Chapter 249 249

Chapter 249 249
Nova's POV

I'd been so focused on everything with Caden that I had forgotten Noah's bombshell. If Josh wasn't Paul's son, then whose was he? And why would Lila lie about it?
The door opened and Caden walked back in with Hudson on his hip, our son's face still blotchy from crying but calming down. He saw me and immediately reached out, making grabby hands.
"Mama."
I set the tablet aside and sat up, taking him into my arms. He nuzzled into me, one tiny fist clutching my shirt, and the knot in my stomach tightened.
"He should be good now," Caden said, settling onto the edge of the bed. "Clean diaper, no reason to scream the house down except pure stubbornness."
Hudson chose that moment to latch onto my breast and Caden's expression softened, his hand coming up to stroke our son's hair.
I looked down at Hudson, who was nursing contentedly like he hadn't just woken up the entire second floor. His dark hair was getting longer, starting to curl at the ends just like Caden's. His eyes were closed, tiny fingers kneading against my skin.
Josh wasn't much older than him. Maybe two years at most.
"Caden." I looked up at him. "There's something I need to tell you. Noah said..."
His phone buzzed on the nightstand, cutting me off. He reached for it automatically, glancing at the screen, and I saw his expression shift. Surprise first, then his jaw tightened and gold flickered at the edges of his eyes.
"Who is it?" I asked.
He looked at me, and something in his face made my stomach drop.
"It's Lucas."
The name hit me like ice water. My arms tightened reflexively around Hudson, who made a small sound of protest without unlatching.
Caden stared at the phone, his thumb hovering over the screen as it continued to ring. The muscle in his jaw ticked and I could see Shadow pushing closer to the surface, turning his eyes more gold than green.
"Don't answer it," I said.
"I have to." His voice was tight, controlled in a way that meant he was barely holding back. "He wouldn't call unless..."
The ringing stopped. Then immediately started again.
Caden's hand clenched around the phone hard enough that I heard the case creak. "Persistent bastard."
My heart was hammering against my ribs. Lucas Steele didn't call just to chat. He didn't do anything without a reason, without an angle. And the fact that he was calling Caden now, after everything that had happened, after I'd made it clear I wanted nothing to do with him...
"What does he want?" The question came out quieter than I meant it to.
"Only one way to find out." Caden's eyes met mine, and I saw the question there. The permission he was asking for without saying the words.
I nodded once.
He swiped to answer and lifted the phone to his ear. "Steele."
I couldn't hear Lucas's response, but I watched Caden's face shift. Surprise first, flickering across his features so fast I almost missed it. Then his expression hardened into something cold and dangerous, and gold bled through his irises until his eyes were more wolf than human.
Whatever Lucas was saying, it wasn't good.
"You're out of your mind." Caden's voice went quiet, which was always worse than when he shouted. Hudson stirred against my chest, sensing the shift, and I rubbed his back to settle him.
Silence. Then Caden laughed, and the sound had nothing warm in it. "You want to invoke the Rite of Grievance? Against her?" His eyes cut to mine and the gold in them burned. "No. You don't get to hide behind some ancient custom and send someone else to do your fighting. You want a challenge, Steele? Challenge me. Walk onto my territory and say it to my face, and I will be happy to accommodate you."
More silence. Caden's free hand had curled into a fist against his thigh, the knuckles white.
"That's what I thought." He hung up without another word and set the phone down on the nightstand with deliberate care, like he didn't trust himself not to crush it.
"Tell me," I said.
He dragged a hand over his face. "Lucas Steele just invoked the Rite of Grievance against you. Claims you damaged his reputation by falsely accusing him of orchestrating a sexual assault attempt without providing proof.”
Caden scoffed, his expression turning absolutely dangerous." He claims he wants to defend his honor and wants to name a champion from his pack to fight you in formal combat." His jaw worked. "I'm gonna kill that fucker..."
For a second I just sat there, processing as Caden proceeded to describe what he would do to Lucas in graphic detail.
By now, Hudson had fallen back asleep, his breathing slow and even, completely unaware that the morning had just cracked open beneath us.
The Rite of Grievance. I hadn't heard those words since history lessons at the Institute where we were forced to sit through boring classes. It was old, pre-war, pre-council, dating back to the medieval times, from an era when disputes between packs were settled with blood instead of politics.
A ranked wolf could demand combat satisfaction from a ranked wolf of another pack over a stated grievance, and the challenger was allowed to name a champion of equivalent rank to fight in their place.
The winner would be the fighter who emerged from the ring alive.
It had fallen out of use for obvious reasons. The Council had spent decades building diplomatic frameworks and laws specifically to replace this kind of thing, but if memory serves me correctly, it had never actually been abolished.
Lucas Steele would know this. He would know that the custom still carried weight among the older families, the traditionalists, the wolves who thought the Council had made their kind soft. He would know the current fragile state of Shadowcrest’s reputation, thanks to Zayn and his cronies.
And I was willing to bet he had done this just to undermine Caden more. To solidify the rumors that the strongest wolf in the country had gone soft because of a woman.
Because of me.
"We need to consider our options before rejecting it outright," I said, my voice steady, despite how worried I felt inside.
Caden looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "What are you talking about? There’s just one option. It's not happening."
"And Lucas knew you would reject it , that's why he spoke to you about it first and not me. He has some agenda for doing this and it's likely he'll frame it as Shadowcrest refusing a challenge. As you trying to shield me because you don't think I can fight my own battles." I shifted Hudson carefully, settling him against my shoulder. "He's not trying to beat me in combat, Caden. He's trying to make you look weak for protecting me, to cause more trouble in the pack and call your leadership into question.
"I don't care how he frames it." Caden stood up from the bed, his shoulders tight, every line of his body closed off in a way that left no room for argument. "I don't care what anyone thinks. I don't care what Lucas Steele tells anyone."
"Caden, listen to me..."
"This isn't up for discussion, Nova. You're not doing it and I don't give a damn if that makes me look weak. It's still a big, fucking no." He turned to face me and his eyes were fully gold now, Shadow and Caden fused into the same immovable wall. "And by the time I hunt down that motherfucker and rip off his head from his shoulders, no one will think I'm weak."