KADEN’S P.O.V

It felt like torture waiting downstairs while she got ready upstairs knowing that she wanted me. It took all of my energy to stop me from climbing those steps and taking her the way we both wanted. As appealing as it sounded, I needed to do better for her. I needed to treat her right and it wasn’t going to happen if every single time we were together, we were going at it. She was intoxicating but I needed to learn how to discuss.


I waited impatiently until I saw her coming down the stairs. Her hair was tied up into a messy ponytail with a few tendrils framing her cheeks. She was in skin tight jeans that hugged her curves like second skin and a top that looked so soft I was certain I could rip it with one tug. I saw her eyes scour the room and when she saw me, she let out a sigh of relief. It broke my heart knowing that I had gotten her to the point where she doubted my words. I knew it would take a while to get back to the point where she trusted me blindly but I was determined to do the work it entailed to get there with her.

“Where are we going?” she asked but I just shrugged. The truth was that I didn’t know.

All I knew was that one minute I was trying to leave the house and the next, I had this mind splitting ache down the center of my chest and it was like reality dawned on me in a flash. I was leaving the woman I loved for something as insignificant as work. I was risking the love of my life’s happiness to attend to pack work that could survive being left alone for another day. I rushed back to the house before I even realized what was happening and threw myself at her feet.


I could see her staring at me eagerly and I knew that I had to think of something quickly. I wasn’t a man of many hobbies, she already knew everything there was to know about my life and the things I loved doing. I just led her to the car and started driving. She loved quiet places with books and history but I couldn’t damn well take her to a library or a bookstore so I kept driving until I got to the park. There was a part of the park that was secluded from the general public and I knew it would be perfect. It was the kind of place that Amelia would love because of how secluded and intimate it was. There was no worry of people walking up to us and interrupting.

She took it in with wide eyes while I opened the doors for her. She gracefully took my outstretched hand and allowed me help her out. She wasn’t speaking and for the first time in a long time, I couldn’t read her expression. I couldn’t tell if she hated or loved it. I led her towards the ducks and we bought a loaf of bread from one of the vendors.


As soon as she saw the ducks, her eyes widened in delight. “They are so beautiful, oh my, I wish I could pet them.”

“You can feed them,” I offered stretching out the loaf to her and she wasted no time before snatching it out of my hand and rushing over to feed them.

They seemed to love her and I could tell that she was having the time of her life because her laugh echoed in the wind. It was a melodious sound and I wanted to drown in it. I wasn’t sure how I managed all those weeks in that stuffy hospital without seeing her and watching her so freely. It was my first day in weeks where I wasn’t at the hospital and although there was a nagging feeling in my chest telling me to return, I knew I had made the right choice.

I turned off my phone and joined Amelia by the ducks. They didn’t seem to like me as much as they did her and most of them ignored me in favor of her. She laughed at that and honestly, I couldn’t blame them, I would like her more too. When I realized I was more of a bother than a help with the ducks, I excused myself to get some snacks for us.

I settled for corndogs and fries and while I was paying, I heard a loud caw from behind me. I turned to see a large bird sitting on one of the lower branches. It was staring at me with intelligent eyes and I immediately knew it was from Clara. I rolled my eyes and waved it off but it wouldn’t move.

“Cut it off, Clara, it is rude to eavesdrop on people,” I told it off and the bird only blinked at me twice. To a stranger, I would have looked crazy but I knew that Clara could understand me. “Stop spying on us, we are doing well enough without you.”

I could have sworn that the bird snorted before turning back as if to gesture towards Amelia. I decided I was done conversing with a fucking bird and flipped it off. The bird took off after that giving me the much needed privacy that I craved. I made my way back to the lake where Amelia was now sitting cross legged on the floor as she watched the ducks with fascination.

“I ran out of bread,” she explained as she saw me approaching. “What took you so long?”

“Clara and her birds,” I explained and her eyes widened in understanding. I saw her looking around carefully but I placed my hand over hers. “She’s gone now, I told her to leave us alone.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “I never realized how invasive her gifts could be. Does she always spy on you?”

