Chapter Sixteen — Kaine’s POV

The sight of her tears shattered something inside of me.

Lyra sat there, trembling as she recounted the horrors—the torture, the dark magic they’d forced on her; how it ripped her wolf apart, severing from a part of herself. Each word hit me like a blow, harder than any I’d ever taken. She had been alone. And she had endured what no one should ever have to go through.

At first, my fists clenched and my jaw locked, the fury built inside as she told me about all the awful things they’d done to her. But as she continued, the anger gave way to something far worse—guilt. It was a heavy, suffocating guilt that gnawed at me from the inside because I knew, deep down, everything was my fault. The “what if’s” flooded my mind.

What if I hadn’t listened to my father? What if I hadn’t betrayed her that night? Everything would have been so much different. Lyra would have been my Luna, and we would have been raising Leo together. Most importantly, she wouldn’t have had to suffer. She wouldn’t have been captured and subjected to hell.

I couldn’t imagine the kind of torment she’d gone through. I’d have lost my mind. But she went through all that and survived, raising our son alone, and giving him the love and protection I had failed to provide. As I sat there, staring at the woman in front of me, I felt an overwhelming respect. For her strength. For her resilience.

Lyra’s sobs were soft, but they cut deep. She pulled away from my chest, wiping the tears from her swollen face. Her eyes were red. Still, she managed a smile—a small bittersweet smile that twisted the knife in my chest. It was as if she was saying, don’t feel sorry for me .

“I hate to think about it, much less talk about it,” she said, her voice cracking as she sniffed. “I wished every night that the pain would numb—the pain of being alone, the thought that no one would come for me, and the agony they put me through. Even now, I wish I could just forget. I want it erased from my memory forever.”

A single tear slipped from her eyes, and I brushed it away with my thumb. “I hate that I wasn’t there, Lyra,” I whispered, my throat tight with the weight of guilt. “I hate that I let this happen to you. That you felt abandoned.”

I crouched in front of her, taking her hands in mine. “I am so sorry,” I rasped, my voice breaking under the weight of everything I felt. “If I could take it all away, I would. I’d feel every bit of it if it meant you didn’t have to. I swore I would protect you, but I—” My head fell. “I failed. I’m sorry…for betraying you. For everything.”

Her hand trembled in mine, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she held on, as if trying to find something in my words. Something to hold on to—something she could trust.

Everything became painfully clear. I understood why she would hate me, why she had every right to blame me. I had put her through the unimaginable, and the enormity of that truth crushed me. I couldn’t even stand to be in her presence right now. I didn’t deserve anything—her forgiveness or the care she showed to me.

I lowered my head, my gaze fixed on the ground as I turned to leave. But before I could take a step, her hand closed around my arm.

“Where are you going?” she asked, rising.

“Anywhere but here.”

“Hey,” she stepped in front of me, and her hands cupped my cheeks, gently turning my head to hers. “I know what you must be thinking, Kaine. And I’m thinking it, too. After everything that has happened, I shouldn’t be here with you. I should probably hate you—but I don’t. Believe me, I wanted to. You’ve made me second-guess everything. You’ve made me feel like I need to change, to be more, just to be enough for you. And I hate that. I hate how you make me feel sometimes. But despite all of that, I can’t stay away from you.”

“Lyra—” I started, but she cut me off.

“I can’t tell you how to feel about this. But if there’s a positive to take from all of it, it’s that I pulled through. And not just me. Leo, too.”

She stood on her tiptoes, and even then she wasn’t tall enough. With a determined tug, she hooked an arm around my neck, pulling me down until our lips met. “Stay the night, Kaine,” she whispered against my mouth.

“I don’t want it to seem like I’m taking advantage of the situation,” I said, my voice strained. “You’ve just bared your vulnerability to me.”

“And now I want to forget.” She bit my ear lobe, sending a jolt of sensation straight to my shaft as she whispered, “Make me forget, Kaine. About Salome, about the Blackwoods, about being a hybrid—about everything. Even if it’s just for tonight.”

Every part of me wanted to wrap my arms around her waist, press my lips to hers, and kiss her until all she could think about was the desperate need to have me inside of her. But something felt off, and I held back.

Lyra rose onto her toes again, pressing a brief kiss to my lips before pulling back and taking my hands. Silently, she led me to her bedroom. The moment we stepped inside, she kissed me again, this time fiercely. One hand cupped my cheek while the other slipped under my shirt, her fingers tracing over my skin.

But then she broke the kiss, stepping back. Frustration flickered in her eyes, and her breath uneven.

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” she asked.

“I’m giving you time to decide if this is what you really want,” I answered softly.

She threw her hands up in frustration, pulling her hair back as a heavy sigh escaped her lips, filled with irritation. “I didn’t share my ordeal with you just for you to look at me like I’m some fragile thing, ready to shatter at any moment.”

“I promise you, that’s not what I’m doing.”

“Then what are you doing?” she demanded, her voice trembling between a whisper and a shout.

I let out a loud rush of air. “After everything….I can’t help but think…maybe I don’t deserve you.”

She drew back, her brows furrowing in disbelief. “You don’t mean that.”

It was my turn to whisper and yell. “Of course, I don’t mean that. But that’s the thing, Lyra—sometimes we say things we don’t mean, things we don’t want to say. We think it’s for the best, so we say them anyway.”

Confusion flashed across her face, but it quickly faded as she closed the distance between us. “Kaine…” she whispered, guiding my arms around her waist. “Let’s not think about the past right now. Just focus on me…” Her fingers wove through my hair, her breath soft against my ear. “. . .and us.”

