KADEN’S P.O.V

I was in a bad mood for the entire day. I hated the fact that I was pulled away from Amelia and I swore to myself that if I found the rogues, I was going to murder them slowly. They could not have picked a worse moment to launch a surprise attack on the pack.


I knew some nearby packs had been having rogue problems so I beefed up security. I had no idea they would choose to attack us. Most rogues steered clear of us, they knew the rumors and they knew what I was capable of. But these people not only chose to attack us but they chose to do it in broad daylight. It rose a lot of suspicion and a lot of questions within me.

As I made my way towards the area of the forest where they attacked, Caleb met me. He could tell just by looking at me that I was pissed. He didn’t ask any questions or try to placate me, instead, he just delved into an explanation of what happened. A family was taking a walk through the woods when they were attacked. The son was able to scream out for help but by the time the guards arrived, they were dead and the rogues were long gone. The wounds were consistent with wolves but there was a problem.

I asked what the problem was but he said it was better if I saw it myself. He led me over to where the bodies were covered with a white fabric. He pulled back the closest one and my heart clenched when I realized the victim was a young boy. He looked no older than twenty with his life ahead of him and it was ripped away from him.


At first, I didn’t know what Caleb was talking about but then I saw it. It was situated on his neck- two puncture wounds. The wounds were too precise to have been caused by a wolf so it meant one thing. I ran my hands down my face and stood to my feet.

“Is it on all the victims?” I asked and Caleb nodded. “Does anyone else know about this?”


“No, I managed to keep it under wraps. The guards who found them did not have the time to look at the bodies properly. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to call you. I heard about another pack having this exact issue.”

“I will handle the other Alpha’s. Make sure no one breathes a word of this. Find a way to cover up the bite marks. Tell everyone that it was a rogue attack gone wrong. Am I clear?”

Kaden nodded and the tarp was pulled over the body again. I walked away from the forest more confused than before I walked in. I heard rumors about rogues and vampires working together but I never thought it would be possible. Our kinds hated each other. There was no reason why any wolf in their right senses would agree to work with vampires. Vampires were too unpredictable and prone to outbursts. The fact that they were able to sneak in despite our heavy patrol was also a cause for alarm.

I spent the entire day trying to do damage control. The entire family was killed so thankfully there was no one to claim the bodies and risk finding out about the vampires. Caleb ensured that the bodies were cremated to get rid of all evidence.

By the time we finished with everything, it was late at night and I was exhausted. I needed to see Amelia. Usually I would call first to ensure that she was asleep but I was too wound up to do so. I found myself driving over to the house and I took the spare key from where Pamela usually leaves it for me.

The living room was empty and the lights were off so I assumed everyone was asleep. I quietly shut the door behind me and made my way towards Amelia’s room like I had done a million times before. I cursed when I stepped on a loose floor board and it creaked aloud. I froze in my steps hoping it didn’t wake anyone and once I was certain it didn’t, I kept moving.

I got to Amelia’s room and the door was already slightly ajar. If I wasn’t so deep in my own head, I would have noticed that her breathing had changed. If I wasn’t so deep in my head, I would have noticed how tense she was but I was so strung up that I didn’t realize any of those things until she practically leaped up in a flash.

She flipped the lights on and stared at me with wide and horrified eyes. She turned on the light on her bedside table and her expression changed from shock to confusion. She rubbed at her sleepy eyes to be sure that I was the right person. I stayed frozen like a deer caught in headlights. She was never supposed to be awake and catch me. It was supposed to be a secret.

“What are you doing here?” she whisper yelled. “Did you break into the house to see me?”

“Pamela leaves a key,” I explained dumbly and her brows scrunched in confusion. “I needed to see you. I had a shitty day after you left and I just needed you. Please, Amelia.”

I stepped closer but she held out a hand to stop me. “I thought you said you were going to take things slow. You can’t sneak into my room at night. That is just weird.”

