The Luna’s Second Chance Mate

Kaden’s POV

My discomfort worked its way right into night time. I stood in the shower, loving the delicious tingles that traveled down my spine from the odd temperature of the water.

Any other person would have complained that the water was cold enough to give frostbites in spring, but I thought otherwise. It was currently the only thing that could take me away from the bugging insanity that had become Larissa.

I finally turned off the shower head, swiping off the white towel from the curtains before wrapping it around my torso.

I climbed out of the shower, shaking my head slowly to rid my hair of excess water before walking backing to my room. I threw some comfortable clothes on and turned in the direction of my bed, but my eyes lingered on the spot she’d laid that evening she’d yelled at me. I couldn’t read what her eyes pleaded that day, but her words were just as gut wrenching.

Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh and plopped onto the bed and opened my eyes again to stare at the ceilings. I had my hands behind my head, supporting its weight as I let my mind wander far.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t bring myself to answer any of the questions she’d asked. Why I said one thing and did another, why I was playing with her feelings, I didn’t know.

I didn’t want to care about her feelings, I wanted them to have nothing on me. Peter had called it denial, and it pissed me off to no end. She’d said she wasn’t Amaya, but it didn’t stop her from being a fucking cheat too. I still didn’t want a mate that had cheated on the man she was married to.

But fuck it, I couldn’t lie anymore that she didn’t do things to me. She drove me insane every time I saw her; her body and her scent were everything. But more than that was her occasional smile when she saw me, even though I was certain that it had finally gone up in flames.

I hadn’t realized it, but seeing her happy to see me made my heart swell. The way she took good care of Declan like he was her own son, something Amaya couldn’t do; her stealthy glances at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. I’d heard from my guards her service to the pack members on my mission. And the fact that I was beginning to trip for her sweetness irritated me.

I hated that she was working her way to my heart, one I’ve diligently guarded since that bitch left me. I hated myself even more for feeling this way in the first place. I was actively setting myself up for another heartbreak, and I didn’t want that in the slightest.

You can’t go on like this, Kaden. Make up your mind once and for all. Admit that you want her in more ways than just her body. It won’t kill you to admit that seeing her hurt hurts you as well, stop being a fucking chicken.

“I swear I would knock off your teeth, Peter.”

“Do what you want,” He taunted back as I struggled to force myself to sleep. “We’re the same person, you’ll get hurt worse.”

*

It had been a full week since I’d spoken to Larissa. I didn’t know if she was intentionally avoiding me, but if she was, she was doing a fucking great job at it. The last time I’d seen her, she was playing with some flowers with Declan in the garden. They looked happy, and I was content just seeing them from afar. I didn’t trust my impulsive tendencies not to snap at her if I did see her up close.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

I shifted my attention to the small crowd in the living room where I sat on an arm chair. Hunter and the Gemini had just arrived a few minutes ago; and the twins were chattering about something I didn’t care enough to pay attention to. Hunter on the other hand was transfixed on his laptop, typing away like it was the most important thing in the world.

“…I fucking mean it! What do you think, should I take her home permanently?” Jacob cackled out, his annoyingly high-pitched voice rising octave as he spun around to look at me.

There were tingles in his eyes, as well as a sly smirk and a small chuckle from his brother. “My Lord, do you mind? I was talking about this crazy good omega I had last night. I want to seek your permission to take her home with me.”

“And how is that relevant to what we came here to discuss, Jacob?” I questioned back irritably, earning a soft chuckle from his lips. “I told you before, I don’t care about your sexual shenanigans. Take your fucks to your house as long as they consent. I can see that your injury’s healed up pretty nicely.”

He rose a brow at that, nudging his twin gently before chuckling. “Of course, my Lord. Thank you. So what about you? Been good?”

“We’re not friends.”

“I know, my Lord ~” He drawled with mischievous eyes, twirling his free hand in the air. “But, I do think that you need a break from all of the shenanigans. You’ve been busy an awful lot, I’m pretty sure your son misses you.”

It was my turn to cock a brow. What did it matter to him if my son missed me or not? It wasn’t in his place to give me any advice, the man couldn’t keep it in his pants even at gunpoint.

