AMELIA’S P.O.V

I saw the shock register on his face as my words filled the air between us. He opened and closed his mouth but no words would come out. My mind was already conjuring up the worst but I forced myself to hold back, I forced myself to wait for an answer from him. I wasn’t going to jump to conclusions until he gave me a good reason to do so.


“Where did you hear that name?” he asked and I shrugged.

“Does it matter? You clearly know what or who I am talking about. I don’t want to fight, Kaden, I just want you to be honest with me. Who is Nadine and what is she to you? Is she someone you’re seeing?”

“Of course not,” he looked insulted that I would even suggest that. He crossed the length of the room until he was standing in front of me. “Is that what this is about? You thought that I was cheating on you? I would never do that.”


“You called out for her in your sleep,” I told him and he froze. “Last night, I thought you were having a nightmare so I tried to wake you up. You wouldn’t get up so I kissed you and you called out her name. What did you expect me to think? I have never heard you talk about someone named Nadine until then. Who is she?”

“I don’t know,” I scoffed and tried to leave but he grabbed my arm and kept me in place. “I know you are angry right now but I need you to see past your anger and listen to me. I would never lie to you. I would never cheat on you. I cannot explain who Nadine is right now but believe me when I say that you are my mate, you are the one I chose.”


“You can’t ask me to take a leap of faith that large, Kaden. How would you feel if I was calling out for random men in my sleep? You would be furious and I have every right to be as well.”

“I know that but,” he was cut off by someone knocking on the door and he growled. “It better be fucking important or someone better be dying. If it isn’t either then you can fuck off.”

“You should answer it,” I whispered but he shook his head.

“We have to finish this,” the person knocked again and Kaden reluctantly let go of me so that he could open the door.

A guard stood there and he looked ready to piss his pants. Kaden was terrifying on a normal day but when he was pissed, he was a force to be reckoned with and it was obvious that he was annoyed that we were interrupted. I could almost smell the fear emanating from the guard and I couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

“Someone was found at the border,” the guard explained. “We think you should see it.”

To say that Kaden looked frustrated would have been an understatement. He turned to me as if trying to explain that this was something he couldn’t get out of so I nodded. He let out a sigh of relief and placed a soft kiss on my forehead.

“You can come with if you want. Once we are done there, we can sit down and talk about it.”

“Sure, I guess that could work.”

That was how I ended up in the passenger seat of Kaden’s car while he drove to the border. The guard was in the backseat giving directions and I could see how tense Kaden was. If it were another day, I would probably have gone out of my way to comfort him but at this moment, I couldn’t think of anything except the heavy conversation that we were going to have.

“Has anyone touched the rogue?” he asked and the guard shook his head.

“The others just surrounded her and are keeping a close eye on her until you come.”

“Her?” Kaden asked and the guard nodded. “Did you really drag me out of the office to see a female rogue? You have got to be fucking with me.”

We parked the car with the others and continued on foot. Kaden tried to convince me to wait but I wasn’t going to sit in the car alone where my thoughts would be allowed to run free. I followed behind them trying to watch my step because the terrain was steep and it was very easy to trip. Kaden stayed close to me the entire time but refrained from touching me to prevent me from feeling uncomfortable. Even he could feel the stretched thin tension between us.

I saw the guards before anyone and let out a sigh of relief because I had gotten tired of walking. They had formed a circle around the girl so I couldn’t get a clear view of her. Once they noticed me however, they parted to create a walk way and that was when I noticed her. She was lying spread eagle on the floor and her blond hair created some sort of halo around her. Her eyes were closed so I couldn’t make out the color but she looked to be around Kaden’s age. It was obvious that she had an ethereal sort of beauty despite the fact that she was covered in dirt and grime.

“When did you notice-” Kaden trailed off as he stared at the girl and I saw awareness settle in his eyes. I opened my mouth to ask who she was but he pushed past everyone- me included- and rushed over to her side. “Nadine.”

