The Luna’s Second Chance Mate

Kaden’s POV

The evening skies had turned a beautiful orange, reminiscent of one of my favorite whiskeys back at the pack house. Thankfully I had a bottle of the exquisite liquor here in the cabin. Not that I was in any position to drink, however, I couldn’t sweat my grace just yet. Even if I was almost completely healed, I didn’t want to risk my healing rate by staining my blood with alcohol.

I was propped in a sitting position in my room. It looked better than the room I’d woken up in that morning. Better? The correct term was glorious. I was sitting on a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, long enough for the head of the bed to touch the wall and its foot to stand right in the center of the room.

The color scheme was an ombre shade of white and olive, so were the curtains that hung open and swept to both sides of the window. Soft rays eluded the room from one open window, turning the once white room into an exotic shade of gold that now reminded me of the blonde-haired woman whose thoughts had begun to make my heart race.

As if one cue, there was a soft rap on the door. It was pushed open, followed by a head the size of my palm peeking through the door. She stood upright before pushing the door wider and walking in with a first aid box in hand. Her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and for once she wasn’t dressed in a dress. Instead she had a pair of loose jeans hanging on her hips and a full sleeved black top that fit for some reason.

Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she changed the position of the box from one hand and brought her eyes to give the deadest stare she could muster.

“You asked for me to dress your wounds.” She croaked out after clearing her throat. I tilted my head, squinting slightly.

“I did. What’s with the attitude?” I spat back in mild irritation, shifting to find a comfortable sitting position. I could have sworn I heard her scoff at that, but she still stood there with a straight face.

Instead, she heaved a tired sigh and dragged her feet to the sides of the bed closest to me. She dropped the box beside her and dropped to her knees before glancing at me again.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

“I don’t have an attitude, I just refuse to be a burden after you’ve saved my life and provided me with shelter. I’ll clean up your wounds and be on my way, I shouldn’t leave Declan alone for too long.” She spoke again while reaching for some scissors to tear away the bandage.

Carefully unwrapping it, I could see her eyes flicker at the raw wound staring her in the face. It was far from pretty to be honest. It still hurt, but not so much that I would groan and yell at her to piss off. The marks of Dolph’s claws were still fresh in comparison to the wound he’d inflicted.

She reached for a liquid in the box and doused a cotton ball with it. Then she brought it to the wounds, rubbing at it gently. I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by her rapt attention. A few strands of hair had found their way to block her vision, but she pushed them away quickly, returning her focus to tend to my wounds. Her forehead was now a brilliant orange under the natural rays; I trailed through to her lips that were shut firmly before she turned back to the first aid box.

Carefully disposing of the used cotton balls, she reached for some ointment and pressed some onto her fingers. Her delicate fingers were so gentle, it was almost like she never touched my skin or she was afraid to touch it. They were feathery as they patted the ointment into the wound, and I found myself chuckling lightly.

“You sure you don’t want to become Annalise’s assistant when we get back to the pack house? Perhaps, I should promote you since you have excellent skills.” I teased as she worked, still expecting a response from her. She shrugged instead and let out a painful smirk.

“You give the orders, it’s my job to follow suit.”

“So, you’re giving me a reply now?”

She didn’t say anything, shifting her attention to applying more ointment. I continued to watch her work delicately until she’d finished applying it. Then she reached for a bandage wrap.

“That day.” I started and she froze immediately. Her fingers had tensed, but her eyes betrayed no emotion.

“What about it?”

“Why did you go out that day? We just arrived and you suddenly wanted to go out.”

“I just wanted some air.” She answered dryly. “I wanted to clear my head, that’s all. Aren’t I permitted to do that much?”

“Fair argument, but I don’t believe you. You were trying to avoid me and it’s fucking obvious.” My voice was low and less threatening than it would have been a month ago. she shook her head at that, muttering something inaudible under her breath.

“No, I wasn’t. It isn’t even in my jurisdiction to avoid you.”

“Okay.”

The room fell back into a deafening quietness, eluded by soft breathing and birds chirping in the distance. And of course, bandages ripping as she stretched it across the length of one arm. She glanced at me, mouthing for me to sit upright. I did as she wanted and watched her wrap the new dressing over my wound, relief emanating from her being.

I remembered her crying face all too quickly, and her expression that mirrored the one on her face now. That was it that day. Relief. As hazy as my memory from that day was, I could never mistake the current look on her face.

“Why did you cry that day if you weren’t trying to avoid me? You’re avoiding me because you’re hurt, Larissa.” I pointed out again, all of the taunting drained from my voice. She halted her movements, raising her head to look at me in what I assumed was surprise. I watched her eyes dart around and her hands lose coordination as they loosened their grip.

