Three
1299 Words
Cade didn’t look at her as he lowered himself into the leather chair behind his desk, but he felt her.
All that energy; sharp and defensive and way too alive, crackling like a live wire at the center of the room. Hazel Foster didn’t just walk into a space. No, he shook his head as he thought about it, she occupied it. Challenged it even, and dared it to contain her.
And that, more than anything, was why he ordered her to leave with that sharp mouth of hers. If there was one thing he didn't like, it was trouble and from the little he had seen, and how she made his heart pump violently, she was trouble with a capital T.
He could tell her it was strategy, that keeping her here was the only way to block Declan’s claim, that bringing her into his pack territory made things legally… complicated for Declan. Safer.
And all of that would be true.
But that was not the whole truth.
Cade’s gaze flicked to her father. He was still sitting stiffly in the chair across from the desk, eyes cast down like a man waiting for the lecture to be over.
Coward.
The man hadn’t said a word in her defense and he adn’t even met her eyes. But he was a good father, and a man that loved and cared for his daughter, but one that doesn't know how to show it.
Cade watched her take all that in without flinching, and he could tell that she didn’t expect anything from the man.
That said a lot about the life she had been living.
Cade leaned back, fingers steepled, forcing his tone to stay even. “You can wait outside,” he told her father.
The man hesitated… then he stood quickly and slipped out of the room like a shadow that was desperate to disappear.
The door shut behind him with a quiet click.
Hazel didn’t speak. She was still standing there, arms crossed, chin tilted, like she might bolt or bite depending on which direction the wind blew. Cade had seen warriors in blood-rage look less guarded.
“Take the chair, Hazel,” he said. This time, it didn't sound to her like it was a command but just an offer.
She narrowed her eyes, considering him for a moment, and then, slowly, she sat.
She was still tense and wary, but she was seated, and that was progress.
“You don’t trust me,” he said simply.
“No s**t,” she shot back. “Should I trust you, when I woke up in your bed?”
His lips twitched, just slightly. “You were unconscious and the room was secure.” he rubbed his jaw. “But don't worry, I didn’t touch you.”
Hazel gave him a long, flat stare. “And I’m supposed to give you a gold star for not assaulting me? Bare minimum, Maddox.”
He nodded once. “Well, I'm not asking for your trust. I just want to tell you the truth.”
That earned a small pause.
She sat back, arms still folded, but something in her shoulders loosened.
“What truth?” she asked.
“That I don’t want to marry you,” he said. “Or anyone else for that matter. I’m not looking for a mate.”
Hazel blinked, surprised to hear him admit that. “You’re not?”
He shook his head. “I took you in because I owe your father one. And we both know Declan’s dangerous. Because he doesn’t understand what no means. And because you clearly don’t have anyone else in your corner the way you want.”
She studied him for a beat, like she wasn’t sure if he was being honest or setting her up for some elaborate emotional ambush.
“You’re not what I expected,” she said quietly.
He arched a brow. “Let me guess. You thought I would growl, mark you, and throw you in a dungeon.”
She didn’t smile, but there was a flash of amusement in her eyes. “I was betting on at least one growl.”
Cade let that hang in the air for a second before leaning forward, elbows on the desk.
“You can stay here,” he said again, slower this time. “Train. Get stronger. I’ll assign someone to work with you; someone good. You’ll learn how to protect yourself. Because when you leave, Hazel, I want it to be on your terms. Not your father’s. Not Declan’s. Yours. And I want you to be able to defend yourself.”
She blinked again, and this time, it was less surprise and more… disbelief.
“No strings?” she asked.
“No strings,” Cade confirmed.
Hazel let out a long breath, and it sounded like the first honest breath she had taken since walking into the room.
Then she tilted her head. “What’s in it for you?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Paying your father for saving my life a long time ago.”
She narrowed her eyes, wondering what the story was, but she didn't say anything on that. Instead, she asked. “That’s it?”
Cade stood again. Moved toward the door and opened it for her.
“That’s it,” he said. “For now.”
She walked past him slowly, her scent brushing against him like static. She didn’t look up, didn’t say thank you; but she didn’t snap, either.
Again: progress.
And as she disappeared down the hallway, Cade knew; clear as the blood on a battlefield, that the girl he just invited into his territory was going to be a hurricane, but one he didn’t mind weathering.
Not one bit.
Cade didn’t return to his seat. He stood by the open door for a moment longer, staring down the hallway where Hazel had just vanished. He didn’t need his shifter senses to know she was still on edge, even as she walked away.
A quiet shuffle of feet broke his thoughts.
Hazel’s father stood hesitantly just outside the door, hand hovering like he wasn’t sure if he was welcome back in.
Cade stepped aside. “Come in.”
The man entered slowly, head bowed. There was something deeply tired in the way he moved, like he carried something that no one had offered to take off his shoulders in years.
“I appreciate you not pushing her,” he said after a beat, voice low and rough.
Cade folded his arms, studying him. “I didn’t do it for you.”
“I know.” He glanced at the chair Hazel had vacated, then quickly looked away. “She’s angry.”
“She should be.”
He nodded once, swallowing that truth like something bitter. “I wanted to protect her. Keep her out of the mess. But in doing that… I kept her small. I didn’t mean to, but…” he rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I don’t think I know how to raise someone like her.”
Cade didn’t respond right away. Then, “She doesn’t need to be raised anymore. She just needs to be given space to choose.”
Hazel’s father let out a quiet breath, heavy and regretful. “That’s what I came to say. Let her choose. If she wants to stay, train, fight, let her. Even if it means she hates me for a while.”
Cade nodded once. “Already was the plan.”
The older man gave a faint, worn smile. “Then I guess for once, I did something right… bringing her here.”
Cade didn’t smile back, but he understood his view on the matter, and that made him want to help him even more.
- Writer
