Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Chapter 84

Maya

I’ve been a horrible mate.

55 vouchers

The thought pressed into me the moment Caden carried me into the house, as natural and inescapable as breathing.

It curled low in my stomach, heavy and relentless, and no amount of shifting my weight or adjusting the robe around my body made it easier to ignore. Caden held me close to his chest, walking with careful steps as if afraid I might disappear again, and still all I could think about was how selfish I had been.

He had suffered for weeks while I slept. He had searched for me every night, worried himself hollow, fought for me, bled for me, and stood guard over my unconscious body.

Yet the moment I woke up, the first thing I did was panic about Leo, panic about myself, and panic about everything except him.

My chest ached with shame.

Caden nudged open his room door with his foot and lowered me gently onto his bed. His hands lingered on my waist for a moment before he slid the robe more securely around my shoulders and tucked the blankets around me as if I were made of fragile glass.

He looked exhausted beyond words, yet he still focused on me with a tenderness that made my throat tighten.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered before he could sit down beside me. “I really am. I feel like the worst mate in the world.”

His brows drew together, and he sat down at the edge of the mattress, leaning closer so I had no choice but to meet his eyes.

“Why would you ever say that?” he asked softly.

“Because you have been through hell,” I said. “You stayed awake for three weeks watching over me. You searched for me every night. You fought every night. You worried yourself sick. And the moment I opened my eyes, I barely even saw you. I was so focused on everything else that I didn’t stop to think about

you. Not properly. Not the way I should have.”

His expression softened so deeply that it almost hurt to look at him.

“Maya,” he murmured, “you were unconscious. You woke up confused, alone and terrified in the forest with nothing on. I wasn’t expecting you to give me a speech of appreciation. I only cared that you were alive and safe.”

“But I should have thought about you sooner,” I insisted. “You looked awful out there, Caden. You still do. You looked like you haven’t slept in a month. You looked like you were breaking. You still look like you are.”

His eyes lowered for a moment, and his thumb brushed the inside of my wrist as he exhaled.

Chapter 84

55 vout hers

“You matter more than my exhaustion,” he said. “You matter more than my sleep, my energy and my sanity. You were gone, Maya. Gone from the bond. Gone from everything. I didn’t know if I would ever hear you again. I have never been that afraid in my life.”

The sincerity in his voice struck something deep inside me and cracked me open all over again.

“I’m still sorry,” I whispered.

“And I’m still telling you there is nothing to be sorry for,” he said with a tiny smile that did not quite reach his eyes. He reached up to cup my face, brushing his thumb along my cheek gently. “As long as you are safe, nothing else matters to me.”

He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. The moment stretched warm and quiet between us, settling in my chest like a fragile peace, but it didn’t erase the guilt inside me. It only softened the edges.

When he pulled back, I hesitated before speaking again.

“Can I see Leo?” I asked.

I knew this was the last thing he expected me to ask after what I was just ranting about, but I also couldn’t give my all into Caden until I saw Leo for myself.

Caden froze for a moment. He searched my face as though trying to determine whether I was strong enough, or whether seeing Leo might undo the fragile calm he finally had a chance to breathe in. But I held his steadily.

“I need to see him,” I said. “Please.”

He nodded slowly and stood. “I’ll take you.”

gaze

I pulled the blanket around my shoulders more firmly and rose from the bed. My legs wobbled slightly, but when I reached for the nightstand, Caden was already at my side, arm steady around my waist. His closeness helped more than I wanted to admit.

We stepped into the hallway, and that was when I saw him.

Tylon.

He stood at the far end of the corridor, leaning against the wall as if he had been waiting, although his eyes gave him away instantly. He straightened the moment he saw me, every line of his body sharpening with tension and something else I was not ready to name.

His gaze ran over me once, slow and assessing, and my entire body responded before I could stop it. It was a pull, subtle and warm, hovering beneath my skin.

Something shifted quietly between us.

“Maya,” he breathed, as if what he was seeing wasn’t real. “Are you alright?” Tylon asked, his voice lower than

usual.

“Yes,” I said softly. “I am.”

55 Vouchers!!

He nodded once, eyes lingering on me in a way that made my chest tighten unexpectedly. Then he cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“I’ll get her something to eat,” he said, already turning as if the decision had been made long ago.

Caden lifted a hand slightly across his chest, blocking his path with a quiet but unmistakable warning. The shift in the hallway was immediate and cold.

“I am just getting her something to eat,” Tylon said. He kept his voice calm, although the muscle in his jaw twitched. “She needs this.”

Caden hesitated. Then he lowered his hand.

“Fine.” he said.

The tension didn’t vanish. It simply settled into the air like another presence. I felt it coil quietly under my skin, humming through the bond I now shared with both of them.

“Thank you,” I said softly to Tylon as he walked ahead to lead the way.

His eyes flicked back to me for a second, and I felt something shift in him too. Then he pushed the door open to Leo’s room and stepped aside so I could enter.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify