AMELIA’S P.O.V

I had been beaten, maltreated, insulted, had drinks thrown on me and made to feel like shit but one thing I had going for myself was that Kaden had never hurt me physically. It was something I had pride in and I could have bet all my life earnings on that fact. I could be free with him, I could say whatever I wanted especially when he was wrong because he never resorted to violence or so I thought.


As he pinned me to the wall, the look in his eyes was something I could only describe as death. His eyes were pitch black and there was not one ounce of life in his irises. I had never been so scared in my life. Fear- raw and unadulterated- filled his eyes and for a second, I could not breathe. I tried to claw at his hands but he wasn’t letting me go at all.

“Kaden,” I managed out as I struggled to keep my eyes open. “You’re hurting me.”

“Keep Nadine’s name out of your mouth,” he snarled. His voice didn’t even sound like his own. It was too deep, too guttural and too eerie. I managed a nod, I would have done anything in that moment just for him to let me go.


He released me with a shove and I fell to the ground unceremoniously. I coughed harshly as I tried to get air back into my lungs. Kaden just stood there in front of me staring down at me with anger in his eyes. I opened my mouth to speak but no words would come out. It took me a full minute to even gather my bearings well enough to stand to my feet but I couldn’t keep myself up.

Kaden still didn’t look like himself but slowly, I saw the darkness bleed out of his eyes and his eyes turned back to their normal color. He reached out for me but I shuffled back and pulled my arm out of his reach. I saw guilt flash through his eyes but I wasn’t going to be deceived by that look.


“You could have killed me,” I whispered not believe what had just happened.

“Amelia, I swear, I didn’t mean for that to happen,” he reached out for me again but I pulled away from him. “My wolf lost control. I couldn’t control him. I swear to you, I don’t know what the hell happened. You have to believe me.”

“I have your handprints around my neck!” I screamed and he stilled. He was either a great actor or he truly did not mean to hurt me because his eyes watered.

He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by footsteps making their way into the living room. Nadine stood by the door looking the picture of innocence in Kaden’s clothes. She looked around until her eyes settled on my neck and I could have sworn I saw something like sick amusement flash through her eyes but it was gone before I could place my finger on it.

“Kaden, what happened?” she asked as she made her way over to him. She placed a hand on his arm and he did nothing to push her off. “Amelia, are you alright? You’re hurt. Do you need me to-”

“Don’t touch me,” I spat. “Just stay the hell away from me.” I turned to Kaden. “You can stay with your mate. I know when I am not wanted.”

I stormed out of the house and I heard him rush after me as I got into the car. I tried to slam the door shut but he held it open. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t need to tell you anything.”

“For fucks sake!” he yelled and I flinched. He must have noticed the exact moment and I saw regret in his eyes. I hadn’t flinched from him since when we first met. “Amelia, please.”

“Just leave me alone, Kaden, please,” I whispered and he cursed but took a step back. He opened his mouth to speak but I didn’t wait to hear what he wanted to say. I simply slammed the door shut and started the car.

Nadine stood at the door looking just like his mate and I saw her lips tip up into a small smirk as she gave me a sarcastic wave. A week ago, I would have stood there and fought for my mate, I would have fought for our love but I was done. He didn’t want me, that much was certain and nothing was going to make me stay with an abusive man again.

I pulled out of the driveway and with tears in my eyes, I drove to the only other place that I knew I would be welcomed at. I could hear the birds chirping on my roof and a brave one landed on the mirror. It seemed to look directly at me and I felt grateful for Clara’s powers.

I arrived at the house in record speed and Clara was already waiting for me at the door. She rushed over to my side as soon as she saw me and I had barely stepped out of the car before the tears began to drop. She muttered a curse under her breath before pulling me into the house. I could feel everyone else’s presence but in that moment, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I just wanted everything to stop.

“Amelia?” I heard Pamela’s voice. “Are you alright, sweetheart? What happened? Is Kaden okay?”

“Kaden is just dandy,” I spat unable to keep the venom out of my voice. Clara helped me into a chair and everyone gasped as they saw the bruising around my neck. “He did this to me because I dared to speak against his precious mate- Nadine.”

