ANDREA’S POV
“Your savior has arrived.”
I looked up from Matteo’s shoulder, and my eyes widened.
Alarm bells began ringing in my head as I took the newcomer in. She rose from her bow and smirked, looking around the room. “Looks like you could really use one.”
Slowly, I moved, shoving Matteo behind me.
Except for her white hair, she looked normal enough. Thanks to her casual outfit, she looked younger than she probably was. She looked like someone you would bump into at the mall or a concert.
But I saw through all that, I knew what she was.
“Witch,” I growled.
Kade’s eyes widened, and he took an instinctive step back from her.
The witch turned her gaze on me, and her green eyes briefly flashed gold.
“I answer to Kaela,” she said simply.
My fangs elongated as I bared my teeth at her. I’d never actually met a witch before, but they’d
ANDREA'S POVThe aching loneliness didn't hit until I closed the door of my New York house behind me, leaned against the wood, and stared into the empty blackness.Slivers of illumination from the moon outside shone between gaps in the drapes, casting ghostly patterns that danced eerily.The twins and I had made this place a home before we went to Italy, but we hadn't returned since we came back. And after living with Kade, sharing his bed for weeks, this place felt strange, different, lonely.Fuck, I missed Kade.When I closed my eyes, the image of him lying in his—our—bed, pleading with his eyes for me to stay, plagued me.Did I make a mistake? Should I have waited it out?With a heavy sigh, I slid down to the floor. Dust and the smell of neglect were thick in the air, but that's not what threatened to choke me.It was the ache spreading in my chest, stabbing at my heart, that made tears well up in my eyes. I pres
KADE’S POVWild panic flared in my chest.“Andrea.” I snatched the hanger out of her hand and pulled her to me. “What the fuck are you thinking?”“No, Kade,” she hissed, trying to snatch her hand back, but I held fast. “What the fuck are you thinking?”I shook my head. “We’re past all this, Andrea. Don’t—”“I thought so, too,” she snapped. “You and me against the world, remember?”I nod vigorously. “Of course, I remember.”“Then why are you letting that fucking pick-me get in between us?”I exhaled. I didn’t understand why Andrea was reacting this way. I’d made it explicitly clear that Clara and I were just friends. She’d saved my life. How could I turn her away?When I didn’t answer, Andrea turned away and continued stuffing clothes into her suitcase.“Andrea, please—what can I do to make you stay?”She snorted. “You already know, I’ve said it so many fucking times.”“She has nowhere to go, okay?”“Why?” Andrea spat. “Why does she have nowhere to go? She came from somewhere, didn’t s
ANDREA’S POVKade had stopped sending gifts.On the first day, I figured he was busy with Clara. The next day, I thought maybe he was spacing it out. By the third day, when a pair of Louboutins from Caleb showed up in my office and there was nothing from Kade, I realized that that adorable little period was over.Because all he cared about now was Clara.There was a very capable Chef in the Alpha compound, but Clara insisted on making breakfast every morning, and I always came home to find her feeding him one thing or the other in the evenings.Once, I made the mistake of asking them what they did during the day, and Clara smiled collusively with Kade and said, vaguely, “Oh, you know, catching up.”Kade was out of bed when I woke up because “Clara is an early riser and hates being on her own.” When I went to bed, he wasn’t there because “she likes to take walks at night and still doesn’t feel safe on her own.”I was beginning to feel like an outsider, the third wheel to whatever the f
ANDREA’S POVIt was the second long night in a row.Kade sent for the pack doctor to tend to Clara’s injuries and never left her sight—not that he could. Every time he tried to leave the room, she would scream and sob, saying she would only feel safe if he was with her.I’d stayed for a while, but at some point, the resentment building up in my throat threatened to choke me, and I had to leave. I felt irritated with myself. Clara was in need, and instead of worrying about her, I was too busy feeling jealousy and resentment.It wasn’t like she was Natasha, who had actually been engaged to Kade and had sexual relations with him. They were just friends, schoolmates—yet I’d never felt emotions this intense when it came to Natasha.I’d been in bed, staring at the clock in Kade’s room as the hands ticked slowly, mockingly, when my phone buzzed with a message, distracting me.It was a video from Mark.“Hi, Alpha,” he was whispering. “We just arrived at the Villa. The twins are sleeping, so I
ANDREA’S POV“Are you mad?” Kade asked after I’d been quiet for a few minutes.I sighed. “No, not mad.”He shifted closer, his hand trailing up my arm to my shoulder, cupping my neck. “Tell me, then.”I gazed up at him, at the devastatingly handsome face of my mate.“I—”His phone rang, piercing through the room, halting my sentence.Kade’s hand dropped from my neck. “Must be Grandfather,” he said, reaching for his phone. “He said they’d call—oh.”“What?” I asked, watching him frown down at his phone.He glanced at me, and something (guilt?) flashed across his face. “It’s…Clara.”“Oh.”He swiped across his phone, and it stopped ringing. “I can talk to her later,” he said, taking my hand. “Right now, you—”His phone started ringing again. I pulled my hand out of his. “Just answer it,” I bit out.A muscle ticked in his jaw as he turned, grabbing his phone again.“Clara, now’s not a—”He tensed, straightening. “What?”My eyes widened when he shot to his feet. “Where are you?” he asked, h
ANDREA’S POVI spent the next three hours driving aimlessly around the city. When I finally returned home, Kade was pacing the foyer.He looked up when I came in and let out a heavy sigh of relief.“Andrea, thank fuck!” He pulled me into his arms. “I called you countless times. I thought you’d decided to go after them.”My hands dangled by my side, not hugging Kade in return. Over his shoulder, I saw a basket on the table in the foyer. From where I was standing, I could see muffins, chocolate bars, a bottle of wine, a box of jasmine tea, and a large tub of strawberry fudge ice cream.When Kade realized I wasn’t returning his show of affection, he pulled back slightly, his hands on my shoulders. I shifted my gaze from the basket and turned to him.His eyebrows were furrowed when he looked at me, his eyes darting all around my face. “Andrea, what’s wrong?”To be honest, I didn’t know what to feel. Ultimately, there was anger and jealousy. But blanketing it all, was numbness. And exhaust