Chapter 235: Why Not Taros?
It took him more than forty minutes to finally find his mate. She wasn’t in the woods as Taros had claimed, and for a moment he almost believed she had gone back to their room. But then her scent drifted into his senses, leading him toward the mountain.
He covered her trail with his own and raced up the path. When he stepped into the cave, he found her lying there in her wolf form. Relief washed over him, and for the first time in hours a small smile touched his lips. Of course she would come here.
This place had always been his escape. Whenever anger or sadness took over, he would climb up here with Alex to find silence. It was his favorite place, and Alex must have brought her here once. It didn’t surprise him that Angela had chosen it too.
Kaito wanted to wait outside until she woke, but the sight of her pulled him inside before he even thought about it. She was the most beautiful wolf he had ever seen. Her golden fur glowed in the dim cave like the rays of the sun.
He had seen wolves with white fur, brown fur, even black fur, but never golden. That night during the last full moon, when he saw her for the first time, she had stolen his breath away. She still did.
And yet, what good was her beauty when he had filled her heart with pain. He should have been the one to protect her, but instead he had done the same as her parents, hurting her in ways she did not deserve. The thought made his chest ache as he lowered himself beside her.
She slept so quietly, her face calm, almost innocent in the way she breathed. He wanted to wake her, to see her eyes, but what would that change. The moment she opened them, she would only remember the lies he had fed her, the truth he had hidden, and the trust he had broken.
So he stayed still, watching her chest rise and fall, watching the peace on her face that he no longer deserved to see. His hand trembled as he reached toward her but stopped halfway, curling into a fist. His voice dropped to a whisper, soft and heavy with regret.
"I will burn the world for you, Amor. I will do anything to calm the storm inside you, because I am the fool who started it. I thought I was protecting you, but the truth is I was too weak to face my own fears. I am sorry, so damn sorry."
A tear slid down his cheek before he could stop it. He wiped it away quickly when she let out a soft sound in her sleep. His hand reached forward, aching to touch her, but he froze in the air. What if he woke her up too soon? What if she opened her eyes only to push him away again? No, he had to wait. However long it took, he would wait.
But then she muttered something he could not understand, her face twitching as if she was trapped in a nightmare. Kaito’s heart clenched. He leaned closer and gently stroked her golden fur, his hand trembling, trying to chase away the fear that seemed to grip her even in sleep. He almost woke her then, but doubt stopped him. What if it was the wrong thing to do?
So he kept stroking her fur, whispering softly, until her eyes finally fluttered open. For one brief moment she looked at him with such softness it nearly broke him, but it vanished in an instant. She yanked his hand away and rose onto her four legs, her body braced to fight him off.
Kaito quickly stood, meeting her eyes, and what he saw there was nothing but rage. Before he could say a word, she lunged and sank her teeth into the fabric of his trousers, yanking hard. He grabbed at his leg, trying to stop her, but her anger was wild and blinding.
"Can you calm down, please? You are going to strip me naked," he pleaded, but his words meant nothing. He should have known by now who his mate was. Angela was stubborn, bold, and fearless when her fury took over. "Don’t do this..."
It was already too late. With one hard pull, his trousers tore apart from his thighs down to his feet. The other half dangled from her teeth, and her golden eyes locked onto him with the same wild fire as she aimed for his shirt next.
He grabbed hold of her, and they fell to the ground with a crash. His hands moved over her, trying to soothe her even as she snarled and snapped her teeth at him. "I am sorry, please," he begged, his voice breaking as he held on tight. "Calm down, or I will lose my mind. Please, Amor, I know you don’t believe me, but I never meant to hurt you like this."
As if his words finally reached her, her body shifted in his arms. The fur faded, her form changing, until she was human again. She shoved him off her and stood, her chest rising and falling with fury as she faced him with blazing eyes.
"You lying bastard," Angela screamed at him. She hated that he was the first face she saw when she woke up. Why not Taros? Why the hell did it have to be Kaito? The sight of him sickened her.
She watched him push himself off the ground. Her claws had ripped through his shirt. They might have scraped his skin too, and that made her chest ache. As furious as she was, a part of her hated the thought of hurting him, hated the thought of seeing his blood.
Her body almost moved on its own to check if he was hurt, but she held back. Mighty Storm’s voice inside her reminded her to stay firm, to make sure he paid for what he did.
"Why did you come here? You should have stayed with your stupid blonde," Angela spat, her eyes burning though she tried to roll them.
Kaito sighed and dragged his palms over his face. "You know there’s nothing going on between me and Seraphina."
"Wow," Angela laughed, though it was full of sadness. "Listen to how you call her name. Seraphina. Fancy. Sweet. You even smiled saying it."
"Hell no, there’s no smile on me right now," Kaito shot back, refusing her words. "Why would you even think that?"
"Stop lying, Kaito of the west pack," she snapped. "I know you’re thinking of her."
"For fuck’s sake, I hate it when you do this," Kaito groaned, his frustration spilling out. "Why would I think of another woman when you’re standing right here in front of me? I can’t even think straight with you like this, let alone think of her."
Angela crossed her arms over her chest. Her body shook as she shifted back and stood bare. Her anger blinded her to the fact that she had no clothes on.
"I didn’t know you’d transform," Kaito muttered, pulling off his shirt. His sculpted chest and abs were bare, and though she had seen them countless times before, the sight still hit her the same way.
Heat rushed through her veins. Stormy inside her faltered, ready to melt at his touch. She knew he was using it, knew he wanted her to weaken when she looked at him like this.
"Here, take this while we talk," Kaito said, stepping closer. Angela didn’t move. He lifted the shirt and slid it around her shoulders. His hands brushed her skin and it burned like fire, like pure desire.
She wanted more. She wanted him to touch her everywhere, to drown out the ache in her chest.
His hands roamed higher, slipping beneath the cloth, seizing her breasts in his palms. A moan escaped her lips before she could stop it. Cold shivers rippled through her body, and wet heat stirred between her legs.
Fucking sexy man.
She wanted him to pin her against the wall and fuck her hard until the pain in her heart disappeared.