Page 45 of Piece You Saved

“Oh, it was a magnificent thing,” Kade drawls as his eyes turn dreamy. “Black forest ham, pepperoni, turkey, all the best cold cuts, and then there were the pickles…”

“Homemade,” Aden adds. “With fresh dill.”

I glance over at him. His breathing is still a little heavy, and his cheeks are flushed, but his eyes are fully human, and his muscles aren’t as tense as they were before. “I’ll make it for you one day, Saige.”

“He swore never to make it again after we kept stealing them,” Kade says. “So this is a big deal. I’d take him up on his offer if I were you.”

“I’ll make you the cocoa my mom used to make for me,” I say.

It’s a tiny piece of myself I’m offering up. A sliver of my old, happy life when I was a little girl who had a mom and dad who treated her like she was the center of their world. Back when the world was perfect, and I thought it would stay that way forever.

Aden’s eyes brighten with anticipation. “I like cocoa.”

“Was it the one you made for me as a bribe?” Kade asks. “Because that was a good cocoa.”

“It was,” I agree. “But it wasn’t exactly right. The next one will be better.”

“And me?” Dariel asks, his voice unreadable. “Do I get cocoa?”

I eye him for several seconds, then shake my head. “You just admitted to stealing Aden’s sandwich and letting Kade take the fall for it. You get no cocoa.”

He raises a dark brow. “Ever?”

“Never. Make your own,” I say.

A hint of amusement stirs in his gaze. “If I were to apologize?”

I stare at him. As he stares back, I get the sense we’re not talking about cocoa anymore.

For terrifying me? Clawing up Kade’s back? Stealing Aden’s sandwich?

Or for something else entirely?

“You have a lot to apologize for,” I tell him. Aden’s and Kade’s eyes bounce between Dariel and me; no doubt, they’re sensing the new tension rising in the air. “And I’ve learned alphas don’t know how to apologize in a way that makes me want to forgive them.”

Is the reason for my antagonism toward him because he reminds me so much of Rylan? Maybe. But not all. Some is well-deserved. Alotis well-deserved.

Maybe even unforgivable.

“And if I found a new way to apologize?” The amusement in his eyes dies, making me wonder if he has the ability to pull thoughts from my head.

“You won’t,” I tell him as I look away. “Because it doesn’t exist.”

He’s silent for a beat. “And if I did?” he presses, his tone insistent.

I make my voice harder. “You won’t.” He’s not getting it.

There is no apology you can make that would make me want to forgive you. I thought I could, but whatever mercy I had left in me that Dad didn’t kill, Rylan finished off.

Before this can turn into an argument, Kade squeezes my arm, drawing my attention. “Up, angel.”

I blink at him in confusion. “Why?”

He pulls me to my feet and nods at Aden, who’s muffling a yawn with one hand. “He needs rest.”

I guess fighting with the wolf in your head must be exhausting.

Aden catches my eye then and smiles. “When I’m feeling more myself, how about you stop by with cocoa, and I’ll tell you about how we all met?”

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