KADEN’S P.O.V

I sat in my driveway staring and unblinking wanting to be sure that what was in front of me was not an apparition but real. I was terrified that if I even risked a blink, it would disappear but it never moved. I blinked once fearing the worst but that car remained seated in the driveway unmoving. I slowly got out of my car for fear that any sudden movements would suddenly make everything go sour but it didn’t. Amelia’s car was here which meant that she was too.


I felt something akin to relief and joy bubble up in my pit. As usual, my wolf was unbothered and chose to isolate himself in the corner of my mind. Nothing seemed to interest him much nowadays except it was Nadine. I found that extremely weird and I had done everything remotely possible to find out why but nothing made sense. Caleb hadn’t said anything since I told him about my concerns and if I couldn’t count on Caleb to help me then I couldn’t count on anyone else so I kept my secret to myself.

I put up a firm wall between myself and my wolf so as not to risk any more accidents happening. I wasn’t sure what changed Amelia’s mind or why she was here but I didn’t want to send her away. Her things were exactly the way she left it. Our room was untouched. I slept in the living room most often because I couldn’t bear to walk into that space knowing that I was the reason she was not waiting there for me.

I finally pushed open the door to the house after a minute of hesitation and her scent flew into my nose. It was almost like she had never left. The entire place smelled like her and whatever food she was cooking. I let out a small groan as I followed the scent into the kitchen where she was standing over a stove and stirring something. She was in skin tight leggings that had my dick swelling and an oversized shirt.


She knew the exact moment I walked in because I noticed her stiffen in slight apprehension. I wanted to slam my fist into the wall knowing that I had given her reason to fear me. In an ideal world, I would have made my way over to her but I couldn’t even bring myself to take a step forward. She still feared me and I didn’t want to give her more reason to do so. I wasn’t sure I would be able to take it.

“You came back,” I said and it wasn’t until the words had left my lips that I realized just how stupid I sounded. “I thought you were gone for good. I didn’t know you would come back.”


“Is that your way of asking me to leave?” she asked and I immediately shook my head.

“Of course not, I was just surprised, that is all. I would never ask you to- fuck,” I cursed as I ran my hands through my hair. I was stumbling over my words like a teenage boy seeing a pair of boobs for the first time. “Thank you for coming back. I thought I had lost you forever.”

She simply hummed in response and focused on her food. I could have walked away and given her privacy but I couldn’t stand to leave her alone. A part of me feared that if I left, she would decide that this was no longer worth it and run away. The truth was, I wasn’t worth it, she deserved a lot better than me but I was too selfish to let her get that. I was too selfish to leave her alone. She was my mate and I made a mistake but I was going to do everything in my power to ensure I never made that mistake again.

I waited with her until she turned off the gas and to her credit, she didn’t speak once. She pretended like I wasn’t there and busied herself with the food. It was pasta and chicken and it smelled heavenly. Once she was done cooking, she turned around and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I shouldn’t have come back,” she began and I opened my mouth to convince her but she held up a hand to stop me. “I shouldn’t have come back but for some reason, here I am. Despite every logical feeling in my head telling me that coming back to you was a mistake, I did it anyway. I came back and here I am risking my own life and heartbreak all over again and I don’t know why. I think it is the most stupid thing anyone could do.”

“It is,” I couldn’t help but admit and she raised a brow. “I don’t have a sister but if I did and her mate did even half of what I did to you, I would have her locked away so he could never see her again.”

“Yet here I am with you. Shouldn’t you be asking me to run the other way? Shouldn’t you be telling me that you don’t deserve me?”

I took slow and deliberate steps until I was standing directly in front of her. She leaned back into the counter but neither flinched nor tore her eyes away from me. She was matching me and giving back everything I was throwing at her. I didn’t know how she would react to me touching her so I placed both hands on either side of her and rested my palms flat on the counter.

“I don’t deserve you, Amelia,” my voice was soft and genuine. “Anyone with half a brain can see that but for some reason, the goddess saw fit to pair us together. I should let you go and if I were a good man, I would but I will not. I want you, Amelia, you are all that I have ever wanted and I don’t know what the fuck is happening to me right now but I need you to remember this. This is me at my most logical and I am telling you that no matter what, you are the one that I want.”

There was silence between us for a full minute before she finally cleared her throat and looked away. That was as much of a dismissal as I was going to get so I nodded and took a few steps back from her. Once she had her space back, she let out a deep breath and ran her hands down the sides of her face before finally lifting her eyes back to me.

“I am staying in our old room. My things are there so I assume you don’t want to throw me out of there. Even if you did, I would not be leaving,” she warned and I nodded. At the moment, she could have asked me to give her my organs and I would have obliged. “One more thing, Kaden.”

“Whatever it is,” I blurted out.

“If you hurt me, I will kill you. I don’t mean that lightly, I don’t mean that as a joke, if you even lift a finger in my direction again, I swear I will do everything in my power to kill you and I don’t give a fuck if it is your wolf that is trying to kill me or you, I would rather die than sit back and let that happen to me again. Am I clear?”

I nodded without hesitation. She opened her mouth to say something else but was cut off by heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. I smelled Nadine before I saw her and the wall I had erected between my wolf and I was promptly shattered as he roused from his slumber. He was so much stronger than usual and having Amelia in close contact was scary because I didn’t want to hurt her.

I stepped back until there was a respectable distance between us and I saw her frown. I knew how it looked and as much as I wanted to explain it to her, I couldn’t so I looked away. I saw Nadine bounding down the stairs in one of my shirts and my nose crinkled in distaste. My wolf on the other hand seemed excited and wanted nothing more than to jump to her side and pull her into our arms but I still had enough control over him to keep him from moving.

“Kaden, you’re back,” she squealed running over to my side. She placed one hand possessively on my shoulder and I glanced down at it. “I was just thinking of ordering in dinner. What would you like?”

“Amelia made dinner already,” she risked a glance at Amelia with a frown on her face.

My wolf was instantly alert wanting to get rid of any potential threat. He was clawing his way out but I forced him down. It took a considerable deal of strength and left me with a pounding headache. I wanted to get out of the room but Nadine’s palm had turned to her gripping my bicep for dear life.

“I thought she would be gone by now,” she said after a moment of silence. “You aren’t really going to let her stay, are you? I thought we were finally doing this, Kaden. I thought we were over this. You had her sent out.”

“Please, I cannot do this today. I have a pounding headache,” I tried to remove her hold on me but she wouldn’t let go. If anything, she grabbed onto me tighter. “Nadine, let go of me.”

My wolf snarled at me for speaking to her that way. I could feel my control hanging on by a thread. Amelia took a slow step towards me and I knew if she touched me, I was going to lose my mind so I grabbed Nadine’s arm and began to drag her with me towards my office. Before I left, I saw hurt flash across Amelia’s face and I made a mental note to make it up to her.

Once I was within the safety of my office, I turned to Nadine and finally let go of my filter. “I need you to stop touching me, I need you to stop calling my name. I am sorry about what happened to you because of me but Amelia is my mate now. What happened before was an accident and I am trying to make it up to her.”

She was silent for a minute before nodding. She placed both hands on the sides of my face. “I understand, I am sorry for what I have caused. I will make things right.”

Her voice was like a calming lullaby. I didn’t even realize when she closed the gap between us and pressed a kiss to my lips.