“I’m sorry,” I hated how accusingly she was staring at me. “I didn’t know what to do, Amelia. Being around you always calms me. You look so peaceful when you sleep. I never planned to wake you up.”

“Wait, have you done this before?”

My first instinct was to lie and say no but I replayed what I said in my head and I realized lying was out of the cards for me. Still, I could not find it in me to voice anything so I just stayed silent. A horrified look too over her face and her hands went over her mouth in shock.

“Kaden, no,” she sat up and I couldn’t stop myself from running my eyes over her body. “You can never do this again. How dare you sneak into my room at night?”

Her voice was getting louder and I knew she was getting upset so I quickly moved over to her. It was never my intention to hurt or upset her and seeing her angry with all that emotion directed at me, hurt me. I sat right next to her and reached out for her but she pulled away from me.

“I cannot stress how sorry I am,” I whispered softly. “You’re right, I should never have done that. I wasn’t thinking.”

“How long has it been going on?”

“A while,” I admitted not wanting to give her an exact figure.

“This can’t happen. If you want us to keep doing whatever it is we are doing then it can’t happen. I need space sometimes. I need to know that I have something that is wholly mine. If you’re going to keep doing this then whatever we have is over.”

I felt her words like a spear in my chest. “Please don’t say that. I will never sneak into your room again, I promise you.”

She swallowed and turned away from me. “I need you to leave please. I don’t want you here anymore.”

Her words hurt but I understood so I nodded. I cast one last glance at her before walking out of the room. I ran my hands over my head in frustration as I realized how badly I had messed up. I could have lost her over one action. I could have lost her forever and the thought was enough to jar me.

As I made my way towards the front door, I met Pamela. She had a robe wrapped around her body and she offered me a small smile. I knew without a doubt that she overheard everything that happened.

“I think you should keep the spare key,” I offered up.

“Just give her time, Kaden, she will warm up to you. She just needs a while to adjust to all of this, trust me.”

“I hope you’re right.”

I took the long way home thinking about what I had done and how I was going to make it up to Amelia. Thankfully when I got home, Lucy was asleep because the last thing I wanted was to deal with her presence. I walked into my room and although I lay in bed, I couldn’t fall asleep. I needed to make it up to Amelia quickly. If I allowed her anger to fester then it could possibly ruin our relationship.

I stayed up all night and it wasn’t until sometime around four a.m. that I got a brilliant idea. I began making plans to put things in motion and as soon as it was an appropriate time, I began to make calls. Before ten, everything was ready, all I needed to do was find a way to get Amelia to agree with it.

I managed to fall asleep briefly around ten but I woke up sometime at noon. I rarely slept during the day and it was after I woke up that I realized how exhausted I was. I freshened up and was about to leave the house when I found Lucy in the kitchen. I made to walk past her but she called out to me.

“I didn’t hear you come home last night,” she began in an almost accusing tone and I turned to her. “Did you spend the night somewhere else?”

“Where I choose to spend my nights is none of your concern, Lucy. You are nothing more than a house guest here. It is about time you started acting like it.”

“Why are you being so mean to me? All I am doing is trying to be kind to you.”

“You can be kind to me by staying the fuck out of my business.”

I started to leave but her next words made me freeze in place. “Is this about that wolf less girl? I heard that she was in your office yesterday. I don’t see why you need to have all these sessions with her. She isn’t a threat.”

“What I choose to do with my pack members is not your concern,” I kept my voice low and cold. “If you ever stick your nose in my business again, I will make sure that you regret it, am I clear?”

“I don’t know why this is such a-”

“Am I clear Lucy?” I repeated firmer this time and she pursed her lips then nodded.

“Crystal.”

I could tell she was pissed and I knew for a fact that she was going to talk to my mother about it but I didn’t care. Hearing her refer to Amelia like that was difficult and it took everything in me not to throw her out of the house but I knew it would only arouse suspicion. If I wanted things to go smoothly with Amelia, I needed to keep a closer eye on Lucy.