Chapter 350: His Birthday

Kaden’s POV

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling.

For a few seconds, I lay there without moving, listening to the heavy silence in my room as the morning sun began to peek through the window, casting long, dim shadows across the ceiling. I reached for my phone beside my bed.

5:17 a.m.

September twenty-ninth.

My birthday.

I stared at the date for a moment before dropping my phone back onto the table. I didn’t feel any excitement. Honestly, after a certain age, and after enough blood, war, and loss, birthdays just became another day on the calendar. Another year older, another year of carrying the weight of a kingdom on my shoulders. Six territories had already fallen to the Tiger Kingdom, hundreds of wolves were trapped behind Dark Fire, and we had less than twenty days before a full war officially began.

Happy fucking birthday to me. I sighed.

"Happy birthday, Kaden!" Kane’s voice suddenly entered my head through the mind link, loud and energetic enough to make my forehead throb.

I closed my eyes again and let out a slow, heavy sigh, resting an arm over my eyes. Kane, aren’t you getting a little too old for this?

There was a brief silence.

Your response is supposed to be ’Happy Birthday, Kane,’ my twin brother replied, his tone dripping with fake annoyance. It is my birthday too, in case your ancient memory forgot.

Right. Unfortunately, I hadn’t forgotten, I mind-linked back, keeping my voice flat. Happy birthday, Kane. Now stop shouting in my head.

You are truly a joy to be related to, Kane grumbled before severing the connection.

I sat up on the edge of the bed and rubbed my face with both hands before swinging my legs over the side. Titan stirred somewhere inside me, but he didn’t say anything. He had probably decided Kane wasn’t worth waking up properly for.

For several minutes, I remained on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor as my mind inevitably drifted back to the conversation I had overheard on the stone path yesterday evening.

King Melvin wanted to court Rebecca.

He didn’t just want to take her out on dates. He wanted to speak to her father, Lord Drake. He wanted marriage.

I sat there trying to figure out what I was supposed to feel. A part of me, the old, possessive Alpha part, wanted to tear something apart. But the man I had become over the last three years knew better. Three years had passed. We had rejected each other. Rebecca was free, and she had every right to build a life with whoever she chose. Melvin was a powerful Dragon King. He could protect her and give her a life without the lingering ghosts of our terrible past.

Move on, Kaden, I told myself, standing up from the bed and heading toward the bathroom. She deserves to be happy. And so do you.

Rebecca was allowed to find someone else. So was I. And I had.

My thoughts turned to Rola. She was a good woman, kind, intelligent, strong, and surprisingly easy to talk to once she stopped behaving like a stiff princess around me. For four months now, I had been making a genuine effort with her. I wasn’t using her, and she wasn’t just a placeholder in my life. I genuinely cared about her and respected her. I hadn’t lied to her either. From the beginning, I had told her there were parts of me I wasn’t sure I could give anyone yet. I hadn’t reached the point where I could say I loved her, but I was trying. Rola deserved a fair chance without me constantly looking backward.

I showered, pulled on dark trousers and a fitted black shirt, pushed my hair away from my face, and left my room to face the day.

By six-fifteen, Kane, Logan, Melvin, three senior commanders, two seers, and I were gathered around the large table in the war room. Maps covered almost every inch of it, marking occupied pack territories and every known location where Dark Fire had appeared.

"Yesterday’s tests confirmed that Lady Rola can completely suppress some supernatural abilities through direct contact," Logan said, tapping a map laid out on the table. "Her wider field weakens them, but the effect isn’t as strong."

"And Rebecca’s teleportation?" one commander asked.

"Dangerous if interrupted halfway," I answered, leaning over the table. "Rebecca’s teleportation won’t work if she tries to force her way through full-strength Dark Fire. We saw yesterday that a direct clash throws her back and risks severe injury. But if Rola can weaken the barrier maintainers first, even for a few seconds, it might create an opening Rebecca can use."

Melvin leaned over the map. "Which means Rola and Rebecca may work better together than separately. If Rola can weaken whoever is maintaining the barrier, Rebecca may be able to use the opening."

"Assuming the barrier is being maintained by individual tiger shifters," Kane added.

One of the seers nodded. "Everything we’ve learned suggests that it is. Dark Fire isn’t simply burning on its own. There is magic feeding it."

I studied the markings surrounding Plant Pack. "Then we stop focusing only on breaking the fire. We find the people feeding it. Double the scouts. I want every possible entrance watched. If gifted tiger shifters are maintaining that barrier, they have to rotate, eat, or receive supplies eventually. Someone will make a mistake."

"And if they don’t?" Kane asked.

"Then we create one," I replied coldly. "Continue testing Rola and Rebecca together. Nobody moves against Plant Pack until the timing is second nature. We have less than twenty days before the tiger shifters launch their full assault. We don’t get second chances."

We spent another thirty minutes going over reports before I ended the meeting and headed toward the training field. War didn’t care that it was my birthday, and frankly, neither did I.

The morning training passed quickly. Rebecca and Rola were paired together again for part of the drills. Rola created a smaller suppression field while Rebecca practiced teleporting around its outer edge, learning exactly how close she could get before her magic weakened. After several failed attempts and one particularly bad landing that nearly sent Rebecca face-first into the dirt, they finally found a distance that worked.

