Chapter 128: Lie Still, Baby
"They found his main camp. But he'd already evacuated. Took his core supporters and disappeared."
"So he knows about Blair's exile."
"He will soon, if he doesn't already." Caelan's hand tightened slightly in my hair, a protective gesture he probably wasn't even aware of. "That makes him more dangerous than ever. A cornered animal fights the hardest."
I tilted my head to look at him.
"But I won't let him get within a mile of you. I've tripled security at all our borders. Increased patrols. If he sets foot in Blackwood territory, we'll know about it."
"Sabi, I need you to be extra careful for the next few weeks. No going out alone. No spontaneous trips to the store or coffee runs. I know it feels like prison, but—"
"I understand." I placed my hand over his. "I won't take any unnecessary risks."
"Still. This situation with Lucian won't last forever. Once he's dealt with, once the threat is eliminated..." He paused, studying my face. "I want to talk to your father again. About moving up our wedding date."
I was quiet for a moment.
"Why do you think Lucian hates you so much?" I asked softly. "I mean, it seems so... personal."
For a long moment, I thought he wasn't going to answer. His fingers continued their gentle movement through my hair, but I could feel the tension in his body.
"When my mother was pregnant with me, Marcus was sleeping with Lucian's mother. That woman tried to force him to divorce my mother."
"What did your father do?"
"He promised to make her get rid of the baby." Something bitter crept into Caelan's tone. "But he was lying. He secretly arranged for her to disappear instead, gave her money to leave and never come back."
I felt sick imagining what that must have done to his family, to his mother.
"And it nearly destroyed her." His hand stilled in my hair. "I was just a kid, but I remember watching her cry herself to sleep for months. She became convinced that he'd never loved her."
The pain in his voice was raw, unguarded.
"She tried to kill herself when I was seven."
The words hit me like a physical blow. I sat up straighter, turning to look at him directly.
"Caelan..."
"I found her." His eyes were distant, looking at something I couldn't see. "Pills scattered on the bathroom floor. She was barely conscious."
My hand found his face, fingers tracing the sharp line of his jaw. "I'm so sorry."
"She survived, obviously. Got better with time and therapy. But that image..." He shook his head. "Watching my mother almost die because my father couldn't keep his promises, couldn't be faithful to the woman who loved him unconditionally..."
"I made myself a promise that day. I would never, ever cause that kind of pain to someone I claimed to love. I would choose one person and be completely, utterly faithful to them for the rest of my life."
The weight of that childhood trauma, the way it had shaped him into the man he'd become, made my chest ache with sympathy.
"And Lucian?"
"Showed up a few years ago when his mother died. My father wanted to acknowledge him, bring him into the pack officially." Caelan's expression darkened. "My mother and the elders refused."
"So he started his own pack."
"With my father's financial support and protection." The bitterness in his voice was unmistakable. "Marcus never loved me, Sabi. Never loved my mother either. The only people he truly cared about were his mistress and that bastard son."
My heart broke for the little boy who'd had to carry that knowledge, who'd grown up feeling unloved by his own father.
He smiled."Don't worry, Sabi. I'm totally fine. I learned to accept that a long time ago."
I shifted to straddle his lap, needing to be closer.
"Listen to me." I took his face in both hands. "The way he failed you, the way he failed your mother—that says everything about him and nothing about you. You are worthy of love, Caelan. You're worthy of everything good in this world."
Something in his expression cracked, letting vulnerability bleed through.
"When I was young, I used to wonder what was wrong with me." His voice was barely above a whisper. "Why I wasn't enough to make him choose us. Choose my mother."
"There was nothing wrong with you. You were a child. His failures as a father and a husband had nothing to do with your worth."
His hands came up to cover mine where they rested on his face.
"I know that now. But the damage was already done. That's why..." He paused, searching for the right words. "That's why when I found you, when I realized what you meant to me, I knew I had to be different. Better."
"You are better." I leaned closer, our foreheads touching. "You're nothing like him."
"I'll never hurt you the way he hurt my mother." The promise was fierce, absolute. "I'll never betray you, never give you reason to doubt my loyalty. You have all of me, Sabi. Everything I am, everything I have—it's yours."
The intensity in his voice, the raw sincerity, made my throat tighten with emotion.
"I know," I whispered. "I've always known."
"Promise me," he said against my hair. "Promise me you'll never leave. That no matter what happens, what challenges we face, you'll stay with me."
"I promise." I pulled back to meet his eyes. "As long as you don't leave me first, I'll never stop wanting you, needing you, loving you."
"I could never leave you."
The conversation died down, leaving us in a comfortable silence. The air between us changed gradually, charged with something electric and inevitable.
Caelan's eyes darkening as they locked with mine.
My breath caught. I couldn't look away from him—didn't want to. The spark between us had only grown stronger, burning hotter with each passing day.
He leaned closer, his gaze dropping to my lips. Time seemed to slow as we stared at each other, the rest of the world fading away until there was only us, only this moment.
His lips crashed into mine and his hands slipped beneath my pajama. His fingers found my breast, kneading gently at first, then with increasing pressure that pulled a soft moan from my throat.
In one swift motion, Caelan tugged my shirt over my head, tossing it aside. Cool air kissed my exposed skin for only a moment before he pressed me back against the couch cushions.
"Lie still," he commanded, his voice rough with desire. "Don't move, baby."