Good news! I will be doing double updates until Cade's and Arden's story are finished <3.
ARDEN“This calls for a celebration!” Nathan declared, rising to his feet and heading toward the kitchen. Mirage groaned, though a smile danced on her lips. “Don’t open the bottle from the winter vault,” she warned him, already knowing exactly what he intended to do. “I make no promises!” he called over his shoulder, vanishing into the kitchen.Cade shook his head, hiding his amusement behind a sip of water. Honey clapped her hands excitedly, her eyes bright. “Celebration! I want pink juice!”“You’ll get juice,” Cade confirmed, taking on the role of the protective older brother. “But no alcohol for you.”Bethany chuckled softly, setting her tea aside. “I shouldn’t be drinking either,” she said gently. Her voice sounded thinner now, her hands slightly unsteady as she reached for her neck.I smiled and reached for Cade’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. A small smile appeared on his lips, and I found myself mirroring his expression. However, my smile quickly faded. The sound of Beth
ARDENLunch was surprisingly warm. We sat around the long wooden dining table, the air filled with the comforting clatter of utensils and the occasional burst of laughter. The enticing scent of roasted herbs and garlic butter wafted from the dishes Mirage and Nathan had prepared. It felt like family. Honey sat beside me, eating mashed potatoes with both hands and occasionally talking to her plate. Mirage kept offering everyone more bread rolls, while Nathan teased Cade for something he muttered under his breath. Even Bethany, who always seemed to carry a quiet tension wherever she went, wore a faint smile, her body relaxed as she cradled a cup of warm tea. It was light. In that moment, I realized how different this gathering was from every meal I’d ever had with my own family. Back home, silence loomed heavier than any meal. My parents scrutinized what I ate, how I held my fork, and whether I truly deserved to be at the table at all. Here, Cade placed a few slices of grilled chic
ARDEN“You’re not coming back here?” Tessa’s voice crackled over the video call, but her concern came through loud and clear.The screen on Cade’s tablet flickered slightly, revealing both her and Owen side by side in the common area back at the Academy. Tessa had her hair in a messy braid and dark circles under her eyes. Owen, as usual, wore a teasing expression, his eyes dancing with mischief.I pursed my lips. “Just for a moment,” I said. “I can’t return while Winters is still in charge.”Tessa nodded slowly. “Yeah, I get it.”Owen tilted his head. “Wait, is Cade really running for Alpha?”I smiled without meaning to and gave the smallest of nods.“He got my vote,” Owen declared, throwing up two enthusiastic thumbs. But Tessa immediately smacked his arm.“Don’t say that,” she muttered under her breath, casting a glance over her shoulder. “You don’t know who’s listening.”I frowned. “Is the tension really that high in there?”“Kinda,” Tessa replied after a thoughtful pause. She le
ARDEN “Seriously, Cade?” I muttered as he began rubbing my breasts again. “You’re insatiable, you know that?”“Can you blame me?” he replied, one of his hands finding its way to my hole. “You made me like this,” he whispered in my ears. By the tone of his voice, I could tell he was already lost. He was at the point of no return. I sighed and closed my eyes. “Just one more, Cade,” I muttered. “No more after that.” That was all the word he needed before he got to work again.“Face me,” he said, helping us shift our position so I was now straddling his hips. I was hovering above him just slightly, so our pelvis wasn’t making any contact just yet. The two of us stared at each other for a while, drinking in each other’s features. Up close like this, I could tell he was also tired. What had happened in the past days hadn’t been easy for the both of us. I leaned closer and placed a kiss on the slight furrow of his brows. I was met with a soft smile that made my heart jump back into pla
ARDENI lost track of how many times we did it. At first, it was me—I was the one who pulled him closer. One time wasn’t enough. But somewhere along the way, it was Cade, too. By the time we were finished with the fourth round, I was sure his hands had memorized every inch of me. “You’re so soft, Arden,” Cade murmured, brushing his fingers along my waist down my hole. “I could stay in you forever.” I bit my lip. “You are inside me,” I muttered. Dawn was nearing, and we were still tangled in each other’s arms. The back of my head rested on his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat.His arm wrapped around my back, fingers stroking the side of my ribs while his cock was still inside my hole.“Can you tell me what happened now?” Cade’s voice broke the silence, right beside my ear.“With you inside me like this?” I murmured. He chuckled, the sound rumbling beneath me. “Do you want me to move?”I swallowed. “Please don’t.”I wasn’t ready to lose his warmth just yet.However, eventuall
ARDENI couldn’t stop shaking.No matter how tightly Cade held me and no matter how warm his embrace was, my body wouldn’t still. My mind kept circling back to the way Kieran’s hand gripped my face and how his lips touched mine. I wanted to vomit.My fists clenched around the fabric of his shirt. I tried to breathe. Inhale. Exhale. But it seemed like nothing helped.Why did he do it?Why did Kieran kiss me?There was a theory clawing its way through my brain—one I had tried to push away ever since I was old enough to realize that my family never really looked at me the same. That I was different from them.Maybe I wasn’t part of the family after all.Maybe I never was.But even if that was true—even if I was just some orphan they’d taken in to raise like a project, a token of goodness for their reputation—It didn’t excuse what Kieran did. It didn’t make the revulsion feel any smaller.I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself harder into Cade’s chest, needing more of him, all of hi