Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Maya

He stood at the sound of my voice, slow and careful, like he was afraid I might bolt if he moved too fast. He looked wrecked, more than the last time I’d seen him, which I hadn’t thought was possible.

His hair was longer now, curling wildly around his face like he hadn’t bothered to tame it, his jaw shadowed with stubble, and his eyes were dark and ringed with exhaustion that went deeper than a few missed nights of sleep.

For a second, neither of us spoke.

Then reality crashed into me all at once.

“You’re back,” I said, and the words sounded flat compared to everything pounding inside my chest.

“I had to be,” Caden replied. His voice was rough, scraped raw by things he hadn’t said out loud yet. “There’s talk everywhere. About you. About what you are now. About what happened in the grove. And you’re still my mate.”

That word hit harder than I expected. ‘Still.’ As if everything else could shift and break and rearrange itself, but that one fact remained immovable.

Anger flared, sharp and immediate, tangling with guilt so tightly I couldn’t separate them.

“So that’s why you came back,” I said. “Not because you left me alone to figure all of this out by myself. Not because I woke up screaming some nights and ran into the forest without knowing why. But because people are talking.”

His jaw tightened. “Don’t twist this.”

I laughed, and it came out brittle. “I could barely feel you. Do you know what that did to me? I kept thinking something was wrong, that you were hurt or dead, and then I realized you were choosing not to come back.”

His eyes flicked to my wrist, then away again, like he already knew where my thoughts were going.

“And now I’m wondering,” I continued, my voice shaking despite myself, “how I didn’t feel you tonight either.”

Was that’s why Tylon suddenly decided to act like I don’t exist? Did he know Caden was back? Did he feel him before I did?

“Maya,” Caden said, stepping forward.

“No,” I snapped.

The silence stretched until it felt too heavy to breathe through.

“You left,” I said, and this time I couldn’t stop the tears. “You left me.”

He looked away, and I could see the anger in his eyes at my accusation. I didn’t even know if I had the right to be angry, but I was. But evidently he was too.

“Look at me, Caden,” I demanded. “I was human long before I was a wolf, and what you did felt like a breakup whether you meant it that way or not.”

His eyes flared. “What I did? What I did?!”

“Yes!” I shouted. “What you did.”

He looked appalled, genuinely so, and that only made it worse.

10:39 Thu, Dec 25 M R

Chapter 108

“You have intimate feelings for men who are basically my brothers,” he shot back, his voice rising despite himself. “You kissed one of them and then proceeded to sleep with him, and heaven knows what else you did while I was gone.”

“I had no choice!” I screamed, my hands flying to my hair as if I could tear the confusion out of my own head, “Don’t you get it? My wolf. She wants all of you. I’m trying to learn how to balance control with her, but I can’t help what she wants.”

His expression hardened. “And what do you want?”

The question stunned me into silence.

“What?” I whispered.

859

“You always blame your wolf,” he continued. “But can you really look me in the eyes and tell me you feel nothing for them?”

My mouth opened, but no sound came out.

He scoffed, the sound low and wounded.

Tears spilled over then, hot and humiliating.

“Then why did you come back,” I asked, my voice breaking, “if not to make things right?”

He stared at me for a long moment before answering. “Because you’re still my mate, and people are hunting you. I have a responsibility to keep you safe.”

The words crushed something inside my chest.

“Wouldn’t it be easier,” I cried, “for all of you if I just died? Why bother keeping me safe at all?”

The air changed instantly.

Caden crossed the space between us and pinned me to the wall before I even realized he’d moved, his hands braced on either side of my head, his eyes dark with something close to terror.

“Don’t you ever say that,” he growled. “Not out loud. Not in your head. Not ever again. Do you hear me?”

I whimpered, and that sound seemed to snap him out of it. He stepped back immediately, running a hand through his hair like he hated himself for losing control.

He turned toward the door, then stopped.

“I understand Tylon’s been training you with your shifts,” he said, his voice clipped and professional now, like he was putting armor back on. “I think you should start running with Leo again. For both your benefits. When he’s fully better, you’ll practice speed and endurance in wolf form. Leo was always the fastest of us.”

I stayed silent.

“And we should resume combat training,” schedule that works. See you at six tomorrow.”

Before I could answer, he was gone.

continued. “What we used to do, and now in wolf form too. We’ll make a

The door closed softly behind him, but it sounded louder than any slam.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify