Protected by Artemis (Gods and Beasts #3)

10. Cade

Chapter 10

Cade

C ade did not want to wake up yet, not when he was in the middle of the most peaceful and beautiful dream of his life, but the sweet scent of amaranth and cypress tickling his nose was much too tempting.

Artemis.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of the goddess curled up around him. God, she was so beautiful, it made his chest ache. He was about to reach down and brush the lock of hair from her cheek when he noticed the sheet covering them was covered in red stains—blood, from the metallic stench that began to permeate his nostrils.

Heat.

Fire.

Explosion.

His head began to pound, and bile rose in his mouth. He took a deep breath in an effort to calm himself.

The sharp scent of burning.

A massive fireball engulfing the hallway.

People unconscious on the floor.

The lodge was on fire.

“No!” He bolted upright as panic rose in him. “Fuck.”

“Cade!” Artemis cried. “What the—you’re awake. Oh, my gods!”

Slim arms wrapped around his torso, and the pounding in his head ebbed away. Closing his eyes, he breathed in her sweet scent once more. “Artemis…the fire…what happened?”

Her grip tightened on him. “You were hurt badly,” she choked. “It was awful…”

A pit formed in his stomach. “Was anyone…did anyone…”

“No, you saved them,” she whispered. “You saved them all, and y-you a-almost d-died.”

Relief washed over him, but still, he could sense her distress. “Shh…sweetheart.” He turned toward her, wrapping his arms around her, and tucking her face into his neck. “It’s alright. I’m here. I’m all healed.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she sniffed.

“I’m fine.” In fact, he’d never felt better, like he’d had the best sleep in his life. “The healing coma must have worked.”

“Yeah, but I healed you too.”

He stiffened. “You what?”

“I healed you. With my powers.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“I know.” She lifted her head, a shy smile on her face. “I wanted to. Your injuries were so severe. Xavier said if you had gone through the healing coma by yourself, you would have been in pain for a long time. You’ve only been asleep for one night.”

“One night?” Cade had never been in a healing coma before, but he’d heard stories. Though the body shut itself down during the process, some say they could still feel their injuries healing in real time—bones breaking back into place, skin re-knitting itself, organs regrowing, wounds sealing shut. It was apparently very painful and, in extreme cases, caused psychological damage. Like a never-ending nightmare.

“Thank you.” He kissed the top of her head. “And—ugh.”

“What’s wrong?” Concern marred her face. “Are you still hurt? Sick?”

“I just…need to use the bathroom.” And urgently too. “I’ll be right back.”

He gave her another quick kiss and then scrambled to the bathroom. He did his business, but then the overpowering smell of blood and soot and ash made him gag.

I can’t believe she slept next to me even while I smelled like this. Probably singed all her nose hairs off.

Stepping into the shower, he turned the tap to full blast, letting the hot water blast at him as he soaped up. Still, he shivered as he thought of what could have happened. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and he had somehow survived.

The chill turned into a blistering anger. They had once again been targeted by an unknown enemy, and while they might be close to getting some answers, they were still sitting ducks until they found out who was trying to harm them.

“I heard the shower running. Are you having some fun without me?”

Shutting off the water, he stepped out of the shower, his breath catching in his throat. She was already fully naked, her long blonde curls flowing down past her shoulders, her splendid body on full display for his eyes.

“Well?”

“I wasn’t having fun without you. Just wanted to clean up. I stunk to high heaven.” He reached for her, cupping her soft cheek in his hands. She was real, not just a dream. Her very presence grounded him, in a good way, reminding him that he was still alive.

Leaning into his palm, she nuzzled at him. “I thought I lost you,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

“No way.” She stepped into his arms as he pulled her close. “It’ll take more than a fire to get rid of me.” Her scent filled his nostrils, seeping deep into him. She had saved him, and for once, it felt good to be taken care of, rather than having to be the strong one for everyone else. “Thank you for healing me.”

“Of course.” Blue eyes shone with tears as she lifted her head. “I would do anything for you.”

