Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 36

**Change Begins With You — Jayden Collins**

**Chapter 36**

**Maya**

“Let. Her. Go.”

Caden’s voice reverberated through the hall like a thunderclap, a deep and resonant sound that echoed with an intensity I had never encountered before. His expression was a tempest of rage and fatigue, each feature etched with emotion. His jaw was set tight, and his eyes blazed with a fierce light that sent chills down my spine. Every sinew in his body appeared taut, trembling with a barely contained ferocity that was both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

“That’s an order,” he reiterated, his tone now imbued with a commanding strength that brooked no argument.

It was painfully clear that he had been hurt. The way he stood—like a warrior who had dragged himself from the brink of unconsciousness—spoke volumes about his struggle. Despite the evident pain, he managed to hold himself upright, a testament to his willpower.

In that moment, something flickered across the man’s facade, a brief crack in his steely resolve, and his grip on me wavered.

I stumbled forward, gasping as the air rushed back into my lungs, the blade that had threatened my life slipping from his fingers and clattering against the polished marble floor with a sound that seemed to echo in the silence that followed.

Leo was there, catching me before I could collapse, his arms enveloping me in a protective embrace that felt both comforting and reassuring. My heart raced so loudly that it drowned out every other sound, a frantic drumbeat in my ears.

Caden took a shaky step down the staircase, his hand gripping the railing with such force that the wood creaked in protest. But his gaze… oh, that gaze… it was a blazing inferno, filled with a fierce determination that left me breathless.

His father’s eyes turned icy, a chilling contrast to Caden’s fiery resolve. “You shouldn’t defy me, boy,” he warned, his voice laced with menace.

Caden’s lips twisted into a grim semblance of a smile, a mix of defiance and pain. “I learned that from you,” he shot back, his voice low but filled with conviction.

Alpha Philip’s jaw tightened, the muscles in his neck straining as he regarded his son with a look that suggested he wished to erase the very existence of the boy standing before him.

“Touch her,” Caden said, his voice low and sharp as a knife, “and I’ll show you just how much of your blood runs in my veins.”

An oppressive silence enveloped the room, thick and suffocating.

For the first time, Philip seemed at a loss for words. He simply stared at Caden, who was pale and bleeding yet unyielding, a warrior ready to face his fate.

The knife lay gleaming on the marble floor between us, a glinting reminder of how perilously close we had come to death. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from it, nor from Caden, who was reaching for me with a hand that trembled slightly, as if he feared I might vanish if he moved too quickly.

Despite my own shaking form, still trembling with fear and gasping for breath, I reached out to him. His fingers found mine, strong and reassuring, anchoring me in a way that always made me feel safe.

For a fleeting moment, the chaotic world around us steadied.

And then, in an instant, it shattered.

Philip moved with a shocking speed that left me breathless. One moment he was still, and the next, his hand shot out, seizing my arm with a grip that felt like iron.

I cried out as he yanked me against his chest, his hold bruising, his breath hot and furious against my ear. “You dare challenge me for her?” he spat, venom dripping from his words. “Fine. Watch as I kill her myself.”

“NO!”

Caden’s roar pierced the air, raw and primal, a sound that was more beast than man.

He lunged forward, his body jerking with a fierce determination, his head bowing low as he charged, a whirlwind of fury. The same kind of steam I had seen emanating from Tylon now poured from Caden as I writhed helplessly in Philip’s grip.

“Caden, don’t!” Tylon shouted, desperation lacing his voice as he reached for him.

But it was as if time had slowed, and it felt too late.

A sickening sound, like bones cracking and skin stretching, filled the room, and I could hardly comprehend what was happening.

“Caden!” I screamed, but my voice faltered, breaking under the weight of my fear.

He wasn’t responding. He was… transforming.

His muscles ripped through his shirt, his spine contorting as if something powerful was breaking free from within.

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