AMELIA’S P.O.VTo say that I was the center of attention the entire day would have been an understatement. I was approached by at least four different people at different times of the day wanting to know what was going on between Kaden and I and the strange woman in the hospital. For the most part, I managed to ignore them but it was more exhausting than I realized. It was almost impossible for me to take two steps without being approached by someone. Serena did her best to stay by my side but there was a limit to what she could do.“How long until school is over?” she whispered as we hid between the shelves in the library. We briefly managed to escape the head of the school newspaper and were counting down the minutes until we would be able to leave school.“Ten,” I responded as I glanced at my phone. “It is only a matter of time. We can leave soon. Kaden said he would be here to pick me up. I could ask him to drop you off if you’d like.”She waved me off. “I’m going to see my parent
AMELIA’S P.O.VHe dropped me off at the office but I didn’t stay there long. All it took was fifteen minutes of people staring at me with pitying glances for me to decide that I had enough. I wasn’t going to stand for it and I wasn’t going to endure it. They didn’t know what Kaden and I’s relationship was like, they didn’t get to judge me for it and I wasn’t going to sit around and pretend like they weren’t all whispering about us when they were.A part of me was pissed off at Kaden. It was his fault we were in this situation, it was his fault that they had something to talk about in the first place. I wanted to be angry, I wanted to be furious but I couldn’t bring myself to conjure up the emotion. I was too tired, too worn out, too fed up of everything. I just wanted to live a life where my every move wasn’t governed and watched by everyone but that was impossible considering the fact that I was mated to the Alpha.“I’m leaving,” I announced to Kaden’s secretary. She looked empatheti
AMELIA’S P.O.VI agreed mainly because I had nothing else to do. Ian and I walked back to the coffee shop together and I stood anxiously to the side while he paid for my drink. He also got a steaming mug of coffee for himself and I couldn’t help but notice that he had put creamer and sugar which was unlike most of the men I knew.“So,” he began as we started walking down the road. “What are you doing here alone? I haven’t seen you in this part of town before. Were you looking for something?”“Not really, I just didn’t want to go home right now and I thought a walk would do me some good,” I shrugged trying to keep my response as vague as possible. I didn’t want to admit that Kaden had gone back to the hospital and I was alone. “What about you? Were you looking for something?”“Yes, actually, I wanted to get some more mats for training. I managed to get a few and I was heading to the woods for a run. If I recall correctly, I once asked you if you wanted to train your wolf with me.”I fl
AMELIA’S P.O.VIan took me to a nice quaint restaurant that he swore had the best lamb chops that he had ever tasted in his life. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I didn’t like lamb and resigned to going with him. He seemed so excited and I didn’t have the heart to ruin that. I just sat silently in the car as he tried to explain everything I would love about the place.When he got there, I was surprised because I did like the place. It was small and had a homey feel to it. People were whispering and laughing between themselves. No one seemed to care who we were, there were no eyes following us or people whispering about us which was the norm whenever I went out with Kaden. As we were taken to our table, I couldn’t help but wonder why I didn’t go out with friends more.“You’re getting the lamb, right?” he asked and I gave him a sad smile.“I don’t like lamb,” I admitted finally and his eyes widened. “I’m sure I can just get something else.”“You should have said something,” he grabb
AMELIA’S P.O.VI couldn’t fall asleep and I knew without a doubt that Kaden couldn’t either. I could feel his worry and unease down the bond and it took everything in me not to go to him. It was ingrained in me to want peace especially with my mate but Clara was right and I had to stand up for myself or I was going to end up in an unhappy relationship for the rest of my life. I wasn’t truly going to leave Kaden, at least, I hoped he wouldn’t give me reason to leave.Sometime around four, I found myself walking out of the room and pulling on some training clothes. I figured it would do me some good to take a small jog to the training field before anyone else arrived. I was about to leave the house when I felt a presence behind me. I knew immediately it was Kaden and I took a deep breath before turning to face him.He was wearing only sweatpants that hung low on his lips. My mouth dried up as I took him in. He was built like a marble sculpture and framed like an Adonis. It was hard to s
KADEN’S P.O.VFury filled my features as the words settled in my brain. My mother had gone behind my back to ensure that Nadine didn’t wake up. Amelia tried to stop me but I brushed her off as I stormed into the room. Mother and Dr. Brown jumped apart staring at both Kaden and I with shock and guilt on their faces. Dr. Brown opened and closed her mouth repeatedly but I held up a hand to stop her.“How long has this been going on?” I asked but she glanced to my mother for support. That infuriated me and I let out a growl. “I am talk to you. You will look at me when I speak. I asked you a fucking question.”“Since she moved her hand,” she admitted and I cursed. She flinched from my rag and I exhaled deeply to calm myself.“Take her off those drugs. If she isn’t awake in three days, I will make sure that you never see the inside of a pack again,” I threatened and her face blanched. I wasn’t bluffing and she knew that. I could feel Amelia’s eyes on me but I couldn’t look at her. I didn’t
