Chapter eighteen: The Price Of Starlight

Asha didn't touch the check.

She stared down at the crisp paper on the cold stone balustrade, her fingers trembling inside her pockets. Down in the courtyard, Kadence’s golden eyes remained locked on her, fierce and unreadable, before Lord Vane Castellane stepped in front of him, severing their silent eye contact.

Seraphine leaned closer, her expensive jasmine perfume heavy in the crisp morning air. "Leave it here, or take it with you," she whispered, her voice like silk over a razor. "The offer stands until sunset, Asha. After that, my father’s terms take effect, and Kadence won't have the luxury of playing hero to a human."

Seraphine gave her a small, pitying smile, turned on her designer heels, and walked back through the glass doors, her tea cup resting effortlessly in her hand.

Asha stood alone on the terrace, her chest tight.

He bought your quiet compliance.

The words echoed in her mind, over and over, like a rhythmic drum beat. It made sickening, terrifying sense. Kadence was an Alpha, a leader of shifting beasts, running a hidden world of high-society power and ancient warfare. Why would he care about a human girl from a border club? Why would he step down into her messy, impoverished reality unless it was to protect his own secrets?

A cold wave of self-preservation washed over her.

She turned away from the courtyard, leaving the blank check fluttering under the weight of a stone coaster on the railing, and retreated back into her room.

An hour later, the heavy oak door opened.

Kadence stepped inside. The air around him was dark and charged, thick with the lingering aggression of his meeting with the Castellane pack. He had taken off his dark coat, his linen shirt slightly unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the strain in his broad neck.

He took three steps toward her, his hazel eyes searching her face immediately.

"Seraphine was on the terrace," Kadence said, his raspy voice dropping into that low, observant tone. "What did she say to you?"

Asha sat by the window, her knees pulled tight against her chest, wrapping Kadence’s oversized fleece jacket tightly around herself, not out of affection, but to hide how violently her body was shivering from nerves.

She looked up at him, her dark eyes flat, cold, and entirely unreadable.

"She offered me ten thousand dollars to leave," Asha said simply.

Kadence froze mid-stride. A violent spark of pure gold flared in his eyes, his Alpha aura flaring so sharply that the flame on the bedside candle flickered out.

"She did what?" Kadence growled, his jaw locking so hard a muscle twitched violently under his cheek. "I will throw her and her father off this land..."

"Why shouldn't I take it?" Asha interrupted, her voice steady, sharp, and laced with cynical human logic.

Kadence stopped, staring at her as if she had struck him across the face. "What?"

Asha uncurled her legs and stood up, stepping out of the armchair. She kept five feet of cold distance between them, looking up at his massive, terrifying frame with raw, calculated detachment.

"Ten thousand dollars pays off the five hundred I owe you," Asha said, her voice dripping with quiet, painful clarity. "It pays my back rent, breaks my lease, and buys me a bus ticket out of this state. It gets me away from giant wolves, elders who look at me like I’m dirt, and a man who looked me in the eyes and decided I wasn't worth his time."

Kadence took a step toward her, his expression shattering into a dark, desperate storm. "Asha, listen to me..."

"No, you listen to me, Alpha," Asha gritted out, pointing a trembling finger at his chest. "Seraphine said you paid my rent because you were legally obligated to keep a civilian quiet. She said you're keeping me in this golden room out of guilt. And honestly? It makes a hell of a lot more sense than whatever fairy tale you're trying to sell me."

Kadence stared down at her small, trembling hand, his breathing heavy and ragged. He felt the sharp, agonizing burn of the severed mate bond twisting in his chest, but worse than the physical pain was the realization of how deeply his initial rejection had wounded her logic.

He had treated her like an infection on day one, and now her human brain was building walls he couldn't break down with physical strength.

"I didn't pay your rent to keep you quiet," Kadence rasped, his voice breaking slightly as he forced himself to stay where he was, refusing to invade her space. "I don't give a damn about human investigators or public secrets, Asha. I paid it because I saw a woman struggling under a weight she shouldn't have had to carry alone."

"You don't know me!" Asha yelled, tears of frustration finally pricking the corners of her eyes, though she refused to let them fall. "You don't get to act like my protector when you're the one who dragged me into this nightmare!"

"I know I dragged you into it!" Kadence roared back, stepping close enough that she could feel the scorching heat radiating from his chest. "I know I ruined your life! I know I'm an arrogant, paranoid bastard who was too terrified of my father's ghosts to see the miracle standing right in front of me!"

He stopped, his heavy chest rising and falling, his dark hazel eyes overflowing with a raw, terrifying vulnerability that made Asha’s breath hitch.

"Take Seraphine’s money if you want," Kadence whispered, his voice raspy, broken, and completely stripped of Alpha pride. "Run to another city. Build a life far away from wolves and bloodlines. I won't stop you, Asha. I won't lock you in this room."

He reached into his pocket and set a sleek silver cell phone and a set of real car keys on the tea table beside her.

"The SUV in the lower driveway is unlocked," Kadence murmured, looking down at her pale, stunned face. "The gates are open. The choice is yours. But if you stay, it won't be as my prisoner. It will be because you want to know who you really are."

He turned on his heel, walked out of the suite, and left the door wide open behind him.