Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 196: Detach

Chapter 196: Detach

She jerked upright, her eyes wide, every nerve in her body screaming to run, but her limbs wouldn’t obey.

"Who..." she tried, but her voice came out as a weak rasp. She swallowed and tried again. "Who is there?"

No answer.

The weight in the air pressed down harder. Her legs gave way, buckling. She collapsed to her knees. The ground felt distant, her senses beginning to detach. Her heart raced, thundering in her ears.

She tried to turn her head, just enough to see, just enough to face whoever or whatever had found her. But it was too late. Darkness crept in from the corners of her vision, swallowing her surroundings.

Then the world went black.

*****

The moment Kade stepped into the house with Adelita nestled in his arms, the energy in the room exploded. Nelly, already halfway across the living room with a bottle of wine in one hand and a glass in the other, dropped both clumsily on the table.

"Oh, my moon!" she gasped, rushing over in a flurry. "Let me see her! Give me that bundle of adorable right now!"

Kade chuckled despite himself. "Hello to you too, Nelly."

He passed Adelita into the older woman’s eager arms, and just like that, Nelly began doing an impromptu little jig with the baby cradled to her chest. She cooed, gushed, and swayed.

"She’s perfect!" Nelly crooned. "Look at her little ears! And her nose! Oh, she’s got that fierce little look already. Just like her mother... which is either a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it."

Kade grunted softly, folding his arms across his chest. "Hopefully more blessing."

"She’s got her mother’s dangerous eyes," Nelly added, peering down at the child’s sharp little gaze.

He cracked a smile. "Well, with any luck, she won’t be as dangerous."

Nelly’s response to Adelita wasn’t the highlight of Kade’s visit.

In the corner of the room, was May.

She was dressed simply in the usual uniform the human maids wore, but she looked ethereal to him. Ridiculously out of place in a house full of werewolves, yet so entirely right. Her big eyes lit up as she watched Nelly hold the baby, her hands clasped in front of her as though the sheer adorableness of the moment was too much to bear.

She didn’t know about them. But Kade could sense that she felt the bond. He knew it would confuse her. He saw it in the way her gaze would flicker to him when she thought he wasn’t looking, in the way she’d unconsciously drift a little closer.

It was torture.

Kade cleared his throat and shifted his stance. The bond tugged at him. He had told himself he wouldn’t pursue it. May didn’t deserve that kind of chaos in her life.

But oh, how he wanted to.

He watched as she reached out and gently brushed Adelita’s cheek with her finger. The baby blinked up at her.

"She’s... so tiny," May whispered. "And beautiful. What’s her name?"

"Adelita," Kade replied.

"Who... uhm... who is her mother?" May asked tentatively. Her eyes flicked up to Kade, wide with hesitant wonder, like she half-expected the question to offend him or unravel some dark mystery.

Kade shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh... it’s a long story," he said. "But to cut it short... Adelita is my... step-sister."

May blinked. "Oh."

The word hung in the air. It didn’t sound like judgment, more like processing. Like she had ten follow-up questions she wouldn’t dare ask.

Nelly clapped her hands briskly. "May, be a dear and draw a little bath for Adelita. The journey must’ve been tasking on the little darling."

"Yes, Miss Nelly," May replied, still casting one last glance toward Kade before slipping out of the room.

Nelly turned to Kade, one eyebrow raised.

"What are you going to do about May?"

Kade groaned softly. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Nelly echoed in disbelief, as if he’d said he was planning to become a monk. "You’re just going to ignore the bond?"

"Yes."

Nelly folded her arms. "You’re a fool."

"I don’t have time for complications."

"You are complications, Kade."

He frowned.

"She’s your mate, boy. Your mate."

"I’m doing what’s best for her," he muttered.

"Oh yes, because pushing her away is definitely what’s best." Nelly’s eyes twinkled mischievously. "Well then, you won’t mind that she has a date tonight."

Kade blinked. "What?"

"Oh yes," Nelly said with relish, pacing dramatically around the room. "The neighbor’s son just came into town. Such dreamy eyes. Built like a young bull and polite too."

Kade’s expression twisted, somewhere between stone-faced and thunderstruck. "I don’t care," he said.

"Of course not," Nelly smirked. "I mean, she can be with whoever she wants. And if that includes a charming, muscular, human man who can offer her a normal life with absolutely no complications, then good for her."

"I. Don’t. Care."

Nelly chuckled. "Uhn uhn."

Kade raised an eyebrow at her from where he leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "I’m serious."

Another laugh escaped her, this one more amused than before. She danced gently with baby Adelita in her arms, swaying from side to side like she was trying to calm both the infant and the stubborn man in front of her. "Uhn uhn," she said again

He sighed, louder this time, dramatically. "You don’t believe me."

"No," she said, nuzzling her nose against the baby’s cheek.

Kade opened his mouth to argue but stopped. Because... well... yeah.

*****

The room was dark except for the faint glow of the lamp by the window. Kade sat in the chair staring into space.

He wasn’t sure what he was doing. Or rather, he knew exactly what he was doing. waiting for May but he didn’t know why.

The clock on the wall ticked louder with each passing minute, like it was judging him. Tick. Tock. Still alone, dumbass.

Kade glanced at the time: 11:58 p.m.

Twelve. Midnight. What kind of man kept a woman out until midnight? Clearly not one with respect for curfews.

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