KADEN’S P.O.V

It was shame that did not allow me return home to Amelia, shame that I had failed her, shame that I had somehow led her to believe that she was less important that she was. I didn’t know how to multitask, it wasn’t a skill I had learned very well growing up. I had been told to focus on one task- being Alpha. That was my life growing up and it had made me develop a one track mind.


“She isn’t going to wake up anytime soon,” I heard Dr. Brown say from behind me. I didn’t turn to acknowledge her because I knew exactly where she was going with the conversation. “If you wanted to leave for a while then I would not mind taking over from you. I will watch over her and if anything changes, I will call you.”

“I am fine.”

She sighed. “I don’t want to intrude, Alpha, but you haven’t been home in days. Surely your mate wants you home as much as you want to be home. This is a case of a stranger versus your home life. You cannot be putting a strange woman on a higher standard than you would your actual mate.”


“That isn’t what I’m doing.”

“That is what it looks like you are doing. Even if it is just for twenty four hours, spend time with your mate. She isn’t going to disappear if you leave. I assure you that I will watch over her with my life.”


A part of me wanted to protest but another part of me knew that she was right. I let out an exasperated breath and stood to my feet. I hesitated before finally turning and walking out of the room. It felt strange to be out. I had been there for the past few days. I had eaten, bathed and changed at the hospital and now I was going home. My car remained in the parking lot where I left it and although I didn’t want to admit it, there was a kind of relief in my chest to know that I didn’t have to watch over Nadine for a while.

I was just about to get into my car when I noticed my mother pull up. She got out of the car and whispered something to the driver. He parked the car next to mine and I immediately knew that I was the one she wanted to discuss with.

“I thought I was going to drag you out of the room to discuss with you,” she began as she made her way over to me. “I guess it is okay that you’re here. Half of the work is already done.”

“What do you want mother? I need to be home.”

She raised a brow. “Now you want to go home, I remember telling you the same thing a few days back but you shut me out. I wonder who managed to knock some sense into you finally but that isn’t why I am here. I didn’t come to fight. We need to talk.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t you think it is a bit suspicious that the rogues have gone quiet?” I knew where she was going so I opened my mouth to stop her but she quickly cut me off. “I am just saying that this is something you should consider looking into. The rogues were attacking relentlessly and now they just decided that they were going to stop? Come on, Kaden, there is more to this and you know it.”

“Mother, the rogues are quiet and I will not go looking for trouble where it didn’t find me. I need you to do the same. Forget about the rogues and focus on what is more important.”

“What is that? Is it the girl in the hospital? She is not important. I have told you that over and over again but you refuse to listen. Why can’t you just trust me?”

“Because you lied to me,” I spat. “I cannot and will not trust you because you have lied to me at every turn. You didn’t tell me that you took away my memories. You didn’t tell me about Nadine. You have kept secrets from me mother and you cannot blame me for not listening to you after that. You don’t deserve to be heard out.”

Mother stayed quiet but she took a deep breath. There was genuine pain on her face and while I felt bad that I had to speak to her like that, I needed to get a point across to her. She had no right to accuse me of not listening when she never tried to speak before. She was simply doing damage control and I was not here for it.

“One day, Kaden, you will realize that I am not the enemy in your story,” her voice was soft and broken. “Everything that I have done, I have done with the intention of protecting you. I have done with the intention of keeping you safe. If you cannot see that then there is nothing I can do. I love you, you are my only child and I will never want to hurt you.”

“You would just lie to me instead,” I deadpanned and she gave me a broken smile.

“I understand your anger but sooner or later, you will realize the truth but for both our sakes, I hope you don’t. I would rather you live this lie in anger towards me than you find out the truth,” she reached out and hugged me. I refused to move or hug her back despite how much I wanted to. When she pulled back, she had a tear on her face that she quickly wiped away. “You should go home to Amelia. She has been waiting for you for days.”