Rebecca said something I couldn’t hear, and Rola laughed. A few minutes later, Rebecca laughed too.

I stared at them longer than I should have. They were getting along remarkably well, and watching them interact sent a strange feeling of unease through my gut.

I hadn’t planned for Rebecca to end up in this unit. I had literally crossed her name off the list, only for her to show up anyway. But seeing them together made one thing very clear. I was going to have to tell Rola the truth soon. She deserved honesty, and the longer I waited, the worse it would be when she eventually put the pieces together.

During the midday break, the candidates scattered toward the shaded benches to grab water. I remained near the strategy table, going through reports with Logan, when Rola approached.

"Can I steal him for a second?" she asked Logan with a bright, beautiful smile.

Logan looked at me. "You’re not holding me hostage."

"Sometimes it feels like my job," he muttered before walking away.

Rola stopped in front of me, smiling widely. "Happy birthday, Kade."

"Thank you, Rola."

"I got you something," she added, leaning in slightly and tilting her head. "But I’m holding onto it for later tonight."

I raised an eyebrow. "Then why tell me?"

"Because I wanted you to know."

A small, genuine smile touched my lips. "All right."

Before I could respond, she stood on her tiptoes, leaned in, and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. "See you at evening formation," she murmured with a twinkle in her eyes.

Getting to know Rola over the last few months had been surprising. To the rest of the world, she was a stiff, icy royal who kept almost every man at a distance. But behind that reserved wall, she was truly a sweet, gentle soul who laughed easily once she was comfortable.

I watched her walk back toward the other trainees, my smile lingering for a second. But as my gaze shifted past her, my eyes unexpectedly locked with Rebecca’s.

She was standing near the water station about twenty yards away, a towel draped over her shoulder. She had seen the kiss. Her face was completely blank, but her eyes held a strange, heavy intensity that made my chest tighten. I quickly tore my gaze away, picking up my clipboard and pretending to study the afternoon training schedule.

It was a little after eight that evening when I finally left my study.

My birthday had gone almost exactly the way I wanted it to. Meetings, training, reports, another meeting, and enough paperwork to make me question why anyone had ever fought to become king.

I was halfway down the corridor when I saw Rebecca walking toward me.

I stopped in my tracks. "Rebecca. What’s wrong?"

She didn’t look angry, but she looked strangely stiff, her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket. "I need you to come with me."

I frowned, my Alpha instincts instantly putting me on alert. "You walk up to me at eight at night, tell me to come with you, and expect me not to ask where we’re going? Is there an issue?"

Her lips pressed together as she refused to look me directly in the eye. "It’s about training. I found something near the west wing that you need to see regarding spatial energy."

I studied her face. She shifted slightly under my stare. That alone made me suspicious. Rebecca was many things, but being bad at maintaining eye contact wasn’t one of them.

"What exactly do you need to show me?" I pressed.

She let out a small sigh. "Kaden, can you please just come with me?"

It sounded believable enough, given how hard she had been pushing to save her friend, but something was definitely strange about her tonight. Still, I knew I wasn’t going to get a straight answer out of her here.

"Lead the way," I said.

She turned immediately and began walking down the quiet corridor toward the west wing. I followed a few paces behind her, the silence between us heavy. We turned down another hallway before stopping in front of the grand glass doors leading into the private garden, a place I rarely visited unless I needed absolute quiet.

Rebecca reached for the handle, then paused. For the first time since she had approached me, she turned and looked directly at me. Something in her eyes made me freeze.

"Rebecca?"

Without answering, she pushed the glass doors open. Warm, golden light spilled into the dim corridor.

I stepped up beside her and looked past the entrance. The sight immediately caught me off guard.

The interior of the glass garden had been completely transformed. Dozens of soft, golden fairy lights hung between the trees, casting a warm glow over the tropical plants. In the center of the room stood a beautifully decorated table for two, complete with fresh flowers, lit candles, an incredible spread of food, a bottle of wine, and a small birthday cake.

Standing near the table, looking nervous and breathtaking in an emerald dress, was Rola. Her entire face lit up the moment she saw me.

"Surprise!"

Everything clicked into place in a second.

I slowly turned to look at Rebecca.

She was standing just outside the glass doors. Her face was calm, but beneath that calm expression, a quiet sadness flickered in her eyes.

Rebecca looked at me for one long, silent moment, her lips parting softly.

"Happy birthday, Kaden."

Something tightened painfully inside my chest.

Rebecca took a step backward into the shadows. "I’ll leave you two alone."

Before I could say a single word or even process the heavy weight settling in my stomach, she turned and walked away.

I stood in the doorway, watching her disappear down the corridor. Three years ago, I would never have imagined this. Rebecca was walking away from me, Rola was waiting behind me, and I was standing somewhere between the life I had once wanted and the life I was trying to build now.

"Kaden?" Rola’s soft voice pulled my attention back into the garden.

I turned and looked at her. She was smiling at me, waiting. I took one last glance at the empty corridor before stepping inside and closing the glass door behind me.