Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Unedited

➖➖➖🐺➖➖➖

Kaden is once again sat at my bedside. I'm guessing he's been here since I blacked out, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one that carried me here. Kaden being here when I wake is only thing that could convince me to faint on the regular, knowing that I'll find him sat beside me, engulfing my small hand in his course one.

He's laying at what looks like an uncomfortable angle, with his head and legs hanging off the small arms of my eleven year old armchair, his face looking at the ceiling as his neck is bent back at a sore angle. He's still wearing his suit from last night, minus the jacket, and everything looks creased and crumpled. His hair is sitting wildly atop his head like he's been running his hands through it. But he still looks insanely good, which isn't fair.

I always look like a homeless person when I wake up, with my hair imitating that of a birds nest and my eyes tired and full of sleep with the dark, heavy bags that match.

I see his shoes and jacket strewn across the floor of my bedroom, and my blanket big enough to fit four underneath sat in a lump at his feet.

Once again, I find myself waking him by sliding my spare hand across his stubbly cheek, caressing the smooth skin underneath his eyes where his beard ends neatly.

His eyes flutter open, his eyelashes grazing his high cheekbones, and his full, lush lips give me a tired smile. "Good morning, Lola."

He stretches his arms high above his head, his joints popping as he releases a small grunt of relief. I can tell that his neck is stiff because the way he winces when he tries to turn it, luckily for him his wolf healing will kick in soon and he'll be fine.

"You have to stop sleeping in a chair." I laugh lightly, running my hand through his soft, thick hair. His head leans into my touch despite his discomfort, and I give him a knowing look. "It definitely looks like it's not comfy."

"You waking me up makes it worth it." He chuckles, his thumb tracing patterns across the cool skin of my knuckles. He looks into my eyes and holds my gaze, his blue orbs boring into my own, like he's trying to reach into my head to try find what I'm thinking or how I'm feeling, like he's trying to work me out. "I'd choose a stiff neck over waking up alone any day of the week."

I take one look at him in the chair, the way his long legs still hang precariously over the small arm of the chair I've had since I was about two feet smaller than I am now, and I make a split decision in my head and move over, pulling the covers back and allowing him to get in. "I think you need to sleep in a bed for once, don't you agree?"

His eyes widen considerably before he breaks out into a grin. He unbuttons his shirt and drops it to the floor before climbing into bed beside me. My mind is still reeling over his very muscular, very naked chest, that I don't realise he's wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me flush against his body.

By the time I've shrieked in surprise, Kaden has already buried his nose into my neck and slipped his hand above my shirt, his fingers drawing circles around my bellybutton. "You know I was expecting you to stay on your half of the bed."

I feel the vibrations of his chuckles against my skin, and I find myself heating up. "Do you know how hard I've been trying to keep my hands off you?" He asks quietly, his voice dropping with his fatigue. "Feel proud of me that I'm only touching your stomach."

I hear him laugh again as he kisses me lightly where my neck meets my shoulder, and I can't help but sigh gently. I know that my skin has warmed like I've stood by a fire for too long, and I can feel his smirk pressed against my hot and clammy skin. "Lola, do my words make you that embarrassed?"

He knows that they do. He could throw one compliment my way and it would leave my mind a frazzled mess. Sometimes, he doesn't even have to speak, all he has to do is send a look my way or a smile. He knows he has an effect on me, but he doesn't know how much and nowadays I don't know if I can even blame it on the mate bond anymore.

He's impulsive and protective and can sometimes be grumpy and rude. But he's Kaden Thorne, and at this point in time I don't know what I'd do if he became someone different.

"Shut up and go to sleep." I mumble, hopefully my mortification not too obvious, and I let my self relax into Kaden's body, the heat from his skin warming me to a great temperature, and I find myself once again drifting off to sleep.

I don't want him any other way.

➖➖➖🐺➖➖➖

Kaden untangling his legs from mine is what wakes me up. I stir, my eyes blinking quickly to remove the tiredness from them, and I catch a glimpse of Kaden's back disappearing into my ensuite before he's gone from view.

I can't remember the last time I slept so well. I never used to be able to share a bed with someone else, because I'd get too warm, or I wouldn't have enough space or covers for myself. One trait I've been told is very annoying is that I fidget, or hog the quilt, and Sophia has forced me to sleep on an air mattress whenever I was at her house for a sleep over during high school.