“Have you been watching her?”

“Of course, I may not like her but you do and I figured she would be the only person who could make you leave that hospital. Whether I was right or not is yet to be determined. Have a good day, Kaden.”

She turned on her heels and walked out before I could utter another word. I watched her get into her car and despite how much I wanted to chase after her and apologize for my behavior, I didn’t. I had a right to be angry and some carefully formed sad words were not going to change the fact that she had lied to me for almost half of my life.

I waited until she had disappeared before I got into the car. I wasn’t sure what I was going to face when I met Amelia. Would she welcome me with open arms or would she slam the door in my face like I had done to her the past few days when she tried to reach out? I had never been more grateful for the fact that Amelia was a better person than I ever was. She was good and kind and I couldn’t help but trust in her soft heart because if it were anyone else, I would not stand a chance but it was her and I knew that despite everything, she would take me back because that was who she was.

I tried her phone but she didn’t pick. I knew I would have some groveling to do once I got back so I took a detour and stopped by the flower shop.

BLAKE’S P.O.V

In the past few days, I had walked with a spring in my step. Everything was going according to plan and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I became Alpha but before that, there were some loose ends I needed to tie up and I needed Brittany to do that. I had left her alone for the past few days to give her a semblance of peace. I found that it was easier to break her after a few days of silence because her walls were down.

I walked into the living room where she was talking with a few of the maids. “I need a moment alone with Brittany.”

She stilled and I saw her eyes widen in panic. She grasped onto someone’s arm in alarm but the maid carefully let go of her. Once we were alone, Brittany turned to me but her eyes didn’t hold anger or hatred, it held resignation. She put the book she was holding down on the dresser and turned to me.

“I should have known it was too good to be true,” she whispered more to herself than to me. “What do you want from me, Blake?”

“Don’t you think it is unfair of you to assume that I found you because I wanted something?” I locked the door behind me and made my way over to her. “I just wanted to spend quality time with my mate. Is that such a bad thing?”

“Please, Blake, not today. I don’t have the energy for the games.”

“If you say so,” I shrugged. “You once mentioned something about Amelia not being your mother’s daughter. What is that about? You never explained and I never asked.” She hesitated and I knew that whatever she was hiding was something serious. “Don’t make me force you, Brittany. We are getting along so well today.”

“I don’t know much,” I knew that wasn’t a lie but I waited for her to continue speaking. “All father told me was that her mother died giving birth to her and that she was from a cursed family.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I asked but he wouldn’t explain. He said that she was cursed and that was why he wanted her. She was born around the same time I was and it was easy for him to play us off as twins. Please, Blake, I don’t know any more. You have to believe me.”

I reached out and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ears. She stilled as my hand touched her skin but didn’t shy away from the touch. Once I was done, I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her head. “You have done so well. Thank you for answering. Do you see how well we work together when you aren’t fighting me? We would make a good team.”

I stood to my feet and turned to leave the room. I had just gotten to the door when I heard her speak.

“I don’t have many regrets in life, but I have one,” her voice was barely over a whisper and I wouldn’t have heard her if the room wasn’t so quiet. “I wish I never tried to take you away from, Amelia. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be in this position, would I?’

“No, you wouldn’t,” I admitted. “if you had just allowed us to be happy then you would have been Alpha after your father and you would have continued being cruel to everyone you wanted. You got greedy and there is always a price to be paid.”

She swallowed. “When all of this is over, please don’t kill me. You can reject me, you can throw me out, but don’t kill me. I don’t want to die.”

“You wouldn’t be very useful to me if you were dead.”

With that being said, I walked out of the room. A few months back, I would have felt pity for Brittany’s situation but I couldn’t bring myself to. She was in the exact same position she had put Amelia in and the only reason she felt bad now was because she knew her life only mattered to me as long as she was useful.

I pushed every thought out of my head and made my way through the halls of the house until I found who I was looking for. “I need your help.”