KENNA'S POV

I remain in Kaden's arms for hours. What is this– snuggling? Am I conducting a medical exam? Are we just too tired from fucking to move? It's best if I don't even worry about it, because I'm going to end up overthinking.

"I should go," I excuse myself.

His arm remains around my waist, disinterested in going anywhere.

"Kaden?" I call out.

His arm only tightens around me. "You're not going anywhere, Kenna. You feel too good."

I huff. "What am I, your slave?"

"There you go running that mouth of yours again. I should have fucked you into the table until your mouth was stuffed with wood."

I chuckle. "Alright, that was a good one." I spin in his arms, and his hooded eyes stare down at me.

"You're so beautiful."

I spin right back around. This got too intimate, too quickly. I can handle being toxic, arguing with him left and right, but the second he starts calling me anything other than 'difficult,' I shut down.

"Stay," he says. "Stay with me."

He's not asking me to stay the night. He's asking me to stay here forever.

My body seems to double in weight, and I realize that I'm not going anywhere. I stop struggling when my stomach grumbles.

"I drained you, didn't I?" he chuckles. "I should have filled you with cum. How rude of me."

I slap his hard stomach, but only wind up hurting myself. "Let me go get food, or you'll become friends-with-benefits with a corpse."

He releases me and sits up, unphased when his sheets roll down and reveal his groin. "All you do is grumble, stay indoors, and sleep, Kenna. You're practically a corpse."

"You know what?" I say as I swing my legs off the bed and grab the t-shirt he has draped over a chair. "Next time, you can jerk off. Don't come crying to me for pussy."

He laughs and follows me out of the room. I take my time as I walk down the dark hallway, meekly taking in the details of his home. The furniture is vintage, obviously passed down his generations from when they were hand-made decades ago. The drapery is dark, and the only hint that a woman ever lived here is the family portrait where his mother smiles widely beside her sons. I only catch a glimpse of his father, not wanting to be caught staring.

When I reach the top of the stairs, my feet give out from under me.

"Kaden, put me the fuck down," I growl.

"No. I'm carrying you up and down the stairs now. It will be our thing from now on."

"I have two feet to walk and two fists to beat your face in."

"You know, most women would find this romantic."

"Well, I find it demeaning."

He kisses the back of my head. "Be a good little wolf and let alpha take care of you."

He carries me all the way down, and I stomp off as soon as my feet touch the hardwood floors. In the kitchen, I browse through his neatly packed fridge. There's meat in the freezer, but I have no time to wait for it to defrost. I throw together sandwiches for us, and then I look for a place to sit.

"The table." Kaden gestures to where he just laid me and turned my guts into mashed potatoes.

My face falls. "I know you're joking. I'm not eating there! It's... dirty."

"Thanks to who?" he asks.

As I walk to his couch, I regret not sprinkling some poison on his sandwich. He turns on the television, and we eat in peace. My eyes occasionally jerk to the windows. I feel like Kaden's dirty little secret, sitting next to him in only his t-shirt, drenched in his scent. Meanwhile, Sylvie is somewhere, bawling her eyes out over him.

Thankfully, I never spot anyone. Our little date– or whatever this is, goes uninterrupted.

"I have a surprise for you." Kaden says, yanking me out of my thoughts.

"What is it?" I squint suspiciously, because Kaden is unstable enough to 'gift' me a mark on my neck that declares me as the Luna.

"You have a week off work because I managed to hire three new doctors."

Allocating doctors to a pack is a difficult task. Doctors must be specialists in both human and wolf biology, so there aren't many of us out there. We usually have to be outsourced from other packs.

I'm genuinely touched by this, because I had been struggling with work stress for months. Lately, there hasn't been much to do, but it still means a lot to me that the other nurses and doctors won't have as much on their plate.

"Thank you, Kaden."

Now I feel guilty for glancing into his supply closet in search of rat poisoning.

He tosses an arm over me and pulls me to his side. "Of course." He kisses my head again, not seeming to mind that it's sweaty from sex. "My mind and body are here to keep you safe, happy, and thoroughly fucked."

I don't reply only because it would ruin the moment. I'm glad I came over and helped him relax. I often forget that although he's made of stone on the outside, he's mortal, just like me.

My head rests on his shoulder. I watch the sports game on TV, but my eyes become heavy and I drift off.

– • –

When I come back around, it's pitch black. The moon is in the sky, and I'm afraid I overstayed my welcome. Kaden still holds me in his arms, his breathing even as he sleeps. I consider sneaking out, but the thought of being in my isolated, cold little cabin is no longer appealing.

Did Kaden break me? I used to be dracula's incarnate, only willing to entertain erotica books, wine bottles, and the occasional patient. When did I become so fond of Kaden's presence? It usually includes bickering. Maybe it's the dick that I became addicted to.

I stay still until sleep takes me again. Kaden and I spend the night in each other's arms. In the morning, he's the first to wake up.

"Kenna," he adjusts me gently.

Adrenaline pumps through me, and I get off him. I prepare to gather my things and leave. I'd rather show myself out than have him awkwardly hint for me to go home.

"I have to patrol, but you can go back to sleep." His hair is a mess, and his voice deep, but he looks alert. I don't think a man like him is ever off-guard.

"What time is it?" I sit up, and discover an ache between my thighs. As if dreaming of him isn't enough, I'll be reminded of how he fucked me for the next few days.

"It's six in the morning. Go to my bed."

I shake my head. "Kaden, I have to go home."

He presses his hand against my shoulder. "Rest," he insists. With that, he rushes upstairs and runs a shower. He returns only fifteen minutes later, shorts low on his hips.

"I'll be back in three hours."

He leaves before I can say goodbye, and I realize he didn't have a single bite for breakfast. Being a doctor, I'm horrified. A strange sense of protection surges. How could he run around the territory with no calories in his system? It's extremely unsafe, alpha or not.

I tip-toe into his shower and clean up, being mindful of not using too much body wash. Then, I go into the kitchen and prepare a breakfast worthy of clogging any artery. I fried anything I could get my hands on. I'm not sure if Kaden will survive this meal, but one thing's for sure: he won't die hungry.

I wash my hands and look at the set table that I thoroughly wiped down. What am I doing, playing housewife? I should have left hours ago, but instead, I'm stepping into dangerous grounds.

Kaden bursts into the house exactly three hours later, stomping around until he finds me in the kitchen. His eyes find the table, and then me. "What is this?"

"It's food, you psychotic juggernaut. Sit down and eat. How could you go out and run miles without eating a single thing?"

"You sound like my mother," he says, taking a seat.

"I'm a doctor. We're cut from the same cloth."

We eat together, and I'll admit that I'm flattered when Kaden stuffs his face.

"Well," I say at the end. "Have fun doing the dishes. Have a good day, Kaden."

I'd love to stick around and watch him wash plates with a cute little apron around his hips, but I have to get going. At this rate, I'll end up moving in.

"Wait." He stands up. "Can't you stay for a while longer?"

How can I say no when one of the most powerful men on the continent is requesting that I stay with him, looking cute with a drop of ketchup on his cheek.

I stay. The problem is that I stay for the next four days. Kaden and I have been laughing, teasing, bickering, and cleaning for half a week. We even went curtain shopping like an old couple. The sexual frustration has been building with every lingering gaze and slight touch, but we haven't had sex again. All I do is sleep in his arms every night, the daunting feeling in my belly worsening by the hour.

The day of the flower is rapidly approaching, and instead of planning, I've been playing house with Kaden. He has tried to bring it up, but I shut it down every time because I don't need his help to handle it. He has done enough for me already.