Início / Werewolf / RUNAWAY BRIDE: BOUND TO THE BIKER ALPHA / Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

Todos os capítulos de RUNAWAY BRIDE: BOUND TO THE BIKER ALPHA: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

46 Capítulos

21

Rhea's POV Jax obeyed, his small body tense with anticipation of the nightmares. Kael began speaking in a low, rhythmic tone, instructing Jax to visualize walls around his mind. Strong walls that he controlled, that he could use to keep out the visions he didn't want to see.I watched, amazed, as Jax's breathing slowly evened out. The tension drained from his shoulders. His grip on my arm loosened. Within minutes, he was asleep again. Real sleep this time, not the fitful tossing of before.Kael carefully lifted him, carrying him to his own bedroom. I followed, watching as he tucked our son into the race car bed with a gentleness that made my chest ache. This was the Kael I'd fallen in love with. The one who could be fierce and protective but also tender when it mattered.He kissed Jax's forehead and whispered something I couldn't quite hear. Then he straightened, gesturing for me to follow him back to the living room.Once we were out of earshot, I turned on him. "What did you say to

22

Rhea's POV It made me jealous. Jealous that Kael could give our son something I couldn't. Jealous that in one day, he might forge a connection it had taken me five years to build. They returned as the sun began to set. I heard the motorcycle before I saw it, the distinctive rumble of the engine announcing their arrival. I rushed to the window, relief flooding through me when I saw them both safe and whole. Jax was grinning, wider than I'd seen in days. He hopped off the bike with Kael's help and immediately started chattering, his words tumbling over each other in his excitement. The door to the suite opened, and they walked in together. Jax ran straight to me, throwing his arms around my waist. "Mom! It was amazing! Dad took me to this place out in the desert, and he taught me how to shift just my hands. Just my hands, not my whole body! And we ran, like we really ran, and he showed me how to track rabbits and, and everything!" "That sounds wonderful, baby." I smoothed his wil

23

Rhea's POV Then Jax's facial expression changed into something soft. He looked at his father with new eyes, seeing past the alpha to the man underneath. "I want to really know you, not just one day. Every day."Kael's breath caught. "I'd like that. More than anything.""Me too." Jax turned to me. "Is that okay, Mom?"What could I say? My son had just found his father, found a connection he'd been missing his whole life. How could I take that away from him, even if it meant my own heart got more tangled in the process?"It's okay, baby. Of course it's okay."Jax threw his arms around Kael, hugging him with all the enthusiasm of a child who'd just found a missing piece of himself. Kael hugged back, his eyes closing as he breathed in our son's scent. When he opened them again, they were bright with unshed tears.That night, after dinner and a bath and more stories about Jax's day with his father, I tucked my son into bed. He was exhausted but happy, the nightmares from the previous nigh

24

Rhea's POV "I need five minutes to think." Rook's expression were hard on my words. He hung there outside the window, rope cutting into his shoulders, waiting for an answer I couldn't provide. And I noticed Jax had climbed out of bed behind me, me, standing in his pajamas with confusion and fear written all over his small face. "Five minutes?" Rook's voice carried an edge I'd rarely heard from him. "Rhea, in five minutes this whole place is going to explode. The tank has C4 on the south wall. Diesel's got the escape route mapped. We have a narrow window before Kael's wolves figure out what's happening and people start dying. You don't have five minutes at all, but you only have now or never." "Then it's never." The words came out before I fully processed them. But the moment they left my mouth, I knew they were true, I didn't want to leave, and even if I want to, I didn't plan on leaving tonight or like this. The timing wasn't right at all when Jax had just spent the whole day b

25

Rhea's POV Before I could respond, the sound of motorcycles filled the air. With the sound I heard, they could be dozens in number or maybe more. The distinctive rumble of Steel Serpent bikes echoed through the compound, getting closer by the second. "Dammit." Rook looked toward the sound, then back at me. "That's Tank. He thinks I'm in trouble because I haven't signaled. He's bringing everyone in hot." "Call them off. Tell them I'm safe, you should tell them immediately.” "It's too late because they're already inside the perimeter." Rook started climbing up the rope, toward the roof. "Stay in here, lock the windows and whatever happens next, keep Jax away from it. Understood?” He disappeared over the edge, and I slammed the window shut, my hands shaking. This was very bad, we've the serpents here who were here to rescue me, and the Grim Howl wolves would see it as an attack. People were going to die because I'd hesitated and I couldn't make a clean choice. "Mom, what's happe

