Chapter 233 233

Chapter 233 233
Nova's POV

I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind replaying the kiss on an endless loop. The heat of Caden's mouth on mine, the way his hand had threaded into my hair, the low sound he'd made in his throat that had sent fire racing through my veins.
What I've been wanting to do all night.
I pressed my fingers to my lips, still able to feel the pressure of his kiss hours later. This was dangerous. Every time I let myself get close to him, every time I let my guard down, I ended up right back where I started. Wanting things I couldn't have. Believing in things that would only hurt me later.
Giving up on sleep, I threw off the covers and got dressed, then opened the connecting door to the nursery.
Hudson's happy babbling greeted me.
Emily sat on the floor with him, building a tower of blocks that Hudson immediately knocked over with a delighted shriek. She looked up when I entered, her smile warm.
"Morning," she said. "Hope you don't mind. Caden said not to wake you, and Lydia got called away on some errand, so I stepped in."
"I don't mind at all., instead I should be thanking you for watching him last night too." I crossed to Hudson and scooped him up, pressing a kiss to his forehead. He smelled clean, like the lavender baby wash from his bath. "I know you barely got enough sleep."
"Nah, it's fine. He's the easiest baby I've ever met." Emily stood, brushing off her jeans. "Plus, it's good practice for when I have my own someday."
Hudson grabbed a fistful of my hair and tugged, making me laugh. I gently extracted his fingers and settled him on my hip.
"Has he eaten yet?"
"Just finished. Demolished a whole bowl of oatmeal and some banana." Emily grinned. "The kid has an appetite."
I heard footsteps in the hallway and knew without looking who it was.
Caden appeared in the doorway. He looked tired, shadows under his eyes that matched how I felt, but his gaze went straight to Hudson before moving to me.
"Morning." His voice was careful, neutral, like he wasn't sure how to act after what had happened between us a few hours ago.
"Morning," I replied, keeping my tone equally neutral even though my pulse had kicked up just seeing him.
Emily glanced between us, her expression too knowing. "I'll just... go get some coffee since you two are here."
"Get the coffee and come right back," Caden said and Emily rolled her eyes and threw mock salute as she left the room.
She disappeared down the hallway, leaving us alone.
Hudson reached for Caden with both hands, making his demanding "Da" sound. Caden stepped into the room and took him, the movement automatic and easy now.
"Jake got the trace back," he said quietly, his attention on Hudson but his words meant for me.
My stomach tightened. "Already?"
"Yeah, he did say it would be easy to trace once he had the number." He paused, and something in his expression made my chest constrict.
"So, who was it? Is it really someone from the pack?" It was hard to imagine anyone betraying the pack, especially their alpha this way, but worse things have happened.
"It's Zayn. Lydia's son." Caden's expression was a cross between anger and regret.
The name took a moment to register. "Zayn? Lydia's son?"
"Yes."
I stared at him, trying to process. Lydia. Sweet, maternal Lydia who'd been nothing but kind to me since I'd arrived. Who'd helped with Hudson, who'd made me feel welcome in a house where almost no one else had.
"Are you sure? Could there have been some mistake?"
"Jake triple checked. It's his phone, his number. He sent that text to Matt."
I sank down onto the edge of the rocking chair. "Goddess have mercy! It made sense, in a twisted sort of way that the person responsible had close access to the house. "Do you think Lydia... Is she involved in this too?"
Caden shook his head. "I questioned her as soon as we found out, she looked about as shocked as anything when I brought it up." Caden's jaw was tight, his hand absently rubbing Hudson's back. "But she did confess that she'd told the boy about you leaving for the academy that day and how she was glad the two of us seemed to be working things out in our relationship. She admitted she found it a bit odd when he asked her a ton of questions about your movements, but she reckoned it was just idle curiosity on his part."
Oh goddess. The thought of Lydia innocently sharing news with her son, excited about Hudson being here, about the possibility of things working out, only to have him turn it into something that nearly got me killed.
"Does she know?" I asked, "Does Lydia know what he did?"
"She does now. When I told her what he'd done with that information, she broke down completely and kept tying to apologize on his behalf."
I pressed my hand to my mouth. "That poor woman. Where is she now?"
"I sent her home. She's devastated, blaming herself." He shifted Hudson to his other arm. "This isn't her fault, but try telling her that."
I stood, needing to move, needing to do something with the sick feeling in my stomach. "What happens now?"
"Now we question Zayn. He's downstairs in my office." Caden's eyes met mine. "I wanted to tell you first. Give you a choice about whether you want to be there."
Did I want to be there? Part of me wanted to stay right here in the nursery, pretend none of this was happening. But the bigger part, the part that was tired of being kept in the dark, needed to understand why.
"I'm coming with you."
Something flickered across Caden's face. Not surprise, exactly. More like he'd expected that answer. "Okay." He looked down at Hudson. "Emily can watch him."
I stepped into the hallway and called for Emily. She appeared quickly, like she'd been waiting nearby, and took Hudson without question when Caden handed him over.
"Everything alright?" she asked, her eyes moving between us.
"Fine," Caden said in a tone that clearly meant the opposite. "We'll be back soon."
Emily didn't push, just nodded and carried Hudson back into the nursery.
Caden and I walked downstairs in silence. The house was quiet, most of the staff were already done with the morning chores. When we reached the hallway outside his office, Jake stood guard at the door.
"He's inside." Distaste flickered in his usually impassive face. "But he's not exactly cooperative."
"Foolish kid." Caden muttered under his breatha as he reached for the door handle, "He's caused a lot of trouble for himself and his poor mother and doesn't even realize it."
I felt another twinge of symphathy for poor Lydia. What Zayn had done was practically considered treason in our world, and usually came with heavy punishment...some packs even straight up executed anyone caught doing that.
Caden opened the door and we walked in together.
Zayn sat in a chair facing the desk, hands zip tied in front of him. He was younger than I'd expected, maybe mid-twenties, with dark hair and the kind of lean build that came from hours on the training grounds. When he saw Caden, he straightened slightly, an automatic show of respect.
Then his eyes moved to me, and his expression hardened into something cold.
"Alpha," he said, his voice steady. "I know why I'm here. And I won't apologize for trying to protect you."
Caden moved past me and around the desk, his entire body radiating controlled fury. "Protect me."
"Yes." Zayn's gaze stayed on Caden, refusing to look at me again. "From her. From what she's doing to you, to this pack."