“More than I would like to admit,” I muttered. “She does it to Caleb more. I t she just enjoys pissing him off sometimes.” She giggled at that and I felt pride soar in my chest at the knowledge that I wrung that sound out of her. I wanted to do it over and over again.

As if she knew were my thoughts were going, she cleared her throat and looked away. I handed her food to her and she took it from me while being careful not to let our skin touch.

“You said we needed to talk.” She began slowly as she took a bite from her corndog. “I don’t expect this every day if that is what you are worried about. Today is fun but I know you won’t be able to commit to this.”

“Amelia,” I cut her off and she went silent. “I love you but sometimes you need to just let me speak please.” She instantly went silent and I sighed. “I have no intentions of starting something I cannot finish and while it will be impossible for me to spend every hour of the day with you, I want to make sure that you never doubt us.”

“I don’t,” she lied and I shot her a bland look to which she sighed. “I don’t doubt us, I just doubt that I mean as much to you as I would like to think.”

“That is completely my fault and I am sorry for that. If I could go back in time and-”

“Don’t,” she cut me off. “You cannot change the past so don’t worry about what ifs. Just focus on now and doing what you can to secure the future.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “When did you get so wise?” I teased and she shrugged.

She leaned forward and kissed me softly. It was hesitant and I stayed still to allow her set the pace that she wanted. I held her close trying to ignore her perfectly her body fit against me and how much I wanted her. She pulled away when the kiss seemed to be getting heated and then she froze. At first I thought I did something wrong so I cupped her cheeks.

“Are you alright? Is there something that-” I noticed that her attention was not on me but rather on something behind me. I glanced over my shoulder only to see someone standing there. “Hello Aiden.”

AIDEN’S P.O.V

I had only seen Amelia earlier and she was still feeding the ducks so imagine my shock when I got closer and realized that Kaden was with her. He stared at her like she was personally responsible for holding up the stars in the sky and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at that. Love was a sure way to get you killed in this world and the fact that he was an Alpha and was yet to learn that was astounding.

Amelia was watching me with wary eyes as if she were expecting me to attack at any moment and if Kaden wasn’t here the maybe I would have but I couldn’t risk doing anything especially not when he would hand my ass to me. Instead, I flashed them a smile and pretended to be shocked to see them.

“What are you doing here?” I asked but they both ignored me. “I wasn’t expecting to see anyone here. I heard some voices and decided to check it out.”

“We were having a private moment,” Kaden snarked and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him. “It was nice to see you but I think you can leave now.”

I stuffed my hands into my pockets and fisted my hands to calm myself down. “I was just trying to be nice, there is no reason to be rude. In case you forgot, we are family.”

Kaden snorted but before he could speak, Amelia cut in. “What Kaden means is that we would appreciate fewer interruptions right now and perhaps we can pick this up another day.”

Before I could respond, my phone rang and I took it out only to see that familiar number. I wasn’t expecting a call from him until weekend and although I wanted to finish my discussion with Kaden and Amelia, I knew he didn’t like to bekept waiting.

“I guess this is your lucky day then,” I joked before giving a mock bow. “I will see you later.” I walked away and waited until I was a good distance away before I picked up. “You’ve never called this early before.”

“I wanted to check up on the status of things,” it was very like him to skip pleasantries.

“I haven’t been able to do it yet, Kaden is around for some stupid reason. I don’t know why he won’t just stay at the hospital. I’ll find a way to do it though, you can trust me.”

“About that, I had a change of heart,” I was shocked to hear that and glanced at the phone to be sure I was seeing the right number. “Don’t kill her, kidnap her instead.”

“Are you joking? You were adamant on wanting her dead and now that I finally offer to do it for you, you are-”

“Can you do it or not?” he cut me off and I swore.

“Whatever, I’ll see what I can do.”

“If I wanted someone who would fail, I would have gotten someone else. I expect you to grab her and bring her to me soon. I do not like to be kept waiting, Aiden. Remember, your identity is on the line.”