Kaden’s POV
I didn’t know why I was so fucking nervous.
I pushed myself out of my chair and walked toward the large window behind my desk, staring down at the pack grounds without really seeing anything.
I checked my wristwatch.
5:03 p.m.
Ruby had told me she and Kane would be leaving for dinner around six. One more hour.
I released a heavy breath and dragged my hand through my hair. All day, I hadn’t been myself. I had tried to bury myself in work, answering reports, signing documents, listening to pack officials talk about matters that normally had my full attention.
But today, I could barely concentrate. My mind kept going back to Ruby.
Was she nervous? Had she changed her mind? What if Kane became angry when she ended things?
I hadn’t shown any of my worries when I spent time with her earlier. I had smiled, joked with her, walked through the garden with her, and acted as though everything was perfectly fine. But it wasn’t. Something inside me had been restless since morning. Even my wolf seemed uneasy.
I rested both hands against the edge of the window and stared outside.
"Calm the fuck down, Kaden," I muttered to myself.
Kane wasn’t going to hurt her. I knew my brother, and he wasn’t that kind of man. Yes, he had a temper. We both did. He might be angry. He might be hurt. He might say some stupid shit he would regret afterward.
But physically hurt Ruby? No. Between the two of us, Kane had always been the gentler one. Even when we were children, I was usually the first one to throw a punch while Kane tried to think things through. He was the most gentle between the two of us.
He wouldn’t hurt her. Especially while she was pregnant with his child.
So why the hell couldn’t I relax?
I glanced at my watch again.
5:07 p.m.
Only four fucking minutes had passed.
"Fuck."
I turned away from the window and paced across my study.
Maybe I should go with them. The thought had been bothering me since Ruby first told me about the dinner. Not sit at their table, obviously. I wasn’t that fucking insane. But I could simply show up as a plus-one at that dinner, sitting at a nearby table just to make sure she was safe. I just wanted her to be fine.
No. Ruby had already made it clear she didn’t want me there. Showing up would make it seem like I didn’t trust her. And I did trust her. At least, I wanted to.
I had already sent a phone to her room earlier so she could contact me if anything went wrong. She had my private number. All she had to do was call, and I would be wherever she was within minutes. Yet, even with that safeguard, my mind refused to settle.
That should have been enough. It wasn’t.
I sat down behind my desk again and picked up the report I had been trying to read for the past twenty minutes. Three lines in, I realized I hadn’t understood a single fucking word.
I threw it back onto the desk.
My wolf shifted restlessly inside me.
I frowned. "What is your problem?"
No answer. Just that same uncomfortable feeling sitting heavily in my chest. Something wasn’t right.
Maybe I was simply afraid. The realization made my jaw tighten.
I was afraid Ruby would leave with Kane tonight and somehow change her mind. Maybe Kane would apologize. Maybe he would promise to stop seeing the other woman. Maybe he would beg her to stay with him for the baby’s sake. And maybe Ruby would agree.
The thought made something dark twist inside my chest.
No. She had already made her decision. She was coming back to me. She had promised.
I looked at the clock again.
5:15 p.m.
The mounting panic became too much to bear. Unable to stay still, I opened the mind-link immediately.
Logan.
There was a short pause before his familiar voice entered my head. Yes, Alpha?
Come to my study.
Is something wrong?
Just come.
I’ll be there.
I closed the link and leaned back in my chair.
Logan arrived several minutes later. He knocked twice before entering.
"You called for me, Alpha?"
"Close the door."
His eyebrows lifted slightly, but he obeyed. Once the door was shut, he turned toward me.
"What happened?"
I stood and walked around my desk, stepping closer because I trusted him completely.
"I need you to do something for me."
"Of course."
I hesitated. For some reason, saying it aloud made me feel slightly ridiculous.
"I trust you, Logan."
His expression became serious. "You know you can."
"Ruby and Kane are leaving for dinner at six."
Logan went still for the briefest second. I noticed.
"Yes?" he asked carefully.
"Ruby is breaking up with him tonight, and I am not comfortable with it. I want you to follow them."
His eyes widened. "Follow them?"
"Secretly."
