Chapter 6

Caden's POV The night breeze was sharp against my face, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning in my chest. My boots slammed against the floor as I walked away, pulse pounding. What the hell was that? I could still picture them...her soft laughter breaking free like sunlight. Elias standing so damn close to her, their lips about to meet. My beta. In her arms.  And Ava.  The girl I had cast aside, I told myself she never meant anything to me. I gritted my teeth. It doesn't matter, it never did. But my wolf growled low in my chest, restless and clawing against my ribs. I shoved him down, but he was still stubborn.  He pushed harder, wild and possessive. "You both belong together." No. I shut the thought down so fast it almost gave me a whiplash. She wasn't mine, never was. Seraphina- Seraphina is my choice. My future.  But why did the image of Ava in Elias's arms feel like betrayal slicing through my chest? I was already halfway to my chambers when her voice cut through my thoughts, sharp and breathless.  "Caden!!" I stopped, part of me wanted to keep walking. Pretend like I never heard her. But I couldn't move. Footsteps echoed behind me until she caught up, her chest rising and falling with heavy gasps, anger sparking in her eyes.  "Why!!" She screamed, coming to stand in front of me, her arms crossed tight against her chest. "Why are you doing this to me?" I stared down at her, my jaw tight, heart beating too fast.  "Doing what?" I growled. She let out a bitter laugh, bitter and sharp. "Don't try to play dumb. You're trying to separate me from the one good thing that has happened to me since I came back to Blackvale.  "I'm only protecting my beta from someone like you." I shot back, folding my arms, my expression blank. "You're protecting him from me?" She blinked, taken aback.  "From what, exactly?"  I stepped closer, standing over her, needing the distance between us gone...but hating that I needed it at all. "From someone as manipulative as you." The word hung heavy and thick between us, cold and cruel.  Ava stepped back like I had struck her. Her lips parted, hurt flashing across her face before anger took hold of her. "Someone like me?" She hissed. "You mean someone you rejected? Someone you broke?"  I didn't answer. Couldn't. She pushed my chest hard. "You don't get to hurt me and then decide who I move on with, Caden. You lost that right the day you rejected me in front of the whole Blackvale." The fire in her voice awoke something dangerous inside me. My wolf roared, clawing at my control.  Before I could stop myself, I growled. "Elias deserves better than to be your tool to try to get over me." And then it happened. Her palm landed across my cheek, sharp and sudden. My head snapped to the side, the sting cutting through the thoughts in my mind.  We stood there, breathless. Her chest rose and fell with rage. I should have walked away. I should have let her hate me, but I didn't. Instead, I grabbed her wrist, fast and rough, pulling her towards me in an instant.  Her breath stopped, eyes wide with shock as I crashed my lips onto hers. Heat exploded between us. It was reckless, desperate, wrong in every way. But the moment her lips met mine, the world stopped.  And Moon goddess, I kissed her like I hated her. Like I needed her, as if she were the only thing keeping me from losing my mind. I pushed her against the wall, our mouths colliding, breaths tangled.  My hands gripped her waist, fingers digging into her hips, claiming, devouring, and burning. She gasped against my lips, and I drank it like oxygen. Her scent filled my senses, wild and intoxicating.  For a moment, I forgot everything else. Not the pack, not the title. Not even Seraphina. Just Ava. Just the two of us. But reality crashed down hard and fast on me.  Why the hell was I kissing her? I pushed myself away, my heart slamming against my ribs. Ava stood there, her lips swollen, eyes wide, Chest rising and falling with every shaky breath.  She looked vulnerable. Beautiful. And it terrified me.  "This...." I rasped, my voice rough and broken. "This means nothing." Her face changed, the spark in her eyes fading. I hated myself for the lie. Before she could speak, before I could do something even worse, I turned and walked away.  Each step was heavier than the last, like I was dragging chains behind me. I didn't stop. I couldn't. If I turned around, I knew I would lose the last shred of control u had. I'd pull her into my arms again. And this time, I wouldn't stop. But I couldn't afford that weakness. Not now. Not ever.  My wolf paced restlessly under my skin, snarling, snapping, throwing itself against the walls I had built. "Go back. Take her. She's ours." I clenched my fists so hard my nails bit into my palms. No. She wasn't mine. I made sure of that. "You've made your choice," I muttered under my breath, like I could reason with the part of me that refused to listen. "You have Seraphina. You have your duty."  But my wolf didn't care about duty. It cared about her even though I hated to admit it. Every step away from her felt like it was tearing something important out of me. And still, I forced myself forward.  But beneath all the lies I told myself, the truth gnawed at my bones like a sickness I couldn't shake. I didn't love her.  At least, that's what I whispered in the dark corners of my mind. But why did it feel like something was wrong?  Something dark and wicked pulling me away from her.