KADEN’S P.O.VIt took a minute for his words to settle. At first, I thought that I had misheard but when I realized that he wasn’t smiling, I knew that he was serious.“What do you mean by the entire pack knows? How do they know?”“What did you expect when you had people combing the woods looking for her? You were also gone without warning and she hasn’t shown up at school or the pack office. Some guards let it slip that she was missing. Some think she ran away from you.”I rolled my eyes and started to walk away when he continued.“You don’t have to be so combative you know, I am just here to help.”“I don’t need your help,” I made to slam the door but he stuck his foot out to stop me. “Leave, Aiden, I neither need nor want you here.”“Amelia was my friend, you know,” he rolled his eyes. “I don’t care if you want me here or not. I am here to help you. I want her back just as much as you do.”I narrowed my eyes at my cousin. He was many things but helpful was not one of them. Aiden on
AMELIA’S P.O.VBlake hadn’t touched me again since that day but I couldn’t shake the guilt that I felt. I knew why I had done it but that didn’t seem like enough of a justification to me. I had kissed another man, I had let him kiss my skin and even though an entire day had passed and I had scrubbed my skin so hard it turned red, I still felt very dirty.Blake had been whistling around the house since yesterday. I could tell that he was happy with himself. I was starting to wear him down and he was starting to believe that I truly loved him but I still hadn’t won him over enough to make him believe that he could let me out. I hadn’t asked yet and I wasn’t going to so I didn’t rouse much suspicion.“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked snapping me out of my thoughts. He was sitting on the table next to me. “You haven’t even touched your food. If you want something else-”“No, this is fine,” I stared down at the plate of pasta. It was good, I just didn’t have much of an appetite. I forced a for
CHAPTER 168AMELIA’S P.O.VBlake sat beside me. He claimed it was because he loved my company but I knew it was because he wanted to make sure I didn’t write anything that gave away our location. He didn’t fully trust me yet and I couldn’t blame him but I was a lot smarter than he gave me credit for and I had a plan. I just hoped that Kaden would be able to understand everything that I had written.“Can you read it out?” I asked Blake. “I want to make sure that it is direct enough and that he understands everything.”“Of course,” he took the paper from my outstretched hand and opened it up.Kaden,I heard that you were looking for me. You always had a funny way of trying to prove that you are the hero.Life has a funny way of giving you what you want and what I want is Blake.One day, I hope you understand and I hope you learn to forgive me. I left of my own accord. I asked Blake to come get me.Very often, I would find myself dreaming about Blake, about our love and what could have be
KADEN’S P.O.VI walked into the room with all the guards watching them squirm as their eyes landed on me. I didn’t end up going yesterday like I planned, I went to see Clara instead, hoping she remembered the faces but she didn’t and that put me in such a bad mood that I couldn’t afford to see anyone else.There wasn’t a lot of confusion from the guards, they all knew why they were here. I was just looking out for the guilty parties. The problem was, I had at least thirty men in this room.I took the seat that had been kept aside for me while they all stood with their hands clasped behind them. “You know why you are here.”“Yes, Alpha,” they responded in unison.“I don’t want to be here as much as you all don’t want to be here so why don’t we make this easier on all of us. If you know that you were not at your designated post, step forward,” no one moved. “I asked out of courtesy, I already know who was there and who was not. You have one more chance before I-”I didn’t even finish my
KADEN’S P.O.VI practically knew the entire letter by heart now. I spent almost every waking hour reading the words over again and trying to figure out any hidden meanings to it. There was also the fact that it was her writing and it smelled faintly like her. I could almost see her bent over a desk, scribbling the words. It was the closest thing I had to her right now and the only assurance that she was alive and well.So far, the only thing I could come up with was the hidden love declaration and the fact that she wasn’t touching Blake because she wanted to but because she had to pretend.It broke me knowing that she was in that position having to deal with that because I hadn’t found her yet. In the past two days, I had felt that pain no less than three different times and each time, I wanted to kill myself even more. I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t think or even breathe, all I knew was that she wasn’t safe and I needed to get her as soon as possible.I hadn’t been to see Aaron since the
KADEN’S P.O.VAgainst my better judgment, I found myself getting ready to meet Brittany tomorrow. I knew it was an incredibly stupid and rash decision- Caleb told me as much as well- but it wasn’t much of a choice. I needed a man inside the pack and she was the only one I could get my hands on. I didn’t trust her- it was becoming too much of a pattern to be around people that I didn’t trust- but I could tolerate her until I found Amelia.I followed her instructions to the letter and it wasn’t long before I found myself inside the goddess’ temple. I found some spare priest clothes at the back and quickly changed to finalize the plan. It didn’t take long before four rolled around and I saw her walk in. She had three guards behind her and I watched as she stopped in front of a marble statue.“Are you going to follow me around the entire time?” she spat in their direction. “Can’t a girl just pray on her own?”“We were instructed not to leave you alone. The Alpha doesn’t trust that you won