26

Rhea's POV "Then why are you still here?" Diesel asked. "Rook said the alpha was keeping you prisoner and you tried to leave and couldn't get past the locks." "That was true earlier, but things have changed." "Changed how?" Tank's eyes narrowed. "Did he threaten you or your kid? "Nobody threatened anyone." I walked forward, into the no man's land between the two groups. Kael stayed beside me, his presence a solid wall of protective alpha energy. "I'm staying because I choose to stay. Ultimately because my son needs time with his father, and I'm not ready to leave yet." The words landed like bombs. Rook's face went through a series of expressions: disbelief, hurt, anger, resignation. "You're serious. You're actually choosing to stay with the man who rejected you, who imprisoned you, who did all this to you?” "I'm not choosing anyone!" My voice rose, echoing off the compound walls. "I'm making a decision based on what my son needs right now. That's not the same as choosing Kae

27

Rhea's POV "I know I did. I know I don't deserve her forgiveness or her trust. But I'm not asking for either. I'm asking for time, a time to prove to my son that I can be the father he deserves, some time to prove to her that I've learned from my mistakes." Kael's hand found mine, squeezing gently. "If after that time she still wants to leave, I'll let her go, I'll give her resources, protection, everything she needs to build a life away from me. You have my word as alpha." "Your word means nothing to me," Rook said. "Then take mine." I squeezed Kael's hand back, then released it, stepping forward to face Rook directly. "I promise you, I'm doing this for Jax. Not for Kael or for some romantic fantasy. I'm doing it for my son and when I'm ready to leave, when Jax has what he needs from his father, I'll call you. I'll come back to the Serpents. But right now, I need you to trust me, simply believe I know what I'm doing." Rook stared at me for a long moment. Then he shook his head s

28

Rhea's POV"I made breakfast."Kael's voice woke me from the first deep sleep I'd had in days. I opened my eyes to find him standing in the doorway of my bedroom, holding a tray laden with food. The morning sun streaming through the windows backlit him, making him look ethereal, dangerous and beautiful in equal measure.I sat up slowly, pulling the blanket higher even though I was fully dressed in the pajamas I'd borrowed from the compound's stores. "You didn't have to do that.""I wanted to." He moved into the room with careful steps, like approaching a skittish animal. "I remember you used to love blueberry pancakes. And that fancy coffee with way too much cream and sugar that I always gave you grief about."He set the tray on the bed, and the smell hit me. A very rich coffee, sweet syrup, and fresh blueberries. My mouth watered despite my determination to remain unmoved by the gesture."Thank you," I said, the words coming out softer than I intended."You're welcome." He stepped ba

29

Rhea's POVThe days blurred together after that. Kael continued his courtship with patient determination. He respected my space, never pushing for more than I was willing to give. He spent time with Jax, teaching him control and pack history. He ran the compound with less brutality than I'd seen before, his decisions tempered by something that looked almost like compassion.And the mate bond kept growing stronger.I woke up thinking about him. Went to sleep with his scent in my nose from some casual contact during the day. I found myself seeking him out for no reason, just wanting to be near him. The pull was becoming impossible to resist.One week after the Serpents left, I found myself in Kael's room.I'd gone looking for a book I'd left in the common area, but somehow my feet had carried me here instead. The door was open, and I could see him at his desk, shirtless, reviewing reports by lamplight. The play of light across his muscled back made my mouth go dry.He looked up when he

30

Rhea's POV "Don't sell that trick to me, I won't buy it at all. This mark means you let another woman claim you! It means while I was out there alone and pregnant, you were with her enough to let her bite you!" The tears came hot and angry. "How could I forget? How could I almost let you mark me when the evidence of your betrayal is literally written on your skin?""Rhea, please. That was years ago and it oesn't mean anything now.""It means everything!" I backed toward the door, needing distance, and air. "I was about to make the same mistake twice by letting the mate bond override common sense and self-preservation, forgetting everything you did just because touching you feels good."I fled before he could respond, my wolf howling in protest at leaving our mate. I made it back to my room and slammed the door, locking it behind me. My whole body shook with the effort of resisting the pull to go back to him, to finish what we'd started.I was in the middle of going back to him and re

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