A twinge plucked at his chest at her emotion-filled declaration. Unable to speak, he brought his head down to seal her mouth with a hard kiss. She let out a muffled whimper and opened up to him, their tongues clashing in a fiery dance.

“I need you,” he groaned against her mouth as his hand hooked under her knee to bring her closer to him so she could feel his erection. It felt like a lifetime since he’d been inside her. “Please…”

“Yes.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hauled herself up, and he caught her, spinning her around to plant her on the sink. Spreading her legs, he pointed the tip of his cock at her entrance and plunged in.

She cried out as she clasped around him, the sensation of her wet, tight pussy nearly making him come right then and there. Biting his lip, he stroked his cock frantically into her, fucking her until her body shook with pleasure.

She threw her head back, exposing the soft skin of her neck. His heightened senses could hear the throbbing of her pulse as she rode toward her climax, and without a thought, he clamped his mouth around the flesh, teeth scraping at the skin.

What the ? —

His own orgasm hit him hard and fast as she came, squeezing him tight. Lost in his pleasure, a cloud of lust fogged his brain, and all he could think of at that moment was her. His beautiful Artemis.

They clung to each other, panting and dizzy from the exertion. As his heart rate slowed down and the feeling returned in his limbs, so did a cold reality.

Not his Artemis. She wasn’t his to keep.

She could be, a small voice said.

“Cade? Do you mind…?”

“Uh…” He inhaled a deep, cleansing breath as he slowly withdrew from her. He took in one last whiff of her scent from her neck and lifted his head. As he glanced at the mirror over the sink, a wave of dizziness passed over him at what he saw in the reflection over the smooth, glassy surface.

His eyes were glowing.

No!

His stomach clenched, and he staggered back, but managed to brace himself against the wall.

“Did your legs fall asleep too?” she asked with a giggle. “I’m gonna be walking funny for the next week, thanks to you.” Hopping off the sink, she smirked at him. “Do you mind if I use the bathroom?”

“N-no.” He averted his gaze, hoping she hadn’t seen his eyes, then slipped out of the bathroom.

Trudging over to his walk-in closet, he took deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. As he passed by the full-length mirror, he looked at his reflection once more. His eyes were back to normal, so maybe he had imagined it.

In a flash, however, his eyes once more began to glow.

Shutting his lids, he sank down on the bench in the middle of the closet and buried his face in his hands.

It can’t be.

“You can’t choose her,” he whispered to his wolf, as if it would answer him back. “Not her. Anyone but her.”

It was Eleni all over again, but worse. Artemis couldn’t even choose to be immortal, she just was. And it wasn’t like he could give up his life here and his pack to be with her. He had responsibilities and duties. When he became Alpha, he made a vow to protect them and keep them safe until his death, and to find a suitable heir that would continue their line and grow their pack. He could not turn his back on them, not when they relied on him so much.

“Choose someone else,” he said. “Anyone else.”

But it was too late. His wolf had chosen her, and if he were being honest with himself, he was halfway in love with her already.

Ice filled his stomach. How could he be so stupid, allowing his feelings to run wild, letting another immortal into his life only to let his heart get crushed once more?

“Cade, are you done?” Artemis called from outside the door. “Hephaestus texted me; he says it’s important and wants to meet.”

He shot to his feet and blew out a breath. “Yeah, let me finish dressing.” Yanking the first pair of jeans and a shirt he could reach, he put them on and strode out.

Artemis was already dressed and ready, obviously waiting for him, looking lovely as always in a pretty blue sundress that matched her eyes. “Cade, I—” Her nose wrinkled. “Are you alright?”

The urge to hold her and smell her and cover her in his scent so it would mingle with hers was strong, but he managed to tamp it down. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He slipped on the mask of Alpha, building a wall around himself so nothing could penetrate. “Tell Hephaestus to come anytime. I’m gonna call Xavier.”

Striding past her, he made his way downstairs. “Oh, fuck.” He had no way to contact his second in command as his phone must have been destroyed in the fire. That meant he’d have to run over to Xavier’s place.

That didn’t sound like a bad idea, though. He needed to get out of here, away from her.

Yeah, some fresh air would do me some good.