AIDEN’S P.O.VIf I had known that Amelia going missing was all that it would take to make Kaden spiral then I would have helped Blake take her a long time ago.Kaden never went anywhere without adequate protection, especially not another pack and especially not in the middle of the night. He was always careful but since Amelia was taken, he had been sloppy and I knew it was only a matter of time until I would be able to catch him unaware- today was that day.I watched him sneak into the pack and for the longest time, I debated on whether I should inform Blake or not but I figured it had nothing to do with me. If Blake were to find out, he would probably confront Kaden and I needed this secret meeting to go perfectly so that I could do my own part.The rogues were waiting in the trees. It was amazing how well they could hide. I suppose when you’ve lived your entire life in the shadows that it almost becomes second nature. I wasn’t sure if they were that good or if Kaden just wasn’t pay
AMELIA’S P.O.VBlake came in the next morning whistling and skipping the entire way in. I knew without a doubt that whatever news he had to share could not be good. He left two days ago, it was the longest he had left me so far and he once again had Jamal stay with me. I couldn’t wait for the time the time he would leave me on my own.Jamal mostly stayed out of my way but it was clear that he didn’t trust me. I was shocked that he hadn’t told Blake yet, it was clear there was some form of tension between the both of them and I wanted to find out what it was about, maybe I could use it to my advantage.“You look happy,” I began slowly as he made his way into the kitchen with a paper bag filled with groceries. “Do you need help putting those away?”“No, you just sit pretty while I make us lunch,” he was grinning from ear to ear. “You can leave, Jamal.”Jamal leaned against the wall with a raised brow. “Don’t I deserve dinner and good news?”His tone was teasing but Blake either didn’t k
EPILOGUEAMELIA’S P.O.V“Baby,” Kaden whispered, his voice soft as his stubble grazed my cheek. He placed soft kisses over my face and shoulders trying to rouse me awake but I wouldn’t move.I mumbled a few incoherent words, nuzzling closer to him and the warmth that emanated from his body. He laughed, the sound husky and timber as his arms wrapped around me.“You need to get up,” he told me, his lips brushing over my shoulders. “You asked me to wake you.”“Give me five more minutes, please. I’m exhausted.”He sighed, not fighting me on it because he knew just how exhausted I was. After the incident with Blake, I was confined to the bed for the rest of my pregnancy. It was a miracle that I didn’t lose the baby, and an even bigger miracle when we found out that we were having twins.The pregnancy was rough and there was a problem at every turn. Our babies came a few weeks early and the labor was so bad that I swore I would never do it again. We’d been parents for two years and even th
AMELIA’S P.O.VI recognized Blake instantly and swallowed.“You don’t have to do this,” I began slowly and he snorted.“Don’t I? Amelia, you don’t know how much trouble you’re in.”He grabbed my arm harshly and turned me to face him, the sharp edge of his knife now digging into my stomach. Fear gripped me but I forced it down into the pits of my stomach. I wasn’t sure if he knew about the baby yet, and I wasn’t going to give him one more edge over me.I took him in. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His eyes were red rimmed, there were massive bags under them, and he looked unhinged. His hands were stained with blood, and my wolf screamed at me to get away from him.“You played me like a fiddle,” he spat in my face. “You used my feelings for you against me.”“You took me from my mate, Blake. What did you expect? I didn’t want it to get to this. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can go back, I’ll blame it all on Aiden, I swear. Can’t we just live.”He pressed the knife harder i
AMELIA’S P.O.VHis words struck something inside of me. Over the next few days, all I could do was thinking about his words. He told me that he would find a witch if that was what I truly wanted, but I could tell his heart wasn’t into it, and I was glad for that because I also needed time to think.“I need to go to the office today,” Kaden began slowly as he stood in the doorway to the room.I hadn’t brought myself to ask him to return to bed and he didn’t push. Every night, he slept outside the door, never once complaining or making me feel like I was being a bother to him. I wanted him back with me, I wanted this whole thing over and done with but I couldn’t do that, not until I found a solution. I didn’t want the same problems plaguing us over and over again.“I’ll just stay here.”“Do you want me to send for Clara to join you? I can have-”“I just want to be here alone, I need to think.”He pursed his lips, clearly not pleased with my choice but nodded. I watched him stand in the
