Semua Bab HIS BIGGEST MISTAKE: Bab 51 - Bab 54

KAI POVI woke up on day thirty knowing Elara was going to reject me. Not because she'd said anything. Not because the bond carried certainty. But because hope felt dangerous. Felt like setting myself up for devastation. Safer to prepare for no. Safer to accept that thirty days of transformation wasn't enough to earn back what I'd destroyed. Safer to brace for heartbreak than risk believing she might actually say yes.I'd done everything she asked. Met every condition. Proved the changes were real. But that didn't guarantee anything. Didn't mean she was ready to trust me. Didn't mean thirty days could undo three years of damage. She had every right to say no. Every right to decide that co-parenting was all she could offer. Every right to protect herself from the wolf who'd destroyed her once already.And I'd accept it. Had promised I would. Had meant it when I said I'd love her regardless of outcome. Would keep being the father the twins needed. Would keep transforming myself. Would k

KAI POVI spent twelve hours planning our first date. Called three restaurants. Made reservations at the nicest one. Canceled when I realized Elara hated formal dining. Made new reservations at a small Italian place she'd mentioned loving months ago. Bought flowers. Returned them when Marcus pointed out roses were cliché. Bought wildflowers instead because Elara had a whole section of them in Shadow Creek's garden. Changed my outfit four times. Finally settled on casual but clean. Jeans and a button-down that Luna said made me look like a real daddy instead of a scary Alpha.I was nervous. More nervous than I'd been facing Cornelius. More nervous than during the Council meeting. More nervous than any moment in my entire life because this mattered. This was the beginning of proving to Elara that I could court her properly. That I could be romantic without being overwhelming. That I could respect her boundaries while showing her I cared.I picked her up at seven exactly. She answered th