Page 33 of Forced By the Alpha

“Maybe now,” I agreed. “But I wasn’t always under the influence of magic.”

“True, but you told me a little bit about your childhood before. That can’t have been an easy way to grow up. I’m sure it played a role in how you behaved.”

“I can still be faulted for my behavior, even if there was a good reason behind it. Growing up without a parental figure to teach me right from wrong doesn’t mean I get a free pass on being an asshole. But I understand what you’re saying.”

“The fact that you can recognize that means you aren’t a bad person,” Sienna said. “Bad people don’t feel guilt for the things they’ve done.”

Her point was a good one, and one that I hadn’t considered before. I supposed it was true. After all, if I were truly evil, I would glory in the wrongs I had committed against people. Instead, I found myself feeling regret for the hurt I had caused.

“My biggest regret is my relationship with Killian,” I admitted. I winced, thinking of all the ways I had thrown up barriers between my brother and me over the years. “If I could go back and change one thing, it would be that.”

“It’s not too late,” Sienna pointed out.

I nodded. “As soon as the curse is lifted, I’m going to make amends with him. Until then, I don’t want to risk making the divide between us any worse than it already is.”

“I can understand that,” Sienna agreed. “Family can be complicated.”

“Yours doesn’t seem to be,” I told her.

She laughed. “It’s not funny, really. I just forget that from the outside, we look like one big happy family. The reality is much different.”

“How so?” I asked.

“I grew up having a good relationship with my parents and my siblings,” she began. “But after my mother died, everything changed. My father was lost and broken, and he began neglecting my siblings and me. My older brothers were already out of the house, so they weren’t affected by it as much. And I tried my best to make sure my little sisters didn’t feel his absence. But I was barely eighteen. There wasn’t a lot I could do to help them—or Dad.”

“Did he ever come back around and take care of your siblings?”

“When I left home, he didn’t have much of a choice,” Sienna said, allowing bitterness to creep into her voice. “But it will never be the same between us. I cut him out of my life when I moved out. He forgot that we were all grieving for Mom, too, and made us do it without him. I don’t think I can ever truly forgive him for that.”

“Even if he apologizes and takes accountability for what happened?”

Sienna and I were on opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to betrayal by family. I wanted to believe that Killian might forgive me someday, but hearing that Sienna might not be capable of forgiving her own father made me wonder if my dreams were out of reach.

She seemed to pick up on the undertone of my question and stroked my hand again.

“If I thought he truly meant it and wanted to make things right, I would forgive him,” she said.

We sat silently for a few more minutes as we finished our drinks, but I was ready to get out of the public eye and spend some time alone with Sienna. I paid our tab, and we left the bar.

“Hold on,” I told her.

“Aren’t we going back home?” she asked.

“Let’s go for a walk first,” I suggested, trying to ignore that she had called our cabin “home.” “If it’s alright with you, I’d like you to meet my wolf.”

“Does he have a name?”

“Blizzard,” I said. “You’ll see why.”

We walked out into the forest, and as soon as we were far enough away from town, I shifted.

“Oh,” Sienna said as her eyes widened. “It’s nice to meet you, Blizzard. I see why you chose that name. You’re beautiful, light, and intense like a winter storm.”

She reached out to stroke his light blond fur as she looked into his eyes, which mirrored my own in color. Blizzard nuzzled into her caress and then nipped playfully at her side.

“Do you want to play?” she laughed. “Come on then, try to catch me.”

She turned on her heel and ran away into the trees, tossing her vibrant red hair over her shoulder as she did. Blizzard’s tail wagged in excitement at the chase, and he launched himself after her.

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