Pamela looked confused. It wasn’t just her- everyone else did too. If I hadn’t been there, I would have looked the same as well. Kaden was not usually an abusive person. He looked scary but most of the time, he was soft spoken and he was a gentle giant.

“Tell me everything,” Caleb said and so I did.

By the time I was done speaking, everyone was a mixture of confused and livid. Pamela brought me some food but I couldn’t stomach anything. I drank a little water but that was it, I just wanted to take a nap. Caleb looked the most annoyed and he was the one who sat next to me and helped me apply ointment to the bruises. I had never had an older brother before but if he was anything like Caleb, I knew I would have loved it.

“Perhaps we should call Kaden in and-”

“No!” Caleb, Clara and I cut Pamela off at the same time. I was shocked that they were supporting me. I had expected that Clara would want to smooth things over. She was the pacifist amongst us.

“I think Amelia should go in and rest, that is what she needs right now,” Caleb said softly with a soft nod at Clara. “Right now, we will not do a thing. She is safe here with us. I will speak to Kaden but I will not be doing it today.” Pamela opened her mouth to speak but Caleb cut her off. “What Kaden did is unforgiveable. My main focus right now is Amelia.”

My eyes watered. I had never had someone feel so fiercely on my behalf excluding Kaden. I couldn’t stop myself from pulling him into a warm hug. My lips couldn’t say all the words but I hoped that my actions would. Caleb pressed a lingering kiss to the top of my head and didn’t let go of me until I pulled away.

“We are here for you,” he whispered to me. “No matter what, we are here.

Clara led me to the room and gave me some clean night wear. I couldn’t help but be reminded of all those months ago when I arrived at the pack for the first time. She had taken care of me then the same way she was taking care of me. It felt almost insulting that after so long, I was back to square one.

“You’ll be fine,” Clara whispered to me but somehow, it didn’t feel that way.

I fell into an uncomfortable sleep and was woken up by yelling. It sounded faint and muffled but it seemed to be getting closer. I sat up confused and disoriented until I realized that the sound was coming from outside my door. I couldn’t make out the words but I could make out the voices and one of them was definitely Kaden’s.

I stood to my feet and placed my ear against the door so that I could hear them properly.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I heard Clara yell. She almost never yelled. “How dare you put your hands on her? After eberything that she went through before she came here. She trusted you more than anyone and you hurt her.”

“I didn’t mean it.”

“Did your hands accidentally go round her neck and choke her?” Clara sounded pissed and as much as I loved it, I couldn’t help but fear for her that he would snap and do something to her. “All of this over some girl that you barely even remember.”

“It isn’t like that,” Kaden sounded increasingly annoyed. “I need to talk to Amelia. Move out of the way.”

“You might be the Alpha but this is my house and you cannot order me around in my house. You are lucky that my grandparents aren’t here or they will kick your ass, you lousy-”

I pulled the door open and all eyes turned to me. “I can take it from here, Clara, it’s okay.”

She opened her mouth to protest but I shook my head. I could handle myself. I could tell that she wasn’t happy about my choice but she finally sighed.

“Five minutes and I am coming out. I’m calling Caleb as well. I need someone to be here in case he decided to choke someone again,” she spat the words at Kaden before storming off.

Once she was gone, Kaden reached out to me but I took a step back. “You lost the right to touch me when you put your hands on me.”

“It was a mistake,” he began and I scoffed.

“It is insulting to refer to that as a mistake when you held me against the wall and threatened me. A mistake would be doing it, realizing and stopping immediately but I wouldn’t be able to forgive a mistake so easily, much less this.”

“Amelia,”

“No, I cannot do this with you anymore, Kaden. If you want her then you can have her. You didn’t have to hurt me to get that. I would have walked away if you told me to but you lied to me over and over again saying that you wanted me. You choked me, Kaden, I could have died.”

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “It wasn’t me, I swear, it was my wolf. It was almost as if he just lost control. I couldn’t stop him. He pushed me out of the way and took control. I was only able to regain control once you said that you almost died. I am sorry, Amelia, I swear I am.”

“I don’t care if it was you or your wolf. All I care about is that you tried to hurt me and I cannot be around that anymore. You can either find a way to put your wolf in check or you can lose me.”

“Amelia-”

He was cut off by Clara walking in. She had her hands crossed over her chest. “Five minutes are up, Kaden, you need to go.”