AMELIA’S P.O.V

I tried to ignore the pang of pain in my chest knowing that it was a stranger who was helping me and not my mate who was meant to be by my side through it all. First it was acute embarrassment that someone had to see me like this, helpless and without anyone to turn to. It brought back bad memories that I never thought I would have to experience again.


As the embarrassment faded, it gave way to anger. It was more than just anger, it was rage. I had trusted him, in my lowest moment, despite everything that was happening, I still believed he would come and he didn’t. I wasn’t sure if it was something I could forgive. I was silent the entire time that Ian taught me to stand and to run. I could barely bring myself to enjoy it because of how pissed I was.

He must have realized as well because after a while, he decided to cut things short and he offered to take me home but I wanted to return to the hospital. I wanted to see exactly why Kaden couldn’t be bothered to see me.

“Amelia,” he began slowly as I got into the car but I refused to look at him. I kept my eyes on the window. Even Tara wasn’t speaking to me. I felt bad because I was the one who forced her into it. “You don’t want to do this right now.”


“I do,” I mumbled and he sighed. His hands wrapped around my shoulders and he turned me to face him. “He left me.”

“I know, and right now, you are bleeding all over. You don’t want him to see you bleeding,” at first, I thought I was literally bleeding but I quickly realized it was just an expression. “If you are going to face him then do it when you aren’t at your lowest. Let me take you home and tomorrow, you can confront him.”


I nodded and without warning, the tears started to spill. He cursed before pulling me into a hug and there was nothing romantic about it. It was warm and comforting, as if he were trying to keep me from shattering. It took me a few minutes to calm down and he didn’t protest once, he just held me until I felt it was enough and gathered the courage to pull away.

He gave me a warm smile and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “You deserve the world, Amelia, and you need to make him realize that or he will not give it to you.”

I sniffled. “Isnt this the part where you try to convince me to leave him so that you can hit on me?”

He laughed- loud. I wasn’t expecting the sound and I flinched a little. He seemed apologetic but that wasn’t enough to get him to stop laughing. He had to clutch his side from how loud and carefree his laughter was. It took him exactly two minutes to calm down and catch his breath. By this time, his face had turned impossibly red and there were tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I mean this in the nicest way possible,” he began. “I have no interest in you whatsoever. The first reason being that I know you are the Alpha’s mate and I have no interest in being killed or thrown out of the out of the only pack I have known to be home. Second because, I have someone else I am in love with.”

My brows furrowed. “If you have her then why do you spend so much time with me? I don’t understand.”

“I hurt her,” he sounded broken as he admitted that. “Think of it as my penance. I hurt her and she left me and I hope that maybe if I help someone else then she will be more willing to hear me out again.”

“What did you do to her? Do I know her? I could help you talk to her.”

He waved me off. “This is my battle, okay? For now, let us focus on getting you home. You need to rest.”

I knew he just didn’t want to talk about it anymore so I agreed to let it slide. He drove in silence and when we got to the house, I wrapped my arms around him. It served as a thank you for staying with me through it all but it was also encouragement.

“For what it is worth,” I whispered, “you are a good man and she would be lucky to have you. I hope that things work out for you. One of us needs a happy ending.”

I could tell he wanted to say something but I didn’t give him the chance. I got out of the car and headed straight for the house without looking back. As soon as I was behind the door, I let out an exasperated sigh and allowed the events of the day finally weigh down on me. I couldn’t make it up the stairs, I just crashed on the couch and closed my eyes.

By the time I woke up, I had a crick in my neck and I felt more irritated than I had the day before but I had a purpose. I got cleaned and put on a nice pair of jeans and a simple top, I debated my choice as I got ready and drove to the hospital but Ian was right. I needed to make things obvious and I needed to draw my lines.

When I got there, I immediately knew something was different. All the nurses were looking at me hesitantly and skeptically but none of them would speak to me. I was almost at the door when Dr. Brown rushed over to me. There was something akin to panic on her face.

