ANDREA’S POV
It had been a while since I had to do mundane office work.
After the catastrophe that occurred between Nico and Bella, I gave Nico some time off.
Kade offered him a room in his house, but Nico refused, opting to stay in a hotel by himself. I’d wanted to argue, but only Nico knew what he needed to heal the wounds Bella had torn open inside him.
He’d declined any visits I attempted to make, and after inquiry, I found out he wasn’t leaving his hotel room, not even to eat.
I was worried sick about my Beta and wished there was something I could do to make things better for him.
But short of grabbing Bella and shaking sense into her, there was nothing else I could do. Besides, I think she was also affected. Since that day, she’d barely left the room she was assigned. Gina had her meals delivered, and she reported that Bella hardly touched them.
Fabian reported that she was losing weight again, and
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
ANDREA’S POVKade carried me in his arms back to our room. I felt silly for crying. It wasn’t like they were driving into danger; it was literally the opposite. And since communication was limited, we worked out ways I would be able to speak occasionally to the twins.It was fine; everything would be fine.Still, I couldn’t help clinging to Kade, sobbing like a baby.“It’s okay,” he soothed, as he laid me in bed. I clung to him, pulling him down with me.He wrapped me in his arms and drew the covers over us.“How about we take the day off?” he murmured in my ear, stroking my hair. “No work. Let’s just lie in bed, missing our babies.”I agreed instantly. The idea of going in to work felt like the most unappealing thing right then.“Do you—” I sniffled. “Do you think Easton will make them eat oatmeal?”I felt Kade shake his head. “I gave him very stern warnings. Don’t you worry; he’ll be Santa Claus and the Easter bunny rolled into one.”I let out a chuckle through my tears.“And you pr
ANDREA’S POVEaston jolted awake from his slumber when I slammed his room door open.“Wha—” he spluttered, looking around frantically, a little confused.“Good, you’re up,” I said, reknotting the straps of the dressing gown I’d hastily thrown on before I left the room.Easton sat up and glared at me. “Do you have any idea what time it is, child?”I waved my hand. “Spare me. I need you to tell me everything you know about hybrids.”Easton reached for his glasses and put them on. “What?”I huffed impatiently. “Hybrids, Easton. Tell me everything you know about them.”“I already—”I shook my head. “No, you told us a story. I need way more than that.”I moved closer, sitting on his bed. Easton looked shocked, and I couldn’t blame him. Ever since what happened with Luca, we hadn’t seen each other. So it was strange for me to barge into his room and sit on his bed.Either Kade had him confined to his room, or he felt too guilty to show his face. I was fine with either since I didn’t complet
KADE’S POVI don’t know why, but my mind went completely blank. The hard look in Andrea’s eyes as she waited for an answer rendered me mute.“Well?” she pressed, her voice tight. “Are you going to answer, or are we about to go at it?”“I ran into Natasha tonight,” I blurted out.Shock joined the anger on her face. “What? Where—at the strip club?!”My eyes widened when I realized what that sounded like. “No, it’s not what you think!”She stood from the bed. “So your ex-fiancé didn’t give you a lap dance?”“Wha—No! What the fuck, Andrea?”She threw her hands up. “Forgive me if I’m jumping to conclusions, giving your history with the bitch; need I remind you about the bl—”Andrea stopped talking when I raised a brow.She exhaled and sat back on the bed. “Yeah, I promised not to bring that up again; I’m sorry.”I pulled her into my lap, resting my hand on her thighs. “It’s cool. And it isn’t even remotely what you think. Natasha is an enemy now, and I treated her as such.”Andrea scrunche
KADE’S POVI blinked, rubbed my eyes, and blinked again. I didn’t want to make the mistake I’d made in that bar in LA.But no matter how much I tried to reset my vision, nothing changed.The woman before me with the wild, fiery curls and bright green eyes wasn’t a lookalike. She was the real deal.Her lips pulled into a bright smile, showcasing familiar dimples that brought many of our classmates at the Alpha Academy to their knees.“Kay!” She squealed, throwing her arms around me.Still shocked, I let her pull me down to her height and hug me. It was Clara, all right—she even smelled the same.Hesitant, I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, feeling a flood of memories swarm me. In the Alpha Academy, Clara had been something of an enigma. Though she was the Omega daughter of an Alpha, she never carried herself as if she were weak. She was confident and self-assured.Half of the male population—Caleb Langley included—was in love with Clara. She had her fun with some and ignored othe