6

NYLA

I didn't see it coming. Kade had thrown the words so carelessly that I was taken aback but it was only for a fleeting moment. My face twisted at his ridiculous outburst and I couldn’t help but sneer.

“I know you don’t mean that. I know you want me stuck here with you so you’re—” I started to say, desperate to keep myself from exploding, when Kade cut in.

“But it’s the truth. Xander never loved you.” His teeth crushed as he shook his head persistently. His eyes were stormy with restrained rage and still, he looked so serious and didn’t seem to be speaking merely out of spite for his brother.

It was the kind of sincerity that felt like he could stake his life on every word he’d just spoken.

I sighed louder than I intended. “I don’t want him to love me.” My head swiveled from him, going back to the door. I was now halfway from breaking the whole thing down, but strangely, it was suddenly hard to lift my arm.

“Then why are you going?”

Of course, Kade just wouldn’t stop. I turned to face him again and this time, my gaze pierced through him like silver bullets.

“In case you’ve forgotten, my child is there. I still need to get my child back, Kade,” I snapped, unable to take his bullshit anymore.

He’d saved me from prison, but I don't think it was any use being grateful because since then, things only got worse. The same Xander, who couldn't be bothered about me anymore since I was thrown into prison, suddenly turned to someone who had leverage on me.

I was going to bid my time before going back to the pack house but Xander used my child as bait for me to return. Because Kade had set me free, I was crowned by the same man who couldn’t care less if my child and I rotted in that damn prison.

I had failed to understand why Xander would crown me his Luna but now it was crystal clear. He must have seen me as some peasant. He had delusionally thought that putting me beside him as he rules his Pack could make up for how he’d abandoned and betrayed me.

And maybe I was going to let him continue to have that impression. Until I could finally run away with my child.

However, it was still infuriating to learn Kade was having the stupid idea I was vying for his twin’s love. I wasn’t, not in a lifetime and yet, when Kade had said Xander never loved me, that I was just a bet, panic I didn't want to acknowledge had crawled up my throat for a brief second.

It was gone the next, not only because Kade must have said that because he wanted me to remain in his captive. Rather because while what Xander and I had together might not have lasted, I knew the love we shared was real.

He might have given up on us when his parents rejected our union because I came from a completely different world than his, and perhaps I had loved him more than he loved me.

But those moments we spent together had meant something to him too. It had been a mutual bond. Nothing like a bet.

Kade’s shoulders had dropped in something like relief. His lips started to form words, but I beat him to speaking.

“But in case you’re getting things mixed up, the fact that you saved me doesn’t mean I have to do things you want. Moreso, you aren’t exactly a saint, you know?” I wagged my brow accusingly at him. “You weren’t a day nice to me before you were thrown out of the pack. You hated my existence. So you don’t get to act any better than your brother because at least unlike you, he never made my time in that academy torture.” I blurted, more defensive of his twin brother than I intended.

I heard the crushing of Kade’s fists in the air. He was mad. Pain and danger were glimmering in his dark eyes. I couldn’t help but swallow, my heart erratically drumming in its ribcage.

Was this the point where he hit me? Would he?

Kade’s fists unfolded, his hands now limp beside him. “However bad you think I am, I would never hit you, Nyla.” As if he was reading my mind, Kade whispered, and my breath hitched.

Wait. How was he able to peek into my thoughts?

As much as I was curious how that was possible, the guilt for thinking something like that overshadowed everything else.

“I…I’m so sorry for that, Kade. I knew you would never do something like that, I guess I was just really anxious.” As I said, I could feel my pulse hammering beneath me.

My wolf was growling possessively. As if she had been suddenly reminded Kade was our mate. His scent was wafting in the air like it had that night in the hideout a few days ago. Only now, it made my wolf drunk. She wanted him to mark us. Slowly, and unsteadily, she was driving me closer to him.

I stopped before him, and my breathing ceased as I raised my hand and placed it against his cheek.

As something that felt like sparks of electricity shot through my arm, Kade visibly tensed up against me, surprised. “What are you doing, Nyla?”

I shuttered, unable to get a word out.

Touching him should have burnt and felt like a mistake. It shouldn’t have been this warm and satisfying. Neither should it cause my heart to race excitedly.

But it did. All traces of spite and annoyance I had felt toward him just a few minutes ago seemed to have been knocked to the back of my mind as he pressed his hand over mine, and nuzzled into my palm.

My entire body felt hot, and I knew my face had gone crimson.

My pulse quickened again, not from panic this time but from pure fascination. I was utterly captivated.

I tried but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him. Couldn’t even pull my hand back.

Spontaneously, my tongue darted out to wet my dry lips. Everything around us seemed to have been suspended.

All I could hear was the soft rhythm of our breathing as he lifted one of my fingers to his mouth. The briefest brush of his lips against my skin drew a gasp from me.

As his tongue trailed lower down the finger, I seemed to hold my breath but I didn’t take my hand away.

My gaze was locked on his. Heat flooded my face at once and I swallowed hard, half captivated, half ashamed as he lowered my hand and placed it on his chest for me to feel. Indeed, his heart was beating faster than normal.

Like an immediate connection, mine picked up too. My eyes twinkled, surprised as I stared back at him.

His lashes fluttered and for the first time, his storm-gray eyes glowed… enough to be mistaken for a candlelight as they bored into me.

I remained rooted to the spot, utterly enchanted by the sight in front of me. But suddenly, like a bucket of cold water had been splashed across my face, I stepped back from him, immediately forcing my inner wolf back.

Then I dropped the hammer and ran to a corner of the room, gasping with my hands trembling in shame as I refused to look at him.

What had just happened? My heart had gone into a frenzy… I dared to touch him. I had allowed myself to be caught in a trance of my own making, that too, with my mate’s brother of all people!

Humiliation flared in me, so sharp it made my stomach churn. I was supposed to be focused on bringing the door down. I ought to have been out of here. So how had I managed to get that lost? I kept my head down, looking everywhere but at him as regret coursed through me.

“Nyla.” Kade spoke softly, my name rolling nicely off his tongue as he crossed the room. I lifted my gaze just enough to see him crouch before me, but that didn’t seem to satisfy him.

Kade gently lifted my jaw until my head was up and staring at him. “You want to go right? I’m going to let you leave. But before that, I have a question,” He said curtly but his voice was rich. Deep, and stirred something I couldn’t quite name in my stomach.

Or perhaps it was my instincts trying to prepare me for the words about to leave his mouth.

“What are we supposed to do about this mate bond, Nyla? Are you going to reject me?” He asked, his tone hoarse and broken as he slowly touched my cheek.