Chapter 23 Sienna's POV
Lucien barely had time to park his car before I'd already opened the door. I slammed the door like it had personally offended me. I don’t wait for him. I don’t breathe. I don’t think.
I storm straight into Ronan’s office.
I ignored all the people in the lobby. I rushed to the elevator .
“What's the floor?” I ask Lucien who was panting from chasing me.
“15th” he gasped out and I pressed the button and waited In silence.
The moment the elevator arrived at the floor I got out.
Lucien jogs behind me, whisper-shouting my name, but I ignore him. I head straight for Ronan’s office like I’ve been working here for years.
I don’t knock.
I slam the door open so hard the handle smacks the wall.
Ronan is at his desk, reading a stack of thick papers. He lifts his head slowly, his eyes dragging up my form with that lazy Alpha arrogance he was unfortunately born with.
And then, because he’s Ronan and because the universe hates me, he smiles.
“Well,” he drawls. “Fancy seeing you here. I thought you promised never to step foot in my office again?”
My blood boils so hard I swear I hear it fizzing. “Where is Kael?”
He raises a brow. “Good evening to you too…”
“DON’T play with me, Ronan!” I snap so loudly that Lucien flinches behind me. “Let. Him. Go.”
Ronan sighs, drops his pen, and leans back in his chair like he’s dealing with a toddler throwing a tantrum. “It’s not my decision to make. It’s the council’s.”
“Liar!”
His smile drops.
“I don’t have time for this back-and-forth, Sienna,” he says, voice clipped. “I’m in the middle of…”
“I don’t care what you’re in the middle of!” I slam both hands on his desk, leaning forward. “Kael didn’t do anything wrong. You dragged him here because you can’t let go of whatever problem you have with him.”
Ronan’s jaw ticks. “Watch your tone.”
“No.” My voice cracks with fury. “YOU watch yours.”
He stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. Like he genuinely cannot believe I’m standing here, in his office, screaming at him while he sits on his stupid Alpha throne surrounded by his stupid Alpha paperwork.
My brain is spiraling, fury choking logic, when an idea slams into me so fast I barely register it before it’s already leaving my mouth.
“If you don’t let Kael go,” I say, voice ice-cold now, “I swear I will find someone powerful enough to protect me from you. And I will give myself to them in exchange for Kael’s safety.”
The room goes silent.
Lucien whispers, “Sienna, Jesus Christ—”
“Get out” he instructs Lucien
Ronan stands.
Not abruptly. Not violently. But with a slow, controlled movement that says everything about the fury simmering beneath his skin.
His eyes burn. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
He steps around the desk, each step heavy, deliberate. He stops in front of me, staring down like he’s trying to decide if he should strangle me or rip me to shreds.
“What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?” he growls.
I blink. “Ruining my life? Sabotaging Kael? Being insufferable, selfish…”
He cuts me off with a snarl. “Protecting you.”
“Even at the detriment of my people,” he spits, eyes flashing. “Even at the detriment of my position. And you… ” he gestures at me like I’m some misbehaving puppy “you ungrateful little shit.”
Lucien makes a tiny startled gasp from outside the office.
“I don’t care,” I say, voice shaking now from a mix of outrage and confusion. “If it means getting Kael out of whatever hell you threw him into, I’ll still do it.”
Ronan bares his teeth. “Do you want to know the truth then? Fine. It was either you or Kael.”
My heart slams into my ribs. “What?”
“I had to sacrifice someone to the council for questioning..”
My stomach drops. “What do you mean?”
“You,” he says, pointing directly at me, “would’ve been killed on sight by the factions trying to destroy the key, or enslaved by the ones who want to use it.”
My mouth goes dry. My hands go numb.
He continues, voice sharp and merciless. “But Kael? Kael is a lone wolf strong enough to stand against council questioning. He can withstand it. He can push back. And he knows enough about council politics to survive.”
I stare at him, words dried up, replaced by static. My limbs feel cold.
“So yes,” Ronan says, stepping closer, “I sent him in your place. Because out of the two of you, he had the better chance of surviving. And you…” he huffs a mocking laugh “should be grateful.”
“Grateful?” My voice is almost a whisper. “Grateful that sent him them?”
“Grateful that you’re alive,” he corrects sharply. “You have attracted the attention of someone else in the council even though they don't know anything about you. If I hadn't brought something of interest, you'd have been the interest”
Anger erupts in me again, raw and bright. “I don’t care!”
The words explode out of me before I can stop them.
“I don’t care about councils. I don’t care about factions. I don’t care about wolves and all the ridiculous problems you create for yourselves!”
“All I care about,” I hiss, “is Kael coming back home. To me.”
Ronan stares at me for a long, silent beat. His expression shifts , not softening, but changing. Calculating. Something tightens behind his eyes, something unreadable.
Then he exhales sharply. “Kael will be back after his interrogation.”
I blink. “…What?”
“He’ll be returned once they’re satisfied. He’s not being punished. He’s not being executed. He’s answering questions. That’s all.”
My throat closes. “Then why didn’t you just say that?!”
“Because you came in here screaming,” he snaps. “And I don’t reward tantrums.”
“You’re impossible.”
“And you’re loud.”
I inhale, shaking, trying to piece myself back together. My heartbeat is still racing, but the panic has thinned out, leaving exhaustion in its wake.
“At least you know he’s coming back,” Ronan says, turning away like he’s done with the conversation. “Now leave my office before I have people escort you out.”
I swallow hard.
For the first time since I stormed in, I feel my chest loosen. Not fully, not until I see Kael with my own eyes , but enough that I don’t want to rip Ronan’s head off anymore.
Well… not as much.
i walked to the door and opened to see Lucien waiting for me
“Let's go”
I nod. Slowly. Quietly. My legs feel like wet noodles.
I start backing toward the door. Ronan is already back at his desk, already picking up his pen like the last ten minutes were just part of some inconvenient coffee break.
But before I leave, he says without looking up
“He’ll be fine, Sienna.”
I don’t respond.
I just turn and walk out because if I say anything else, I’ll cry. And Ronan doesn’t get to see that.
Lucien followed
My heart is still pounding, but now it is pounding with something steadier.
Kael is coming home.
And that’s all that matters.