AMELIA’S P.O.V

As much as I hated to admit it, Caleb was right and although I wanted nothing more to do with Kaden, I knew I would never be able to forgive myself if something were to happen to him and I could have done something to stop it. All eyes were on me but the room was as quiet as a graveyard as everyone waited to hear what I decided.


“Find out whatever you can on her,” I said finally to Caleb and he nodded. “If there is anything remotely suspicious then let me know. As Kaden’s mother whatever you need to know and tell her that I sent you, she will give you answers.”

“What else?”

“That’s all we can do for now. We cannot do anything until we know that there is something suspicious going on. Just make sure that Kaden doesn’t get a hint that anything is wrong or it could go very badly.”


“Thank you,” he began but I cut him off.

“I am not doing it for Kaden. I am doing it because if there is nothing wrong with him, then I have what it takes to finally leave. I will have enough proof and evidence to finally start my life afresh,” Clara began to protest but I held up a hand to silence her. “I know when time has run out and my time has run out, Clara. I cannot do this anymore. I have gone through too much and suffered too much to do it again. He can have her.”


“I promise you, something is wrong,” Caleb whispered and a part of me wanted to believe him- my wolf believed him but I couldn’t tell if this was a part of her powers or if she was just hoping for the best because Kaden was her mate and despite her anger, she felt for him.

“For both our sakes, I hope you are right. I need an answer and I need one soon. I cannot do this for long enough. I need to know what my next step is going to be.”

“I’ll get an answer to you in the next three days. I better leave now so that I can get a head start on it.”

I watched him leave and as soon as he closed the door, it was like all the energy bled out of me. I had not felt so worn out and exhausted in a while. I ran my hands through my hair as I collapsed on the chair and within seconds, Clara was next to me. She had her arm around my shoulder but I couldn’t get the usual level of comfort that I would get from her. I couldn’t feel her warmth the same way I would have because I knew that she had her own reasons for being next to me.

“Don’t say a word,” I whispered and she stilled. “I love you and I always value your opinion but this is not one of those days. Right now, all I want is peace and quiet. I don’t want to talk about Kaden or Nadine or whatever the fuck is happening with her. I have had enough of her for one day.”

“Enough of her?” she asked and I realized I never told her that Nadine came to school so I gave a brief explanation. By the time I was done, she sat there staring at me with her mouth open. “That is absolutely unacceptable. We have to tell Kaden.”

“And then what?” I cut her off and she fell silent. “What do you think Kaden will do if you tell him that she came to my school? Do you expect him to get up and fight for me? Do you think he will kick her out? Read the room, Clara and get your head out of your fantasies. It is all about her now. He doesn’t give a damn about me.”

“Amelia,” she began but I turned away from her. “I am sorry that happened. I cannot imagine what you are going through right now.”

“No, you cannot. None of you can and that is why I need all of you to stay out of my business. You are not going to convince me to stay, you are not going to convince me to fight anymore. I have done all the fighting that I possibly can. I don’t have any more strength.”

“Yes you do.”

“No, I do not. I am done, Clara. Once Caleb is done with hiss search, I am done. I know when I am beating a dead horse and I know when to accept defeat,” I scoffed. “I should have just let things end when my father wanted to kill me. All of this could have and would have been avoided. I would have been dead but I wouldn’t be hurting.”

“I know the pain seems blinding right now but there is hope.”

Her talk of hope pissed me off. It infuriated me to no end and I wanted to rip my own ear drums out and scream. I knew that wouldn’t be possible at the moment so I stood to my feet. I saw her jump at my abrupt movement and without one look at her, I walked away towards my room. It didn’t skip my attention that I had barely eaten the entire day or that I was not going to fall asleep, I just wanted to be alone. I heard her sigh as I walked away and thankfully, she didn’t think to follow me. I just made my way into the room and locked myself inside.

I sat on the edge of my bed until the sun came up.

