Housebound with the Blackridge Heirs novel Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Maya

Leo came down for breakfast on his own two feet, and the sight of it almost stopped me where I stood.

It had been a few more days since I been sleeping beside him, days that blurred together with snow-covered mornings and long, quiet evenings that never quite felt settled.

Still no word from Caden. Still no sign of him beyond the faint, distant awareness that he was alive somewhere out there, breathing, choosing not to come home.

But Leo was better.

Not completely whole, but better in the way that mattered. He walked carefully, shoulders still stiff, movements measured, but he walked without help.

He had showered on his own that morning too, which I could tell he preferred over Tylon hovering like a shadow just outside the shower door.

Seeing Leo upright, hair still damp and curling slightly at the ends, wearing one of his oversized sweaters like it was no big deal, did something to my chest that I hadn’t been prepared for.

“You’re up early,” I said, forcing my voice to stay light as I turned back to the stove.

“Couldn’t sleep when you left,” he replied. His voice was steadier now, not as hoarse or strained as it had been. “My body feels… restless.”

“That sounds like healing,” I said as I slid eggs onto a plate. “Or boredom.”

“Probably both,” he muttered, but there was no real bite in it.

Tylon had already left to do rounds, the house echoing with his absence in a way that felt different from Caden’s. Tylon leaving felt temporary and expected. Caden’s absence felt like something we weren’t allowed to talk about yet.

Leo eased himself into a chair at the kitchen island, exhaling softly as he settled. I noticed the way his fingers flexed once, twice, like he was testing his strength without meaning to.

“You should sit,” he said, nodding toward the chair across from him. “You’ve been hovering since I walked in.”

I huffed quietly and joined him, pushing a plate his way. “You’ve earned breakfast without supervision.”

He glanced at the food, then back at me. “I’m sensing sarcasm.”

“Good,” I said. “Your instincts are coming back too.”

He almost smiled.

We ate in a comfortable silence at first, broken only by the soft crackle of the fireplace and the wind brushing against the windows.

Outside, the snow had piled higher overnight, coating the world in quiet again. It made everything feel slower, heavier, like time itself had agreed to give us space,

Leo set his fork down halfway through his meal.

“Maya,” he said, not looking at me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why are you still here?”

The question wasn’t sharp. It wasn’t accusing. It sounded… tired.

I swallowed. “Because you need help.”

He nodded faintly. “That’s what you say out loud.”

I didn’t interrupt him.

“I know I’m not stupid,” he continued. “I know what it looks like. You could have gone back to your room. You

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Chapter 99

could have stayed away once I started walking again. You didn’t.”

“I wanted to stay,” I said quietly.

His fingers tightened around the edge of the table. “Why?”

The answer rose up easily and painfully at the same time. “Because when you were hurt, something in me couldn’t leave you alone with it.”

He finally looked at me then, hazel eyes searching my face like he was trying to decide how much truth he was allowed to hear.

“But even when I wasn’t hurt anymore, you stayed.” His eyes searched mine. “Tell me why, Maya. Please. It’s not just care. You… feel for me, don’t you?”

I didn’t respond, but my silence was answer enough.

“I’ve never told anyone this,” he said slowly. “Not Tylon. Not Caden.”

My heart stuttered. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to,” he said, and that alone made my chest ache.

He leaned back slightly, staring at the ceiling for a long moment like the words were written up there somewhere.

“My nightmares aren’t new,” he said. “They didn’t start with the grove.”

I stayed silent, moving closer until my knee brushed his.

“I was twelve when my pack was slaughtered,” he continued. “Not attacked. Slaughtered. Every house burned. Every wolf hunted down. My mother. My father. My younger cousins. Even the elders who couldn’t shift anymore.”

My breath caught, but I didn’t interrupt him.

“I saw it,” he said, voice steady in a way that hurt to hear. “My parents hid me in a storage cellar beneath our home. I heard the fighting first, then the screaming, then nothing. When it went quiet, I thought that meant it was safe.”

His fingers curled against the table.

“It wasn’t.”

I reached for his hand, and this time he took it without hesitation.

“They dragged me out,” he went on. “I watched them kill the last of my family. I watched my father stand until the end because that was what an Alpha was supposed to do, and I watched my mother die trying to reach him.”

Tears burned behind my eyes, but I held them back for him.

“After that,” he said, “my uncle claimed the packland. Said it was tradition. Said he’d raise me to take my father’ s place one day.”

His jaw tightened. “He believed fear made stronger leaders. He believed kindness was weakness. And if I didn’ t meet his standards, he made sure I understood why.”

I swallowed,

“I learned how to be quiet,” he said. “How to be calm. How to be useful without taking up space. I learned how to be the buffer. The mediator. The one who kept everyone else from tearing each other apart.”

His breath shook.

“That’s why I’m always quiet and careful. Always listening before speaking. Always standing between people instead of choosing a side. Because choosing a side once cost me everything.”

I shifted closer, wrapping my arms around him as he leaned into me, his forehead resting against my shoulder like his body finally gave up pretending it didn’t need the support.

“When I was seventeen,” he continued, voice quieter now, “my uncle took me to an Alpha convention. Said it

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Chapter 99

was time I learned what my future would look like.”

He let out a faint breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “That’s where I met Caden and Tylon. Two idiots arguing over territory lines like they were still cubs.”

I smiled weakly. “That sounds like them.”

“They told me about Blackridge,” he said. “About choosing your own path. About learning before ruling. I applied the moment I turned eighteen.”

“And now,” I said gently, “you’re expected to go back.”

“Yes,” he replied. “When I graduate, I’m supposed to return and take the pack from my uncle. Lead the land that watched my family die.”

He pulled back just enough to look at me, hazel eyes heavy with truth.

“I don’t want it,” he admitted. “I never have.”

My chest ached at the confession. “You don’t have to decide that right now.”

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