As soon as he opened the door, however, he found Xavier there, hand raised to knock. “Alpha, you’re awake. Are you fully healed?”

“Yeah.”

Xavier blew out a breath. “Oh, thank fuck. You were in such bad shape I thought you’d be in a healing coma for a month. It was a good thing Artemis arrived to heal you.”

He ignored the tugging in his gut. “I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to run over to your cabin. I think we might be getting some good news about the bombing.”

Xavier’s face lit up. “Really? Well, then, you’ll love what I’m about to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“We caught one of the guys who set the fire.”

“Really?” He clapped Xavier on the back. “Good job. How did you find him?”

“Thank you, Alpha. As you know, after the bombing, I doubled up our patrols in our territory. While you were helping get the people out of the lodge, I alerted the guards on duty, and they searched all over and found a guy running through the woods. They hunted him down and then locked him up in the community center basement.”

“Excellent.” Fury burned in his chest. “Has he confessed yet?”

“Unfortunately not. Not yet, anyway, but we’ve only been withholding water and food so far. The real fun hasn’t begun yet.” An evil grin spread across his face. “I thought you’d want a go at him first.”

“Oh yeah.” He cracked his knuckles. “I’ll make him talk.” Xavier may have to hold him back. “Let’s go?—”

“We’re here,” Artemis announced as she came down the stairs, Hephaestus following behind her while a third figure trailed behind.

“Apollo?” Cade said as soon as he spied his brother-in-law. “What are you doing here?”

“Hephaestus called to tell us he had important news about the pack, and Geri threatened to leave Olympus,” the god of the sun said. “As a compromise, I said I’d come here and keep her updated on what’s happening.”

“That’s fine, whatever makes her happy.” He turned to Hephaestus. “What did you find?”

A satisfied smirk broadened across the god’s face. “Everything.”

“Everything?” Cade echoed. “What do you mean?”

“He broke into Arcane’s servers,” Artemis beamed. “And he found all the evidence we need.”

“And then some.” Hephaestus placed his laptop on the coffee table. “There,” he said, pointing to a blank wall, where an image appeared out of nowhere.

“Whoa!” Apollo said. “Is your laptop projecting directly on the wall?”

“Yeah. I made it myself.” Hephaestus tapped a few keys. “Took a while, but my program managed to break into their firewall this morning. But once I got in, I got ahold of everything—emails, texts, and, more importantly, bank records. Even from personal devices of everyone from the mailroom clerk to the CEO.” Various windows popped up on the wall. “It’s all there.”

Cade couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it. “Can you explain it? And is the Yukon pack involved at all?”

“No, not directly,” Hephaestus began. “They sent a proposal to Daniel and Mallory last year, and after some negotiation, Mallory agreed to sell to them about two months ago.”

“What?” Cade asked, incredulous. “Their pack has owned that land for over two hundred years. Why would she do that?”

“They’re in a lot of financial trouble.” Hephaestus tsked. “Daniel convinced them to invest in what turned out to be a scam business a couple of years back. Anyway, Mallory agreed to sell off most of the western part of their land. Then Arcane started going farther, buying up the surrounding land?—”

“Until they reached ours,” Cade said. “They began to get more aggressive about a month ago.”

“Exactly,” the god added. “And when you refused to sell, they decided to send a message. I have the proof, including messages between all the C-Suite executives, the CEO, and the peons who hired the goons that sent the bomb to you. I also have all the money transfers Arcane routed through various shell companies, including payments into Swiss bank accounts tied to the bombers.”

“Aren’t those private?” Xavier said.

Hephaestus only smirked.

“This is it,” Artemis said, clapping her hands excitedly. “We have the proof we need.”

“And we also caught one of the people who set fire to our lodge.”

“Someone set fire to the lodge?” Apollo said. “What happened?”

Xavier quickly filled in the two gods. “…we have him in custody, but he won’t talk.”

“Hmm, give me a couple of minutes, and I could probably connect him to the Arcane,” Hephaestus said.

“This is great news,” Artemis exclaimed.

Cade looked over to Xavier, silent communication passing between them with one message: This was bad . “No, it’s not.”