By that time, I knew I couldn’t hide anymore and I knew I needed to get out of the house. I moved on autopilot into the bathroom and got dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a simple tee shirt. Clara had stuffed some clothes in the closet for me. She must have done it when I went to school and despite how exhausted and numb I was, I couldn’t help but feel some form of gratitude towards her.

When I finally emerged from my room, Clara was at the dining table with Pamela. They were talking in hushed whispers that died the moment she saw me. They both gave me wide smiles that I tried to return but I knew it didn’t come out right. They watched me as I made my way over to the dining table and piled some pancakes onto my plate.

“It’s good to see you eating,” Pamela announced with a wider smile but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her. “If you want some more then I can-”

“I don’t, thank you very much,” I knew my tone was curt and harsh but I just needed some quiet. “Stop treating me like I am some fragile and broken doll. I am not going to explode if you look at me wrongly and I am not helpless so please stop acting like I am.”

“That isn’t-” she began but I cut her off.

“That is exactly what you are doing and I wish it would stop. I just need a second where I didn’t feel like I was being monitored the entire day. I just want to have breakfast without everyone breathing down my neck all the damn time. I was strangled, I am not dead. It wasn’t the first time someone strangled me and it might not be the last so for fucks sake will you take a step back!”

I was shocked that I spoke to them like that. The room went silent as my words filled the air with tension so thick that it could have been cut with a knife. I risked a look at both of them and instead of anger that I had yelled, there was pity etched on their faces. That was all I needed to know that I needed to get out of the house. I put my untouched breakfast back on the table and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Clara yelled running after me. “We didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t need to,” I shot back. “I am going somewhere I will not be treated like fragile chine. I will be back in the evening.”

Before she could say anything, I slammed the door behind me. I didn’t wait to get into the car before I started dialing Serena’s number. It kept ringing and for a second, I feared that it was going to go to voicemail but to my surprise, she picked up.

“Are you okay?” she asked with concern lacing her tone. I never called so I couldn’t blame her for being worried. “Did that bitch come back?”

“No, I just- I need somewhere to stay for the afternoon. Can I come over to yours or something? If it is uncomfortable then maybe we can meet somewhere but I don’t want to be-”

“It’s fine,” she said much to my surprise. “I’ll send you the address.”

Her house was smack in the middle of town and although it was smaller that Kaden’s house, it didn’t look any less impressive. There was a well tended garden in front and I could see some toys littered across the yard and the front porch that I knew belonged to her child. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was going to see her and if Serena was comfortable with me being around her.

I raised my fist to knock but before I could do so, the door opened and Serena stood there. Her eyes were red rimmed as if she had been crying and she looked even worse than me. Her hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head and she just looked broken.

“I’m sorry for the appearance. I haven’t been my best since last night,” she sniffled as she stepped aside for me. “When you said you needed somewhere to be, I couldn’t say no because I needed someone too and there was no one.” She scoffed. “I probably sound so pathetic because you obviously have bigger problems.”

“I don’t mind. I don’t want to talk about my problems today.”

“No, you have to because if you have to see me like this then I need some leverage over you too. So better start talking. You go first then I can talk after.”

“Well, Kaden choked me because of Nadine. The bruises have healed thanks to my fast healing but I left his place. I stay with Caleb and Clara now. They think there is something wrong and they are investigating. If they find nothing, I am leaving the pack.”

She stared at me for a second before walking over to the closet and pulling out a bottle of alcohol. She took a swig before handing it over to me. “I think we will need this.”

“Thanks,” I whispered before drinking. It burned my throat but I said nothing. “Your turn, why do you look like this?”

“After talking to you yesterday, I told my parents that I wanted Iris to know that I was her mother. They agreed but she is a kid and she didn’t take it very well.”

“How bad?”

“They had to take her for ice cream to calm her down,” she wiped her tears. “Are you really going to leave?” I nodded. “You’re a coward.”

“Excuse me?”

“I got pregnant and I was the talk of the town. I could have left but I would have been damned if some man threw me out of the place I called home. I didn’t take you as a coward, Amelia, don’t let him make you run.”