And he turned around, clicking his way back to the door as I let out a bitter laugh.
“You’re not even going to fucking try, are you? Some alpha you are.”
He paused, his hand on the door. I hated how deeply it stung that he sighed as he looked at me.
“One day you might understand, Kai. I just hope it will be soon so we can stop this madness.”
And he just left, just like that. Exactly how Caspian abandoned me in the kitchen while Sin fucked Brandy, exactly like he did in the corridor as she lay slumped against the wall begging him to take her to Caspian.
Stone. Cold. Fucking lifeless.
I tried to remember why I loved him, but nothing was coming.
Turning back to Brandy, my hand hovered over her. I didn’t even know if I could touch her when I felt like the scum Zania and her pack always made me out to be.
She was still asleep even though I was waiting like a banshee, which just shows how much Cas drained her.
I’d been thinking about it all week, but I knew that I had to follow through with my plan. Since Brandy was free, I couldn’t put it off any longer. I thought I’d give our shitty alphas a chance, but it was my fault for having expectations.
If I didn’t do it soon, I might fall through the cracks, where I’d be left standing at the sidelines as they used the bond to influence her and forced her to abandon me.
The rage burning inside me was so powerful that it settled into a calm, where I stroked her hair again, murmuring to her, promising her I’d always keep her safe, especially from the three of us.
Melanie
“Brandy,” a whisper came through the darkness of my dreams as my body tightened. I didn’t want to wake up. If I woke up, there would be more fear and pain. At least in the darkness, I could hang in the empty space where all there was was Caspian and Kai, and the glimmer of Sin like a star in the distance.
I just needed their love, and all the pain would fade away.
“Brandy, wake up.” Kai gently shook me, and I groaned as I turned onto my back.
Now that the bond with Caspian had cemented, I didn’t need to reach for him like an addict. He was still there, beating loudly in my heart from wherever he was in the house, but I didn’t feel like I’d die if I let him go.
It made opening my eyes so much harder because now I didn’t have the flurry of sex and love to drown out the fear that Zania would come back for us.
“Brandy, please,” Kai whined. The same ache that I heard in his voice when he was holding me in the restaurant corridor came back as he shook me again. “Brandy, just open your eyes.”
I twisted my head to look at him. He sat in front of a lone lamp on the bedside table, scattering orange light around us. As soon as I met his gaze, he sighed in relief.
“What’s happening?” I croaked. I was so tired from fucking Caspian that I wanted to stay in bed forever. But I needed to see my mum and see what was happening with her. I had been away from her for too long, and I had to find out if she was okay.
“It’s time to get up,” he said.
I glanced at the window behind him, frowning as I pushed myself to my elbows. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“We’ve planned a surprise for you, but you’ve got to get dressed quickly and come with me.”
Sitting next to him was a small pile of clothes, and he folded the duvet back so I could climb out of bed.
I was groggy, my body aching, and excitement hummed through Kai. But it still felt odd.
I didn’t want him to know that I’d heard the argument between him and Sin. They were shouting so loudly that there was no way I could have slept.
But there were two sides to their story. And from everything I had learned, I agreed with Sin more than I did with Kai. I didn't want to end up like mum, especially if it meant I couldn't take care of her. But Kai had been so wrecked and heartbroken that day that I wanted to tread carefully with him.
No one had ever loved me the way Kai did, but I needed time to get better before we could properly talk about what happened.
“Why does it have to be in the middle of the night?”
