Kayla’s POV I barely had time to process what was happening before a strong, unyielding arm blocked Leo’s attack. The force of the impact echoed through the shop, making Ingrid gasp beside me. Leo stumbled back, his wrist locked in a firm grip. But it wasn’t Adrian who had come to my rescue. It was Hector. He stood between us, his expression calm—but there was an unmistakable edge of danger in his eyes. He gripped Leo’s wrist so tightly that the nobleman’s face twisted in pain. “You must be getting bold, Leo,” Hector said, his voice smooth but laced with warning. “Trying to raise a hand against the Alpha's Fiancee in broad daylight?” Leo winced and tried to yank his arm free, but Hector’s grip didn’t budge. “She’s overstepping,” Leo hissed. “Digging into pack finances like she has the right—” “The right?” Hector chuckled darkly, finally releasing him. “She’s engaged to Adrian. That gives her more right than you’ll ever have.” He stepped forward, forcing Leo to back away. “Yo
Kayla’s POV I stood there for a long time after Hector left, my heart pounding in my chest. “Because I’ve fallen for you.” His words played over and over in my mind, refusing to fade. Hector—Adrian’s stepbrother, the same villain I thought had tried to banish me away—had just confessed his feelings for meWhat was happening? Was this some type of trap? I let out a shaky breath, rubbing my temples. This wasn’t good. Not at all. I didn’t want any problems between Adrian and me. More than that, I didn’t want problems between Adrian and Hector Because of me. Their relationship was already complicated enough without me in the middle of it. The best thing to do now was avoid Hector. Yes. That was the only solution. I just had to keep my distance, pretend that conversation never happened, and focus on what actually mattered: the missing funds and helping Alpha Adrian. I turned back to the stack of storage records on the desk and forced myself to concentrate. The missing funds we
Kayla’s POV Adrian stormed into the room with a fury that made the walls feel smaller. Behind him, several of his men followed—Connor and Logan at the front, their sharp eyes scanning the scene. His gaze locked onto me first. Then it dropped to Hector, who was still holding me. “What the hell is going on here?” he growled, his voice dangerously low. Before I could say a word, Adrian strode forward and pulled me out of Hector’s arms. His grip was firm but careful, his hands brushing over my arms as if checking for injuries. “Hector, what the fuck did you do to her?” Adrian’s voice was ice. "I swear to the goddess, if you've hurt a single hair on her body--." His body tensed in front of me, like a wall between Hector and me. I quickly shook my head, stepping between them before things escalated. “Wait! wait no! Hector didn't hurt me, He just saved me.” Adrian’s brows furrowed. His eyes scanned me again, as if only now registering what I had said. “Saved you?” His voice softened
Adrian’s POV“Is there something wrong with your wolf?” I watched as Kayla’s face turned pink, her hands fidgeting slightly at her sides. She was flustered. That alone confirmed my suspicions. Something truly was wrong with her wolf. “Kayla,” I said gently, watching the way her shoulders tensed. “Talk to me.” She quickly shook her head. “I—I don’t know what you mean.” I sighed. “You know exactly what I mean.” Her eyes darted away. “I don’t.” I tilted my head, studying her carefully. “Logan studied your fight scene, You fought using weapons instead of your claws,” I pointed out. Kayla stiffened. “You didn’t heal as fast as you should have.” She swallowed hard. “And your scent…” My eyes darkened. “It’s not just different. It’s… incomplete.” Kayla sucked in a sharp breath. I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Kayla, I need you to be honest with me. Is there something wrong with your wolf?” Her lips parted, but no sound came out. I could see it in her eyes—the war she w
Adrian's pov Kayla was finally relaxing around me. Finally trusting me. Thank the goddess!That moment in our room—**her leaning into my touch, the way she didn’t want me to leave—**it felt like a wonderful breakthrough.I wanted her to feel safe with me. I wanted to be the one she leaned on.But then… I remembered something else. I remembered this evening with Hector. I remembered how she leaned in his arms earlier that night.And my blood boiled.I clenched my jaw, trying to push the image away.She had looked so vulnerable. And he was the one who had been there to hold her. Not me.I didn’t like that at all.In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I realized something I hadn't let myself dwell on before.And that was that I didn’t want Kayla around any other man.I didn’t want her leaning on anyone but me.And just like that—it hit me. I wanted Kayla as my woman.Not just as my responsibility. Not just as my pack member. I wanted her romantically, sexually and, wholly as mi
Adrian’s POV The moment I stepped into my room, I felt my body relax. It had been a long night—filled with fights, interrogations, and threats—but now, I was finally back where I wanted to be. With her. Kayla was already in bed, curled up under the covers. The dim light from the bedside lamp cast a soft glow on her face, making her look even more delicate. At first, I thought she was asleep. But then, her eyes fluttered open. "You're back," she murmured, her voice laced with exhaustion. A slow warmth spread through me. She had been waiting for me. I sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You should be sleeping," I said softly. She blinked sleepily. "I wanted to make sure you came back okay." Something in my chest tightened. She cared. Even after everything she went through this night, after all the danger, after all the problems she had endured—she wasn't thinking about herself. She wanted to make sure I was okay. I brush