“Huh?” Artemis cocked her head to the side. “We have solid proof that Arcane was the one who sent the bomb and set fire to the lodge. There’s even a clear motive.”

“Which is all good for the human authorities and the courts,” Cade said. “But we can’t do anything to avenge our pack. Where would we even start? Who’s really responsible? Their board? The shareholders? I mean, it’s not like we can just march into their offices and demand to fight the CEO.” It would have been better if the perpetrators had, in fact, been another pack. Shifter justice was swift and more direct.

“While we can’t get an eye for an eye,” Hephaestus said, “we can still make them pay with the evidence we have. I have a friend at the FBI who might be able to help us.”

“You have friends?” Apollo piped in, which earned him a scowl from Hephaestus.

“I’ll be right back.” The god of fire and forges closed his laptop and disappeared.

Artemis strode over to Cade. “Isn’t this great news? Finally, you and your pack will feel safe again.”

Cade was thankful Hephaestus and Apollo were here since that meant he couldn’t touch or even kiss Artemis. “Yeah, it’s good.”

“So,” Apollo began as he sank down on the leather sectional and stretched his arms out. “How’s it going, Cade? Hopefully, my dear sister hasn’t driven you crazy yet?”

Artemis turned away as her cheeks bloomed with a blush. “It was fine. Right, Cade?”

“Yeah. Just fine.”

“Are you sure?” Apollo’s blue gaze narrowed at them. “I thought for sure you’d have wrung her neck by now.”

Artemis swallowed audibly as she touched her neck with her hand. Cade’s cock throbbed at the memory of his hand there, collaring her as he?—

“I’m starving,” he announced.

“That’s the effect of the healing coma,” Xavier said. “We have food down at the community center. I can get you anything you want.”

“I’ll come with you,” Artemis said. “I could use some food too.”

“No, I’ll go?—”

“It’s okay,” she assured him. “You should stay here and…get an update on Geri from Apollo. Okay, bye!” She practically dragged Xavier out the door.

“Hmm. Strange.”

Cade swung around to face Apollo. “What?”

The god stretched out his legs and planted his feet on the coffee table. “I’ve never seen Artemis miss a chance to bicker with me. It was like she’s deliberately avoiding me.”

“Oh?” he said casually as he walked over to sit next to him. “How do you know?”

“Artemis can’t lie, and if she does, I’ll know it. Like, she’s stupid terrible at fibbing, right? So instead of trying to lie to me, she’ll try to avoid me instead.” Apollo rubbed his chin. “I wonder what she’s hiding from me.”

“So, how’s Geri?” Cade asked, hoping to switch the topic.

“Well, it’s only been a few days, but I’d say she’s really doing well….” As Apollo spoke of his mate, it was obvious that the god truly adored and cherished her. That gave Cade a sense of relief, at least, despite the turmoil inside him.

Artemis and Xavier came back about half an hour later, carrying several bags. “Here,” she said, tossing a wrapped package toward Cade, who caught it with ease. “Something to tide you over while we get the rest of the food ready.”

“Did you bring back the entire pantry?” Apollo said, eyeing the bags in their arms. “Hey, don’t I get a sandwich too?”

“No,” Artemis shot back as she scampered into the kitchen.

Apollo’s brows furrowed. “See? Definitely hiding something.”

Cade groaned internally. “So, you were telling me about the renovations you and Geri were planning?”

“What? Oh yeah.” His face lit up again at the mention of Geri. “My place is kind of a bachelor pad, but….”

Cade let his brother-in-law talk, grateful for the distraction. A few minutes later, Xavier called them into the kitchen to eat. A veritable feast had been set up on the counter—a pot roast, a tray of lasagna, a casserole dish of mashed potatoes, a whole rotisserie chicken, freshly baked bread, and two pies—cherry and apple from the smell of it.

“Dig in,” Artemis, who looked rather domestic wearing an apron, said. “Xavier told me about what happens during a healing coma. You must be starving.”

Staring at her, Cade lost his appetite. “Yeah,” he said. “I am.”