I dragged my hand through my hair, feeling the weight of her temptation. Lord knows I couldn’t resist her, even if she were standing in the diner fully clothed, lost in thoughts of work. But now, in a silk night dress so thin I could see her hardened nipples beneath, my control was faltering. But I needed to tread carefully, to make sure this was not another moment she would come to regret.

“Did you regret it the last time?” I asked, my voice thick.

“No, I enjoyed the last time,” she replied quickly, like she didn’t have to think about it.

“Lyra, I’m being serious,” I pressed.

She sighed. “Why do you always think I’m going to regret being with you?”

“Because I know what it’s like for the body to betray the mind,” I admitted. “That’s exactly how I feel right now.”

She started to pull away, but I caught her by the waist and gently cupped her cheek. “Look Lyra, I want you—every single day. I mean look at me.” I tilted my head down, drawing her attention to the undeniable bulge straining against my jeans. “I want to make you forget about everything—the pain, the worries—but I need this to be real for you, more than just sex. I need you to be completely immersed in me, in us, and have no regrets about it. I want to consume you, to the point that all you can think about is me inside of you, even when I’m not. But I need you to be sure. I need you to want this with heart and mind, not just your body.”

“And if I tell you that my mind wants this just as much as my body does?” she asked softly.

I shook my head, thinking. It was the want speaking. I needed our intimacy to reflect a deeper emotional and physical connection, and not to be just about the release. I wanted to be the one she turned to—for security, for validation.

She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Earlier today, when you stood up for me in front of the entire pack, I saw your strength. But I also saw you standing against everyone, alone. And with everything Dominic told me about Jared…I’m scared. I’m scared to give in completely, to trust you fully, because I don’t want to lose myself in you and get hurt again.”

“Dominic told you about Jared?”

She nodded.

I tightened my hold around her, my voice steady as I spoke. “Did he also tell you that what happened with Jared is nothing like this? As much as I didn’t want to, exiling him, it wasn’t just about the laws anymore. Jared betrayed us. He left me no choice.”

Her eyes were locked on mine as we spoke, her face inches from mine, but the tension was palpable. “Lyra, I swear to you—this time, I will protect you and Leo with everything I have. I can’t lose you again, because I now realize that life makes no sense without you.”

She looked into my eyes and said quietly, “I believe you, Kaine.”

Those three words meant everything to me. It wasn’t the complete trust I was seeking, but it was a step in the right direction. Tilting her head back gently, I leaned down to kiss her. The kiss went on for long, starting off slow, and becoming fervent, filled with longing. It felt like everything else we had left unsaid was poured into that kiss.

I slid both straps of her nightdress over her shoulders, allowing the fabric to fall to her waist. She stepped back, and the dress dropped from her waist, pooling around her feet. The sight of Lyra standing naked before sent a surge of desire straight to my core. My eyes were drawn to her nipples, hard from arousal. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her as I took in every inch of her body. God, she was gorgeous.

Reaching out, I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist, pulled her back toward me, and our lips met again. We stumbled toward the bed where she lay on her back, watching as I hurriedly yanked off my shirt and unbuckled my belt. In record time, my pants hit the floor. Her eyes lowered to my waist when I reached for my briefs. But before I could pull it down, I felt her hands on mine. She knelt on the bed, and said, “Let me, please.”

My hands dropped to my side as Lyra tugged my briefs down, and my shaft sprang free. She leaned forward, then glanced up at me from beneath her thick lashes, gauging my reaction as she licked the glistening precum from my crown, before opening wide and taking me into her mouth.

Fuck.

I felt all the self-control I’d been holding onto slip from my grip as the warmth of her mouth sent a wave of pleasure coursing through me.

I threaded my finger into her hair, guiding her movements, setting the rhythm as she bobbed her head along my length. Tightening my grip on her hair, I groaned, urging her to move faster. The sight of her, her lips wrapped around me, bobbing her head up and down my shaft, was driving me wild. I thought my self-control was gone, but somehow, I held back from slamming my length down her throat. Each groan I let out seemed to fuel her as she focused on the crown, her lips sliding down my shaft before taking me deeper. I could feel the head of my shaft against the back of her throat.

Fuck, that was it.

I lifted Lyra from her knees, and kissed her hard before laying her back on the bed and climbing on top of her. My fingers found her clit, and I watched as her body shuddered under my touch. Her eyes grew wide with pleasure when I entered her in one swift motion, filling her completely. She wrapped her legs around my waist, her hips tilting up to meet my thrust. She gasped when I hit the spot that made her tremble. I slammed into her again, hitting that same spot, and she clasped her hand over her mouth to stifle the cries that escaped her lips.

A smirk curled up my lips as I kept moving, a thing of pure delight watching Lyra try to restrain herself from moaning out loud. The harder I thrust, the more her muffled moans grew louder. I quickened my pace, rubbing her clit in time with my movements until her body shook violently beneath me. My own release followed, surging through me as I collapsed onto her, panting heavily from the intensity of it all.

Our heavy breaths filled the room, the silence thick between us. “Do you think we were too loud?” she asked, still catching her breath.

I chuckled, pulling out and falling on my back. Wrapping my arm around her, she nuzzled against me. “Next time, we’ll go to my place. I want to hear you scream my name when I take you from behind.”

She giggled like a schoolgirl, and it made my heart flutter in my chest. Fate may have sold my dreams, but I long ago embraced that, and now, I was going to fight for them. Because everything about having Lyra in my hands now felt right.