Page 126 of Rejected By the Alpha

“Yes, I can walk.” But every step hurt worse than the previous.

When we exited the packhouse, Daisy glanced toward the west, her gaze lingering until we reached the edge of Davix’s property. Then she turned back toward me, her brows drawn together. I wished I could speak to her to ask her what was going on.

But I couldn’t, and I’d never know what was out there.

More like who was out there.

About fifteen minutes later, my home came into view, and Cade’s scent filled my nostrils. My shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, yet the pain was still pounding through my body, my knees aching. I didn’t know if I’d be able to make it up the stairs.

Cade opened the back door before we stepped into the backyard and jogged over to me, wrapping me up into a hug. “I’m so fucking happy you’re okay. I’m sorry for leaving you, sorry for not telling you happy birthday this morning. Goddess, you don’t know how worried I was about you.”

I sniffled but tried to hide it. I didn’t want him to know about Davix. I wasn’t supposed to have feelings for him anymore; I had literally told Cade I loved him the other day, and I couldn’t take it back. Hell, I didn’t want to. I love him, truly.

But this fucking hurt.

After he exchanged a tense glance with Silas, Cade guided me into the house. Daisy followed us in and climbed up onto Hazel’s lap when she sat on the couch with Pumpkin, just to see her sister.

“I have something for you,” Cade murmured. “Come here.”

“For me?” I asked, following him. “Can it wait? I’m not feeling really⁠—”

Before I could say another word, I stopped in the middle of the kitchen to see the messiest banana bread cake known to mankind. The frosting was all over the counter, about ten banana peels were in the garbage, and Cade stood there with the goofiest smile on his face.

“Happy birthday, Ember,” he said.

Tears welled in my eyes, and so many emotions ran through me. Between Davix and that rejection, Daisy and Pumpkin, the war … and through it all, Cade had made me a cake for my birthday.

I hugged him as tightly as I could and buried my face into his chest, not saying a single word. If I opened my mouth, I feared I would cry out in pain, in anguish, and he didn’t deserve that.

This was the sweetest thing anyone had done for me.

“Don’t worry,” Cade murmured into my ear, his arms around my shoulders and his fingers gently stroking my hair. “I know what he did, and it’s going to be okay. You’re going to get through this. I won’t let it hurt for long.”

A tear slid down my cheek, and I glanced back over at the banana bread cake. The cake was falling apart from the base, the cream-cheese frosting thick in some parts and empty in the others, and the pieces of banana were sliding off the side.

I wrapped my arms tightly around Cade’s waist and pulled him closer to me.

He might’ve forgotten about my birthday this morning, or he was trying hard to protect me and it slipped his mind, but he had … he had taken his time to bake me a cake—something he had always been terrible at—just to … make me happy.

“Next time, maybe buy a cake at the store,” I whispered with a small giggle.

The pain from rejection still lingered. Hell, I didn’t know if it would ever go away by how terrible Hazel had been explaining the pain. But the hurt dulled when Cade’s arms were wrapped around me.

Cade pulled back just enough to look down at me, amused. “You don’t like my cake?”

My lips curled into a smile as warmth filled my empty chest. “I don’t like it. I love it.”

Chapter Sixty-Nine

Cade

Ember stood in front of the banana-bread cake that I had made her and grabbed a kitchen knife to slice off a piece, side-eyeing Hazel, who played with Daisy, and Silas, who watched her amusingly in the living room.

My lips curled into a smile, and I cleared my throat behind Ember.

She jumped up in surprise, some white cream-cheese frosting on the corner of her lip, and twirled around, placing a hand over her heart. “A heart attack is really what I need after the day I’ve had!”

“What are you doing in here?” I murmured, arms crossed over my chest. I kicked myself off the counter and stalked toward her, swiping my thumb over the frosting and then popping it into my mouth. “Tasting the cake before we can sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to you?”