Everyone filled their plates and sat down at the table and ate their meal. Cade was sure it was delicious, but he just couldn’t taste anything. He bit and chewed and swallowed, if only to regain his strength, but he could not concentrate on the meal.

“Bad news.”

Xavier dropped his knife as Hephaestus appeared next to them. “What happened?”

“I spoke with my friend at the FBI,” he began. “And while the evidence is strong, they won’t be able to use any of it.”

“They won’t?” Apollo asked. “Why not?”

“Because we obtained it all illegally,” Hephaestus explained. “He said he could still look into it and maybe even start an investigation, but he’d have to find a reason to get a warrant to find the evidence himself, without giving away the fact that I hacked into their servers.”

“What about the guy we have in the basement?” Xavier asked.

“You’re detaining him illegally, not to mention torturing him by withholding food and water,” the god said. “You could turn him in, and he might turn into a witness, but that’s a big maybe. You’ll have to let him go either way.”

“Fine. Xavier, take care of him.”

“I can make sure he forgets about the torture part,” Apollo added. “Just to protect you guys.”

Cade scrubbed a hand down his face. “But going back to Arcane, even if the fed do investigate, all that could take years. They probably have the best lawyers on the planet. They might get away with it or just get a slap on the wrists.” Fury rose in him. If only they could bring down their own brand of justice on those bastards.

“Wait!” Artemis shot up from her chair. “I have an idea.”

“What?” Hephaestus asked.

“What do you do when the wheels of justice are slow?” A smile spread across her face. “We force them to speed up. We make them go viral.”

“Viral?” Cade shook his head. “No, I don’t want our pack business on display. It’ll expose us to humans. Too dangerous.”

“I know,” she said. “But H, do you still have that other stuff? What Arcane did in South America, Indonesia, and Africa?”

“Yeah? And how will that—” His jaw dropped. “Artemoula, you’re a genius.”

“I am,” she said smugly, then winked at Cade.

“Wait, wait, what’s going on?” Apollo said as he swallowed a bite of chicken. “What about the Amazon?”

“Our dear friends at Arcane have been very naughty.” Artemis filled them in on Arcane’s exploits. “Once H gathers all the evidence, we can put it online and send it out.”

“I also have friends at a few publications and newsrooms,” Hephaestus said.

“You have friends?—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” he hissed at Apollo.

“That should force the government to look into all their dealings and charge whoever’s responsible. At the very least, it’ll tank their stock price.” Artemis turned to Cade. “What do you think?”

It wasn’t their kind of justice, but Cade supposed it was good enough. No one died in the bombing or the fire, plus he could rest easy, knowing that there wasn’t another pack out there looking to take him out and take over his territory. “Let’s do it,” he said to Hephaestus.

“I’m on it,” the god said as he placed his laptop on the counter and began to type furiously. A few minutes later, Hephaestus declared that he had all the evidence packaged together. “I’m blasting it out now.” He gave a final tap on the Enter key and then dusted his hands. “Now we wait.”

“How long?” Apollo asked.

“I don’t know when they’ll pick it up.” He closed the lid of his laptop. “But once it does, it’ll be bigger than that bomb they sent you.”

“You’re the best, H.” Artemis flashed him a smile. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I appreciate all your help, really.” Cade stepped forward and offered his hand. “Thank you.”

Hephaestus’s expression turned grim at Cade’s outstretched hand. “Don’t thank me yet.” He cast a meaningful look at Artemis, then turned back to him. “I’ll keep in touch.” And with that, he disappeared.

“Hmm, what can we do while we wait?” Apollo asked. “Hey, Cade, don’t you have an amazing man cave down in your basement? Like with the eighty-five-inch TV, Blu-Ray player, and the newest consoles and games?”

“Yeah? And?”

“Well, why don’t we watch a couple of movies, have a few beers, and get some snacks while we wait?”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Artemis agreed. “Why don’t you guys head down there, and I’ll go buy some snacks?” She didn’t even wait for an answer as she disappeared.

“She really is hiding something,” Apollo said, scratching at his chin. “I?—”

“That new Amazing Man movie just came out on streaming,” Cade interrupted.

