Page 129 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

My heart felt a certain amount of peace knowing I’d made that decision. Cory and Cade were right. I had a lot of love to give Adam, and I would make it be enough. I walked into my room to find Cade sitting in bed, working on his laptop. His shirt was off, and he was wearing boxer shorts. When I closed the door behind me, I looked up and smiled at me.

“You look like you had a nice splash with Adam,” he chuckled as he took in my water-soaked clothing.

“We were having a heart-to-heart, and a hug was called for,” I chuckled, beginning to remove my wet clothes.

“Oh? What heart-to-heart?”

“I asked Adam if he wanted me to be his mom.”

“You’re serious? You’re going to adopt him?” Cade’s face was lit up with happiness.

“Yes. I’ve been afraid of not being enough for him. Life is so uncertain right now, but you reminded me all a little boy needsin his life is love, and I have plenty to give him. Cory was also right. This past year has been one of the worst of my life, and I’ve still managed to take care of him and show him how much I love him. I may not know how good a mother I will be, but as long as I love him, we’ll find our way.”

I made my way to the bathroom, but Cade cut me off. He picked me up and lay me down on the bed.

“I’m so proud of you, Princess. You’re more than a good mother. You’re an amazing one. Adam is lucky to call you Mom, and his love for you will only grow.”

There was so much emotion in Cade’s eyes that I felt the tears stinging mine. I placed my hand on his cheek, knowing that he spoke from experience. It was so easy to forget, from the easygoing way he was in his personal life, how much Cade must have been through at a young age; easy to forget that while he looked so put together and confident now, it wasn’t always that way. I leaned up and kissed him, wanting to say with the kiss the things I was too terrified to voice in words.

I woke up too early the next morning when Cade’s phone rang. I quickly dressed, and still too excited from my conversation with Adam last night, went down to my office and printed out the forms I needed to officially adopt him. I bumped into Elim heading toward the kitchen. When he saw me, he sighed with relief.

“Luna, can I have a moment of your time?”

“Is it bad news?” I asked. I didn’t think I wanted to deal with bad news this early in the morning.

“No,” he chuckled. We walked to my office, and once the door was closed, he got down to business immediately. “I did something, and I would like your help and your blessing to finish carrying it out.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chris

The shrill sound of Violet’s alarm reached me at my post in front of her door. I shook the sleep from my head, stood up as quietly as possible and went into my room. I changed silently, using the light on my phone to light the closet, and then sat on my bed, waiting to hear Violet leave her room.

I felt like a stalker, but I couldn’t help it. Both Titan and I felt the strong need to protect her, watch her and ensure nothing bad touched her ever again.

Nothing bad’s happened to her except for what you did,Titan reproached. He was still mad at me, and I didn’t blame him.

I was mad at myself, too. I broke the unshakeable trust she and Alpha Cory placed in me, and allowed myself to get involved with her, knowing it would never work. I knew from the beginning that it wouldn’t last. Violet wasn’t my second-chance mate. I’d run inside to find her mere moments after the moon peaked to check and felt nothing. The Goddess didn’t think me worthy of a woman like her.

I understood why, though it didn’t hurt any less.

Violet was an incredible woman. She was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for. I was there the night we rescued her. I was the first person inside that room, and I saw what that man was doing to her before I ripped his throat out for putting his hands on her.

And, here she was, still standing strong, working every damn day to get better. She was fighting her demons harder than I’d ever had to fight anything in my life. I still cursed myself for not making it into her room sooner, though I knew that wouldn’t have changed much for her. By the time we got there, she’d already been through so much trauma.

I also knew all about her imprinting on me when I pulled the man off her and made her feel safe. Alpha Cory and Dr. Campbell explained it when we returned to the pack house. They asked me to stay away from her a month into guarding her, for her own well-being.

When they approached me to guard her this time, I voiced my concerns about it, and they assured me it wasn’t the case anymore. But, what if they were wrong? What if the only reason she wanted me now was because the imprinting was coming back? We were almost alone here, spending every waking moment together. I couldn’t take advantage of her like that.

Violet was Luna Celeste’s daughter. She was literally related to gods. I had no doubt the Moon Goddess would give her the second-chance mate she more than deserved.

I knew all of this. I repeated it like a mantra every morning, but still, I couldn’t help but fall in love with her. It was hard not to when you witnessed a woman like Violet pulling herself from the ashes, stronger than before.

I did my best to keep things professional, but I was spending every waking moment with her, watching her struggle and succeed in dealing with her fears. She allowed me to share andwitness her most vulnerable moments and triumphs. She took comfort in me as she tried to put the pieces of herself and her heart back together, unaware she had stolen mine in the process.

The day we came back from the ER was when everything went wrong. My heart was already feeling so raw, seeing her at the bottom of the steps, bleeding from her injuries and with Elim hovering over her.

So many thoughts went through me as I ran down the stairs to her. My heart was in my throat until I was close enough to hear the steady beating of her heart, letting me know she was still on this earth. As much as I tried to fight my feelings for her when she asked me to kiss her later, I was too weak to fight it. I was too weak to deny her anything she asked of me.

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