Chapter 351: Rola

Kaden’s POV

I stood frozen in the doorway for a beat, forcing my brain to lock away the image of Rebecca disappearing down the dark hallway. Pushing every lingering thought of her to the back of my mind, I stepped into the glass garden and turned my attention to Rola.

"What’s all this?" I asked, looking around at the glowing fairy lights, the flickering candles, and the lavish table spread.

Rola’s smile expanded, radiant and relieved. "It’s your birthday, love."

A soft, genuine smile caught on my face despite the heavy weight in my gut. "You really didn’t have to do all this, Rola."

"Of course I did," she countered smoothly, walking over to grab my hand and pulling me toward the table. "Now, before we eat, you have to make a wish and blow out the candles."

I looked down at the small, lit birthday cake in the center of the table and chuckled softly, shaking my head. "A wish? Rola, come on."

"No excuses," she insisted, giving my arm a gentle shake, her eyes bright with mischief. "You must make a wish. It’s mandatory."

I scoffed quietly, staring down at the warm, dancing flame of the candle. A sudden memory hit me. The last time I had actually celebrated a birthday, blown out a candle, or made a wish was four years ago with Helen.

For a moment, I could almost see her again. I could remember what it had felt like when birthdays were simply birthdays, when I could sit down for a meal without thinking about occupied territories, prisoners, or how many people might die because of one wrong decision. That life felt so far away now that sometimes it seemed as though it had belonged to someone else.

"Kaden?" Rola murmured softly, noticing the momentary shadow crossing my face.

I blinked, clearing my mind, and closed my eyes.

I wish for us to defeat the tiger shifters, I thought simply, focusing every ounce of my Alpha resolve on the vision of my kingdom finally being free. I wish for our people to survive this war.

There were probably more personal things a man was supposed to wish for on his birthday, but right now, I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more. Happiness meant very little if half my kingdom was burning.

Opening my eyes, I leaned down and blew out the candle.

"There," I said. "Happy now?"

"Very," she beamed.

I picked up the small wooden knife resting beside the platter and sliced a neat piece from the edge of the cake. I lifted the bite with a fork and held it out to her, feeding her first. Rola chewed happily, a tiny dab of frosting landing on her lower lip.

When it was her turn to feed me, she didn’t pick up a fork. Instead, she broke off a small piece of the cake with her fingers and held it lightly between her lips, stepping into my space and looking up at me through her lashes.

I paused, my breath catching slightly.

Over the last four months, I had kissed her cheeks, her forehead, and the backs of her delicate hands. We had held hands during long walks and sat close during quiet evenings, but we had never actually kissed on the lips. It wasn’t because I didn’t find her attractive. Any man with functioning eyes could see how beautiful Rola was. I had simply never wanted to rush into something I wasn’t ready for, and to her credit, she had never forced me.

Now I could see the subtle flicker of worry in her eyes, the quiet, hidden fear that I might step back or reject her invitation.

But I didn’t step back.

Reaching out, I cupped the side of her face with my hand and leaned down, taking the piece of cake from between her lips with my teeth while capturing her mouth in a kiss at the exact same second.

Rola let out a soft gasp against my mouth before wrapping her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss. I kissed her back, taking my time, letting the warmth of her presence ease the tension that had been locked in my shoulders all day. Her fingers moved lightly against the back of my neck as I held her closer, and for those few seconds, I allowed myself to stop thinking.

No war. No reports. No past.

Just this.

When I finally pulled away, her cheeks were flushed a deep, beautiful pink, and her breath caught slightly.

She looked up at me with a breathless smile. "Our first kiss was just as I imagined."

I scoffed softly, a real laugh escaping me this time as I shook my head. "Is that so?"

"Yes, exactly as romantic," she said, pulling me down toward one of the wooden chairs surrounding the table. "Now sit. We have dinner to eat."

I let her pull me along, still smiling slightly. There was something almost strange about how normal the moment felt. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d allowed myself to enjoy something without immediately thinking about what could go wrong afterward.

We sat down, and Rola gestured eagerly toward a sleek, velvet-wrapped box sitting next to the wine bottle. "Open your gift first."

I picked up the box, untied the silver ribbon, and lifted the lid. Resting inside on a bed of dark silk was a beautifully crafted pocket watch, engraved with intricate pack runes around its silver casing. It was an antique piece, heavy and remarkably powerful, enchanted with subtle protective wards designed for war.

"It belonged to my grandfather," Rola explained softly, her hands resting on the table. "I had the runes re-enchanted for combat protection. I know you say you don’t need anything, but I wanted you to carry something that keeps you safe when you’re out on the field."