Blinking quickly, she’d almost completely returned to that calm, irritating demeanor again looking away from me. I could bet she was flustered, but her lack of response was stepping on my nerves in all the worst possible ways.

I reached to her chin, pulling it a little harshly towards me. She let out a stifled yelp, wide eyed. I stared at her eyes as gently as I could and watched hers do their utmost best to avoid mine.

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you, Larissa.”

Her name rolled out my tongue like velvet. Had it always felt this good to say her name? “Do you realize how mad I was seeing you out there like that? They fucking put hands on you. What if they’d done something to you before I came? What if…” I trailed off, forcing my throat clear. There was now a lump I hadn’t realized has taken home in my larynx. She was still looking at me, but those warm chocolate irises had softened considerably.

“Just what if, Larissa? You make me worry about you, to the point where I want to risk my life for you. But if you keep giving me those dead eyes, you want me to believe that my actions were in vain?” I continued, my voice growing thicker. She wasn’t resisting, she was simply looking at me. I’d cupped her cheeks, my fingers slowly caressing and running along the length of her face.

“I did that because…I know you’re worried about me the way I am about you, Larissa.” I continued, feeling the need to justify myself. I felt Peter leap around in agitation, whispering that I was doing a good job. I used to blame the stupid mating season for whatever it was that was going on between us, but it didn’t make sense anymore. The mating season made you horny as fuck, not incredibly worried about how they were doing. The mating season would never make me jump in the face of death and tell it I didn’t give a shit. It would never make me feel the way I was feeling about Larissa. It was odd yet familiar at the same time, and I wanted more. I no longer enjoyed the denial. It had gotten too exhausting to handle.

“What do you mean?” She croaked out quietly, and if it was possible, the flicker in her eyes had amplified. I let out a soft sigh, my gaze unwavering however.

“If you’re not, I want you to be worried about me. You already proved it to me that day. You called me there that day. You cried when you thought I was in mortal danger. What else do those mean?”

“Stop.” She finally snapped, pulling away from my grip, I saw a tear find its way away from her eyes, and she wiped at it so fast that I would have thought she was having a mental breakdown.

“Just stop…Kaden.” Her voice was broken and completely vulnerable, even her once dead eyes that had softened were pleading and screaming at me.

“Please…I think I’ve been hurt enough. Isn’t that what you want to hear? How much I love you and how you’ve made it so clear that you don’t want me as your mate? Should I go ahead and tell you how much I’ve cried because of this back and forth? I’ve done nothing but be true to my feelings ever since we met…” The tears had turned into a heavy fountain streaming down her eyes and she did nothing to hid her hurt. “I don’t want to play your games anymore. I may mean nothing to you, but I’m a person too.”

“Larissa, I –”

“Could you stop playing with my feelings? I don’t find it funny!” She snapped again, shooting up to her feet.

Instinctively, I grabbed one of her wrists, pulling her back to where she’d been squatting to tend to my wounds. She was glaring at me now, but it did nothing to mask the hurt she had let herself feel and express today.

Seeing her so unguarded like this was gut wrenching. I could feel my chest tighten as I searched her eyes for something, anything that would reassure me that it would be okay. Maybe not now, but eventually.

“And who says I’m joking right now? I’m not joking, Larissa. I meant every word I said here.” I forced myself to continue, and relished in watching her expression morph into one of pure surprise, then confusion.

Her eyes fluttered erratically as they bounced around the room before returning to rest on my eyes.

I saw another tear escape her eyes and trail down her reddened cheeks, and I wiped at it gently. Without thinking any further, I leaned it to kiss the spot I’d wiped it from. It was slightly salty where it should have been really salty, my best guess was that she must’ve been crying a lot. I’d made her cry so much…Kaden, you’re such an ass.

I pulled away just enough to see her soft eyes before pulling her down on the bed with both arms and a shallow grunt. She didn’t resist, she simply let me pull her till she was hovering over me. I let out a soft smile, something I’d hardly ever done to her before leaning upwards to press my lips to hers.

In that moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything. I wasn’t thinking of Amaya or Nik, I wasn’t thinking of the woman who’d cheated on her husband and was sent on exile. I could only focus on the woman in front of me who was kissing me back with as much fire as she could muster. I could only think about the woman who’d cried a thousand tears for my sake. I could only think about the woman who’d somehow managed to crawl her way into my heart, despite my firm decision never to fall in love with a cheat.