Chapter 31

Kaiya

I lie on my side, watching Bowden sleep. The bruises on his cheek and chest are completely healed. His face is relaxed, but even in his sleep, his hands are curled in tight fists around the sheets.

During the remembrance, as I now know it’s called, I decided that I would try to make things a little easier for Bowden. He has all that weight on his shoulders and the last thing he needs is a mate making his life a living hell.

It’s as he said. This is what I’ve been given. This is my life now. I can love him or hate him, but while hating him seems easier, loving is the better choice. I have enough hate in my heart already, I don’t have room for one more.

“Kaiya?” Bowden asks without opening his eyes. “Are you all right?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“No,” he says and lets go of the sheets, tucking both hands behind his head, “neither can I.”

“What’s your excuse?”

“I have a she-wolf in my bed,” he says and abruptly opens his eyes. “That doesn’t happen as often as you probably think it do