My fingers slowed over the silver casing.

Knowing it had belonged to her grandfather changed the weight of the gift completely. This wasn’t something she had simply bought because she had enough money to buy anything she wanted. It was something personal, something that had belonged to her family, and she had chosen to give it to me.

I ran my thumb over the polished silver, genuinely touched by the thought and effort she had poured into it. "Rola... this is incredible. Thank you."

"You’re welcome, Kade," she said gently, reaching across the table to cover my hand with hers.

I turned my hand beneath hers and held it for a moment, looking at the woman sitting across from me.

Rola really was good to me.

For the last four months, she had been patient in ways I knew many women wouldn’t have been. She had never demanded more than I was ready to give, never complained when meetings interrupted our plans, and never tried to force me to speak about things I wasn’t ready to discuss. She knew there were parts of my past that still followed me, and instead of trying to drag them out of me, she had simply stayed.

I cared about her.

Maybe not in the way she probably hoped I eventually would, but what I felt for her was real.

We spent the next hour eating the incredible meal she had arranged with the kitchen staff, drinking fine wine, and talking about everything outside of strategy meetings and war reports. She told me stories about her home pack, made me laugh with tales of her stiff royal etiquette lessons as a child, and asked about my twin brother’s worst birthday pranks over the years.

It was easy.

That was what surprised me most.

There were no expectations hanging over the dinner and no pressure to turn the night into something more than it was. For once, I wasn’t the Alpha King trying to figure out how to save six occupied territories. I was simply a man sitting across from a woman who had gone through a ridiculous amount of trouble to make sure I didn’t spend my birthday buried beneath paperwork.

And I was enjoying myself.

Still, every now and then, my mind tried to return to the woman who had brought me here.

Each time it happened, I pushed the thought away.

As the night began to wind down and the candles burned low, Rola raised her glass of wine toward me, the soft golden fairy lights reflecting in her clear eyes.

"To your birthday, Kaden," she said, her tone taking on a quiet, earnest weight. "I wish you true happiness this year. You carry so much for everyone else, but I hope you find peace too. And... I hope I get to celebrate many more birthdays with you."

For a moment, I simply looked at her.

There was so much hope in her expression that something uncomfortable moved through my chest. Not because I didn’t want her there, but because I knew she was offering me something simple and good, and I still wasn’t sure how much of myself I was capable of giving back.

I had been honest with her from the beginning. She knew that.

But suddenly, honesty didn’t feel like enough.

Especially now that Rebecca was here.

Rola knew there had been someone in my past. She knew I had loved before and that there were things I still didn’t speak about. But she didn’t know that the woman sharing her room was that woman. She didn’t know that Rebecca and I had once been mates, that we had lost a child together, or that ending our bond had nearly destroyed both of us.

Until a few days ago, I had never imagined those two parts of my life would ever cross.

Now they were training together, laughing together, and sleeping in the same room.

I frowned. I would have to tell Rola.

Not tonight. Tonight belonged to her, and I wasn’t going to ruin everything she had planned by turning the conversation toward another woman. But soon.

She deserved to hear it from me before she discovered it another way.

I lifted my glass and clinked it gently against hers.

"To the future," I murmured, taking a sip.

Later that night, I stood up from the table and walked Rola back toward the candidates’ wing, holding her hand comfortably in mine. The palace had become quiet, with most of the candidates already in their rooms because training started early the next morning.

When we reached her door, I stopped.

Rola turned toward me, still wearing that soft smile she’d had for most of the night. For a moment, I found myself thinking about how different she was from the woman I’d heard about before getting to know her. People spoke about the future Lycan Queen as though she were impossible to approach, cold toward men, and too serious for her own good.

They didn’t know this Rola.

The woman who planned birthday dinners, worried about whether I liked her gifts, and had looked genuinely nervous before our first kiss.

I smiled and wished her goodnight before watching her disappear into the room.

Then I turned and headed toward my own quarters.

With every step, the silence around me seemed to grow heavier.

Tonight had been good. I couldn’t deny that. I had laughed. I had enjoyed Rola’s company. I had enjoyed kissing her. I cared about her, and none of that was false.

I was building a life with a good woman. I was making an effort, moving forward, and trying to leave the pain behind.

So why did the memory of Rebecca’s eyes feel like a weight I couldn’t tear out of my chest?

My wolf didn’t say a word. He just let me be.

I was almost at the turn leading toward my private quarters when the sound of footsteps reached me from farther down the corridor.

I barely paid attention at first.

Then I looked up.

And stopped.

Rebecca was walking toward me.