Chapter 246 246

Chapter 246 246
Nova's POV

I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, suddenly needing the barrier between us even though we were already sitting several feet apart. My mind was racing, trying to reconcile everything I thought I knew with what he was telling me now.
"Dr. Kane," Caden said after a moment. "He examined me after that first episode. Ran tests, tried to figure out what was happening. He was the one that brought up the possibility that the bond didn't fully sever."
"And did he say why it happened? Has there been any other person this has happened to?"
"None that he knew. It was unprecedented." Caden's mouth twisted.
"This is insane," I said. "We can't just... we rejected each other. The bond is supposed to be gone."
"It is gone. In human form." Caden gestured between us. "Right now, can you feel anything?"
I focused inward, searching for that thread of connection that used to tie us together. Nothing. Just empty space where the bond had been.
"No," I admitted.
"Neither can I. But when we shift..." He trailed off, and I knew what he meant. When we shifted, when our wolves came to the surface, the rules changed. Shadow and Kia had never let go, had held onto something we'd tried to destroy, and now we were stuck with the consequences.
"What are we supposed to do about this?" I asked.
Caden was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on the creek. "I don't know. Keep researching, I guess. See if there's someone who can provide answers." "And what if we don't find the answers? Are we gonna just let the other suffer every time we're with someone else? That's not sustainable, Caden."
"You're not going to be with someone else." His voice went low, dangerous. "Ever again."
I stared at him. "You don't get to..."
"The hell I don't." He leaned forward, his eyes flashing gold in the moonlight. "You think I'm going to stand by and let another man touch you? Let you kiss someone else, fuck someone else? Not happening, Nova."
"That's not your choice to make."
"It became my choice the moment our wolves refused to let go." His hands clenched into fists. "You're mine. And if any man tries to change that, I'll rip his throat out."
We stared at each other in silence, the weight of it pressing down. The forest was quiet around us, just the sound of water and wind and our own breathing.
I should go back to the house. Retreat for now, put clothes on, go inside, pretend this conversation never happened. But I couldn't make myself move. Couldn't make myself walk away from this impossible, broken thing between us that refused to die no matter how many times we tried to kill it.
"I need to think about this," I said finally, pushing myself to my feet. The night air bit at my bare skin and I wrapped my arms around myself.
Caden stood too, his gaze tracking my movements. He crossed the space between us slowly, deliberately, until we were standing close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his skin.
"Our wolves don't want to let go," he said quietly, his eyes searching mine. "And neither do I."
My breath caught.
He reached up and cupped my face with both hands, his touch gentle. "I love you, Nova. And I vow to show you every damn day just how much you mean to me. So, admit that you're mine as much as I'm yours."
Then he kissed me.
Soft and sweet, his lips moving against mine with a tenderness that made my chest ache. His hands cradled my face like I might break, his mouth asking instead of taking. I felt everything he couldn't say poured into that kiss, all the regret and longing and absolute certainty that he wasn't letting me go.
When he pulled away, he kept his forehead pressed to mine, his hands still cradling my face.
"I'm yours, Nova Ashton," he repeated. "To do with as you wish."
I closed my eyes, feeling something crack open inside my chest. The walls I'd built so carefully, the fear that had kept me running, all of it crumbling under the weight of those words.
"Caden," I breathed.
"I know I don't deserve another chance," he continued, his voice rough. "I know I destroyed what we had. But I'm asking anyway. Let me prove I can be what you need. Let me love you the way I should have from the beginning."
And for the first time in four years, I didn't want to run.