I hear the flush of my toilet and I look I see Kaden emerge, his slacks in his hand. He's standing in front of my in a pair of Calvin Klein's that leave very little to the imagination, and I flush at the thoughts running through my head.

Very dirty thoughts.

I can tell that he knows what I'm thinking because even from across the room I can tell his eyes have darkened. It's not exactly dark in my bedroom, because I have a large window on the roof of my room along with a clear double door leading out onto a patio, but with the curtains drawn still on my windows, there is a dark shadow in the corner where Kaden is standing. The dark only accentuates his well defined, masculinise features, making his cheekbones seem much higher and his jaw much sharper.

Which only makes my thoughts worse. It almost feels like Shiva is back inside my head, putting her wildly inappropriate thoughts into my brain and making my pores sweat out my arousal.

I've not even felt anything like this since heat. Actually no, heat was much easier because I could explain it.

I see him disappear back into my bathroom, and he doesn't emerge for another five or so minutes, and when he returns his hair and upper chest are dropping with water.

His sculpted chest has small droplets of water running across his smooth tanned skin, and it takes all of the strength I have not to touch him.

Something isn't right, I've not felt feelings like this before, not even with Shiva inside my head. Even my extreme fury had never been so strongly put across.

"Needed to calm down." Kaden admits, and he chuckles nervously as he runs a towel across his hair and chest. "Now isn't a good time to be acing on my urges."

"I'm sorry about what I'm thinking." I mutter, my voice thick with embarrassment. "I don't understand why it's happening."

Kaden gets into bed behind me and wraps his arm around my waist, his fingertips setting fire to my skin at a simple brushing touch. Heat is locking up my body, starting at his fingertips, and it's getting almost uncomfortable.

"Kaden," I start, trying to wriggle out from underneath his grip, only to be pulled closer to his chest. "Kaden you need to let go of me."

He growls lowly in my ear and holds me even tighter. "You were fine with it the first time."

The heat is intensifying, spreading throughout my body until it feels like I have piping hot magma coursing through my veins. Sweat is gathering in my hairline and on the palms of my hands, making me feel clammy and scorching hot.

"Kaden you're burning me!" I shout, unable to take it anymore, and my voice sounds warped and foreign to my own ears. His arms spring apart and I launch myself from the bed; my breathing is coming out in pants as I can't get any cool air into my lungs.

My legs collapse under my weight and I find myself in a pile on the floor below my patio doors, my fingers desperately fiddling with the lock to open it and allow a breeze in.

"Lola?" Kaden says warily as he watches me from the bed, alarm clear on his face. I must look like a complete crazy person the way I'm seconds away from punching a hole in the glass. I need to cool down, and it's driving me insane.

A strange, painful sensation erupts in my mouth and my hands immediately fly upwards to find my teeth have descended from my gums, like I'm shifting. I gingerly touch every needle sharp fang inside my mouth, and I look at Kaden with fear. "Kaden, what's happening."

Kaden reaches out to touch my skin, and springs away when I try push his hands away. I don't want to burn him, but instead I end up slashing my claws across his bare chest, his blood and skin dripping from my extending nails.

"Oh my god." I pant, my eyes blurring. "I'm so sorry."

The air is coming in hot and thick into my lungs, making it increasingly hard to breathe. It's almost like being underwater in the sense that the lack of oxygen my body is receiving is like I'm holding my breathe to the point my lungs are going to force me to open my mouth, only to be greeted with clogged airways and not fresh air.

Pain like this doesn't come naturally, nor have I ever experienced it this intensely before. Sure, I've broken bones and had boiling hot water spilt on me, but neither of them come close to what I'm feeling now. It's like someone is holding a thousand blowtorches up to my skin and trying to flay my skin to a crisp.

"It doesn't matter Lola I'm fine." Kaden promises me, a look of minor discomfort on his sculpted lips. He tries to reach out again, but much more gingerly, and places the back of his hand gently against my sweaty forehead. "Jesus Lola you're burning."

My skin where Kaden is touching me has become burning hot, and I can feel my forehead is now dripping with sweat. This has never happened to me before, not even when I've been in heat. My body feels painful whenever it moves, and I can't move my body without releasing a small cry of pain.

"Lola." Kaden says, his face a mask of fear, his bare chest stained red with his blood. "What do I do?"

"I don't kn.." I'm cut short by a searing pain in my skull, like someone has electrocuted me. I know I'm screaming, but my voice sounds distant like I'm no longer inside my own body.

