KADEN’S P.O.V

I knew it was wrong to put her on the spot like that but I needed to know whether she still felt for the boy. I watched her every move carefully while trying to maintain the façade of sadness and guilt because the truth was that I didn’t care what happened to Blake or anyone else from that pack as they didn’t directly influence Amelia.


In fact, when Caleb told me last night that Blake had mated with Brittany, I was filled with relief. The relief was so palpable on my face that Caleb had to remind me of his past withAmelia and how she might feel about it. It put me in a bad mood which was why I didn’t go to see her all day. I kept trying to remind myself that there was no way she could still feel anything for him after being with me but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it was possible.

When she walked into my office, I was filled with so much frustration that I lashed out at her but I quickly realized it wasn’t the right way to go about the situation because it would put her on edge so I decided to ‘accidentally’ tell her the news.As I watched her stoic expression, I realized that I was not liking the response I had gotten. Somehow, her lack of a response hurt more than if she had been sad about it.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” I asked and she opened her mouth but closed it almost immediately. “Do you still like the guy?”


“Is that what this is about?”

“Don’t change the subject,” it was taking everything in me not to lash out. There was an ugly beast rearing its head in my chest and it didn’t matter hard I tried to push it down, it just kept climbing. “I asked you a question.”


“I don’t know how to answer it,” she sounded exasperated. “What am I supposed to say?”

“You’re supposed to say that you don’t care about his mating because you’re with me,” I hated how jealous I sounded and she realized that too because she crossed her arms over her chest. I knew she was going to comment on it so I turned away from her. “You should go home for the rest of the day.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t want to see you today, Amelia. Go home and don’t come back.”

She opened her mouth to speak but at the last minute, she changed her mind. She got to her feet and muttered something under her breath before storming out. I waited until she had gone before I pushed to my feet and punched the wall in frustration. The tile cracked and the sound did little to calm the raging storm in my chest.

I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that she still had feelings for that boy. He was a child and somehow he managed to grasp her attention. It pissed me off and I wanted nothing more than to storm over to that pack and rip his head clean off his shoulders but I knew I couldn’t and that was the frustrating part.

My door opened and Caleb walked in. “I saw Amelia leaving, is everything-”

He trailed off as he took me in. “Do you want me to call her back in?”

“No, get out, Caleb,” he opened his mouth to protest but I leveled him with a hard look. “Get the fuck out of my office, Caleb.”

He shut the door quickly and for good measure, I punched the wall again.I was furious and I needed a way to calm myself before I did something. Usually, I would find Amelia but today I couldn’t do that. In the midst of my anger, I got a brilliant idea so I mind linked Caleb.

I could tell Caleb was not a fan of my idea and it wasn’t just because he had said it a few times already. He was frowning the entire way and refused to say a word which was very unlike him. I had chosen to go with just him instead of the usual team we would go with to scout for rogue hideouts mainly because I did not want the extra company.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked for what could have been the tenth time already. “The rogues haven’t attacked in a while. They might have moved on but if you attack them, they will retaliate.”

“If you don’t want to be here, Caleb, then you can leave.”

I expected him to debate my offer but he just grumbled and followed me deeper into the woods. I had been tracking the rogues pattern of entering the pack and leaving for months. It wasn’t perfect but I had a fairly good idea of where they were coming from. If I were in a better frame of mind, I would have waited until I perfected it before going out on my own.

I weaved through the thick trees and when I came to the clearing where a fire was set, I couldn’t help but smile. I turned to Caleb who looked shocked that we had found one of their hideouts. It was at the mouth of the cave andI knew that going in blind was a risky move but I didn’t care.

As soon as I stepped out from behind the trees, an arrow came flying past my face. I was able to dodge it and I turned to see my attacker. Once he realized he didn’t hit me, he tried to run but I grabbed himand snapped his neck. I didn’t know if he had alerted the others yet but I knew I was on sensitive time so I rushed into the cave.

There were not as many rogues as I expected but they rushed me at nce. I shifted to make it easier to attack all of them and I allowed myself get lost in the adrenaline and blood lust. I ripped through bodies without a care in the world and it calmed the raging jealousy in my mind.

The soldiers were disposed of fairly quickly until the cave was littered with dead bodies. I decided to go further in to check if there were children or people I may have missed. The cave was pungent with the wet dog smell that I had come to associate with rogues. I searched for a full five minutes and came up empty. I was about to leave when I heard a whisper.

I froze immediately and followed the sounds. I came to a part of the cave I hadn’t noticed before and there were two people there- a couple. The guy looked to be in his early twenties at most and he was brandishing a knife but from his stance, I could tell he couldn’t use it. He was standing in front of the girl as if trying to protect her from me. I could have killed them both but something about the way he was willing to put his life at risk for her had me taking a step back.

He was shocked and confused especially when I turned my back and walked away. I knew it was a risk considering he could have struck but I had seen that look in his eyes before, it was the same I had whenever Amelia was involved. He just wanted her safe and even I could respect that.

As I walked past the dead bodies, I realized what a mistake I had made in my anger, I needed Amelia.

BLAKE’S P.O.V

Brittany had been avoiding me since we were mated. I didn’t quite mind because it gave me the chance to see to my own affairs without her breathing down my neck. I knew Gregory had seen the mark despite her attempt to hide it but he was yet to call for me which I found to be a blessing in disguise.

I was able to meet with Jamal and give him the good news about my mating. We were slowly swaying some members of the guard who were already dissatisfied with Gregory’s rule. I was pulling Gregory’s pack from right under his fingertips and he wasn’t even aware. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he found out.

Speaking of the devil, I was in the room pondering over some documents when he finally decided he was done being silent and requested to see me. Even though it was phrased as a request, I knew it was an order so I made my way to his office.

“Care to explain?” he asked when I stepped in and I shrugged. “You marked my daughter.”

“I marked the woman I was going to mate with. I didn’t realize I needed your permission for that.”

His eyes narrowed. “You would do swell to remember who is in charge here. I am your Alpha.”

‘For now’ I couldn’t help but think but what I said was. “My apologies, Alpha. We will be sure to invite you to our mating ceremony when it holds.”

He looked like he wanted to say more but his phone rang. Although he didn’t dismiss me, I used the opportunity to walk out and went in search of Brittany. She was seated by the vanity in her old room and fiddling with her hair. As soon as she saw me, she stood to her feet and brushed her hand over her neck to cover her mark.

I closed the distance between us and placed a soft kiss on her lips in an attempt to calm her down slightly. There was something Jamal told me that I wanted to put into practice. I knew it would be hard considering Brittanywas the daughter of an Alpha but I had spent the entire of last night researching the mark and I read that the bond was strong enough to withstand the Alpha wolf.

“Brittany,” I began slowly and she hummed. “Does your father know that we are mated?”

“Of course not.”

I wrapped my fingers around her neck and tilted her head up so she was staring directly at me. I made sure my thumb was directly over her mark and dug deep until I could feel the mate bond pulsing between us. I wrapped around it and tugged doing exactly as I was instructed and she made a low sound in her throat that resembled pain.

“Don’t lie to me. Is he aware?”

“Yes,” the sound was strangled as if it was forced out of her. “I told him because I wanted to break it. It wasn’t what I wanted. I just wanted to take you to spite Amelia.”

Her eyes widened at her own words and I smirked. Jamal was right. I let her go and she stumbled back from me which a choked gasp.

“What did you do to me?” she asked but I smirked.

“Nothing of importance,” I took a step closer and she flinched. “If you tell anyone about this, including your father, I will know. Do you understand?” she nodded. “Good girl.”

I turned on my heels and walked out of the room. Everything was falling into place.