Page 44 of Cultivating Caden
Chapter 12
As soon asthey entered Sanctuary, Quade pushed Caden into the apartment and told him not to move, then turned and rushed off to the elevator, muttering under his breath.
Things were getting weirder and weirder.
The numbness in Caden’s chest continued to expand, moving into his shoulder, making it feel as though his arm had fallen asleep. He’d checked in the mirror, but other than a bit of redness, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. The accident probably shook him up worse than he thought. Returning to the living room, he found Matt and Kieran stretched out on the sofa. Kieran’s head was resting in Matt’s lap as Matt ran his hand over Kieran’s back. Kieran had long since fallen asleep, but Matt wouldn’t leave him alone, especially when the enormity of everything caught up with them.
“You seem to be taking this all in stride.”
Matt shrugged. “Kieran loves the supernatural. He talks about it constantly, especially after he’s finished reading a book that tweaks his interest. Guess I’m just used to it. I won’t say I’m not freaked the hell out, but….” He shook his head. “Leave it to you to be different.”
“It’s not something I went looking for, believe me.” Caden paused, unsure how to say what was on his mind. “I can’t leave here, you know.”
“What? What the fuck does that mean?”
Closing his eyes, he told Matt the story of the bikers and how he’d killed them.
Kieran sat up, his eyes wide. “You killed them?”
Caden’s stomach clenched. “I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know how I did it. Quade thinks it has to do with fear or anger, but tonight I was scared shitless and couldn’t do a damn thing to help him.”
“Oh, honey.” Kieran snaked his arms around Caden’s waist.
“And then Quade wanted to show me I could be a threat to….” He swallowed hard. “You and Matt.”
Matt gasped. “If there is one thing I’m certain of, it’s that you could never hurt us.”
“Don’t believe it.” Caden drew in a shuddering breath. “Quade wanted to show me I could be a danger, so he took me out and goaded me into attacking him. I never thought I was a violent person, but I could have killed him because I lost control of my temper. I really,reallynever wanted to hurt Quade.”
Matt leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Caden could—should—deny it. He’d only known Quade a few weeks, but thanks to Ten, their whole lives were intertwined. “Yes.”
“Does he know?”
He wanted to laugh, to cry, to… something. All this was too much. “No. Quade’s people are… savage. He told me they can’t be with humans because they’d tear us up, literally.”
“Oh, that’s bullshit.”
Caden gaped at Kieran. “What do you mean?”
“In every romance novel, a wolf finds his fated mate and the wolf wouldn’t ever hurt him. They would die before they’d let something happen to their mate.”
Tamping down his irritation, Caden held up a hand and ticked off the points as he made them. “One, this isn’t a romance story. Two, Quade is not my ‘fated mate.’ Three, he’s a lycan, not a werewolf. This isn’t a story, Kieran, It’s my life, and right now, it’s in the shits.”
Kieran bit his lip. “I’m… I’m sorry.” He turned to Matt, who wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close. “I guess I’m kinda stupid.”
“Aw, no.” Caden got up and sat beside Kieran, taking his hand. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. It’s just… two weeks ago, I was planning a trip to see my best friends. I thought I’d found the perfect life. My own shop, which is probably filled with dead flowers by now, an apartment I loved, and an area that struck me with its amazing beauty. Now? We were attacked by Sasquatch, I’m living under a mountain with people I never even knew existed, and I’m in love with a lycan who can’t touch me.”
Kieran moved over and snuggled up against Caden. When Matt stood and sat on the other side, sandwiching him between them, Caden found he could take a breath without it tearing him apart.
“Why don’t you get some sleep? We can lay out here on the couch, which, by the way, is surprisingly comfortable.”
“Nah, there’s a spare bedroom. Go ahead and rest. I’m not sure how long Quade will be gone, and we should probably see if we can sleep.”
“You sure you don’t want to get into bed with us?”
God, he wanted to. When they’d lived together, Caden would often crawl into bed with them. He always felt safe and secure when they were around. Moving out had been a huge risk, especially since he wouldn’t have his safety net. But he wasn’t that Caden anymore.
