Page 9 of Alpha's Runaway Mate
“Kaine…” My voice came out in a whisper as I continued to retreat. “Wh–what are you doing?”
His gaze was hard, unyielding. As if he could see through the walls I had built up over the years.
“Tell me it isn’t true, Lyra.” The air between us thickened with tension as Kaine’s words hung in space, each one laced with fury and disbelief.
My back collided with the wall, and I knew there was no escaping. Backed up against the wall, with Kaine only inches away from me, I was trapped. My breathing became heavy, my heart pounded rapidly against my chest, his scent—musky and raw—filled my nostrils, my senses evading me, as well as the ability to think straight. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at him, but when I finally mustered the courage to, his dark blue, rage-filled eyes bore into mine, searching for something.
“Did you cheat on me, Lyra?” Kaine said, his voice brimming with accusation.
If I’d been caught up in the moment before, allowing his scent to make me lose my sense of reasoning, those words definitely snapped me out of it. Something ticked inside of me when he asked that question. The audacity of his accusation hit me like a slap and suddenly, my fear gave way to a burning rage.
“You think I cheated on you?” I finally found my voice, the words sharp and cutting as they left my lips. My heart was racing, but this time it wasn’t out of fear. It was anger. Pure, seething anger. “What right do you have to ask me that, Kaine?”
“You left the pack, you disappeared for years, and now you show up with a child. A child who is about five years old, Lyra. What would you have me think?”
“You shouldn’t think anything! You shouldn’t be bothered about my presence or that of my son because it was you who cast me out in the first place!” My chest heaved, my entire being expanding with rage. How dare he ask me something like this after he humiliated me in front of everyone, just after we had spent the night together? I shoved my hands against his chest, trying to push his suffocating presence away but he caught me by my wrist.
I flinched. “Get your hands off me, Kaine! Don’t you dare touch me!”
His expression flickered, his anger momentarily replaced by shock at the force of my words. Slowly, he withdrew his hands, eyes dropping to the ground as he took a couple of steps back.
“I’m sorry, Lyra,” he said softly.
“For what exactly? For barging in here, accusing me of being unfaithful when all I had done was show more care to you than anyone else? Or for rejecting me in front of the entire pack the night after you snuck into my house and slept with me? You’re going to need to be a little more specific, Kaine.”
He turned away, clenching his fists. “You don’t understand.”
“Oh, but I do,” I scoffed. “I understand perfectly, Kaine. There’s no gray area when it comes to loyalty. And considering that you’re a big preacher of it, you more than anyone should know that it’s just black or white. But instead, all you’ve displayed is hypocrisy.”
The words hung in the air like a challenge, daring him to deny the truth. “So, no, Kaine. You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to stand there and accuse me of something I didn't do when you’re the one who tossed me away like a piece of crap.”
When he turned to look at me again, his eyes were wild, filled with a tumult of emotions I couldn’t unravel. “I never wanted this, Lyra. I never wanted you to leave.”
“Then why did you reject me?” I couldn’t control the way my voice cracked with emotions. “Why did you cast me out without a second thought?”
Kaine’s lips pressed together in a thin line. There was nothing but his silence.
I shook my head. I didn’t plan on having this conversation, I didn’t plan on confronting him over what happened in the past. I wanted to let bygones be bygones. Yes, Kaine had broken me, but I didn’t allow myself to remain down.
I’d fought, I’d struggled, and I’d found a way to survive. Earlier, when I first saw him, I promised myself that I wasn’t going to allow him to get under my skin. But then he barged in here with an audacity larger than life, and he unraveled the pent-up anger and hurt that had built inside of me over the years.
“You have no idea what I have been through, Kaine,” I continued, my voice trembling with emotion. “You have no idea what it’s like to be abandoned by the one person who swore to protect you.”
He stumbled backward, his expression wavering as though my words had hit him like a physical blow. I wasn’t sure what I expected him to say. Nothing he said could erase the last sixyears or make me feel any better about it. An apology could never be enough. In fact, I didn’t need him to feel sorry for me. But at the same time, I didn’t want him to remain silent. For some reason, his silence hurt more than his apology.
Blinking back tears, I stepped away, my heart heavy, before turning and heading for the door.
“Where are you going, Lyra? It’s not safe out there. Whatever attacked you is still out there for all you know.”
I scoffed. “And you care because…?”
“Come on, Lyra.” In an instant, Kaine was in front of the door, standing firmly in my way. “It’s late, it’s dark, and the woods aren’t safe at night.”
“I think I’ll manage.”
I attempted to move around him, but he stepped in front of me again. Frustration boiled inside of me. “Kaine, get out of my way.”
“Not until you tell me where you’re going.”