I can see Kaden pulling on his slacks through my teary vision, and another scream escapes my lips as a second wave of pain explodes inside my head.

I'm suddenly picked up from the floor and being rushed from my room, Kaden's voice crying for help sounding hollow and echoey in my mind as hot salty tears freefall down my cheeks.

His usually safe arms do nothing to remove my pain, and I can feel my claws descending from my fingertips and into his skin. He doesn't even flinch, which I'm grateful for, because I don't want to know that I've hurt him again.

That would make how I'm feeling so much worse.

I smell the familiar scent of my parents and I hear my mother distantly shouting desperately for Otis.

I hear a snapping of bone and my body twists in agony, my body feeling the pain of my first shift all over again.

"Put her down!" I hear Otis shout with the authority of an alpha. Kaden growls close to my ear, his dislike of being ordered around evident, but a second deafening twist of my bones has him doing as my old pack doctor says.

A pillow is placed under my head and my body cools at the feel of wet, dew covered grass, my bones continuing to rearrange themselves, each crushing sound sending a fresh wave of agony through my body. Kaden is whispering in my ear, telling me how strong I am, and how I'm going to be fine.

And then I hear nothing but the sound of my heart beating in my ears, my vision going funny until I can see in sharp, amazing colour.

Everything is heightened, the greens of the grass looking more vivid, the sky looking so blue my eyes hurt.

I try to push myself up onto my feet, but my weak body collapses and I find myself on my hands and knees.

I look at my parents and my mate, the look of pure disbelief on their faces has me worried.

"What?" I try to say, but my voice comes out as a growl.

Shaking my head, I realise it feels heavier than usual. I look down at my feet to find that I'm not on my hands and knees but on all fours, my legs covered into pure white fur and about twice the size of Shiva's. They look more muscular, toned, more powerful.

"Lola." Kaden breathes out, and he quickly grabs his phone from his pocket to snap a picture of my head.

I want to reply to him, but a voice I never thought I'd hear again speaks inside my head, and I find myself grinning.

"We're back bîtch, and better than ever!" Shiva yaps happily inside my head, and I feel myself in control of everything, the reins purely in ye grasp of me. I don't even feel Shiva trying to force me off with her strength. It's strange.

Is this what other wolves feel like.

"How is this possible?!" I ask her, and I feel her smirk inside my mind.

"The moon goddess decided to have a stern word with me, and she brought me in for an upgrade."

"Lola, look at this." Kaden says, and my vision focuses on the phone clutched in his hand, my eyes drawn to the mark in the centre of my forehead.

It's a Moon within a crown, the design black against my white fur. I feel my breath getting caught in my throat as I realise what it is.

It's the sacred symbol of the moon goddess, and its branded on the head of my wolf.

"Told you we had an upgrade." Shiva states matter-of-factly, and I find myself instantly believing her.

Because she's completely right.

I've been branded by the moon goddess herself, and she's given me control of my wolf back.

I couldn't be happier.

➖➖➖🐺➖➖➖

I've rewritten this chapter because I felt the way that Kaden and Lola got together in the last version was weird and the more I read it the more I disliked it, so unfortunate for all you KODA shippers (which better be all of you) I've taken their scene out and replaced it with something more realistic.

It's about damn time Shiva made a reappearance. She's been hiding inside Lola's head for so long that I think it's time to bring the sarcastic pup back into the picture, and what better way to do it than bringing Lola complete and utter agony.

That was sarcasm, I hated hurting my baby, but hey she got some pretty BADASS UPGRADES.

And what's up with 13K reads guys!!!!! Honestly I'm so buzzing, thank you for everyone who's still tuning in, going and commenting.

Seeing your support whether it's by tapping the star or commenting your opinions honestly makes my day and definitely gives me the confidence to continue writing this story.

Three years + on wattpad and this is the most chapters of a book I've published so it definitely says something considering we're only at chapter 9 lol.

Anyways, keep the support coming in, and if anyone is any good at covers, I'd love it if you made one for me because I think I'm ready for a change. I'll give you a personal shoutout (to my whopping 74 followers and readers, and if it means anything I'll check out yours works if you have any)

I'm not blackmailing you guys, but I kinda also am hehehe 😈

Anyways, I've got my interview on Tuesday so wish me luck, and after that I hope chapters will come a lot more frequently for you lot.

Love you all,

Lauryn xox