AMELIA’S P.O.V

I was practically floating in the air for the rest of the day. I was so terrified to tell him how I felt and instead of the rejection I expected to be met with, he had repeated the words back to me. It felt like things were finally aligning in my favor. I was with a man who I loved and loved me back. We spent the evening together just cuddling in bed and eating snacks. There wasn’t anything sexual about the way he held me, it was just intimate.


I woke up the next morning to him shuffling around the room. When I glanced at the window, I saw that it was still dark outside. I sat up slowly glancing at the alarm clock as I did so and it read 4 a.m.my brows furrowed in confusion. Kaden had his back to me and it wasn’t until I cleared my throat that he turned to me.

“Hey baby,” he whispered as he crossed the length of the room to kiss me. “You can go back to bed, it isn’t time to get up yet.”

“Where are you going?”


“There was a little disturbance at the border but don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it and go to the office. Would you be okay coming on your own or do you want me to send Caleb to pick you up?”

I couldn’t help but smile. He was worrying about me even when he didn’t need to. “I’ll be fine, you can go. Just be safe and don’t get hurt.”


He kissed my lips softly. “I need you to leave the key under the welcome mat when you’re leaving. The maids are going to come over while we are gone to do the weekly cleaning.” I nodded not listening to most of what he was saying and just enjoying his presence.

He left shortly after that leaving me alone in the house. I could have gone back to sleep but I realized that I wanted to do something special for Kaden.he had been under a lot of stress lately and I wanted to help him unwind. I knew he loved when I cooked for him so so decided to make something special for him to return home to. I rushed out of bed and immediately started searching for the ingredients I needed. My plan was for a three-course lunchthat I could always heat up whenit was time.

I spent over three hours trying to finish up the meal and by the time I was done, I was equal parts tired and proud of myself. I took a long shower and made sure to do as Kaden had asked and drove over to the office. He wasn’t there when I got there and I was instantly worried. Even Caleb was nowhere to be seen and it had mebursting from the seams with worry.

I forced myself to stay seated and not call Kaden. It wasn’t until ten that he finally made his way into the office. It took everything in me to not rush up to him and throw my arms around him. He looked exhausted as he made his way over to my desk. He ran his eyes over my figure and I tilted my lips up in a smile.

“How did it go?” I asked and he shrugged. “Were you able to figure out what it was?”

“These rogues are more cunning than we thought. I thought we had gotten rid of them but we were wrong. Theyused the distraction at the border to attack some of the farmers and did awaywith their crops. We were able to chase them down but that was not how I planned to start my day.”

“I’m sorry, I wish we knew why the rogues were attacking. Is there something in particular that they want?” I asked and he shrugged.

“If there is, they are not saying anything.For now, they are content with wreaking havoc,” he ran his hands through his hair. “I shouldn’t be burdening you with this at all.”

“I like hearing about your work. It makes me feel needed and like I’m helping out.”

He smiled. “I have a few meetings to attend to but maybe we an go out after that to clear our heads. Goddess knows we could both use it.”

“I would like that.”

He disappeared after that but I couldn’t stop thinking about where he was going to take us. I only saw him two more times and during both times, he was talking with Caleb. Around five, he came to my desk and gestured for me to follow him. I grabbed my bags and did so without question. He assured me that my carwould be taken home before he started driving.

“I hope we aren’t going out for dinner,” Ipiped up making him turn to me with a questioning look. “I made something special for you at home. If we eat now,it would completely defeat the purpose.”

A full and genuine smile spread on his face. “Is that so?I’m contemplating turning this car around right now.”

“No!” I said quickly and he laughed.

“I had dinner planned for after but I can easily cancel that. I wanted to take you somewhere thatmeant so much to me when I was younger,” I was instantly intrigued.

I wanted to know more about Kaden’s life as a child. He knew everything there was to know about me but he was stillmuch of a mystery to me. He drove towards a cottage at the edge of the woods. It was surrounded by trees and flowers. I couldn’t help but stare in awe as i got out of the car. Kaden directed me with a hand on the small of my back towards the side of the cottage.

“We aren’t going in?” I asked but he shook his head and led me towards what I realized was the biggest treehouse I had ever seen. “Is this yours?”

“Not really, I had to share it with Aiden,” a foreign look crossed his face at the mention of his coyusin and I realzied that I didn’t know why they were never around each other. “This cottage belonged to his mother, she was my father’s sister. We used to come here a lot and Aiden and I would climb the trees. My father built the treehouse for us. I havent been here in years.”

“Whyare you here now?” I asked and he shrugged. “Whathappened between you and Aiden?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he admitted with a sigh. “Aiden became sketchy as he grew older. He started to despise the fact that he wasn’tmade Beta. Usually, the Beta is from the Alpha’s family but I didn’t trust him enough.”

“That’s one way to say it,” I turned to see Aiden standing behind us with his handscrossed over his chest. He ignored me in favor of Kaden. “It’s been a while since you were here, Kaden. I thought this life was beneath you.”

“Go to the car,” Kaden handed me the keys and when I hesitated, he turned. “Now, Amelia.”

His voice was so detached and cold. It was nothing like I had ever heard before. I didn’t know when I began moving. From the car, iu could only see their backs. I could not make out what they were saying and it annoyed me. It was obvious that their discussion was heated especially when Aiden began throwing up his hands.

The argument lasted the better part of ten minutes before Kaden came back to the car. He didn’t start it immediately, he just sat there with his hands buried in his hair.I hesitantly reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn’t shrug my hand off, he just sighed.

“Is everything okay?” I asked and he nodded. “That looked a little intense, do you want to talk about it?”

“No,”he sat up straighter making my hand fall off him. “Forget about it, Amelia.I just wanted to show you a portion of my childhood, hopefully without the messy parts.”

“I think the messy parts are what make us.”

He smiled and reached out for my hand. He squeezed it once and I knew he would be fine. “Let’s go home, what do you say?”

“I think that’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”

By the time we got to the house, the sun was setting. I told Kaden to stay outside for ten minutes while I warmed up the food and set the table for both of us. I also felt he needed a few minutes to calm himself completely from what happened with Aiden. The maids were still inside although they were gearing up to leave. Most of them just smiled at me and I mainly stayedout of their way.

I opened the oven where I had kept the food and was shocked to find the dishes inside but they were empty. I blinked twice wondering if I was seeing things. I closed the ovenand took a step back then opened it again but it was still empty. It was at that moment that I started to panic. I reached out for the nearest maid to me. It was a young girl about my age.

“Did someone touch this?” I asked pointing at the oven and she shook her head.

“I don’t think anyone opened the oven. Did you keep something there?”

“Yes, I made food for my mate.”

I rushed towards the fridge to check on the mousse I had kept but that too had been eaten. Tears of frustration welled in my eyes. Everythingwas going downhill today.

“Hey, it’s okay,” the maid said as she grabbed my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down. “I’m sure we can figure out what happened to it. I don’t think anyone would have taken it on purpose but we can ask.”

She had barely finished speaking when the front door opened and Kaden walked in. He made his way to the kitchenwith a smile but when he saw the tears in my eyes, he rushed over to me and placed his hands on my cheeks. I tried to blink back the tears but Kaden wasn’t having it.

“What happened, baby?” he asked but I couldn’t form the words. “Did something happen?”

“Someone took the food,” I murmured and his eyes widened. “I don’t know what happened. I made sure everything was perfect but it’s gone.”

Kaden was furious. He stepped back from me and turned to the maid standing behind me. There was pure fury in his eyes and when he spoke, I realized why people feared him. “I want every single person that stepped foot in this house here now. I will find out who is responsible.”