Chapter 237 237

Chapter 237 237
Caden's POV

The crowd collectively winced at the impact. Pain spread across my face with the ferocity of a wild fire.
I grinned, savoring the feeling, grateful to feel something other than regret.
Good. This was good. The rhythm of it, the focus required to read his movements and counter them. It pushed everything else aside. Nova's wide eyes, her careful distance, the mess I'd made of things. All of it faded into background noise as I concentrated on not letting Garrett land another lucky shot.
We circled each other, both breathing hard now. Sweat dripped down my spine and my muscles burned in that familiar way that meant I was pushing hard enough to matter.
Garrett came at me again, faster this time, and I let him think he was gaining ground. I blocked when I needed to but left openings I normally wouldn't, gave him space to work. His confidence grew with each successful hit. I could see it in the way his grin stretched wider, the way his movements got bolder.
He swept my leg and I went down on one knee. The crowd exploded.
"Getting tired, old man?" Garrett's breathing was ragged but his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
I pushed back to my feet, deliberately slower than necessary. Let him have his moment. Let him think he was winning.
He lunged again and I caught his fist mid-swing, twisted his arm behind his back and shoved him forward. He stumbled but recovered quickly, spinning around with a wild haymaker that I ducked easily.
Too easy. He was getting sloppy, drunk on the idea that he had me on the ropes.
"Come on, Alpha," he taunted, dancing back a few steps. "Is this really all you've got? Maybe those rumors about you going soft are true after all."
Something cold settled in my chest. The playful edge of the fight evaporated.
I moved.
One step closed the distance between us. Garrett's eyes widened, recognition flashing too late. I drove my fist into his solar plexus with every ounce of strength I'd been holding back. The impact sent a shockwave up my arm. Garrett's mouth opened in a soundless gasp as the air left his lungs in a single violent rush.
He dropped to his knees, hands clutching his chest as he struggled to remember how to breathe.
The training ground went silent.
I stood over him, barely winded, the fire in my blood still raging despite the release of physical violence. My knuckles throbbed. Sweat stung the cut on my jaw. But none of it touched the restless energy coiled tight in my gut, the frustration that had nothing to do with Garrett and everything to do with a woman who'd looked at me with panic in her eyes before walking away.
Someone started clapping. The sound broke the spell and the crowd erupted again, louder than before. Warriors surged forward, slapping my shoulders and shouting congratulations. Rhys was grinning like an idiot, probably thrilled to see Garrett taken down a peg.
But their voices faded to white noise.
Because I'd caught sight of her.
Nova stood at the edge of the training grounds, partially hidden behind one of the equipment stations. The late afternoon sun caught in her dark hair and painted gold across her cheekbones. She was watching me, her expression unreadable from this distance.
Everything else disappeared. The celebrating warriors, Garrett still gasping on the ground, the noise and heat and chaos of the training yard. All of it fell away until there was only her.
I moved without thinking, stepping over Garrett and pushing through the crowd. Someone said something to me but I didn't register the words. My focus had narrowed to a single point, to the woman who stood perfectly still as I approached, her eyes never leaving mine.
The distance between us closed one step at a time. My heart hammered against my ribs, louder than it had been during the entire fight. She didn't move. Didn't run. Just watched me come closer with that careful, guarded expression I'd come to hate.
When I was close enough to see the exact shade of brown in her eyes, she spoke.
"I need to go meet someone."
There was just the tiniest flicker of her lids as her eyes quickly danced away from mine and back that told me whoever this ‘someone’ was, I wasn't going to like them.
And I could hazard a guess who. My jaw tightened as understanding clicked into place. Noah. She was going to see Noah.
The thought sat bitter on my tongue but I swallowed it down. I had no right. Not after what I'd done earlier, pushing too hard and too fast when she was already vulnerable. Not when I'd been the one to break what we had in the first place.
"Be careful," I said, keeping my voice level even though every instinct screamed at me to ask where, when, how long.
She nodded, a small dip of her chin. Then, to my complete surprise, she stepped closer.
Her scent hit me, making my body respond instantly, every nerve ending firing at once at her proximity. My hands curled into fists at my sides to keep from reaching for her, from sliding my hands around that tempting waist, pull her close and bury my nose in her neck, right where her scent glands were and just…lose myself.
She was close enough now that I could see the faint freckles scattered across her nose, the slight furrow between her brows.
She lifted one hand and I went completely still, though I feel the pulse of blood running through my veins.
Her finger flicked against my chin, light and quick. "You've got a bit of blood there."
That was it. No lecture about fighting like a teenager. No concern about whether I was hurt. Just a simple observation delivered in that calm, measured tone before she stepped back and put distance between us again.
I wiped the blood away with the back of my hand, watching as she turned and walked away. This time I let her go without a word, because what the hell else could I do?
The training ground noise filtered back in slowly. Someone was helping Garrett to his feet. The betting winners were collecting their money with loud satisfaction. The world kept turning like nothing had happened.
But my skin still burned where her finger had touched my chin, and the scent of her lingered in my lungs like smoke I couldn't quite exhale.