Claimed By The Packless Alpha

10 The Boot

Sienna’s POV

I took out my phone and called the rest of my brothers and my father home. The moment the calls ended, I knew there was no going back. It was like throwing myself into a river and realising too late that I did not know how to swim. My life was going to change. Maybe not for the better. Maybe not in a way I would survive with all the pieces of myself intact. But it was too late now. The lie had already been built in my head. The words were ready. The fear had shaped them perfectly.

I waited for them in the living room. My eyes were swollen from crying. My face felt tight. My throat hurt. I sat there, twisting my fingers together, trying not to touch the turtleneck covering Kael’s mark. I had sprayed too much perfume again, but even that no longer gave me comfort. The scent sat around me like a weak shield, useless against the kind of wolves I had grown up with.

‘You know this perfume thing is becoming embarrassing,’ Nyla muttered in my head.

“Please don’t,” I whispered.

‘I am serious. At this point, if fear had a fragrance, this would be it.’

“Nyla.”

‘Fine. I will be quiet while we wait for judgement day in knitwear.’

I closed my eyes because she was not wrong. Nolan was the first to arrive. He walked into the living room fast, worry already on his face. The moment he saw me, his expression changed. He rushed to me and pulled me into his chest like I was still a little girl who had fallen and scraped her knee.

“What happened to you, Sienna?” Nolan asked, his voice tight. “Why are you crying?”

The concern in his eyes broke me. I had prepared for anger. For shouting. For disappointment. I had not prepared for my brother looking at me like he still loved me before I gave him a reason to hate me. I broke down again.

“Sienna, talk to me,” Nolan said, holding me tighter.

I tried, but my voice would not come out properly.

“Daddy isn’t coming yet,” Nolan added. “So you have to tell me what the matter is.”

Relief touched me for one small moment. My father was not coming yet. That meant I had time. Not enough time to save myself, but enough to say the words to Nolan first. Nolan could be ruthless. He was a Gamma. He was my father’s son. But he loved me in his own hard, controlled way, and he would not beat my wolf. At least, I did not think he would.

“I have failed this family,” I began.

“What are you talking about?” Nolan asked, pulling back to stare at me.

I wiped my tears, but more came. My chest was tight. My heart was in my throat. I had to tell the lie Maya and I had built because the truth would bury me completely. The truth would make me reckless. Loose. Shameless. A daughter who had gone out drinking, chased a man, slept with him willingly, and returned with his mark like a curse. The lie was ugly, but fear made it look like protection.

‘Sienna, this is wrong,’ Nyla said uneasily.

“I know,” I answered inside.

‘Then don’t do it.’

“I have no choice.”

‘We always have a choice. Some choices just come with teeth.’

I shut her out because if I listened to her, I would fall apart. I braced myself and spoke.

“The night we went clubbing with Maya,” I began, my voice shaking. “A man kept troubling me at the bar. I learned his name was Kael. Maya and I ignored him, and after a while, he left me alone.”

Nolan’s face hardened. I swallowed and continued.

“After I finished my drink, I became dizzy. It was just one drink, Nolan. It should not have affected me like that, but it did. I felt sick, so I went to the back to throw up. When I did not return, Maya came to look for me. The man who had been troubling us at the bar had cornered me and taken advantage of me. He ran away when he saw Maya, and we managed to get a cab to her house. When we got there, my head hurt, and everything was blurry. I passed out and woke up the next day.”

The room went too quiet. Nolan stared at me, composed and angry, but I could see him fighting to control himself.

“Is that all?” Nolan asked.

I shook my head because the worst part was coming.

“While I was drying my hair,” I whispered, “I saw something horrible.”

His jaw tightened.

“He claimed me.”

Nolan shot to his feet so fast I flinched. He turned and punched the wall. The sound cracked through the room, and I jumped. The punch could have been meant for Kael. It could have been meant for me. I did not know, and that uncertainty made me shake harder.

‘Well,’ Nyla said faintly, ‘the wall has entered the matter.’

I almost cried harder.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nolan demanded, turning back to me.

“I was afraid,” I sobbed. “I couldn’t tell you. I was afraid of what Father would do. So I went to look for him.”

“And did you find him?”

I shook my head.

“He is a ghost, Nolan. He does not have a last name, a working phone number, and he only pays with cash.”

Nolan punched the wall again.

“What the f**k, Sienna?” he shouted. “How could you be so stupid?”

“I was drugged,” I stuttered. “I did not know.”

Nolan balled his fist and looked away from me like he was trying not to explode.

“This is beyond me,” he muttered. “What are we going to tell Alpha Darius Hale? What will we tell his family?”

I had no answer. I just cried.

“You know how important this union is to the pack,” Nolan said, his voice rough. “Why would you do this, Sienna?”

I cried harder because even with the lie, I was still to blame. That was the terrible thing. Even in the story where I had been hurt, they still found a way to ask what I had done wrong. Why was I there? Why did I drink? Why did I go out? Why was I not careful enough? I lowered my head.

“Let me see it,” Nolan said.

I looked up at him, confused and scared.

“Let me see it,” he repeated, louder this time.

My hands shook as I reached for the neck of my sweater. Slowly, I tugged it down. Nolan’s eyes fixed on the mark. His face changed.

“An Alpha?” he asked quietly.

I did not know what to say. His gaze moved over the bite again, reading what my skin could not hide.

“Those are Alpha teeth marks,” Nolan said. “Are you sure he is a ghost, Sienna?”

I nodded quickly.

“No one knows him. No one remembers him.”

“We have to find him,” Nolan said.

I looked at him, fear twisting through me.

“Darius will be heartbroken,” Nolan added, and his voice sounded tired suddenly. “He was developing feelings for you, Sienna. What do we tell him now?”

I did not know. The guilt pressed down harder. I slid from the couch onto my knees before him.

“Please protect me, Nolan,” I pleaded. “I am scared.”

His eyes widened slightly.

“I will do anything, but please don’t let Daddy hurt me,” I cried.