08

Valeria

The low hum of the car engine was the first thing I registered as my mind emerged from the fog. My body ached, exhaustion pressing heavily on me like a weight I couldn’t shake. I blinked slowly, taking in my surroundings.

The interior of the car was dim, illuminated only by the soft glow of the dashboard. The smell of leather mixed with the faint scent of pine and smoke—the scent that clung to Kade like a second skin.

I shifted slightly, my limbs heavy and uncooperative. Kade’s deep voice cut through the silence.

“Don’t move too much. You need rest.”

His tone was gruff, distant, and it grated against my raw nerves. I glanced at him, his profile sharp in the dim light. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles pale from the strain. His jaw was set, the muscle ticking as if he were grinding his teeth.

“Where are we?” I croaked, my throat dry.

“On our way out of the wolf pack’s territory,” he replied without looking at me. “Keep your head down until we’re past the border.”

I hesitated, my instincts telling me to push back, to challenge him. But the weight of everything that had happened crushed any defiance I might have mustered. Instead, I sank lower in my seat, pressing myself against the door as the dark trees outside blurred past.

The minutes dragged on, the silence between us thick and suffocating. Kade didn’t speak, his focus locked on the road. I stole glances at him, his expression unreadable, his tension palpable.

Finally, the car slowed, and I felt the subtle shift as we crossed onto smoother terrain. Kade’s hands relaxed slightly on the wheel, and I knew we’d passed the border.

“You can sit up now,” he muttered.

I straightened slowly, the ache in my muscles making me wince. My eyes flicked to him, and I couldn’t keep the question from spilling out. “Why did you agree to take me with you?”

He grunted, the sound low and noncommittal. “I didn’t have much of a choice.”

I stared at him, waiting for more, but he said nothing. My frustration bubbled to the surface. “That’s not an answer… Kade.”

He shot me a brief glance, his eyes sharp and guarded. “I agreed because it made the most sense,” he said finally, his tone clipped. “My pack is the safest place for you right now.”

I leaned back, crossing my arms over my chest. “You don’t even believe I’m innocent. So why bother?”

His hands tightened on the wheel again, his jaw clenching. “Because this isn’t about what I believe. Stop talking as if you’re interrogating someone.”

I scoffed softly, turning to stare out the window. The tension between us was unbearable, a heavy cloud that seemed to grow thicker and darker with each passing mile. I had hoped that the weather would hold until we got to Shadowfang Pack, but fate had other plans for us.

The storm hit us unexpectedly, the rain slamming against the car in torrents. Lightning illuminated the sky in jagged flashes, followed by the rumble of thunder that seemed to shake the ground itself. The visibility was so poor that Kade was forced to pull over at a small roadside motel, its flickering neon sign barely visible through the downpour.

“We’ll stop here for the night,” he said tersely, killing the engine.

Inside the motel’s tiny office, the receptionist—a middle-aged man with a weathered face—barely looked up as Kade paid for a room. “Only got one left,” the man muttered, sliding the key across the counter.

Kade’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. When we stepped into the room, I took one look at the single bed and the small, sparsely furnished space and sighed. “This is cosy.”

Kade ignored my sarcasm, shutting the door firmly behind us. The sound of the storm outside was muffled but persistent, the wind howling like a wounded animal.

“I’ll take the couch,” he said gruffly, dropping his bag near the bed.

I didn’t argue, too tired to care. I sat on the edge of the bed, my body heavy with exhaustion. Kade busied himself near the small fireplace, lighting the logs that had been left there. The flickering firelight cast long shadows across the room, the warmth a stark contrast to the cold tension between us.

As the fire crackled to life, Kade finally turned to face me. His expression was guarded, but there was something else there—something I couldn’t quite place. He got up and approached me, stopping a few steps away from me.

“I need to know,” he said, his voice low but firm. “Did you know about the wolfsbane?”

I stiffened, my hands curling into fists. “I told you already—I had nothing to do with it.”

He took a step closer, his eyes searching mine. “The house you were kept in had a wolfsbane farm behind it. You expect me to believe that’s a coincidence?”

I stood, my frustration boiling over. “Yes, I do. Or are you so eager to believe the worst about me that you won’t even consider the possibility that someone set me up?”

His jaw clenched, his eyes narrowing. “I’m not saying you did it, Valeria. But the evidence—”

“Is circumstantial at best,” I snapped, cutting him off. “You’re supposed to be… my mate, Kade. How can you doubt me like this?”

The word “mate” hung heavy in the air between us, the burden of it pressing down on both of us. His expression shifted, a flicker of something raw and vulnerable crossing his face before he masked it with cold indifference.

“You don’t even understand the position I’m in,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I have a pack to think about. The future of Shadowfang is hanging loosely on my shoulders, and if you’re guilty, and I protect you, it puts them all at risk.”

I stepped closer, my anger giving way to something deeper, something that ached in my chest. “And what about me? What about the bond we share? Doesn’t that matter to you?”

His gaze dropped, his fists clenching at his sides. “It does,” he admitted, barely above a whisper. “But I can’t ignore the facts, Valeria.”

The vulnerability in his voice sent a pang of pain through me, but it wasn’t enough to douse the fire of my frustration. “You’re so caught up in protecting your pack that you’ve forgotten what it means to trust.”

The tension between us crackled like the firelight, and for a long moment, neither of us spoke. The storm outside seemed to grow louder, the wind rattling the windows as if mirroring the turmoil inside the room.

Then, in a sudden, almost violent motion, Kade closed the distance between us. His hands gripped my arms, his touch firm but not painful. “You don’t know what you’ve done to me,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “You make me question everything I’ve ever believed, and it terrifies me.”

My breath caught, my heart pounding in my chest. “Kade—”

He didn’t let me finish. His lips crashed against mine, the kiss a mix of anger, frustration, and something deeper that neither of us could name. It was raw and desperate, a collision of emotions that we couldn’t contain any longer.

For a moment, I melted into him, my hands gripping the front of his shirt as if he were the only thing keeping me upright. His touch was both demanding and tender, his hands moving to cup my face as if he were afraid I might slip away.