As soon as I heard the name, I was shocked. How did the girl from his dreams end up at the pack border and who was she? She hadn’t stirred from her position and as I looked at her longer, her beauty started to grate on my nerves. She was slim with soft curves and she looked more similar to Lucy than she did to me. She would be the exact kind of woman that his mother approved of.

It was almost as if the entire world had vanished as Kaden knelt by her side. He lifted her with more care than I had ever seen him use on another person, much less a rogue. He lifted her in his arms bridal style and began to rush back towards the car without as much as a glance in my direction. I scoffed to myself and made my own way back despite the annoyance that was swirling in my veins.

I got to the car and saw Kaden gently laying her in the back seat. Once he saw me, he let out a sigh of relief. “I need to drive, can you sit in the back with her and make sure that she is fine?”

“Excuse me?” I asked and he repeated his request not even realizing why I had interrupted in the first place. By the time he was done, I crossed my arms over my chest. “No, I won’t be doing that.”

“Amelia please, this is important.”

“We were supposed to talk.”

“Can’t you see that her life could be in danger? She is unconscious and her pulse is weak. I am asking you for one simple thing.”

“I’m not helping you take your mistress to the hospital. I’m not even getting into the same car with you. Do whatever you want, I can find my own way there.”

I turned to leave but Kaden blocked my path. “Please, fuck, we can talk when we get to the hospital. This is important. Just do this one thing for me.”

I gritted my teeth and got into the back seat. I didn’t touch her, I just sat in the back seat and kept an eye on her. Being close to her gave me the chance to analyze her properly. I took a discreet sniff of her trying to figure out if she had the markings of a pack on her but there was nothing. She also didn’t smell like a rogue which was weird. I didn’t know if it was because she was weak or because there was just something off but I was on edge around her and my wolf felt the same way because she wouldn’t even speak to me.

We got to the hospital at record speed and Kaden thanked me slowly before lifting the unconscious girl and taking her inside leaving me to follow behind them. I watched him bark orders at the doctors and I realized that I had never seen him this panicked over someone before. If I wasn’t sure before, I was sure now that whoever Nadine was, she was someone that meant a lot to him. The question remained why I hadn’t heard of her since and why Caleb and Clara claimed not to know her.

At this point, I didn’t even know what I was still doing in the hospital but I walked in. I went to the waiting area and just took a seat when a woman walked up to me.

“I’m not sure if you remember, but I’m Dr. Brown,” she said and I didn’t even bother to look up before nodding. I was sure I had seen her somewhere but I didn’t have the energy to think about it at that moment. “I just saw the Alpha come in with someone. I already have doctors looking over her but do you know who that was?”

“He said her name was Nadine. I don’t know her but he does. You should talk to him if you have any questions.”

I noticed her stiffen and I wanted to ask if she knew Nadine too but she just smiled at me. “I should get going. I have some files to look over.”

I watched as she walked away and couldn’t help but wonder how my day became this weird. I waited in the chair for Kaden to re appear but he never did. I was beginning to doubt if we were ever going to have that conversation.

Once an hour passed and I realized he wasn’t coming out anything soon, I took out my phone to call a cab. I was in the process of dialing the number when the door to the office flew open and I heard loud clanking heels. I looked up to see Kaden’s mother walking into the hospital with a scowl on her face. I wanted to hide but she sighted me and stormed over.

“Where is he?” she asked and I shrugged. “How do you not know where he is?” she turned to the nurse at the desk. “Find my son now and bring him here. We need to have a serious conversation.”

The nurse stood there staring and that seemed to piss her off.

“Did I stutter?” she spat and the nurse scurried off. “Why is everyone so incompetent now?”

It only took a few minutes for the nurse to appear with Kaden in tow. Kaden looked pissed off at the prospect of dealing his mother but she didn’t care. Once he was close enough, she whirled on him.

“Tell me that you didn’t do what I think you did.”