Page 44 of Once You Go Pack
Cade’s thumb traced along her cheekbone, his touch reverent. “Gerri knew, didn’t she? She had to have known what you were when she found you.”
“I think so. She kept saying I was special, and that I had qualities that were rare. I thought she was just being kind, but...”
“But she sees things the rest of us don’t.” His voice held a note of amazement. “Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it. She brought you home to me.”
The air between them felt supercharged now, electric with possibility and promise. Gone was the careful politeness of their early interactions, replaced by something raw and honest and utterly consuming.
Cade’s gaze locked with hers, and she saw the exact moment he made his decision. The king and the wolf aligned for once, both wanting the same thing.
“Stay with me tonight,” he said, his voice low and commanding but edged with vulnerability. “I can’t be alone. Not tonight.”
Mila’s heart stuttered in her chest. The request hung between them like a bridge—one she could cross or retreat from. She thought of the guest suite with its beautiful but impersonal furnishings, of lying awake wondering if he was grieving alone in his chambers. Of the wall he’d built around himself crumbling piece by piece until she could finally see the man beneath the crown.
She didn’t see the king now, with his impossible responsibilities and the weight of three packs on his shoulders. She saw only Cade—the man who’d claimed her body withdesperate passion, who’d trusted her with his tears, who looked at her as if she was the answer to a question he’d been asking his entire life.
“Yes,” she whispered.
The walk through the castle corridors felt like crossing a boundary between two different lives. The imposing grandeur that had made Mila feel small and out of place now seemed to welcome her, as if the ancient stones themselves recognized her rightful place here.
Everything feels different now,she thought, her hand naturally finding Cade’s as they moved through the quiet passages.Like I’m not a guest anymore. Like I’m home.
The castle staff they passed bowed respectfully to their new king, and their eyes lingered on Mila with curiosity rather than judgment. Word had clearly spread about the human who’d stood by their grieving Alpha’s side.
When they reached his private chambers, Mila felt her heart thundering in her chest. He opened the heavy wooden doors to reveal a space that was unmistakably his—masculine and powerful, yet surprisingly warm. A massive stone fireplace dominated one wall, flames dancing across dark wood and gleaming glass. Paintings depicting wolves hung between tall windows that offered views of the twin moons hanging like lanterns in the star-studded sky.
This is the man behind the crown,she realized, taking in the leather-bound books scattered across a table, the half-finished glass of whiskey still sitting by his favorite chair.This is where he comes when he needs to just be Cade.
He moved to the fireplace and sank heavily into one of the chairs, still wearing his formal suit jacket and the crown that seemed to weigh more than gold and jewels should. The firelight caught the exhaustion etched into every line of his face, and the grief that had carved new shadows beneath his eyes.
Mila approached slowly, her heart aching at how isolated he looked even in his own sanctuary. Without a word, she moved behind his chair and reached for the crown, her fingers gentle as she lifted it from his dark hair.
“You don’t need this right now,” she murmured, setting the symbol of his new authority carefully on the side table. “Tonight, you’re just Cade. Just mine.”
He leaned back into her touch as she combed her fingers through his thick hair, smoothing away the indent the crown had left. A low sound escaped him—part sigh, part growl of contentment.
“How do you do that?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion. “Make everything feel... manageable.”
“I’m just showing that you don’t have to carry it all alone anymore.” She moved around to face him, settling onto the arm of his chair and placing her palm over his heart. The steady thrum beneath her hand matched the pulse she felt through their mate bond, synchronizing their heartbeats until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began. “I’m here now. And I’m strong enough to help you bear whatever comes next.”
When he reached for her, pulling her onto his lap so she straddled his thighs, the movement was both possessive and reverent.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered against her temple. “After how I’ve treated you, keeping you at arm’s length, making you feel like an outsider yesterday?—“
“Stop.” She cupped his face in her small hands, forcing him to meet her gaze. “You were protecting yourself. Protecting your heart from more loss. I understand that completely.”
“But you stayed. Even when I pushed you away.”
“Because I could feel your pain through our bond. Because I knew the real you was in there, just waiting for someone brave enough to weather the storm with you.” She smiled, herthumb tracing the sharp line of his cheekbone. “And because my ancestors have been standing beside wolves like you for centuries. It’s literally in my blood to not give up on you.”
When he kissed her, it was with a tenderness that made her chest tight with emotion. Not the desperate passion of their encounter in the gym, but something deeper—a recognition of souls finding their missing pieces. His hands slipped into her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss.
This feels older than we are,she thought dimly as heat began to build between them.Like we’ve done this dance across lifetimes, like our spirits are remembering each other even if our minds are just catching up.
“I need you,” he breathed against her lips.
She stood and began unbuttoning his shirt with deliberate slowness, her eyes never leaving his. “Then have me.”
He rose in one fluid movement, lifting her effortlessly and carrying her toward the massive four-poster bed in his bedroom.
