Chapter 25: 25

Word Count: 2107

~Hunter

I don't make it till night to tell him.

For the rest of the day, Carson acted like the perfect gentleman and didn't mention a word of my secret to Kaan or Tay. In fact, he didn't let anything slip that something was off.

I on the other hand spent the entire time simmering with reluctance and apprehension. Telling Kaan my secret could cause some serious problems.

But it must be done. He deserves to know.

Carson departed at dusk after spending the rest of the afternoon catching up with his best friend privately, much to Tay's dismay. The moment he left, I grabbed Kaan's arms and encouraged him to join me for a walk in the forest.

Now we stroll amongst the tree's, the manor still visible. We can't stray too far, due to my injury.

"I'm surprised you wanted to come back out here." Kaan has his arm linked around mine, my other hand using the cane he made me. It's not much use out here, as it sinks into the plush dirt.

I laugh softly. These woods don't haunt me because he shot me here...

What still lingers was the fear, chasing me through the tree's. Every twist of my head over my shoulder accompanied by the alarming notion that people could be pursuing me, ready to drag me back to the man I was promised to.

"It's strange to think that had you not shot me that day, we may have never found each other," I say quietly.

I can feel Kaan's eyes on me. "Where were you going that day?"

Drawing in a slow breath, I steel myself. "I want to say I was travelling, getting away from my old life. But it's more than that."

"Tell me," he encourages softly, like he's scared of frightening me off.

Once I tell him, there's no turning back. He's going to look at me differently. I'm not going to be the random girl he shot in a forest, who comes from a humble background and knows nothing about what it means for Kaan to be an Alpha.

Knows nothing about being promised to someone...

"It's very complicated," I drawl, hesitating.

"Hunter."

He stops, shifting in front of me. When he grabs the sides of my arms, I feel a sense of surety. Those eyes, they tell me that he is my mate, that secrets aren't meant to be kept between us.

"You have to promise to keep this a secret, especially from Tay. I trust her, but I can't have anyone learn about this," I say lowly, as if someone may be lurking out here with us.

I know there's no one, but it's hard not to be paranoid right now.

His dark brows knot together with concern. "I wouldn't tell anyone."

"I mean it."

"Seriously, Hunter." He shakes his head. "How bad is this?"

I summon a breath, and along with it, courage. My legs feel weak, like they are about to collapse beneath me, and despite the cool temperature, I'm burning hot.

"My real name is Livia," I tell him quickly.

"What?"

He blinks, obviously taken aback. By telling him I have a real name, I'm implying I have a fake one, and with that, comes endless lies and secrets. Guilt immediately sinks like a rock to the pit of my stomach, nestling in there.

"Hunter is a fake name. Well, I consider it my name now, and I don't want you to call me Livia," I insist.

That name feels like it belongs to someone else, a stranger. That name carries decades of horrific memories that I would much rather leave in the past.

"You have a fake name?" He doesn't seem angry yet. Just confused.

"I'm running from something...Someone," I explain uneasily. It's this part that could upset him, that could have him sending me back home, where I no longer belong.

His expression softens. "Who?"

"A man. A man who I am, well, was engaged to." I bite down hard on my lip, surveying every shift in muscle, every flicker on his eyes...everything to see when he is going to turn on me.

His lips part slightly, and I can see hurt and confusion melt together in the pool of his expression.

With every passing moment, dusk shifts to evening. Deep shadows are crawling through the woods, wrapping around Kaan's person, making him seem so much further out of reach.

"You're engaged?" He whispers.

"Technically I was, but I'm engaged to you now, so-"

"Who are you engaged to?" He doesn't sound mean, but there's a bite of tension in his tone. I can't tell if it's anger or jealousy.

I rub the back of my neck. "I'm not sure I should say. He's not exactly a good man."

Kaan will know my ex-fiancé. How could he not? They are both Alpha's, and their Pack's aren't far away from each other. They would have crossed paths, even spoken on multiple occasions.

To think, had I stayed where I was, I would have likely met Kaan at a function or event. He would be married to someone else, who isn't his mate, and we would have never found out we were mates.

Kaan swallows thickly. "Did he hurt you?"

"It's less so that he hurt me and more so that he wanted to own me, and once we married I wouldn't be able to escape, so I had to run away," I explain. "But yes, on occasion, he would hurt me."

Kaan grimaces, rubbing a hand down his face. I wish I could read what he's feeling right now.

"And I'm assuming you couldn't have just decided not to marry him?" He asks tentatively.

Were I anyone else's child, my marriage could have been for love. It could have involved choice. Instead, the marriage was forced upon me, with no room to escape.

I straighten, trying to force some confidence through me as I tackle another difficult part of this. "No. Because I am...was an Alpha's daughter, in another Pack."

Kaan backs up a step, shaking his head a little as if the information refuses to make sense in his mind.

Silence stretches between us, and I let it, giving him time to put the pieces together. Realisation sparks in his eyes suddenly.

"You...You're Kyser's daughter, Livia," he breathes.