Kayla’s POV A soft warmth surrounded me, and for the first time in a long while, I felt truly safe and wanted. It took me a moment to register why. it was because I was in Adrian’s arms. His strong, steady breathing tickled the back of my neck, and his body heat wrapped around me like a protective cocoon. His arm was draped over my waist, holding me against him as if he had no intention of letting go. I should have been shy about this—should have been flustered about being this close to him. But I wasn’t. Somewhere between last night’s terrifying attack and the way he had held me afterward—something had changed between us. His touch no longer made me nervous. It made me calm. It made me feel home. I blinked up at the ceiling, my mind drifting back to the way he had touched my face last night, the way his thumb had brushed my cheek so gently. "You’re worth it," he had said. Those words had shaken me. I had spent so long being treated like I was disposable. Unwanted. A bur
Kayla’s POVThe weight of their stares was suffocating.Every councilman in the room glared at me as if I were their worst enemy. As if I had committed some great sin simply by standing beside Adrian.I clenched my hands at my sides, forcing myself to breathe.I had expected hostility. But this? This was hatred.I turned slightly toward Adrian, seeking reassurance—not that I needed it, but because something about his presence always made things seem less scary.And when I looked at him… I saw growing rage.Not at me—but at them.Adrian’s dark eyes was beginning to burn with undiluted fury as he surveyed the room, his body tense with barely contained aggression.Then, his gaze locked onto Councilman Augustine.And just like that, the storm hit."I won’t be allowing you to preside over this meeting, Augustine," Adrian said, his voice deadly calm.Murmurs broke out instantly. Augustine was head councilman, this was his main duty, Adrian's words must have been a slap to his face.Augustin
Kayla's POV After breakfast, I insisted on helping the staff with chores—cleaning the tables, washing dishes, folding laundry. I needed to do something with my hands that would keep my thoughts from spiralling intodark thoughts.Plus I was eager to start helping the children as fast as possible. The funny thing was that the kids followed me around, asking questions about where I came from, if I had a wolf, if I’d ever seen the Alpha in real life. I smiled and answered as vaguely as I could, not ready to explain the chaos I’d run from. But for the first time in days, I felt a strange sense of peace.Like I was right where I should be. I was hanging laundry out back when one of the staff—Elara, a tall woman with sharp gray eyes and a strong build—approached me. “You’re quite the helper Miss Kayla,” she said, nodding with a basket on her hip. “I needed something to keep me busy,” I replied. She glanced around before adding, “You know, Lady Anna swears you’ve been here before.”
Kayla I ended up spending the night at the Orphanage and it was one of the most restful nights I've had in weeks.Sure, I might have had one or two night mares where I saw Adrian kissing Candice in her room while my body wrecked with painful sobs, but hey, it was better than the nightmares I usually had about the darkness that was trying to take control of me.I knew that I would finally be able to get rid of the problem when I finally get to the Oracle's sanctuary, but I just had to wait until the guards weren't searching for me so persistently.To be honest, I'm surprised that Adrian was putting that much effort into finding me now when he had been ignoring me for the last few days.Hadn't Candice satisfied him enough? Or was he so greedy that he wanted the two of us at the same time?Men! I should have known better than to let myself trust them again. Especially after how Xavier treated me.I had stupidly let myself become a fool for love again! How pathetic!I definitely won't le
Kayla's POV I really didn’t know where I was going at first. Not really. My feet just kept moving, dragging me farther away from the palace, from the pack... from Adrian. Every step felt more gut wrenching than the last, like my body wanted to turn back even though my heart refused to. Where do I go? I paused in the shadow of an old bakery, pressing my back to the cold brick wall as I hugged the jacket tighter around me. My breath was beginning to puff visibly in the cold evening air, and the wind cut through my clothes like icy knives.I would go to mountain, I finally decided. It was the only place I knew where I would be accepted by someone.I obviously couldn't go back to Xavier's pack but it was the only other place I knew, so the Oracle's sanctuary was my best vet.Plus If there was any place I could find answers—or strength—it was with her. Maybe I could even finish my training. Maybe I could finally understand why I was… this. Why I couldn’t control my power or trust my
