"Don't come any closer." I cut him off. My protective instinct for Kai overwhelmed everything else, and I found myself baring my fangs at him—my former mate, my former lover. I stepped back with Kai in my arms.
Kayden froze. He'd never seen me like this before, showing him such naked aggression. Even when I'd desperately tried to resist him, I'd always melted in his embrace eventually.
But did he think he could still control me through biology? Make me fall into his trap again like I did seven years ago?
Diana whimpered softly in my mind. She disagreed with this assessment of Kayden.
I clenched my jaw, desperately holding back the tears threatening to spill.
Maybe he's not what I think, but I have to believe it, Diana. I have to.
Otherwise, I'll fall in love with him all over again.
"Layla..." Kayden still wore that look of disbelief. He took an urgent step forward, as if to explain—
But there was nothing to explain.
"Miss Ross," I corrected him coldly. With Kai still in my arms, I'd never felt more clearheaded. "Mr. Blackwood, I don't know why you've been following me or why you're here, but please leave. Now."
"He's your child." Kayden's gaze remained locked on Kai as hestated it with certainty.
"Mine." My voice held no warmth. "He has nothing to do with you."
"What are you saying?" Kayden's voice rose sharply. His face flushed as he started to voice the answer we both knew—
But I wouldn't give him the chance.
Kai would never need a father like him. Just as Kayden had once been so certain that he didn't need Layla Gray as his mate.
"This is your last warning." I cut him off, clutching Kai tighter. "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the police."
I met his eyes even as my heart pounded. If he truly wanted to force the issue, I wasn't sure this threat could stop him.
"Stalking. Harassment. Trespassing." I kept my voice level. "I'm sure those charges would do wonders for Blackwood Group's stock price."
Kayden went still. His expression shifted. He was, after all, the perfect Alpha who always put the pack's interests first.
I watched the struggle play out across his face—the way he moved closer then forced himself to stop, the way his hand lifted and fell again.
"Mommy?" Kai was an endlessly curious child, and his patience had limits. He asked softly, "Who is this person?"
"Nobody." I didn't hesitate. It was the only answer. "Just a... stranger."
I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek, needing the physical pain to suppress the tearing sensation in my chest, to hold back the tears.
At my words, Kayden's rigid expression crumpled into something even more pained. I thought I saw moisture glinting in his eyes.
"A stranger," he repeated, his voice bitter.
I didn't answer. Didn't take it back. Just looked at him with cold indifference. We stared at each other as the air grew thick between us. Kayden searched desperately for some trace of warmth in my eyes, but I refused to give him that hope. Finally, he drew a deep breath and took a step back.
"As you wish." His eyes never left Kai, as though trying to memorize every detail. "I'll leave."
He turned toward the stairwell. But just as he took that first step, he glanced back at me.
That look held everything—pain, longing, and a stubborn persistence that made my heart jump.
"But this isn't over, Layla." He spoke it like a vow. "This won't end so easily."