“Amelia, before you go in there, I need to-”

I heard laughter from the room and my brows furrowed. U brushed past her and opened the door only to see Kaden laughing with… “Nadine?”

She turned to me with brows furrowed in confusion. I didn’t miss the way she clutched onto Kaden’s arm and the fact that he allowed her. I raised a brow in their direction and Kaden had the audacity to look sheepish. He whispered something to her and she reluctantly let go of his arm.

“What is going on?” I asked but he didn’t say anything. He tried to reach out to me but I brushed him off. “When did she wake up?”

“Yesterday,” it made sense now that he didn’t come to me. “She had no one, I needed to be here.”

“Kaden?” her voice was soft and angelic. “Who is that?”

“This is,” he began pausing. I wanted to hear how he was going to introduce me to her. “This is my girlfriend, Amelia.”

At that, I scoffed and turned on my heels. Kaden tried to call out to me but I was done. In that moment, I realized that it wasn’t worth it. It was her and that was his choice, I wasn’t going to be his second choice. He followed me towards the hallway and grabbed my upper arm.

“What was that about?” he asked and I scoffed. “You’re acting like a child, Amelia. If you have a problem then talk about it.”

“I shifted last night, for the first time.” His eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth presumably to congratulate me but I cut him off. “You would have felt that I was in distress, you would have known but you didn’t come.”

“My wolf was bothering me but I blocked him out. I didn’t know it was about you. If I had-”

“You wouldn’t have come,” I cut him off. “I am tired of playing second fiddle to Nadine. You can go back to her because that is where you want to be. I am done. You chose her so go and be with her.”

“Amelia,” he began taking a step towards me but I moved away.

“I need space, Kaden because I don’t understand who is standing in front of me. He is not the same man I fell in love with.”

“Love?” he asked and I realized what I had said. “Come on, Amelia, you have to be joking. You can’t possibly love me.” that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. “I think you’re just being dramatic. It must be that time of the month. Go home and sleep it off, then come find me whenever you want to actually talk.”

He walked off before I had the chance to say anything else and all I could do was watch him leave.

BLAKE’S P.O.V

“I have news that might interest you,” Samantha sing-songed as she made her way into my office. She had a smile on her face and was practically skipping. “I heard from some friends that Kaden has not been seen in the pack house for a very long time and Amelia has been moping around for a while.”

My brows furrowed. Why hadn’t Aiden given me an update about this? I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize when Samantha had made her way over to me and ran her hands down my chest. I grabbed her hands with one of mine.

“Samantha,” I warned and she rolled her eyes.

“I know that Amelia is the one you want and believe me, I don’t do petty girl drama. I have no interest in fighting you for her but that doesn’t mean we cannot have a little fun until she gets here. I am a woman and I have needs.”

I gently pushed her away and she laughed. “You should look into the news I gave you. My informant is well trusted. She is family and she is close to the family.”

“Does she know that we know each other?”

Samantha shook her head. “She doesn’t even know I am here.” She winked at me. “If you change your mind about having fun, you know where to find me.”

I waited until she had walked off before I dialed the number. Aiden didn’t pick until the sixth ring. “I was in class, what the hell?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that Kaden hadn’t been seen at the pack house in a while?” I asked and he went silent. “It seems you have forgotten the nature of this partnership. You give me information and in turn, I help you become Alpha, or don’t you want that anymore?”

“A girl was found at the border. No one knows who she is but I think she was Kaden’s mate because I have never seen him so torn up over a woman. He has been avoiding Amelia in favor of spending time with the girl and they had a fight today in the hospital. Everyone heard it.”

My brows rose in amusement. “This is good news. You have done well, Aiden. Stay put and wait for further instructions.”

“You’re not the same person I started talking to, are you?” he asked and I paused. “He was not this kind and you sound more inexperienced. Who are you, hm?”

“You would do well to keep your questions to yourself in future,” I spat before hanging up