Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 67

**Change Begins With You — Jayden Collins**
**Chapter 67**

**Caden**

Sleep eluded me, a distant dream that slipped through my fingers like sand.

Just moments ago, Maya lay nestled in my embrace, her rhythmic breathing a soothing melody against my chest. She had surrendered herself to me, her trust enveloping us in a cocoon of warmth that sent a pang deep within my ribs. I lingered there, savoring the tranquility, waiting for her breaths to steady, for her fingers to relax against my shirt, and for that familiar bond between us to settle into its comforting glow—a glow only present when she felt utterly safe.

Yet, the moment I stepped out of her sanctuary, that safety morphed into something jagged and unsettling.

Tylon knew.

I found him exactly where I anticipated—at the old training hall tucked away behind the estate.

The dim light flickered feebly from a single bulb hanging above the far wall, casting long shadows that danced around him. He moved with precision, striking the reinforced padding with a relentless focus, each blow echoing in the silence, sweat glistening on his taut shoulders. The air was thick with the metallic scent of exertion and the raw energy of fury.

He didn’t acknowledge my presence as I stepped inside.

“I thought you’d still be upstairs with your mate,” he remarked, his tone flat and devoid of emotion, as he landed another powerful hit that sent a shudder through the frame.

I approached cautiously, keeping a respectful distance.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

At that, he hesitated.

He remained facing away, his posture tense, his shoulders rising and falling with a slow, controlled breath.

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he muttered, his voice low.

“You knew about her foster parents,” I pressed, my voice thick with a mix of anger and hurt. “You knew what they did to her.”

I watched as his jaw tightened, his fist hovering mid-strike, the silence between us heavy and suffocating until he finally lowered his hand.

“I knew enough,” he replied quietly, the weight of his words hanging in the air.

“And you didn’t think it was important to tell me?” I stepped closer, my anger bubbling over, the restraint I had tried to maintain slipping away. “You knew what she survived. You knew she was terrified of them. You knew her payment deadline was looming. You knew all of it, and yet you chose to stay silent.”

“I didn’t think she’d want you to know,” he snapped, finally turning to face me. His eyes were sharp, wearied, and filled with a depth of emotion I struggled to decipher. “She entrusted me with a fragment of her past. I wasn’t going to treat it like gossip.”

“That’s not your decision to make,” I growled, my voice low and fierce. “She’s my mate.”

“And she’s a person, Caden,” he shot back, his tone equally fierce. “Not a confession box you can open whenever it suits you.”

His words struck me harder than I anticipated, a blow that resonated deep within.

But they did nothing to quell the fire raging in my chest.

“You should have told me,” I repeated, this time more deliberately, because my anger was now intertwined with something else—an emotion that tightened my throat. “She was suffering. She believed she owed those monsters money. She thought she had to keep paying them. She thought she still belonged to them.”

Tylon’s gaze dropped for a moment, his jaw clenching tightly.

“I took care of it,” he finally said, his voice a soft murmur.

My heart thudded painfully in my chest.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I went to them,” he stated flatly, a chill creeping down my spine. “The night she confided in me. I told them she was done paying. And I warned them that if they ever dared to approach her again, I’d rip their spines out through their throats.”

I stared at him, a whirlwind of emotions crashing within me.

For a fleeting moment, I was torn between gratitude and the urge to strike him.

“You went alone?” I asked, disbelief coloring my voice.

He shrugged, a dismissive gesture. “Didn’t need anyone with me.”

“You should have told me,” I said again, my tone softer but still laced with frustration.

“Why?” His eyes locked onto mine, challenging me. “You would have come with me? You would have walked into a human neighborhood, into a human house, risking exposure in front of them? You would have put everything on the line, including Maya’s trust in you?”

The images raced through my mind, vivid and violent.

He wasn’t wrong.

Tylon stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low murmur.

“I did what she needed. Not what you wanted.”

My fists clenched at my sides, a storm brewing within me.

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