8

NYLA

I knew I couldn’t put all my trust in Kade, and yet, I had already accepted what he said about the bet was probably true. Right now, all I wanted was for him to reaffirm it. He looked like he was about to, but then he turned his head and gave a wounded sigh.

“Forget about it.”

Before I could fathom if he was mad or genuinely doesn’t want to speak about it anymore, he had walked away, his hand slipping from mine.

As the door opened, and I watched him strode out of it, nothing but confusion swirled in my mind now. Had I asked the question in the wrong way? Or was it the timing?

I couldn’t tell. All I could do was sit back down, and stare at the platter of food. By now, my appetite was gone with the wind.

But I dug in anyway, slowly, so I could stomach it.

Aside from the fact this food was his effort and I couldn’t let it go to waste, if I wanted to get back to the pack without dying halfway the road, I needed stamina. To have that, I needed to gobbled everything on my plate down. And I did just that.

As soon as I was done, I went into the kitchen. I could feel panic beginning to kick in as I dropped the plates and walked toward the front door.

Yes, I could do this.

I could ignore the mate pull between us and leave.

Additionally, if Xander managed to track me down with my scent and found me with his brother again, I didn’t want to think of how messy things would be. Because trust me, causing more rift between them was the last thing I wanted.

As I opened the door, my stomach recoiled at the state of it. Before I could feel even more guilty about the damage I had done to it, I stepped out.

Sure enough, Kade was outside. He laid sprawled on the grass, right across the lawn and gazing up at the sky. He must have heard my footsteps, because he looked over his shoulder.

“I’m guessing you’re done.” As he stated, his eyes trailed over me, at wrinkled night gown I still had on, and my disheveled hair. Even though I had been like this all through my return to consciousness, my face still burned in embarrassment.

“Yes.” I couldn't help but look away from him as I answered. “I’ll get going…” I was going to add, my body already turned toward the other direction, when he cut in.

“I’ll see you off.” I heard the sound of leaves rustling behind me, signaling he had stood up and I almost jumped out of my skin.

“N…no. No, don’t bother.” I couldn’t have whipped around faster than I did, panic flitting in my eyes. Things were different when we barely acknowledged each other. He might have hated me, but back then, I could care less and only loved his brother even harder. It was as if I thrived more in his spite.

But then now that the moon goddess suddenly made the decision to pair us together, things weren’t only akward, I’ve become more self conscious around him. Embrassed over how I appeared before him when I normally wouldn’t have cared less was a testament to that.

But Kade as expected was unyielding. As if he hadn’t heard my refusal, he closed up the remaining distance between us.

“I practically abducted you, Nyla. There’s no way you know the way out of here.” He pointed out, and before I could mutter a response, he was already walking ahead of me.

I stood there, feeling totally dumb. I didn’t know the route he had taken to get us here. All I knew was that I’d somehow ended up in this place. Thinking I could find my way out on my own without spending days lost and wandering aimlessly through the woods was nothing short of foolish.

“I’m afraid you’re right.” I akwardly laughed, the sound lingering in the air even I shuffled after him.

This location was denser than I thought. Mostly thick woods surrounded us on all sides. As we walked, not a single house came into view. It was easy to mistake this place for a deserted wilderness. My stomach recoiled, and I discreetly shifted closer to Kade.

As I did, I spoke to mask up my fright at the surroundings. “I’m sorry about your door.” As soon as I said that, and that signatory smirk appeared on his face, the tension seemed to dissolve.

“No, it’s fine. I would either take it completely down or just patch it here and there.” He shrugged, playing it cool, and I couldn’t help but sigh.

I still felt bad, but a significant portion of the guilt was lifted off my shoulders.

I braced myself to take my eyes off the ground, and look ahead and I was hit with surprise. The path was getting clear, and less frightening.

I slowed, brushing my fingertips over the delicate petals lining a small stretch of the path. Their softness grounded me, and for the first time since stepping into the woods, I felt less anxious.

But then out of nowhere, Kade’s dark, magnetic voice dragged my attention.

“That reminds me. I’m pretty bad with repairs. Since you ruined it, you could lend a hand.”

That was when I realized I was a little bit behind. I startled away from the petals and hurried to catch up with him.

“I wish I could. But I’m returning to the packhouse. Don’t get me wrong, we are going to see each other pretty soon but you’re not going to leave the door that way until then, are you?” I asked as I fell back into steps with him.

“I could.” He replied almost immediately, giving me a quick grin. The seriousness in his tone caused my steps to falter.

“You’re aware of the risks right? Especially in a place like this?” Before he even responded, I shook my head. “No, forget it. You Kade, could be everything but not security conscious can’t be one of them. You have to be joking.”

I might be leaving now, but he couldn’t know I had no idea when I’d be back. If he left the door unrepaired until my return, I’d spend every moment at the pack house worrying about it. And the last thing I needed was another distraction. I wanted a clear head so I could focus on carrying out my plans there.

But of course, he was just messing with me.

Kade ran a hand through his hair, stepping close with that boyish lopsided smile that made my heart skip. “What if I’m not?”

The silence that followed was almost deafening.

I looked caught off guard for a second. Was I the odd one or was he really countering my questions? I swallowed, my eyes darting to the road faster than possible. I almost heaved a sigh when I saw a street ahead, with houses lit up. I took it as my sign.

“The way is pretty clear now. I can take it from here.” I told him, giving one last smile before sauntering off, my breath held.

I thought I was close to getting away when his smooth, deep and annoyingly sexy voice suddenly rang out far behind.

“Fine, I admit. The reason I want you to come back so quickly is because I’m afraid going back to Xander fucking Maddox would make you forget me. I’m afraid you're leaving to get rid of me. I'm afraid you might get there and decide you don’t want to be with me, but with him.”

The words punched into my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

What?

For exactly two seconds, my gaze drifted across the distance and landed on him. I hated how my pulse jumped at the hurt and longing on his face. Hated how he still had this power on me.

But then I shook my head hard to myself, turning. As I continued walking, I crossed my hands over my chest to hide that they were shaking a little.

What I had just done was brutal. Ignoring him was cruel of me. But until I made a decision on whether I wanted this mate bond or not, I couldn’t let myself get more involved with Kade than I already was.