Chapter 15 A hard slap
Sera's Pov
I regretted accepting that date, I kept thinking about it for exactly eight hours and thirty minutes.
By the time Caden picked me up that evening, I had convinced myself it would be a disaster. Maybe he just wanted to fix his image. Maybe he was still in love with Brielle. Maybe he was only curious about the new girl everyone whispered about.
Or maybe he was feeling guilty for how he treated Selene, for how he treated me.
But when he knocked on my door, everything inside me went strangely quiet.
He looked different. In a good way. “Ready?” he asked.
I nodded and followed him.
He took me into town to a small late night café that smelled like warm cinnamon and sounded like soft jazz. It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t the kind of place an Alpha usually chose.
It was perfect.
We sat in a booth near the window, and for the first time since ever, this was the first date I've ever been on.
“So,” he said after the waitress left, “tell me something you don’t tell anyone else.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That is a terrible first date question.”
He smiled. “Maybe. But you fascinate me, Sera. I want to understand you.”
I should have shut that down. Instead I said, “I do not like crowds. They drain me. I always feel like the air gets tight.”
His expression softened. “I get that.”
He didn’t push for more. He let silence settle, but it was comfortable, warm, almost grounding.
We talked about school. About my favorite movies. His favorite books. He confessed he used to sneak out at night to stargaze because it helped calm his wolf.
I laughed. “You? Stargazing?”
“Yeah,” he said. “You can’t tell anyone.”
I smiled despite myself.
The food was good. The conversation better. And for a moment, I forgot I was supposed to be cautious around him. I forgot the rumors. The weight and most especially the past.
When we left the café, I felt light.
He walked beside me, hands in his pockets, glancing at me like he couldn’t believe I was really there.
“You know,” he said quietly, “I never thought you’d say yes.”
“I didn’t think I would either,” I admitted.
We reached the fountain in the town square, glowing with soft blue lights. Caden stopped and turned to me.
“Sera,” he said, “about the rumors. About Brielle. I want you to know I never—”
A sharp voice cut him off.
“Of course she dragged you on a date.”
I stiffened.
Brielle stood ten paces away, arms crossed, eyes burning with jealousy and rage. She walked toward us with that perfect little smirk that made people shrink.
“Look at you,” she sneered at me. “Wearing his jacket like you think you matter. You are pathetic.”
I stepped in front of Caden, surprising even myself.
“Back off, Brielle.”
“Or what?” she hissed. “Everyone knows you tried to trap him. Everyone knows you made up the mate thing. You are nothing. You should crawl back to whatever hole you came from.”
She poked my shoulder, a bad decision. Something snapped in me and I slapped her, hard.
Her hand flew to her cheek. “You crazy little—”
I leaned in, voice low and lethal. “I know what you did to Selene. Every lie. Every cruel thing. If you do not stop this, everyone will know the truth. Do not test me.”
Her face drained of color.
“You don’t know anything,” she whispered.
“Oh,” I said softly. “I know more than you think.”
Caden grabbed my wrist gently. “Sera,” he murmured, “okay. Enough.”
Brielle backed away, shaking with fury and humiliation.
“This isn’t over,” she spat. She stormed off feeling defeated.
Caden turned to me slowly. “Remind me never to make you angry.”
I exhaled, hands still trembling. “She deserved it.”
“Yes,” he said quietly. “She did.”
We walked back to his car in silence, but his hand brushed mine. I didn’t pull away.
When we stopped by the passenger door, he hesitated.
“Sera,” he whispered, “can I—”
My breath caught.
He leaned in, his lips brushed mine.
Fire rushed through me. His hand slid behind my neck, pulling me closer, deepening the kiss until everything around us blurred.
When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing hard.
“Wow,” he whispered.
“Yeah,” I said, barely able to think. Was I ready to be with him? The kiss, the pull felt too real to ignore.