Kayla's POVI sat on the cold marble floor, clutching one of Adrian’s shirts to my chest, tears streaming down my face like a damn faucet I couldn’t turn off.How could he do this to me? After everything. After all his promises to always fight for me. To never let me feel alone again.He spent the night with her.Candice.It took one fight, one misunderstanding, and he ran straight to her. I didn’t even need to ask anyone. The moment Connor hesitantly told me the truth, I saw it. Clear as day. The shattered pieces of my heart lay scattered around the room like the vases I’d broken last night.The bed smelled like him. The sheets, the pillows — all of it haunted me. His scent, his warmth... gone. Just like that.“He was never going to choose you,” the necklace whispered in that low, silky voice that made my skin crawl. “Men like him choose women like Candice. Pretty, obedient. The kind that don’t challenge them.”“Shut up,” I muttered, dragging myself up to the bed to unzip the duffe
Adrian's POV I tried hard to remember last night but my head soon began to hurt from the effort and I still came up blankPanic was quickly beginning to seize me until I suddenly heard Candice's voice. "Relax Alpha," she said from across the room, her legs tucked under her in a chair by the window with a mug in her hand. "You don't need to try hard to remember what happened last night.""Huh?" I asked in confusion.Candice smiled. "I can read your emotions on your face, and what I meant to say was Nothing interesting happened." I blinked blearily at her. "What...?" "You passed out last night after drinking that extra bottle I told you not to drink," she said simply. "I didn’t want the entire palace gossiping about how their great Alpha can’t hold his liquor so I brought you to the guest room in my quarters. I just brought coffee for you this morning." She gestured to the tray on the table. I let out a breath of relief. I didn't betray Kayla because nothing had happened between us
Adrian’s POVI'm an idiot, I know that. I'm an idiot who's hopelessly in love with a woman but still too scared of his feelings for her.These last few days have really wrecked my mental state and drinking with Candice made me forget my worries for just a few hours.But even that, didn't last long. Because once my eyes landed on Kayla, everything came flooding back.She had made lunch and brought it to me, which meant that she had been thinking of me and probably tried to reach me earlier but I had blocked her.I just wanted time to process thoughts without interruptions or guilt. But that turned out to be impossible because the second I saw the look on Kayla’s face when I refused the food she brought, a bitter knot formed in my stomach. Her smile faltered and was replaced by something smaller, tighter. Hurt. She held the tray down carefully, almost as if she were afraid it would shatter if she moved too quickly.Then she offered to make dinner but I turned it down too and I could
Kayla's POV "It's not any of your concern Kayla. I suggest you drop it... for your own good."What nonsense was he saying. Xavier was my ex husband and very obvious enemy of Adrian. What did he mean it was non of my concern?I was very confused now. Didn't Hector say he had nothing to do with Xavier? Didn't he say he was going to change his relationship with Adrian for the better? What was he hiding now? I pressed on. “You know meeting with him, especially after everything that happened, is only going to make things worse with Adrian. Do you really want to make things more complicated?” He turned his head toward me, his expression hardening slightly. “I don’t care anymore what Adrian thinks. He’s never cared about what I’ve done, and he never will. Besides, I don’t see the problem with talking to someone who actually listens to me.” I felt my heart twist in my chest. “I know you’re upset, Hector, but you promised me—even before I stopped Adrian from banishing you—that you’d stop w
Kayla's POV I couldn’t get Xavier’s smug face out of my mind as I stormed down the hall. I needed to get away from him. From all of it. Adrian, Candice, Xavier... everything felt like it was crashing down. But I still had something to do. I walked briskly toward the holding cells, tray of food in my hands, trying to ignore the flutter of doubt and anger in my chest. I had come this far. I wasn’t going to let Xavier’s words, or my own jealousy, ruin everything. When I reached Hector’s cell, I paused for a moment. The guards were standing nearby, looking bored as usual. They didn’t even seem to notice me at first, so I took the chance to slip past them. But then one of them suddenly stepped in my path, a scowl forming on his face. “Where do you think you’re going?” he sneered. I blinked. “Excuse me?” “You can’t bring food to him,” the guard snapped, his tone rude and dismissive. I frowned. “Actually, I can. And I will. I’m Lady Kayla the Alpha’s fiancée, and I’ll bring food to
Kayla's POV My heart sank at Adrian's words. He didn't even want to talk to me this morning but he was here laughing his ass off and eating with Candice.I forced a smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Of course,” I muttered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Candice beamed at me, clearly in a much better mood than I was. “It’s good to see you again. I’ve really missed you,” she said, taking another bite of her food. I stood there, frozen, trying to ignore the bitterness that crept into my thoughts. Why was she so comfortable here? Why was she eating with him like they did this every day? And why had Adrian invited her to his office when he wouldn't even talk to me?Candice noticed the awkwardness and tried to bridge the tension. "Come sit with us! We have so much to catch up on, but we also have all the time in the world since I'm back living at the palace now!"That made me freeze.“What?” I asked, voice a little higher than I intended.Candice beamed. “Alot happened when you were aw