Chapter 48

Alessia’s POV

Caden and I are dressed but neither of us attempts to walk the distance back to the pack house.

Instead, we are sitting on a rock and gazing up at the stars in the sky.

move my shoulder, whining at the sharp pain that goes through it. I can’t believe Caden f u c ki n g bit me. Our training has started getting more intense and now, I am actually getting bruises which I nurse when I get to my room.

“Put some ice on it when we get to the pack house and it should be alright by tomorrow morning,”

Caden says, looking at the hand that I am cuddling to my chest.

“Thanks,” I mutter, still a little bit sore with my feelings hurt. I know I asked for this but again, did he really need to bite me to prove a f u c ki n g point? He could have just knocked me to the ground.

Tell me about your mother.”

My head whips to the side at Caden’s words and I stare at him in shock. He wants to hear about my mother. Does he mean that he wants to know about what she told me about my father or does he really want to hear about her?

“What do you mean?” I ask to clarify my confusion. If his question is about the former then he’s about to be disappointed because he isn’t going to get anything out of me. I already told him about everything that

I know.

“What was she like?” He asks, using his leg to kick a stone resting on the ground. “I want to know what sort of life she lived.”

My eyes blink back tears that I fight to hold and not let slide out. Breathing in deeply, I summon forth the memories I have of my mother.

“She was a beautiful woman with a beautiful soul,” I start, remembering my mother’s beautiful smile that lights up even the most gloomy days.

“What else?” Caden is looking at me with softness in his eyes.

“She makes these mean baked goods and when I was little, she would always have a plate of it waiting for me on the counter,” I smile fondly as the memory hits me so hard that I can almost smell my mother’s cookies in the air.

“I’m trying to imagine a little you running from school to get home for treats. Caden chuckles, his eyes t w i n kl i n g. “You must have been very cute.”

I’m trying not to be baffled at the fact that this is one of the few times that Caden and I are having a conversation that haven’t led to a fight. Yet.

“I wasn’t cute.” I roll my eyes, remembering my eight-year-old self. “I had pigtails and the worst bangs

BIL

Chapter 48

ever.” I cringe as an image of myself appears in my mind.

Caden laughs harder. “Come on. I’m sure it wasn’t all that bad.”

It was. It was very bad.

“What else do you have to say about her?” Caden is looking at me expectantly with all his attention on me.

“Whenever I did something wrong and she had to scold me. She always looks like it causes her more pain than it did to me and then afterward, she would give me an extra cookie when I come home the next day.

“I can’t imagine that you caused all that much trouble,” Caden says, his head co c k e d to the side like he’s trying to imagine me being in trouble.

“Enough about me. I wave my hand in the air to clear the conversation away from me. “What about your parents?” I’ve been pondering over this question for a while now. I haven’t caught a glimpse of Caden’s parents since I got here and I also haven’t heard any new about them. Leaving the only other option that something must have happened to them.

Caden closes up, his shoulders stiffen and a dark look crosses his face. I immediately regret asking that question.

“You don’t have to answer it. I-”

“No, it’s ok.” He smiles sadly at me. “It’s not a secret. Everyone already knows what happened and you deserve to know too.”

Then he sighs heavily and I wait with bated breath for his next words.

“It was a rogue attack. The same one that took my mate.” A pause. “It took a lot of people’s lives and my pack will never recover from the losses.”

“Your mate. How long did you know her for?”

“A year,” he mumbles in a low voice. “She was the daughter of the beta in our neighboring pack. She had just gotten her wolf and I immediately knew who she was to me when I met her.”

The way he talks about her. Like he still misses her presence even after all these years.

My chest squeezes with hurt at the pain in his eyes and jealousy at the look if his eyes. Will he ever see me the same way he sees her or will I always be a second chance to him?

The Moon goddess didir cruel thing by making this my fate. How am I to compete with someone that’s already dead?

We walk back to the pack house in silence with our insides raw. This is the most that I’ve spent talking to Caden and it makes my doubts rise again. Will I really regret rejecting Caden if I do it?

At the pack house, we slip back into the quiet house and go our separate ways. I head into the kitchen and go in search of an ice bag in the fridge. I pull one out and press it against my shoulder, sighing at the Chapter 48

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instant relief. How much of this intense training will be able to take? Will I call quit or will Caden have me dead before that happens?