Chapter 57 Kaden's POV
I sat at my desk staring at the same report I'd been trying to read for the past hour. The words wouldn't register and my mind kept drifting back to Elara.
Two nights ago, I had felt her pain through the bond so intensely I'd thought she was dying. Had run to her room to find her on the floor, terrified and hurting. And all I could do was hold her and call for help.
I was completely useless to protect her from something happening inside her own body.
But watching her sleep after Damian had given her the medication, seeing her face peaceful and relaxed, it stirred something in me. Something I had been trying to ignore for weeks.
I wanted a future with her, not just as the mother of my child. Not just as my rejected mate I was trying to make amends to.
I wanted a real future, a family , a life where we raised our child together. Where I came home to her every day. Where I had the right to hold her when she was scared and kiss her when she smiled.
But that future depended entirely on whether she could ever forgive me.
And I had no idea if she could.
A knock on my office door interrupted my thoughts.
"Come in," I called, expecting Ethan with another security report.
Instead, Selena walked in.
She closed the door behind her and smiled. "Hello, Kaden. I hope I'm not interrupting."
Every muscle in my body tensed. "What do you want, Selena?"
"I wanted to talk. We haven't had a real conversation since I came back."
"Because I don't want to talk to you."
"That's hurtful." She moved closer to my desk, her hips swaying deliberately.
"I have been trying so hard to stay out of your way to follow all the ridiculous restrictions the elders put on me. Don't I deserve some acknowledgement for that?"
"You deserve nothing from me."
She pouted. "You are still angry about what happened with Elara. I understand but Kaden, you have to see things from my perspective. I was desperate and I made a mistake."
"You tried to murder her."
"I tried to solve a problem, there is a difference."
I stood, my hands flat on the desk. "Get out of my office now."
"But we need to talk to her about what she's doing to you with this pack."
"I'm not discussing Elara with you."
"Why not? Because you know I'm right? That she is making you weak? That you are so obsessed with protecting some pregnant omega that you're neglecting everything else?"
"That is not true."
"Isn't it? When was the last time you attended a full council meeting? When was the last time you went on border patrol yourself instead of sending others? You are distracted, Kaden. Everyone can see it."
"My priorities are none of your concern."
Selena moved around the desk, coming to stand beside me too close, invading my space.
"I'm worried about you," She said, her voice dropping to something softer.
"You are carrying so much stress. So much responsibility. And that omega can't help you with any of it. She is useless to you in every way that matters."
"Step back, Selena."
"Why? Does my presence bother you?" She reached out and touched my arm. I jerked away from her like she'd burned me.
"Don't touch me."
"Kaden, listen to yourself you are wound so tight you're about to snap. And for what? For a woman who can't even remember to appreciate you? A woman who's made it clear she doesn't forgive you for the rejection?"
"How I handle my relationship with Elara is my business."
"But it's affecting the whole pack. It's affecting you."
Selena's hand went to the buttons of her blouse. "You need release, you need someone who understands you. Someone who can give you what you need."
"What are you doing?"
She started unbuttoning her blouse, revealing the lace beneath. "I'm offering myself to you. The way I should have from the beginning. No games, no manipulation , just honest desire."
I backed away from her, disgust rising in my throat. "Put your clothes back on."
"Why? Because you are trying to be faithful to a woman who isn't even your mate anymore? You rejected her, Kaden. The bond is broken. You owe her nothing."
"I owe her everything."
"You owe yourself pleasure release. Satisfaction."
She pulled her blouse off completely, standing there in just her bra and skirt. "I can give you that. I've always been able to give you that."
My wolf surged forward with such violence I almost lost control. He wanted to hurt her to punish her for daring to touch what belonged to our mate.
"Your body needs this," Selena continued, reaching for me again.
"Elara can't give you what you need she is pregnant fragile. She will probably reject you if you try to touch her. But I'm here, I'm willing. I'm-"
I caught her wrist before she could touch me. My grip was hard enough to bruise.
"Kaden, you are hurting me-"
My wolf was in control now not fully shifted, but present enough that my voice came out as a growl.
"If you ever….ever….offer yourself to me again, I will forget you're a woman. I will forget every political alliance. I will tear you apart with my bare hands. Do you understand?"
Her eyes widened with genuine fear. "You are hurting me, let go."
I tightened my grip slightly. Felt her bones grinding together under my fingers.
"Say you understand."
"I understand! Please, Kaden, you are breaking my wrist!"
I released her and she stumbled backward, cradling her injured wrist against her chest.
"Get dressed and get out," I said, my voice still rough with my wolf's presence
"And if you ever come to my office again, if you ever try to seduce me again, I will kill you. That's not a threat, that's a promise."
Selena grabbed her blouse and ran from the room, tears streaming down her face.
I stood there shaking, fighting to regain control. My wolf was still raging, still demanding we hunt her down and finish what we'd started.
‘She touched us, she offered herself when we have a mate she deserves death.’
"She deserves worse," I agreed out loud. "But we can't do it without consequences."
‘Then we claim our mate officially publicly so everyone knows we belong to Elara.'
"She doesn't want to be claimed by us."
‘Then we make her want it.’
Before I could respond to my own wolf, there was another knock on the door.
"What?" I snapped.
Ethan entered, his expression troubled. "Sorry to interrupt, but we have a situation."
"What kind of situation?"
"There is an Alpha at our borders requesting an audience. Alpha Xavier of the Dark Moon Pack."