Bye, My Ruthless Alpha
Chapter 41: Tori Broke Down

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Tori Broke Down

After I made peace with my expected departure after the baby was born, I decided to focus on the bright side. After all, I would always have a place to look back to, people whom it warmed my heart to think of.

“Tori, it isn’t that bad!” Caroline laughed as I stared at the green goop that had been given for me to eat.

“Do I have to eat that?” I replied, wide-eyed, as I let it drop from the spoon back into the bowl. I looked up at Kas and Caroline, bewildered at the amusement they found in the situation.

“Ava said it’s a protein pudding, and filled with nutrients.”

“But so is real food,” I protested in a voice only I could hear. I put the bowl down and picked up the orange juice sitting on the tray. “Am I not allowed to have real food? Bacon, eggs... something?”

Caroline burst into laughter again, shaking her head. “You’d better listen, Kas. Tori is the pregnant one, and she knows what her body wants.”

It had been a few days since I had been locked down in my room, and I was going absolutely stir-crazy. I wasn’t confined to my bed anymore, at least, but I struggled with the healthy menu that Ava had given me.

“Caroline, don’t encourage her. You know what Ava said,” Kas replied, giving Caroline a serious look, before I cut her off.

“Then could you please talk to Ava?” I pleaded. “I don’t know why, I just want bacon.”

A knock on the door drew my attention away from the food.

I turned to see Cayden standing there with one hand in his pocket. As I watched, his cold look turned to one of confusion.

“Anything wrong?” He seemed curious about the tension in the room due to the bacon situation.

Cayden had been a man of his word. He came and checked on me whenever he could. A lot of the time, there wasn’t a tremendous amount of conversation that happened, but he always made a point to visit.

Though the visits were short, they were always the highlight of my day.

“Ava is making Tori eat green goop, and she is pissed and wants bacon.” Caroline burst into laughter as she made her explanation. “It’s funny.”

“Caroline...” I muttered. Oh gosh, the last thing I wanted was for Cayden to worry about my diet.

His eyebrows shot up, and a surprised look crossed his face. Then he quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket and made a call, walking away from us as he did.

I looked toward Kas and Caroline in confusion. Both women shrugged, having no idea what he was doing.

Cayden walked back and turned to me. “It’s been handled. Now, how are you feeling?”

My hand instinctively went down to my stomach, and I smiled, looking at him. “I feel great, actually. No more nausea. I seem to be back to normal.”

“Except for your food cravings,” Caroline mumbled, causing Kas to snicker in amusement.

My eyes turned to them both, narrowing into a glare. “I do not have cravings.”

“Oh, really?” Caroline exclaimed with a smile. “One word...bacon.”

“Oh, not just bacon,” Kas interjected. “Don’t forget steak and roasted potatoes with extra gravy and bacon pieces. Oh, and strawberries, as well as yogurt. And, of course, the chocolate cake, but not just any chocolate cake...only the one our chef makes back home.”

“But he makes the best one...” I mumbled quietly, looking at them in shock.

This time, it was Cayden who chuckled softly. All three of us turned to look at him in surprise.

Quickly, he cleared his throat and turned to his sister.

“Caroline, go check the kitchen.”

Caroline was beyond puzzled.

"Why me...?" Then she realized. “Hey, if you don’t want us around, you can just say it!” she joked, laughing afterward.

He shot a glare at her, and her laughter immediately quieted down, though she kept snickering.

Kas jumped up, grabbing Caroline’s arms, and pulled her toward the door. As she exited the room, I heard her murmur, "Of course, Alpha, we’ll go check the kitchen right now!"

Suddenly, the formerly-busy room quieted down. I realized Cayden’s eyes were back on me.

Since I’d decided to cherish every day I spent with the Black Shadow pack, with Cayden, I gave him a bright smile. "Thanks for checking on me."

He moved toward me without saying a word, leaning down and scooping me up.

"Cayden!" I gasped.

“Good, you’ve gained some weight,” he commented as he walked us toward the bedroom.

“I-I did?” I was caught off guard.

To make sure I didn’t fall, I looped my arms around his neck and I thought I saw his lips lift up slightly.

As the door closed, I immediately found myself standing again, my back gently pressed against the door with Cayden’s hands upon my hips.

It took me by surprise, scaring me for a moment before I had the courage to look up at him.

"C-Cayden?"

“Don’t move,” he ordered.