“Really? The one where he fights that giant lizard created by Dr. Marduk?” Xavier said. “Awesome, I’ve been wanting to see it but didn’t want to make the drive to Anchorage.”

“They’ve been releasing so many movies in the Optimo Cinematic Universe, it’s been hard to keep up,” piped in Apollo. “But I always did like Amazing Man the best.

Cade stood up. “Let’s go then.”

“Wow, I’m so annoyed I didn’t get to see that in the theaters,” Xavier said as the credits rolled in. “It would have been so fun to see that lizard rampaging through San Francisco on the big screen.”

“It was pretty sweet,” Apollo said. “Hey, Artemis, can you pass me the chips?”

“Sure thing,” she said, reaching over to the bag next to her and handing him a bright yellow plastic bag. “Do we need any other snacks? How about something sweet, like ice cream? I put a couple of tubs in the fridge.”

Apollo laughed. “Did you buy out the store or something?”

“I just didn’t want to have to go back if we needed anything.” She met Cade’s gaze. “Do you want something to eat?”

“I’m fine.” He took a sip of his beer and leaned back in his recliner.

Artemis had arrived sometime after the movie began, carrying several grocery bags. After she put out the snacks on the table, she settled down on the spot of the couch closest to where Cade reclined on his armchair. A few times, she tried to catch his gaze, but he ignored her or pretended to be concentrating on the movie. Guilt nagged at him, seeing her so eager to smile at him or send him reassuring glances, but he reminded himself that he needed to put a wall between them.

I just can’t go through that again.

What happened with Eleni had been painful, but he had a feeling the fallout from his affair with Artemis would be even worse.

I shouldn’t have slept with her.

Did he somehow forget that he would never be able to completely avoid her, not when they were linked through Geri and Apollo? It was too messy.

“Guys!” Artemis shot up from the couch and waved her phone in the air. “It’s happening.”

“What’s happening?” Apollo asked through a mouthful of chips.

Artemis clucked her tongue. “What else? Arcane is going viral. Turn on the news!”

Xavier grabbed the remote and switched the TV to a national cable news network.

“… and once again, we’re coming to you with breaking news,” the anchor on the screen said. “An anonymous whistleblower has leaked several documents supposedly taken from executives from Arcane Corporation, including the CEO. These documents allegedly show a pattern of malfeasance perpetrated by the company to obtain land and assets from….”

They watched in silence as the anchor detailed many of the crimes Arcane committed all over the world against poor and oppressed people. Xavier changed the channel several times and nearly all the major news networks were covering the document leak. Artemis had only mentioned a few of their exploits, but apparently, it was much worse. Cade’s stomach turned, thinking of all the lives Arcane had destroyed over the years to feed their seemingly endless greed. He couldn’t help but feel a gleeful satisfaction as they turned to a business channel and watched Arcane’s stock price tank as the arrow on the graphic on the TV turned red as it pointed south.

“Yes!” Artemis cheered. “The government has to investigate them now.”

“Which one?” Apollo said. “They’ve committed crimes on nearly every continent on earth, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve evicted some penguins from Antarctica.” Rising to his feet, he let out a sigh. “Geri’s gonna kill me if she finds out I didn’t give her the news right away. Hey, Artemis, you coming? I’m sure Geri would love to thank you for your help.”

“Uh, sure.” Her gaze briefly landed on Cade. “I’ll follow, okay? I just have something to do.”

“Sure thing, sis. Cade, I’m so glad to put this to rest, but if you need anything, just call, okay?” The two men shook hands, and Apollo disappeared.

“I should get going, Alpha. Tell everyone the good news,” Xavier said. “I’ll have a new phone sent over, by the way.”

“Thank you, Xavier,” he said.

As soon as his second in command was gone, Artemis let out an excited squeak and jumped into his arms. “Oh, I’m so happy, Cade,” she cooed, rubbing her cheek on his chest. “We did it.”

Cade remained frozen, unable to move. Her sweet scent teased at his nostrils, her sweet body rubbing against his tempted him to hold her and take her again, to mark her and make her truly his.