CHAPTER 206AMELIA’S P.O.VI didn’t let Kaden sleep in our room. It killed me to do it, I couldn’t even fall asleep but I forced myself to stick to my decision. I had to stand on business and stick to my decisions.By morning, I was exhausted and a tad bit frustrated. I stepped out of the room to get myself a drink of water but I was in for a surprise when I opened the door because to my shock, there Kaden lay. He sat on the floor in front of the door, his knees up to his chest.He didn’t look he had slept a wink and as soon as he saw me, he stilled. He opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out. After what felt like a long minute, he turned away from me, his cheeks tinged pink.“Did you sleep here?” I asked and he shrugged. “I didn’t do a lot of sleeping.”“You sat out here all night, why?”“Because, I couldn’t be away from you. You said you were dependent on me to sleep but the truth is that I am too. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep without you, I didn’t see a reason
KADEN’S P.O.VAs soon as Caleb drove off with Amelia, I felt someone slap me upside the head.There were only a handful of people who would dare to do that- my mother, Amelia and Pamela- I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.“You idiot,” Pamela hissed. “What were you thinking? She told you to stop multiple times and you kept going. Did you not hear when she said she would hate you?”I did hear her actually, I just convinced myself that she was upset and it would be fine after. I didn’t realize that she meant it or I would have stopped. It was a shitty excuse and I knew it made me a fucking terrible mate as well.“I know I messed up,” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. “I’ll make it up to her.”Pamela scoffed. “You stupid child, this is more than just making it up to her. After everything she went through, you were meant to be her safe place and you hurt her. This isn’t just about you outing her in public, you betrayed her trust. She has no one right now.”“That’
AMELIA’S P.O.VI walked out of the dining room and out the front door.I knew I was being a tad bit unreasonable but it pissed me off to no end that he couldn’t just trust me. I didn’t want to have that conversation in front of everyone, I didn’t want that part of my life out there. We were having a child together for goddess sake and yet, he couldn’t just listen to me.“Amelia!” Kaden’s voice echoed through the air as he rushed over to me. “Baby, please, just wait.”I ignored him and heads straight for my car. My guards were nowhere to be seen. They must have left after Kaden arrived. It didn’t matter to me anyway, I could drive. It was a terrifying thought to go home alone but I was going to do it. I wasn’t going to sit back and give him the satisfaction.I got to the door of my car when he placed a hand on the car door. “Please, Amelia, let me just talk to you, please.”“I have nothing to say to you,” I crossed my arms over my chest without looking at him. “Just go, okay? I don’t w
AMELIA’S P.O.VClara didn’t say a single word regarding my conversation with Aaron. I could tell she was thinking about it though. She was many things but stupid was not one of it. She knew exactly what that conversation was about and I expected more questions from her but there was nothing.“Do you want to come in?” was the first thing she asked when we got to her house. “My grandparents are home but that’s about it. They’ve missed you. They might want to say hi.”I didn’t want to take the offer but I also realized how cruel it was that I hadn’t come to see them yet. They took me in when they didn’t have to and treated me like their own grandchild. Before I could talk myself out of it, I nodded and followed her up to the front door.My palms were clammy and it felt like my chest was closing in on me but I forced myself to walk into the house. It smelled the same and looked the same, nothing had changed since the last time I was inside. It almost felt like I had never left.“Clara are
AMELIA’S P.O.VClara and I sat down on the wooden chairs while Aaron remained at the edge of the bed. He looked better than the last time I saw him, much better actually.“You haven’t used your powers in a while,” he didn’t waste any time before going straight to the point. “Both of you, not just you, Amelia.”I shrugged. “My wolf was drugged for weeks and I just haven’t had a reason to recently.”“You will soon.”It sounded more like an ominous warning than anything and I wanted to ask more about what he meant but he had already turned away from me and was facing Clara. She had her hands folded neatly in her laps and her face was cast down.“I just didn’t want to,” she shrugged. It was clear she was very uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.She already told me why so she didn’t need to tell him, especially if she didn’t want to. Besides, I was concerned with how he knew that we hadn’t used our powers in a while. We didn’t talk about it outside his door so there was n
AMELIA’S P.O.VI regretted my words the moment I saw the three guards that Kaden had arranged for me.He had a smile of pride on his face once they arrived and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. They were quite possibly the biggest and scariest men I had ever seen in my life. One of them had tattoos all over his arm, the other had a mean resting face that could make a grown man piss his pants. The third didn’t look as scary as the others but his sheer size alone was enough to make a person pause.“These are your guards,” he gestured to the men in front of me. “They’ll take you to Clara’s house first and you can go wherever you want after.”I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him blankly. “Are you serious?”“You said as many as I want. I wanted to get you four guards but I figured it would be too much.”“And you don’t think three is a little over the top?”“It’s this or nothing, baby.”I let out an exasperated sigh before turning to the guards. “Fine.”Neither of them broke