The moment his sentence ended, his lips captured mine in a frenzy, and I found myself lost in his kisses. His tongue pressed against my mouth, demanding my lips part ways so that he could taste me once again.

I didn’t refuse him.

How could I ever refuse him?

The deeper the kiss got, the more frantic his movements were. His hands were wandering my body and caressing every inch of me.

“Cayden...” I whispered softly as he kissed my chin down to my neck. “We can’t...”

“Why can’t we?” he growled softly, placing a nip at my shoulder that sent a shiver of pleasure straight to my core.

“Caroline and Kas could come back any minute...” I moaned again, and he picked me up and gently laid me down on the bed.

“And?”

His fingers made quick work at pulling my leggings down, and before I could protest, he dropped to his knees beside the bed and pressed his face into my core, inhaling my scent.

“You smell so good,” he groaned.

His tongue flicked out and captured the sensitive bud of my core, causing me to moan again in pleasure.

“Oh,” I panted. “Cayden, oh, my Goddess...”

It didn’t take long before he was tipping me over the edge of reason and I was coming undone in his mouth as his tongue licked up every drop I had to spill.

As I watched him rise to his knees, I expected him to thrust into me. But instead, he picked up my panties and leggings and helped put them back on.

He wasn’t going further with me... I felt ashamed, not to mention, a little disappointed.

He gritted his teeth. “Ava says that you can’t have sex right now...”

For a moment, I felt like I needed to scold Ava.

Then he chuckled softly.

The more time we spent together, the less I felt like I understood him. Before, he was so distant and cold to me, and now he was acting sweet and affectionate. I had conflicted feelings, considering the contrast from his usual state of mind.

With my pants back on, he helped me stand and smoothed a part of my hair out before leaning down to capture my lips once more. The taste of my arousal was still on his tongue.

“Will you come back again later?” I asked him, hoping he would say “yes”.

However, my question was met with a sigh. “I have meetings, and I’m not sure what time I’ll be out of them.” That meant he wouldn’t be back tonight.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “And thank you.”

“For what?”

“Actually having a conversation with me,” I explained with a smile.

Then I saw his face turn stern.

As he opened the bedroom door, I walked out to find a large, covered silver platter on a side table, and Kas and Caroline looking at both of us with amusement.

My face could not have burned hotter.

“Well, you both reek of sex,” Caroline said, causing Kas to choke on her drink and me to cough due to embarrassment.

“Oh, my Goddess!” Kas exclaimed. “Just because you’re the Alpha’s sister, it doesn’t mean you can act like that.”

Caroline wasn’t the least bit deterred though. Instead, she found it all hilarious.

“I’m just glad that Cayden has finally figured out the woman he wants to be with.”

Cayden’s whole bearing changed at Caroline’s words.

“I have to go,” he rushed out, and then stormed out of our room.

I tried not to read too much into Cayden’s reaction, and changed the subject instead.

“Something smells great!” I exclaimed.

“BACON!” Kas andCaroline yelled at the same time in a fit of laughter.

Sure enough, as I walked toward the tray and lifted the lid, I saw a massive mound of freshly-cooked bacon.

When Cayden said he had handled it, he wasn’t joking. He was making sure to get me everything I wanted.

***

“I want you, Tori.” Cayden’s soft whisper wrapped around me as we lay tangled in the sheets, our bodies molding together in heated passion.

“Don’t leave me,” I begged him.

He forced me to look at him. My fingers ran though his jet-black hair, and my gaze met with his clear blue eyes.

He was my gorgeous Alpha. He was my world.

Over and over again, he made me come undone around him. The feeling of him sliding in and out of me made my mind spiral.

I wanted him—all of him, always.

His hands brushing over my bare skin sent shivers through my body.

“You are mine forever, Tori. And I am forever yours.”

His declaration made the love I had for him grow. I knew there was no way that I would ever get over how he made me feel.

Yet, as the passion grew between us, he suddenly felt so far away.

His body was sliding away from me, leaving me with an empty feeling inside.

“Cayden?”

My panic-filled voice drifted in an endless sea of darkness, and the sound of whispers drew me out of that place of lust and desire until, finally, my eyes opened.

A groan of disappointment left my lips as I rolled over, facing the bedroom door, which was cracked slightly open.

It was a dream, and it had been more than an amazing dream. Everything that had happened was something I wished deep down would come true, but I knew better than to get my hopes up.

“What are you going to do?”

A voice from the living room caught my attention, and I knew right away it belonged to Jace.