I was in the kitchen fixing up breakfast the next day. Kaden sat at the dining table, his eyes fixed on the newspaper in front of him, but I could feel his agitation from where I was.I could practically see the frustration radiating off him as he tried in vain to focus, his attempts punctuated by the occasional slam of the paper onto the table followed by a grunt or a groan. Occasionally, I could feel his eyes on me but I didn't dare meet his gaze.Instead, I focused on the task at hand and by the time I was done, I went over to the dining table to serve the meal. I poured the coffee into mugs and dished out the bacon and eggs; I knew better than to disturb him in such a state, so I moved with as much precision as I could muster.With each clatter of utensils or clink of dishes, I winced, half-expecting Kaden's outburst to follow. But he said nothing.I forced a smile. "Breakfast is served," I said softly, hoping to break the ice.Kaden glanced up from his newspaper, his expression s
AMELIA’S P.O.VShe led me into the living room and I could already tell by her demeanor that she had no intentions of answering whatever questions I had. She gestured to the empty seat and before I could speak, she walked out only to return with a tea cup and some slices of cake. I watched her pour it while taking in the room out of the corner of my eye.It fit her personality perfectly. It was spotless with white couches and pure white walls. It looked more like an office than a home but I said nothing knowing that I risked causing an entire fight. I waited until she handed the cup to me and made a show of sipping my tea slowly.“Is there something you need my help for?” she asked. “I have to say, I am shocked to see you here. I thought we had a mutual agreement where we didn’t like each other and preferred to stay away.”“Why don’t we stop with the games?” the no nonsense tone I took had her stilling. “I have been patient with you and Kaden. I have sat while you both have hid things
CHAPTER 195AMELIA’S P.O.VFor a moment, Kaden just stood there staring at me and I wondered if I had pushed him too far. Perhaps it was never about me being ready, maybe he wasn’t ready to be with me after everything that happened.I felt so incredibly stupid and attempted to turn away from him when he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. I didn’t want to but we were like magnets, always drawn to each other and I couldn’t stop myself from staring straight into his eyes.“I’m only going to say this once so get this straight,” he began slowly. “I don’t ever want to see that fucking look on your face again. The only reason I said nothing is because I was thinking of how much of a bastard I would be if I fucked you right here instead of taking you up into a room.”I cracked a smile. “I don’t think I can make it upstairs.”“Me neither.”The words were barely out of his mouth before he kissed me again. I felt something akin to relief in the center of my chest. It felt good to be a
AMELIA’S P.O.VIt had been two days since Aiden came to visit and Kaden had not spoken about him. We acted as if it were a fever dream that was locked away in the far parts of our minds.I knew that Aiden wouldn’t give up anytime soon and I knew that one day, I needed to tell Kaden about what had happened but I couldn’t even figure out how to bring it up. It was unsettling and uncomfortable but I didn’t have solid proof that he meant for anything malicious to happen.“You’re thinking hard,” Kaden’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned to find him standing at the doorway to the kitchenIt was his presence that reminded me of what I was doing and I cursed as I pulled the oven open. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that my cake hadn’t burnt but if I had left it for a few more minutes, I wouldn’t have been able to say that at all.I rushed to get it out and put it on a cooling rack all the while I could see Kaden trying to hide a smile out of the corner of his eye.I was
AMELIA’S P.O.V“Hi,” I managed out as I made my way over to them and their conversation instantly ceased. I could see that Serena was itching to touch me but they both held back for my sake. “I’m not going to shatter just because you hug me.”That was all Serena needed before she rushed to her feet and threw her arms around my shoulders. She didn’t cry like the last time but I could feel her relief as she held me. I wasn’t sure how long that lasted but as soon as she pulled away, Clara’s arms were around me.“I’m so sorry,” she whispered and I could almost taste the guilt that was radiating off her.“It wasn’t your fault,” I assured her. “We were ambushed, we were sidetracked. Thar had nothing to do with you. I need you to know that.”“You were gone, for so long.”“But I’m back now,” I pulled away and grasped her shoulders. “All that matters is that I’m back now.”She gave me a small nod. I knew it would take more than that to deal with the guilt that she felt but it was a good start
