Chapter 50 Kaden's POV
I drove back to the pack house in silence, my mind churning with rage and frustration.
The elders had undermined my authority. Agreed to Selena's terms without my consent. And now she was coming back to live on pack lands where Elara was vulnerable.
Every instinct I had screamed that this was wrong. Dangerous. That I should have fought harder, refused more forcefully.
But what was done was done.
When I pulled up to the pack house, it was late evening. The sun was setting, casting long shadows across the grounds. I walked through the hallways toward my private quarters, ignoring the stares from pack members who'd clearly heard about my detention.
I needed a shower to wash away the feeling of Victor's estate, of that room where they'd held me, of Selena's arms around me.
My quarters were quiet when I entered. I went straight to the bathroom, stripped off my clothes, and stepped under the hot water.
I stood there for a long time, letting the heat soak into my muscles, trying to relax the tension that had been building for the past day and a half.
But my mind wouldn't quiet. Kept circling back to Elara. To the fact that I had promised to protect her and instead I'd been locked in a room while the elders made decisions that put her in danger.
I needed to see her and needed to explain what happened to make sure that she was okay.
I was just turning off the water when I heard my bedroom door open.
"Kaden?"
Elara's voice was soft, uncertain.
I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist, then stepped out of the bathroom.
She was standing in the middle of my room, looking exhausted and worried. Her eyes widened when she saw that I was wearing nothing but a towel, my hair still dripping wet.
"I'm sorry," She said immediately, backing toward the door. "I didn't know you were I should have knocked I will just-"
"Wait," I said. "Don't go."
She stopped, her hand on the door handle, her eyes carefully fixed on my face and not on my body.
"I wanted to check on you," She said. "I heard you were back and I just... I needed to see that you were okay."
The concern in her voice made my chest tighten. "I'm fine they didn't hurt me."
"But they detained you for a whole day."
"Victor was making a point showing he had power over me." I ran my hand through my wet hair. "It's complicated."
"Everything with you is complicated."
There was no anger in her voice, just tired resignation.
I took a step toward her. "Elara-"
"You should get dressed," She interrupted, her eyes still determinedly on my face. "I will wait outside."
But I couldn't let her leave, not yet not when she'd come here worried about me, when she'd broken through her own walls enough to check on my wellbeing.
I closed the distance between us in three strides. Before she could protest, before I could second-guess myself, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against my chest.
She went rigid in my embrace.
"What are you-"
"Just let me hold you," I said quietly. "Please. Just for a minute."
I felt her hesitate and felt her body trembling against mine. But slowly, slowly, she relaxed. Her hands came up to rest against my bare chest not pushing me away just resting there.
I buried my face in her hair, breathing in her scent. She smelled like lavender and something uniquely her, something that made my wolf settle in a way nothing else could.
"I was worried about you," She whispered.
"I know Ethan told me."
"I tried not to try to convince myself I didn't care."
"But you did."
"But I did."
I pulled back slightly, just enough to look down at her face. She was so beautiful, even exhausted and worried, even with dark circles under her eyes and stress written in every line of her body, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
My hand moved to cup her cheek and she didn't pull away. I leaned down slowly, giving her time to stop me to push me away to tell me no.
But she didn't.
My lips were almost touching hers when reality crashed back in.
What was I doing? She had told me just days ago that she didn't think she could forgive me. And here I was, half-naked, trying to kiss her because I had missed her?
I stopped pulling back.
"I'm sorry," I said, releasing her and stepping away.
"That was inappropriate you came here to check on me and I… I'm sorry."
Elara stood there for a moment, her hand touching her lips, her eyes wide.
"I should let you get dressed," She said finally.
"Elara, I really am sorry I wasn't thinking-"
"It's fine." She moved toward the door. "Just... get dressed. I will wait outside and we should talk. About what happened with Selena and the elders."
She left before I could say anything else.
I stood there alone, cursing myself. I'd had her in my arms. Had been seconds from kissing her. And I'd almost ruined it by moving too fast.
I quickly dressed in jeans and a simple shirt and ran my hands through my still-damp hair before opening the door.
Elara was leaning against the wall in the hallway, her arms wrapped around herself.
"Ready?" She asked.
"Yes, where do you want to go?"
"Somewhere we can talk privately without the guards listening."
I nodded and led her through the pack house, out the back entrance, onto a path that wound through the gardens. It was fully dark now, the moon just rising, casting silver light across the grounds.
We walked in silence for a few minutes before Elara spoke.
"Tell me what happened to all of it."
So I told her about going to confront Selena, about her stabbing herself, about being detained by Victor's people. Told her about the elders negotiating behind my back, about agreeing to let Selena return to the pack without my consent.