“What do you mean, what am I going to do? You were there in the meeting too. I have to marry Sophia and let Tori go,” Cayden’s voice replied.

This wasn’t anything surprising. Everyone in the capital knew. However, hearing it out of Cayden’s mouth caused more pain than I expected.

“Even if Sophia will bring chaos to our pack?” Jace asked.

“The Luna Queen can not have children, and my child will be the heir to the throne one day. We’re talking about a qualified Luna here, Jace.”

Qualified...of course. I would never be a “qualified” Luna like Sophia. The support that her pack could provide to Cayden and to this kingdom was something I could never offer.

My mother and I were the last survivors of her family. When I was young, I asked her about my maternal grandparents, but she refused to tell me much. Although she was beautiful and graceful, she couldn’t have been from any noble or powerful bloodline. And my father...he was only an Alpha of a small pack, one that could be wiped out as easily as any of the powerhouse Alphas wiggling their fingers.

Perhaps the only good use for my Alpha blood really was making me a competent breeder.

I had a bitter taste in my throat.

“But things have changed since Tori came to us. We all care about her...even you.”

I held my breath, and how I wished I would hear a word of affirmation from him.

I had noticed a change in him since we came to the capital, and especially since he found out I was pregnant. I wanted more than anything for the dream I had just lived to come true, although I knew it would never happen.

“Don’t assume you know how I feel,” Cayden’s rough voice grumbled, and it was obvious he was growing irritated. “I did everything for the baby.”

I sighed bitterly. I should’ve known better...

“Just for the baby?” Jace protested quietly. “Cayden, I have known you since we were boys, and we both know that isn’t true.”

“So?” Cayden repeated plainly, and I could tell he was losing his patience. Then, as if he was persuading himself, he added, “It was the king’s order. I can’t keep her.”

It took me a second to take in that news, but I found myself not even feeling resentful toward the king’s decision.

I wanted to be part of my child’s life. The idea of begging Cayden to allow me to stay had been in my mind—until he agreed to marry Sophia.

I couldn’t bring myself to be with Cayden after his marriage. It wouldn’t be fair for his bride either.

“You know that’s not what I was talking about!” Jace said, his voice rising.

“Will you f*cking keep it down?” Cayden snarled in a harsh tone, and he walked over to close the door fully.

It was obvious I wasn’t supposed to hear whatever they were discussing. Unfortunately, people seemed to forget that I bore Alpha blood. My senses were quite sharp, especially when it came to sound.

My instincts told me I shouldn’t continue to listen, but I couldn’t help myself.

“Nothing has changed, Jace.”

“Please...give yourself some time to reconsider it,” Jace pleaded, a slight panic surging in his voice.

“Jace, you knew the plan when she came to us. I warned you not to get close to her, but you didn’t listen. You and your sister will have to deal with the consequences of that when she’s gone.”

He didn’t want me to stay... After all, I was nothing but a convenience to him. Someone to carry his child–and when I was done, I would be cast aside.

I let the tears fall from my eyes down my cheeks, soaking the pillow beneath my head.

“I’m sorry, Alpha...” Jace bit out, struggling to speak. “But I don’t agree with the plan.”

“I don’t need you to agree,” Cayden stated coldly. “You just need to execute it.”

“So, after everything...you’re still going to do this? She is the mother of your child!"

“Yes, Jace. I can’t let the same thing happen again.”

Cayden’s voice was so low, but I still heard the next sentence–the sentence that would forever haunt me.

"Find a way to make her go peacefully.”

His words sent a cold stab of hurt straight to my heart, and my eyes widened.

What did he say? What did he mean?! Could someone tell me?!

Fear and panic filled me, and my hands slapped across my mouth to hold back the sob that threatened to burst out. I couldn’t allow them to hear me. I couldn’t allow them to know that I had heard everything that they had said.

Eventually, their voices trailed off, and the sound of the front door closing echoed through the small apartment. Rising from the bed, I peeked out into the main space, looking around to make sure they were indeed gone.

Once I knew for sure I was alone, I finally let the weight of everything come crashing down around me.

Why was it that, every time I thought I saw hope, someone had to destroy it?

No one was there to answer my question, and I felt more desperate at that moment than I ever had.

I was such a fool! How could I forget that they were the Black Shadow pack—the cruel and bloodthirsty Black Shadow pack?

I cried out as my knees buckled beneath me, and I slid to the floor against the bedroom door.

I wrapped my arms around myself, tears streaming down my face.

"What do I do...?"