"For once, do as I say and don't ask questions. Would it kill you to do that?"
Her brows knitted together, hurt flickering across her face before indignation took its place. "If you would try saying things nicely, then maybe I wouldn't have to question you all the time."
Kade swore under his breath, raking a hand through his hair. "Someone is at the door."
"How hard was that?" she shot back.
Still, she grabbed the shirt, yanked it over her head, and sat up straighter on the bed, the covers pooling around her legs. The shirt was far too big on her, the fabric drowning her frame, his scent wrapping around her.
He crouched beside her. "Stay calm. No matter what happens."
Her hand caught his wrist before he could rise again, her eyes wide, searching his face. "Kade, who is it?"
"An Alpha who thinks he can take what's mine," he said. His eyes locked on hers, the intensity of his gaze enough to still her breath.
And to May, what he just said made absolutely no sense.
Kade squared his shoulders, and returned to the door. His hand lingered on the handle for a fraction too long, as though he could buy May more safety with that brief hesitation. Finally, with a steadying breath, he yanked it open wide.
Kingsley filled the doorway. Carrying the arrogance of someone who'd once ruled a pack and still believed the world owed him reverence. The moment May's eyes landed on him, her body stiffened. The color drained from her cheeks, and she shrank back instinctively into the bed as if the mattress itself could swallow her whole.
Her lips parted, breath trembling out of her. "Kingsley…" The whisper cracked, the sound almost breaking into a sob. Her hands gripped the hem of Kade's shirt. For a terrifying moment, it seemed she couldn't breathe—her panic rising too fast.
"Good to see you, May. You look well."
Before he could even think of stepping closer, Kade moved. His hand shot out and clamped around Kingsley's arm, dragging the other man's attention away from May and pinning it squarely onto him. Kade's eyes blazed. "You don't look at her. You do not speak to her. Understood?"
Kingsley sneered. "Get your paws off me. I may be a banished Alpha, but I am still an Alpha."
"Trust me," he said. "I have taken down Alphas greater than you."
Kingsley wrenched his arm free with a sharp twist, snatching back his space. "True," he drawled. "Which is why I am here without looking for a fight."
And with that, Kingsley had the audacity to stride into the room. He plopped onto the couch with a dramatic sigh, stretching his arms across the backrest. The cushions dipped beneath his weight, and Kade felt his blood boil at the casual arrogance.
"May will be sending you the divorce papers once more," Kade said flatly, refusing to waste breath on courtesy. "And you will sign them."
"Are you the fiancé?" Kingsley's eyes danced with amusement, darting between Kade's half-dressed frame and May, who was swimming in his shirt. "No… the lawyer told me she was engaged to some loser named Mark. You don't look like a Mark."
"Maybe I don't have to look like one to be ten times the man you are," Kade shot back.
But Kingsley wasn't listening to the jab. His attention lingered on the way May sat wrapped in Kade's shirt. Slowly, a knowing smile spread across his face, cruel in its delight. "But here you are," he murmured. "Protecting her." His gaze sharpened.
Kade shifted closer, subtly blocking Kingsley's line of sight. Still, the Alpha's dark eyes gleamed as though he'd already pieced the puzzle together. "I see the fire in your eyes," he went on.
Then his words faltered for a beat. His gaze flicked from May to Kade and back again. "Oh no…" he said slowly. His eyes lit up as he put two and two together.
"She's…"
"I suggest you stop talking now." Kade's hand flexed at his side, itching to snap Kingsley's neck right there in the dimly lit room. May sat frozen on the bed, her wide eyes darting between the two men.
"You don't want her to know. Makes sense. Almighty Beta to the formidable Alpha Lucas Raventhorn, mated to a human. How scandalous!" His chuckle filled the room, thick with mockery.
"You will leave her alone." Kade grounded the words out with barely controlled rage, as though forcing each syllable through stone. He wasn't just trying to shut Kingsley up—he was trying to build a barricade between May and truths she wasn't ready to hear. He knew the second Kingsley's poison seeped into her mind, he'd lose ground he might never reclaim.
"You don't want me to have her. You don't want her either. You'd rather see her tied up to another man altogether. Lord, this is juicy." His eyes glittered as they flicked toward May. "But did she ever tell you how she came to be mine… how she came to be my wife?"
"I don't care," Kade spat. "You cannot force anyone to be with you if they don't want to. May has been subjected to your brutality for too long. You will let her go. And just so you know, that order comes from Alpha Lucas himself."
Kingsley clapped slowly, mock applause echoing in the small room. "Of course. I wouldn't expect anything less from the great Lucas Raventhorn, sending his Beta as his little enforcer. But Alpha Lucas does not make my rules." His eyes darkened, his posture stiffened. "May's family owed me a lot of money. They gave me May in exchange. That is a loss I cannot bear."
May's eyes filled with tears she refused to shed, and she bit down on her lip.
"I will pay you back every cent."
"I don't want money," Kingsley said. "But before I tell you what I want…did you tap that ass yet? I always knew she was created for a supernatural because that pussy just grips you and never lets go. Even more spectacular when she fights you…"