Chapter 195
Chapter 195:
Kain’s scent spiked into a terrifying, oppressive blizzard of pure fury. He knew exactly what this was. His father’s manipulation was as subtle as a brick through a window. Almon was forcing us together.
“I’ve set up a lovely cot for young Jaxon in the master suite’s dressing room,” Mrs. Higgins added quickly, gesturing toward the only habitable bedroom remaining.
Jaxon, who had just woken, took one look at the dark, plastic-draped hallway and the eerie shadows cast by the construction equipment. He gripped my hand tightly, his eyes wide with lingering trauma from his fight with Grant.
“No,” Jaxon whimpered, his voice trembling. “The scary noises will get me. I want a pup pile slumber party. I have to sleep in the middle. With both of you p>
Kain closed his eyes, a muscle ticking violently in his jaw. The air crackled with his suppressed Lycan dominance, fighting a losing battle against the terrified plea of his nephew. The tension between us, already stretched to the breaking point since the Blood Ring, thickened until I could barely breathe.
Slowly, Kain exhaled a harsh breath. He gave a single, stiff nod, turned his back to the construction zone, and walked toward the master bedroom.
Adelina POV
I stepped out of the en-suite bathroom, the cool obsidian floor chilling my bare feet. I clutched the collar of my silk pajamas, my heart sinking into my stomach. Kain was standing near the door, a spare pillow gripped tightly in his massive hand.
His scent — ancient cedar mixed with an impending storm — was suffocatingly cold. He was actually going to sleep on the plastic-covered sofa in the dust-filled living room just to avoid sharing a bed with me. The humiliation burned the back of my throat like acid.
𝖫𝖺tе𝘀t c𝗁а𝗉𝘵еr𝘀 𝗼𝘯.с𝗈m
Before Kain could turn the brass handle, Jaxon launched himself across the charcoal silk sheets. He hit the floor and wrapped his small arms around Kain’s leg like a terrified pup.
“No! Uncle Kain, you can’t leave!” Jaxon wailed, burying his face in Kain’s trousers. “The scary noises will get me! We have to stay together p>
Kain stiffened. The air crackled as his Lycan dominance flared for a fraction of a second — an instinctual attempt to command the boy to obey. But it melted the moment Jaxon let out a pathetic, trembling whimper. Kain’s gaze flicked to me. He must have seen the raw, vulnerable sting of rejection in my eyes. A muscle feathered violently in his jaw.
With a heavy, defeated sigh, he tossed the pillow onto the California king bed.
We lay stiffly on opposite sides, Jaxon forming a tiny, breathing barricade between us. The silence was deafening, broken only by the distant hum of the city and the faint glow of the New York skyline filtering through the sheer curtains.
An hour passed. Jaxon, a restless sleeper, eventually kicked off his blanket and rolled entirely to the foot of the bed.
The vast expanse of the mattress suddenly felt dangerously small. The physical barrier was gone. Even in the dark, the sheer heat radiating from Kain’s massive frame was a magnetic pull against my skin. My heart hammered against my ribs.