“Yes, we did.” He curled his hands into fists at his sides, refusing to budge.

“I can’t believe it.” She took a step back and smiled at him. “We brought down an evil corporation! I kinda feel like Amazing Man fighting Dr. Marduk.”

“Uh-huh.” He swallowed the growing lump in his throat. “Tell Geri I said hi, will you.”

“Geri?” Her blonde brows drew together. “What do you mean?”

“You said you were going back to Mount Olympus. Give Geri my regards and tell her I’ll see her in a year.”

“Of course, I—” Her mouth clamped shut. “I mean, I don’t have to leave right now.”

“Apollo’s expecting you.”

“Yes, but…Cade?” She clasped at his forearms. “What’s wrong? Did I do something? Say something? Was it Apollo…”

“Nothing at all.” Gently, he pried her hands off him. “But you should head back home. Now that we’re done with this investigation, there’s no reason for you to stay.”

“Yes, about that. I mean, yes, we’re done with the investigation. But I-I thought…that is…” She paused, waiting for him to speak, but only silence stretched between them. “Cade, what are you trying to say?” she asked, staring blankly at him.

A vice-like grip wrapped around his chest, making it a struggle to breathe. “What do you think I’m saying?”

“C-Cade…” The way her voice shook sent daggers stabbing at his heart. “Cade, you can’t mean…I thought we…” She inhaled. “I thought maybe there was more…”

“More to what? We were having fun, right? I thought that’s what you wanted when you asked me to take your virginity.”

“Y-yes, but…”

“And now we’re done.” The words sounded final to his ears. “It’s over, this thing between us.”

She wrung her hands together. “But, Cade, I thought…th-that you…after you were hurt…that we…” She gave a defiant shrug of your shoulders, then lifted her head to look him directly in the eye. “You can’t mean that.”

He couldn’t answer her.

“Cade, please.” Her voice trembled. “Tell me there was more to this. That this meant more than just sex. Because this was more than sex to me. I want to be with you, Cade. I want a life with you, in whatever shape or form that life may be.”

Her eyes pleaded at him, her expression so sincere and shining with emotion that he nearly buckled right there. It was then he decided simply telling her things were over wasn’t enough because all she had to do was turn those pretty blue eyes at him, he would come crawling back to her.

He would really have to make sure she would never even want to see him again, so he decided to twist that knife further.

“No, you don’t want a life with me. You’re confused, Artemis. And I’m afraid I just don’t feel the same way.” He shrugged. “I mean, if you want, we can have one last fuck.”

“One last what ?”

“You heard what I said.” He traced a finger up her arm, over her collarbones, and tipped her chin up. “What do you say? One last time, get it out of our systems? Let me have that sweet little body one more time? I’ll fuck you so good, you’ll forget your name.”

She took a sharp inhale of breath. “Don’t touch me.” She slapped his hand away. “ Ti malakas! You…asshole!”

How he wished she’d slapped his face instead. It would have hurt less. “Never claimed to be otherwise, sweetheart.”

For a brief moment, he saw her expression break, and he wanted to crawl down onto his knees and beg for her forgiveness. But just as fast, a cool mask slipped over her face. “You’re right.” She smoothed her hands down her dress. “It was fun. Bye, Cade.”

He could only watch as she slowly vanished, her defiant blue eyes blazing right before disappearing completely. The smell of her unshed tears was so strong, but he was damned proud of her for refusing to cry in front of him.

It wouldn’t have worked out anyway. His wolf may have chosen her, but he couldn’t make the same mistake twice. It had been foolish to get mixed up with her in the first place, but now he was fixing his mistakes. He would find another mate, or maybe he could arrange a marriage to some well-connected she-wolf. Mating wasn’t a prerequisite for children among their kind. Hell, Xavier was capable and strong and well-respected, Cade could name him heir.

The image of Artemis’s eyes flashed back into his mind, defiant and strong. The image was burned into his brain, and the pit in his stomach grew into a cavernous hole.

This was for the best, he told himself, though he remained rooted to the spot where he stood and watched her disappear out of his life forever.