“He has a nanny, so save it.”

“I beg to agree with him.” Hunter piped finally, shifting his attention from the screen in front of him. “You may have forgotten, but you usually go on a short vacation at this time of the year. You’re especially stressed out recently, so I agree with Jacob on this, My Lord.”

I shifted my attention to him, feeling a frown creep up on my face. I didn’t need a vacation because I didn’t trust any of the bigoted idiots who called themselves my board of directors to keep the business afloat for even a day, let alone a full month.

They would plunge the company into debt and try to abscond with the money my father and I had worked so hard to make. As if he could read my mind, Hunter cleared his throat again and spoke up.

“I am certain that your fears would not see the light of day, my Lord. Jackson and I are there to supervise and make sure everything goes according to yearly plans. So you can take some time off and spend it with Declan.”

“NO.” I said again glaring now and rising to my feet. “What the fuck is wrong with all of you?”

There were brief glance exchanges between the three men in the living room who’d suddenly gone quiet. Good. They were testing my patience and leniency in the first place.

I started walking away to my study, ignoring their discussion that had erupted in hushed tones. I threw the doors to the study open and stomped through, plopping myself onto the seat.

Maybe they were right, I started thinking to myself as my thoughts wandered to Larissa yet again. Perhaps I could use the vacation; maybe even bring her along to take care of Declan on the trip.

A subconscious smile crept up on my lips at the thought. I was quick to catch myself however, mentally facepalming at my actions. She would be adamant and say no, I could already guess. But she loved Declan too much to refuse me. Smiling again, I let myself twirl in the executive chair before halting to pick up the documents on the desk.

Night met me soon enough and I stretched in my seat, trying to soothe my muscles that had grown sore from sitting in one position for so long. I leaned backwards, letting out a small yawn at that. Hunter and the Gemini must have left now, since the skies now mimicked the color of ultramarine.

Sighing again, I finally rose to my feet and started for the doors to the study. I dragged myself out and towards the stairs, forcing my feet to climb through. I soon reached the top of the stairs, and my eyes quickly caught onto Larissa who was just stepping out of Declan’s room. She whispered something as she walked out before walking to her door.

I smiled again subconsciously, catching myself quickly before she would shut her door. She walked into her room with the door half open before dragging her feet to where her closet stood.

She didn’t notice me resting by the door frame until she turned around, and she jumped backwards with a loud shriek that was akin to that of a frightened duck. I flinched in mild surprise, collecting myself together quickly before falling into a scowl.

“The fuck? Did you see a ghost?” I half snapped at her but she didn’t say anything. Instead she picked up her steps towards the door with widened eyes.

“N-no…”

“Anyways, that’s not important.” I continued, raising an intimidating brow and she looked away. Not out of fear, she didn’t even try to hide the distaste on her face. “How’s Declan?”

“Why don’t you check on him once?” She questioned back without looking at me and I hissed at her sudden attack. This wasn’t what I came her for. She had some nerve, I didn’t ever tolerate people speaking to me the way she always did. But I always couldn’t bring myself to tear her neck in two.

I sighed instead, raking a hand through my hair before glancing at her again. “I want you to accompany Declan and I on a vacation next week.”

“No.”

I cocked a brow at her response as she slowly brought her eyes to look at me. They were empty, contrary to how they’d looked at me the last time. She had her arms behind her as she spoke.

“No” She repeated, a little less subdued. “I’m not your plaything. You shouldn’t be playing with my feelings like that, why would you ask me to follow you on a vacation?”

“Get your head straight.” I returned as coolly as I could muster, glaring back at her response. “I’m asking you to accompany me because of my son. Don’t forget that you’re his nanny above everything else. This has nothing to do with anybody’s feelings.”

She was looking back at me now with confusion in her eyes. “But you have other maids that can –”

“It’s an order.” I hissed out impatiently, leaning in to her face that flinched back at the proximity. Her reactions were always amusing, but for a second, I found myself wondering if she would decline my instructions. “Refusal isn’t even an option.”