"My leg..." she whispered in pain, but Alpha Kaidan didn’t slow down at all as he hauled her into the house.
A few of the pack staff nearby glanced over, awkward and unsure, but no one dared step in. She caught the flash of pity in one of their faces before they quickly looked away, pretending to be busy with something else, anything else.
"You animal!" A sharp voice cracked through the building the instant Alpha Kaidan pulled her into the main hall.
Naomi’s heart slammed hard as she realized who it belonged to. Christine Vaughn. Alpha Kaidan’s mother. Her mother-in-bond.
"How dare you?!" Christine shouted again, storming forward.
Her face twisted with disgust, eyes burning as she closed the distance sharply, heels striking the floor like small warnings with every step.
Naomi’s legs trembled with fear. She hadn’t expected Christine to be here tonight. Had word already reached her about what happened at the trial? News always seemed to travel faster through this house than she could ever outrun it.
She gripped the fabric of her dress, trying to steady her breathing. Christine had always terrified her. Ever since the bonding ceremony, there had been no warmth from this woman at all, and it all came down to one thing, Naomi wasn’t the mate she’d wanted for her son.
She’d always been cold, but tonight she looked furious, even angrier than Alpha Kaidan. Watching her storm closer, Naomi’s heart skipped, unsure what was about to happen.
"How dare you try to humiliate my son! How dare you try to ruin his standing!" Christine snapped, raising her hand like she meant to strike.
Naomi’s breath caught, her whole body going rigid, bracing for impact out of sheer instinct. But Alpha Kaidan caught his mother’s wrist before it could land.
She swallowed hard, staring up at him, stunned. Christine’s eyes went wide too, clearly shocked that her own son had stopped her.
Naomi could hardly believe it herself. First he’d pulled her from the water, and now he was blocking his mother’s hand from striking her. Why? None of it fit together the way she thought she understood him.
"What are you doing, Alpha Kaidan? Let go of me," Christine protested.
"You’re not hitting her," he said, voice tight.
"Why not? She’s an ungrateful little wretch," Christine snapped, voice climbing. "After everything you’ve given her, this is how she repays you?"
Alpha Kaidan sighed and slowly released his mother’s wrist. Christine didn’t try again, but her whole body still trembled with fury as the insults kept coming, each one landing somewhere in Naomi’s chest even though she tried to let them slide past her.
"I knew from the start you were a mistake," Christine said coldly. "A mistake that never would’ve happened if Alpha Kaidan hadn’t acted on impulse."
Naomi wasn’t even surprised to hear it. She’d heard this exact line so many times she could recite it herself, word for word, in the exact same cadence Christine always used.
"If you wanted to end things so badly, you could’ve done it somewhere quiet. Thrown yourself off a cliff, maybe," Christine said, voice like ice. "You didn’t need to drag my son’s name through it."
Alpha Kaidan’s eyes closed briefly, jaw tightening like the words had struck something raw. Then he opened them again and looked at Naomi, something unreadable passing behind his gaze before it shuttered closed again.
She swallowed the urge to defend herself once more, even knowing it probably wouldn’t matter, knowing the words would just bounce off the same wall they always did.
"I swear, Alpha Kaidan, I never tried to hurt myself," she said, voice worn thin. "Serena lied about all of it."
"Leave," he muttered, cutting her off.
Her chest caved in on itself. Of course he didn’t believe her. He never did. Why had she even bothered opening her mouth.
"You heard him! Get out of here, you fool!" Christine barked.
Naomi flinched at the sharpness in her voice and turned to go, but Alpha Kaidan’s voice stopped her cold. "Not you."
Then, calmly, he turned to his mother. "You."
"Excuse me? You’re telling me to leave?" Christine’s voice cracked with disbelief.
Alpha Kaidan said nothing. Just stared at her with that same cold, sharp look he always wore, the one that ended arguments before they started.
Christine’s face twisted with fury as she swallowed hard, shooting Naomi one final glare before storming out of the room, her perfume trailing behind her like something bitter left hanging in the air.
Naomi let out a slow breath and turned to Alpha Kaidan. "Thank you for believ..." she started, but he cut her off before she could finish.
"You think I actually care about that?" His voice was flat, cold.
She blinked, confused, trying to catch up to what he meant.
"No one cares whether you live or die, Naomi," he said, irritation bleeding through every word.
She froze completely. For a second, she thought she’d misheard him.
No one cares. Not even him?
She’d braced herself for anger, for insults. But hearing him say he wouldn’t even care if she died cut deeper than she’d ever imagined it could, deeper than she had words ready for.
"But you will not shame me," he said, voice sharp as a blade. "You will not make me look like a fool, running around with other men."
"What?" she whispered, stunned.
"Do you understand what this would do to my name if it got out?" he snapped.
Something sharp lodged in her chest, deeper than any slap could’ve gone. Her fingers curled tight at her sides.
So that was it. That was the whole point. The shame of it, of being made a fool. For one foolish second she’d thought it might have been jealousy. She almost laughed at herself for even entertaining the thought.
Goddess, how stupid she’d been, thinking even for a moment that he held an ounce of care for her. Four years, and he’d never loved her. Why would tonight be any different?
This was only ever about his image. But where had that same concern for his image been while he was wrapped around Serena all night, in front of half the pack, without a shred of hesitation?
Alpha Kaidan looked at her like something distasteful. "I shouldn’t have doubted Serena when she called you exactly what you are," he spat. "A cheap little liar."
His words landed like a blow. It felt like the air had left the room entirely. And worse, he’d always choose Serena’s word over hers, every time, without fail, without even a pause to consider otherwise. Explaining herself felt pointless now.
She swallowed back the sob building in her throat and straightened her spine.
"If that’s what I am, then what does that make her?" she said, voice steady now. "What do you call a woman who’s comfortable playing another man’s mate on the side?"
"Don’t you dare disrespect her like that," he growled, eyes flaring. "Don’t ever call her that again."
A bitter laugh slipped out of her, even as her heart cracked further inside. He had no issue calling her a liar, but he’d go to war defending a title half the pack already whispered about openly, in kitchens and hallways, behind cupped hands.
"Why can’t I say what everyone already knows?" she muttered. "Isn’t she exactly that to you?"
The hypocrisy of it. Pretending to hate the label while clearly not minding the relationship itself at all.
"Watch your mouth, Naomi," he said, jaw tightening again.
"Or what?" she pushed, even as fear coiled tight inside her chest, her pulse loud in her own ears.
His eyes darkened. He stepped in close, towering over her, close enough that she could feel the heat rolling off him.
"You might not just sprain that leg next time," he said, low and sharp. "You could break it completely. And I wouldn’t think twice about doing it myself."
She froze, tears burning behind her eyes. So he knew. He knew about her ankle. Knew she was in pain, barely able to stand. And still he’d left her there at the trial, still dragged her through the house without a second thought, without once slowing his pace.
"Disrespect Serena again, and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life," he warned before turning to walk away.
Her heart shattered into pieces. If there was one thing to regret, Alpha Kaidan, it was ever bonding with you. Falling for you. Hoping, foolishly, that one day you might love me the way I loved you, the way I let myself love you before I knew better.
But she was done hoping now. She’d endured years of quiet pain just to reach this point, to finally earn her place as a healer. And now that she had it, there was nothing left keeping her here.
No reason to keep this bond alive. No reason to stand in the way of you and the woman you actually loved. It was time to let it go, once and for all.
"Alpha Kaidan," she said quietly, her voice cracking with the weight of it.
He paused and turned back sharply.
"I want out of this bond," she said, tears sliding freely down her face.