"Alpha..."
"I’m not asking you to sit at the fucking table with them." I rubbed my jaw impatiently. "Stay far enough away that neither of them knows you’re there. I just want someone nearby."
Logan studied me. "Why?"
I frowned. "Why what?"
"Why are you worried?"
That question irritated me more than it should have.
"Because she’s pregnant, she’s going somewhere alone with a man she’s about to break up with, and I don’t know how Kane is going to react."
"He’s your brother."
"I know exactly who he is."
"And you think he’ll hurt her?"
"No."
Logan remained silent.
I sighed heavily. "No, I don’t think Kane would hurt Ruby. But people do stupid things when they’re angry. I don’t want to take chances with her safety."
Or the baby’s. Especially after what my wolf had felt yesterday. My chest tightened at the thought.
"I want you close," I continued. "If everything goes well, you do nothing. They have dinner, she ends things, and they come home. Neither of them ever needs to know you were there."
"And if something goes wrong?"
"You alert me immediately."
Logan nodded.
"And if Kane tries to do anything stupid," I added, looking directly into his eyes, "you step in. Don’t wait for me."
Something strange crossed Logan’s face. It disappeared before I could understand it.
"Understood, Alpha. I will do just that."
"Good."
He turned toward the door.
"Logan."
He stopped and looked back.
"Keep her safe."
His expression softened slightly. "I will."
As Logan left the room, a small wave of relief washed over me. Having Logan tail them was a much safer option. If anything went wrong, he would alert me and take care of it. Everything would be fine.
I returned to my desk and finally managed to concentrate on work. At least for another twenty minutes.
By six o’clock, I had checked my watch so many times that I was beginning to annoy myself.
Soon, the clock struck six. I finally gave up pretending to work and stood. Somehow, I needed to see Ruby one last time before she left, so I walked out of my study and headed toward the balcony overlooking the front courtyard.
The evening air hit my face as I stepped outside. And my timing couldn’t have been better.
The main doors below opened.
Kane walked out first, and then Ruby stepped outside behind him.
My breath caught. I stared at her, completely frozen. She was dressed in a fitted blue dress that hugged her body perfectly, stopping just below her knees. Her hair fell softly around her shoulders, and even from this distance, God, she looked so stunning.
Fuck.
For several seconds, I simply stared. I felt my eyes tear up slightly, an unexpected rush of emotion taking over me. Was I seriously getting emotional because a woman was going to dinner?
But it wasn’t the dinner. It was what came afterward. Tonight, she would finally end things with Kane, and then she would come back to me. The thought sent that same familiar flutter of butterflies through my stomach that I’d been experiencing around her lately.
Ruby suddenly stopped beside the car. As if sensing my gaze on her, she looked up directly at me.
Our eyes met across the distance. We held each other’s gaze for several quiet seconds, and the entire courtyard seemed to disappear. There was only her.
Something strange passed through her expression. Sadness, maybe.
My smile faded slightly. Before I could understand it, she looked away first.
Kane followed her gaze and spotted me on the balcony. His expression immediately darkened, and he cast a sharp glare up at me.
I almost smiled.
He glared at me for another second before turning to open the car door for her. She climbed inside, and Kane got into the driver’s seat and drove out of the courtyard.
I watched from above as he drove out, something inside my chest tightening with every foot of distance between us.
I immediately opened the mind-link with Logan. Where are you?
I’m sitting at the corner of the road in a taxi, waiting for them to pass, Logan replied.
I watched Kane’s vehicle disappear beyond the gates. They just left.
I see them.
Don’t get too close.
I know how to follow someone, Alpha.
Despite how tense I felt, I almost smiled. Okay. Keep me updated.
Yes, sir.
The link closed, and I sighed heavily before turning back into my study. I walked over to my desk and dropped heavily into my chair, but resting was impossible. My right foot immediately started tapping nervously against the floor.
I stopped it. Three seconds later, it started again, and my fingers beat an anxious rhythm on my knee.
I checked my watch.
6:08 p.m.
"Goddammit."
I leaned back and stared at the ceiling, my heart pounding for reasons I couldn’t explain.
God, why am I so anxious?
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