Chapter 413: Crave for Her

KADEN’S POV

It had been exactly one week since Melvin had come to the palace to take Rola home, and I still couldn’t understand what the hell was happening around me.

For starters, my relationship with Rola had become strangely distant. We used to speak every day, sometimes twice or even three times, depending on how busy we were. But lately, things had changed. Two days could pass without either of us calling, and when I eventually reached out, she would answer and speak to me as though nothing was wrong. She never sounded upset or angry, but our conversations had become shorter, and neither of us seemed particularly interested in keeping them going.

I hadn’t questioned her about what had happened between her and Melvin. Whatever disagreement they’d had was clearly something they wanted to keep between themselves, and I wasn’t going to force her to explain it. Still, I hadn’t forgotten the way Melvin had looked at her before they left the palace. Under different circumstances, I probably would have demanded an explanation.

But I had a much bigger problem to deal with.

Rebecca.

For the past week, I had been doing everything possible to avoid being alone with that woman. We still saw each other during meals, occasionally exchanged a few words, and discussed matters concerning the palace, but I made sure our conversations never lasted longer than necessary.

It wasn’t because I was angry with her. Quite the opposite.

Ever since what had happened in the bathroom, I had been struggling with something I couldn’t explain. My wolf had become unusually restless around her, and there were moments when simply hearing her voice was enough to make him stir inside me.

I couldn’t understand it. Rebecca and I had been intimate countless times before, but my wolf had never behaved the way he had that night. For a few terrifying moments, I had genuinely believed I was going to lose control of him completely.

And the worst part was that he hadn’t stopped demanding her since then.

She’s ours.

Those two words had become his favorite way of tormenting me.

I had repeatedly reminded him that Rebecca and I had rejected each other years ago, but he refused to listen. It was almost as though he had completely forgotten about the rejection.

Sometimes, I found myself remembering what the seer had said about our mate bond returning. But how was that even possible? A rejected bond wasn’t supposed to behave this way. Whatever was happening between us made no sense, and until I understood it, I had no intention of making another mistake.

The investigation into the spell was still ongoing. I had already instructed Logan and the others to continue searching for whoever was responsible, but so far, we hadn’t made any meaningful progress. I was beginning to wonder whether the spell had something to do with my wolf’s strange behavior.

By the time I entered the dining room that afternoon, I was already exhausted from thinking about it.

Rebecca was sitting at the table, looking through something on her phone while one of the maids arranged the dishes in front of her.

She looked up when I entered. "Hi, Kaden."

"Hi, Rebecca," I replied, approaching the table.

"You’re late for lunch," she observed.

"I had some things to take care of."

She nodded and returned her attention to her phone. I pulled out a chair opposite her and sat down, trying to ignore the ridiculous sense of relief I felt simply because she was in the same room as me.

One of the maids approached to serve my food, and I thanked her before picking up my cutlery.

For the first few minutes, everything was normal. Rebecca ate quietly, occasionally checking her phone, while I concentrated on my meal.

Then I noticed it.

Her scent.

Honey and nutmeg.

I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth. What the hell was going on?

Rebecca had always smelled pleasant, but this was different. Her scent seemed stronger than usual, spreading through the dining room until I could barely concentrate on anything else.

My wolf immediately stirred inside me.

Rebecca.

I tightened my grip on the fork. Not now.

She smells incredible, he growled.

I know what she smells like. Shut up.

He growled in response, and I forced myself to continue eating.

Across the table, Rebecca reached for her glass of water, completely unaware of the battle taking place inside me. I watched her lift the glass to her lips. Her hair was loosely tied behind her head, leaving a few strands around her face, and she was wearing a simple blue dress that should not have been distracting me as much as it was.

Fuck.

I looked down at my plate. This was precisely why I had been avoiding her.

"Kaden?" Rebecca called, drawing my attention.

I raised my head. "Yes?"

"Are you alright? You’ve been staring at your food for almost a minute."

I cleared my throat. "I was thinking about something."

"Something important?" she asked curiously.

"Pack matters," I replied.

She nodded, although the small smile that appeared on her face suggested she didn’t entirely believe me.

I returned my attention to my food, but her scent only seemed to grow stronger, and my wolf began pacing restlessly inside me.

Mark her, he demanded.

I nearly dropped my fork. What?

Mark Rebecca.

Have you lost your damn mind?

She’s ours.

No, she isn’t! I snapped at him.

I took a deep breath and immediately regretted it. Her scent filled my lungs, making my wolf growl even louder.

I needed to get out of there before I completely lost control of myself.

I placed my fork on the table and reached for my glass of water. "Rebecca, I just remembered something I need to attend to. I’ll see you later."

I was already pushing my chair back when she spoke.

"Kaden, wait."

I stopped and looked at her. "What is it?"

"Please, can we talk?" she asked.

I studied her expression carefully. "About what?"

She glanced toward the maids standing near the entrance and signaled for them to leave us before turning back to me.

"Something important," she replied.

I hesitated before settling back into my chair. "Alright. I’m listening."