds, being reckless, irresponsible

I’d dismissed her requests for additional support as selfish. But now, the pieces are falling into place, and the picture they’re forming makes me feel sick.

I misjudged her. I listened to Lilah—

The realization settles over me like a weight pressing down on my chest.

16:20 Mon, 21 Apr

Chapter 52

How many times did I brush her off, roll my eyes at her “excuses.”

How many times did I make her feel small, unworthy, insignificant?

A knock at the door pulls me from my spiraling thoughts.

“Come in,” I call, my wire rough.

The door opens, and Zion steps inside.

her a failure when she didn’t meet my expectations?

His expression is serious, his dark eyes locking onto mine immediately. He doesn’t bother with pleasantries, and something about his demeanor puts me on edge.

“I need to talk to you about Siena,” he says, his tone calm but resolute.

My muscles tense instinctively. “What about her?”

Zion hesitates for a fraction of a second, just long enough for me to notice, and then he straightens, his shoulders squared.

“I intend to court her after your divorce is finalized”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut.

For a second. I can’t breathe.

“You can’t,” I say, the words out of my mouth before I even realize I’m speaking. My voice is sharp, almost a growl.

Zion raises an eyebrow, unimpressed by my reaction. “Why not?”

“She’s still my mate,” I snap. The words feel hollow even as I say them, but they’re the only defense I have,

Zion’s lips curl into something that isn’t quite a smile. It’s more like a challenge, and it pisses me off. “Is she?” he asks, his tone cutting. “Because from where I’m standing, it doesn’t seem like you’ve treated her like one.”

His words land like blows, each one harder to deflect than the last. I open my mouth to argue, but he doesn’t give me the

chance.

“You’ve made your feelings clear, Raiden. You rejected her. You chose someone else. You’ve spent years acting like she doesn’t matter, and now you want to claim her? You can’t have it both ways”

He’s right. I know he’s right. But that doesn’t stop the surge of anger bubbling up inside me.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, my voice dangerously low.

Zion doesn’t flinch. “Don’t I? I’ve watched her, Raiden. I’ve seen how hard she’s worked to hold Windhowl together while you’ve been busy playing house with Lila. She deserves better than that. She deserves someone who actually values her.”

“Stay out of this,” I snap, rising to my feet. My hands are clenched into fists at my sides, and I have to fight the urge to lash out. “This has nothing to do with you”

“It has everything to do with me if I’m going to court her, Zion says, his voice steady. “And I will, unless you can give me a damn good reason why I shouldn’t?”

The challenge hangs in the air between us, heavy and suffocating. I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what I can say.

Because the truth is, I don’t have a good reason.

For years, I’ve told myself that Siena doesn’t matter. That she’s just an obligation, a mistake, a burden. And yet, the thought of her with someone else–someone who might actually make her happy–makes my chest ache in a way I can’t explain.

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10-20 Mon, 21 Apr

Chapter 52

“You don’t understand.” I say finally, my voice quieter now.

“Then help me understand,” Zion counters. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re just trying to keep her on a leash. Like you want to punish her for not being what you wanted, but you don’t want anyone else to have her either. Not mention marking Lilah.”

His words cut deep, and I hate that they’re so close to the truth.

“I made mistakes,” I admit, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “I misjudged her. I didn’t see I didn’t realize what she was going through”

“And now that you do?” Zion asks, his tone softer hut still firm.

I don’t have an answer.