"Get in." He came around and opened the passenger door.
One hand braced against the frame above—so gentlemanly I almost laughed.
Was he worried I'd hit my head?
I slid in. He closed the door. For an instant I caught his scent—cedar, morning dew, and something... cologne? Had he put that on deliberately?
It smelled good. My face warmed.
Layla, what are you thinking?
Kayden circled to the driver's side and got in.
"Buckle up." He reminded me, fastening his own.
The engine started. The car pulled away from the apartment building. I watched it shrink in the rearview mirror, emotions churning.
Seven years. This place had been my refuge. But now... now I was going back.
"Your cheating strategy worked pretty well." I glanced at Kai sleeping in the mirror, couldn't help smiling.
Kayden laughed, the sound warm as honey melting in morning light.
"You gave me the opening," he said, fingers tapping the steering wheel lightly. "You could've said no."
"How could I say no?" I sighed. "Looking at him like that—could I really refuse?"
When Kai looked at me with those big silver eyes, little hand tugging my sleeve, whispering "Please, Mommy," my heart melted.
"And..." I paused. "He does need a father."
After I said it, silence filled the car for a few seconds.
"Thank you," Kayden said quietly.
"Don't thank me." I looked out the window. "It's what you deserve."
The car merged onto the highway. Baltimore's skyline blurred in the rearview mirror. Morning light scattered across the ocean like shattered gold.
"I didn't expect we'd go back to the pack," I said, watching the forest emerge ahead. "I thought you'd find somewhere else in Baltimore..."
"Kai needs a stable environment for bloodline guidance," Kayden said. "And the pack has the best healers, the safest protection."
He glanced at me, lips pressed tight—his thinking expression.
"Last night wasn't random. If vampires are targeting you, they won't stop."
My fingers tightened.
Right. That note. Those three vampires.
"But there..." My voice dropped. "I don't really know how to face it."
Too many memories in that place.
Parties where Sophia Bennett threw wine in my face. Rainy days forced into the forest gathering herbs. The engagement ceremony where everyone called me a murderer. And that cliff... Nothing good. Seven years I'd spent healing myself, forcing myself to forget, to escape. But now I had to walk back into that abyss.
I felt a slight tightness in my chest.