I nod. "Uh huh."

"That does sound familiar." He sweeps a hand through his hair, the strands raining down over his forehead prettily. I wish I could have more time to admire it. "You ran away?"

I grip the cane tighter. Now that Kaan has learnt my true identity, there is nothing in the way of him sending me back. It would be his duty, as Alpha, to report the findings of an Alpha's missing child.

My hope is that his feelings for me, if any, override that instinct.

"I had no other choice, okay? My sister does a far better job at representing the family, and I really didn't want to marry Vinn," I say, before realising the catastrophic mistake I made in uttering his name.

Kaan's eyes flare wider. He knows.

"Wait...Vinn?"

Well, there's no going back now.

"Shit." I shift on my feet, ignoring the pain gripping into my back. "Yes, Alpha Vinn."

Vinn's Pack isn't the largest, nor is it the most impressive, but he has a reputation. My father promised me to a lesser Alpha, in a Pack smaller than his, whereas my sister got the lucrative deal of being married to an Alpha with a much larger Pack.

Actually, my brother got the best deal. He's to be Alpha of my father's Pack. He wins.

"I know Vinn."

"Of course you do." I knew that from the beginning, which is why I kept this so close to my chest. This isn't a matter of being chased down by someone Kaan has heard of.

Kaan knows him. They are probably in direct contact with each other.

"This makes sense." Kaan starts pacing, the shadows shifting around him. "I probably shouldn't say this, but I never liked him. He strangled our line of trade years ago. It nearly crippled us. All because he wants a monopoly on lumber."

I blink. Oh.

"Yeah. He sucks." I clear my throat. "So you believe me?"

He pauses, looking at me, those stunning green eyes darkened by the impending night. "Of course I believe you. Was that ever in question?"

"Uhm. I don't know." Yes, it absolutely was. It has nothing to do with his character, and everything to do with what I've come to expect from Alpha's.

"What is Vinn doing now?"

"Pursuing me, I hear. He can't find me..." I can't help it as I glance over my shoulder, like I can feel him there, watching us, plotting his kill.

For a short time, I lived with him before we were to be married. He would leave during the day, but at night, I could feel him everywhere. He would lurk, overhear my conversations and jump out at me whenever he could, just for the amusement of seeing me frightened.

I could never relax. I never felt safe.

"Once we are married he will hear," Kaan reminds me slowly, still interpreting the information I'm feeding him as he attempts to figure out what to do next.

"But maybe I'll be safe. With you." I'm too scared to approach him, which is what I want to do. I want him arms around me, to assure me that Vinn will never get close enough to hurt me again.

Hurt sweeps across his expression. "You never told me."

"I couldn't risk it. But then your parents started threatening to reveal who I was if I didn't marry you, and everything spiralled out of control, with you being my mate and all," I say in one breath.

Kaan bows his head, his shoulders deflating.

"I'll talk to them," he murmurs.

I take a step toward him, physically unable to keep myself away from him for another moment. "I'm scared, Kaan. I can't go back..."

His expression softens as he meets me halfway. I nearly cry out with relief as he wraps his arms around me, tugging me against his hard chest.

"You won't, I promise," he breathes into my hair. "You're safe here."

"As soon as I'm no longer of use to your parents, they will throw me back to them," I remind him coldly, making no move to let him go.

He gently pries me off him, but remains close, reaching up to hold either side of my face so I have no choice but to hold his warm, sure gaze.

"Listen to me. You are my mate, soon to be my wife. Nothing isn't going to happen to you." His words melt over my skin, warming my blood.

Every fear, every doubt vanishes in an instance. True, unadulterated trust collapses over me, and I know he wouldn't lie to me. He wants to help me, to protect me.

"You've taken this well." I barely notice a tear slip from my eye, spilling down my cheek. It's not from sadness, it's from relief of having this burden lifted off me forever.

Kaan's thumb brushes the tear away and his jaw hardens a touch. "I'll admit, I don't exactly like hearing my mate was promised to someone else, and that he hurt you..."

"If anyone is going to make him suffer for it, it's me," I tell him sturdily.

His smile is warm, but it's sad. "That day will come."

I nod, believing him. Once Vinn learns about my impending nuptials to Kaan, he will do everything to pull us apart. Not just to have me again, but to ruin my life.

"Come, it's freezing. You need to get back inside," Kaan exclaims.

Before I can take a step back to the manor, Kaan tucks his hands beneath my back and thighs, and sweeps me up so he's cradling me. I yelp, clutching his shoulders.

"You don't need to-"

His answering smirk is enough to have my protests drift off into nothingness. "As if I'm going to watch you walk, in pain, all the way back to your room."

I tuck my head into his neck, falling quiet.

I now know, with full certainty, that I will never experience the horrors of that almost marriage again. Not with Kaan.

💙••💙

If you want to support my writing, you can always read the COMPLETED novel on Radish (:

My latest novel, the Cold Prince, is out now on Wattpad! I hope you'll check it out (:

~Midika 💜🐼