Chapter 10

The next morning, my entire body ached as I threw on my clothes.

I muttered under my breath. He had been way too rough.

Silas came up behind me, pressing his heavy chest against my back. "Clara, you smell so good," he rumbled. "No, wait—you smell sweet. Can we sleep together again tonight?"

"Knock it off," I said, pulling the bedroom door open. "I can barely walk as it is..."

The words died in my throat.

Kaelen was out there, gripping the leather armrest of the chair so hard the material was buckling. His eyes were totally dark with fury. The sheer intensity of his glare sent an icy chill straight down my spine.

"Clarissa," Kaelen ground out through clenched teeth. "Do you have absolutely no shame?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Silas's hand clamped possessively onto my waist. His posture went rigid, instantly hostile.

"Red," he growled. "If you say one more insulting thing to Clara, I'll bite your neck and snap it."

Kaelen's pupils blew out into razor-thin slits, his canines bared. "Try it," he hissed. "I'd love to strangle you right now."

The air in the tiny room grew thick, heavy with the suffocating tension of two werebeasts gearing up for a territorial bloodbath.

I reached back, lacing my fingers firmly through Silas's. "There's no point in fighting with someone who doesn't matter. He's leaving soon anyway."

Silas's whole demeanor flipped on a dime. All that lethal aggression evaporated. He turned to me, his eyes wide and pitiful, his bottom lip poking out in a soft pout.

"He's so mean, Clara," he whimpered. "He scared me."

I rubbed Silas's ears—they were incredibly soft. "That's just how he is," I told him. "Just ignore him. Come on, let's go buy you some pajamas."

The stiff tension finally drained from Kaelen's hunched shoulders, leaving him swaying slightly on his feet. Then, he moved, planting himself squarely in front of the door.

"Clarissa, don't choose him. I thought you liked me. Whatever he can do for you, I can do, too. Just send him back. Send him back right now, and I swear I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

Behind me, I felt Silas instantly tense up.

I stayed quiet for a moment, letting the silence hang before changing the subject. "You know I grew up in an orphanage."

Kaelen frowned, clearly thrown off. "So?"

"Because of that," I said, letting my mind drift back, "I'm really good at reading people. When you first got here, I could tell you were genuinely happy. But eventually, I watched your mood sour into irritation, and then disgust. I tried so hard to please you. I put in so much effort, but you just continually resented me. You thought I was beneath you, that I was unworthy of you—and those feelings were real. That's exactly why I decided to transfer your ownership."

I looked him dead in the eye. "I expected you to be happy and relieved right now. Instead, you're acting jealous and angry. Want to tell me why that is, Kaelen?"

Outside, a thick bank of clouds swallowed the sun, plunging the room into a dim gray that made it hard to read his expression. His fingertips had turned a pale, sickly blue, probably from the chill in the air.

For a long time, he didn't say a word.

Deciding this was a waste of time, I grabbed Silas's hand and moved to brush past him. But Kaelen caught my free hand.

I turned back. For the first time since I'd known him, his perfectly composed mask cracked, revealing raw, genuine distress.

"Clarissa," he finally whispered. "If I tell you right now that I really like you... is it too late?"