AMELIA’S P.O.VIt was exactly one week since I had been back and I was yet to leave the house.Kaden had been patient with me, not forcing me to go anywhere until I was ready or making me do anything I didn’t want to but even I knew that life had to move on. I couldn’t just sit in here forever and pretend like things were fine and the constant state of boredom was driving me mad.We were having breakfast when I spoke. “I want to go out.”Kaden stopped eating, his eyes finding mine and I could see the worry in them as he slowly ran his eyes over me. He was more protective over me than usual and I didn’t blame him, especially not after what happened. If I wanted to go anywhere, especially now, I knew that there would be crazy rules to come with it.“Where do you want to go?”I shrugged. I hadn’t really thought that far. All I knew was that I didn’t want to be within the four walls of the house anymore. I wanted to talk to my friends, I wanted to be normal, I wanted to see people without
KADEN’S P.O.VWhat Amelia needed whether she realized it or not were her friends.Just those few minutes with Serena had brightened her day more than I thought was possible. It hurt that they could do more for her than I could but I didn’t care as long as it meant that she was fine, that was all that mattered to me.After the interaction with Serena, Amelia declared that she wanted to go home. I didn’t protest, didn’t even make any other suggestions, we just got into the car and drove. She didn’t hide from me when we returned which was a plus in my books, she simply sat on the couch, laying her head on my shoulder in silence.I wasn’t sure how long we stayed there but it could have been ten hours and I wouldn’t have minded. She seemed so peaceful, more than she had since she got back and I loved that for her.“I hate the silence,” she whispered and I turned to her. “When I was there with him, it was always quiet. I couldn’t go anywhere, couldn’t do anything, it was just the two of us
AMELIA’S P.O.VI didn’t want to leave the house the next morning but when Kaden told me that it was to say goodbye to Jackson, I forced myself out.Going to the pack house was terrifying and the entire time, it felt like someone was breathing down my neck and the worst was yet to come. Kaden was a firm pillar by my side the entire time, he never once took his hand out of mine and he never strayed from my side. I knew that I was safe with him but that didn’t mean I still wasn’t a little scared.“You look like shit,” Jackson drawled as soon as he saw me.Kaden stiffened, not liking his tone but waiting to see my reaction. I was silent for a second before a small smile pulled at the corner of my lips. I wrapped my arms around his center clearly catching him off guard.For a moment, he didn’t move and then, ever so slowly, he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed softly.“I would say you look like shit but you actually look better,” I whispered as I pulled back.He had clearly taken a s
AMELIA’S P.O.VI knew I was hurting him by not letting him in but I couldn’t.How could he help when even I didn’t know how to help myself? I was home and that should have been the most important thing but I still found myself terrified. In my nightmare, I was back in Blake’s little hideaway house. I was back with him and my baby was gone.How could I tell Kaden that knowing fully well that he was going to lose his mind and panic? I didn’t want him stressed- didn’t need him stressed right now. One of us needed a clear head and it was obvious that person wasn’t going to be me.“Amelia, baby, please look at me,” Kaden’s voice was soft and coaxing as he wiped my tears off my cheeks. “Please.”I wasn’t sure if it was the please or the sound of pure defeat in his voice that had me slowly opening my eyes. He gave me a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes and I couldn’t help it, I leaned up to kiss him. It wasn’t a deep kiss of unbridled passion, it was soft, almost explorative, just
KADEN’S P.O.VI couldn’t bring myself to fall asleep.Amelia claimed to be fine but I knew her better than I knew myself. I knew every bit of her, every smile, every freckle, every curve of her skin, I knew her emotions better than I knew my own sometimes and I knew for a fact that despite her saying otherwise, she was far from fine.I could see it in the way she hardly ever met my eyes, in the hesitation in her voice and in her determination to avoid speaking about whatever she might have faced in that place. I knew the guilt that she felt, sometimes when she let her wall down by accident, I could feel it like a bitter poison at the back of my throat threatening to choke me.It didn’t matter how many times I told her that I was fine with what happened, she couldn’t forgive herself and if she couldn’t, there was no way she was going to move past it. I wasn’t a fan of the idea of her being with Blake sexually but she did what she had to in order to survive and as much as I hated it, I
AMELIA’S P.O.VI was discharged before the end of the day.Kaden clearly didn’t agree with my choice but I doubted he could bring himself to refuse me. I knew I was being a little irrational and illogical but I couldn’t bear to be anywhere else. I wanted to be surrounded by people I knew and by my home, I wanted to be surrounded by him.He carried me into the car despite knowing I could walk and for once, I didn’t protest. Clara and Caleb were nowhere to be seen by the time we were leaving, I presumed they were giving us our space and for that, I was grateful. I loved my friends but today was not that day.As we drove past the turn to the house, I turned to Kaden. “Where are we going?”“Our home.”“But it’s that way,” I pointed towards the turn that we had missed. “Kaden, where are you taking me?”“That was my house, I’m taking you to ours.”I didn’t realize what he was talking about until he pulled up in front of a familiar building. The last time I saw it, he was still trying to per