AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How are you feeling?” I asked her, running my hands gently over her sides.
“Better. I’ve shifted a couple of times and am almost back to normal.” She leaned into my touch, resting her hands on my chest.
Unable to resist, I bent my head and caught her lips in a soft, lingering kiss. I wanted so much more, but I wouldn’t risk it. Not here. As I broke the kiss, I remembered my conversation with Garrett and how I’d wanted to get Kayden’s opinion.
“I know this is supposed to be a date,” I began, scrubbing a hand over my jaw, “but I have something I’d like to talk to you about.”
She went still, clearly on edge about what it might be.
“Don’t worry, nothing has happened. But we’ve been working on a new plan to deal with Branson.” I briefly gave her a rundown of what Garrett had suggested earlier, but she was shaking her head before I even finished.
“Nothing short of death will take care of him, Holden. How many times do I have to tell you that?” She huffed out a breath. “Branson will always find a way back to his position. He’s shrewd. Cunning. And something about him draws people in, crazy as that seems. It’s how he rose to power in the first place. If you think exile will keep him in line, think again.”
I opened my mouth to explain the rest of my plan, but she wasn’t finished. “If you send him into exile, it will only give him another reason to build a rebel army. There will be no one to keep him in check then. Who knows what he could be capable of? Unless you want a war on your doorstep, he must be put down.”
I shook my head, stunned at how adamant she was. And more than a little irritated that she hadn’t at least heard me out. “It isn’t your decision to make, Kayden. I’m the alpha, and I call the shots. I’ve prepared for this my entire life.”
I raked my hand through my hair, making it stand on end. “I’m trying to do the right thing. Don’t you see that? I can’t just break the law on a whim to solve my problems.”
Unlike Kayden, who didn’t seem to give a damn about the rules. Frustration coursed through me. Why couldn’t she understand that it wasn’t so simple for me? I simply couldn’t throw caution to the wind and do whatever the hell I wanted. At the end of the day, I was responsible for everyone, every pack. It was my duty.
Yet Kayden continually asked me to break the rules—believing I shouldn’t have killed her brother. Wanting me to kill Branson without a justified cause. Wanting me to take her as my mate even though the law expressly forbids it.
That’s when it hit me. My feelings for Kayden were already clouding my judgment. I was making choices based on what she’d think, not necessarily because they were the best choices for the pack.
“This isexactlywhy the law about mates exists,” I muttered, cursing in frustration.
Kayden’s mouth fell open, her eyes widening in shock.Shit. I hadn’t meant to say it aloud.
I shook my head, reaching for her hand as she backed up. “Kayden, that’s not what I meant.”
She pulled her hand away, stepping out of my reach as she swallowed hard. “Isn’t it? You think I’m affecting your ability to act as alpha.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what you thought,” she said, her voice rising as she blinked rapidly. “I can see it all over your face.”
Before I could stop her, she’d turned and fled back through the deck's living quarters, disappearing into the yacht.
“Way to go, asshole,” I berated myself, gripping the ship’s railing as I stared out to sea. That wasn’t the way I wanted our date to goat all.
But a feeling persisted that this was a problem. One that wouldn’t be going away. I’d done the one thing I swore I never would—put someone before the good of the pack. And it had been so easy.
I wanted Kayden more than anything—precisely why the law existed. If I was doing this now, making major decisions about threats to the pack based on what I wanted Kayden to think of me, how much worse would it be once I’d fully claimed her as my mate, and she was truly mine?
I shook my head, shoving the unpleasant thoughts away. I had several more dates to get through, and I didn’t need to give anyone a reason to suspect anything was off. Each time I went to the main deck to retrieve my next date, I searched for Kayden, but she was nowhere to be seen. By the time my last date with Jessica rolled around, I was irritable and angry, though I couldn’t be sure whether it was with myself or Kayden.
Jessica and I walked toward the front of the ship, watching the now-dark sky as the stars came out. I’d already determined I would offer her a council position—her choice of whatever she wanted—and let her off the hook of competing for the rest of the time. But she whirled on me before I could even get a word in.
“You’re screwing it all up, Holden.” Her voice was angrier than I’d ever heard.
“I’m sorry, what?”
She huffed in frustration. “I saw Kayden after your date. She wouldn’t tell me what was wrong, but she was pissed. What are you thinking?”
I narrowed my eyes, not sure where she was going with this. “Sorry, you’re going to have to be a little clearer.”
“Cut the bullshit, Holden,” she said. It was the first time I’d ever heard her swear in all the years I’d known her. “I know you and Kayden are fated mates.”
