I Frowned

CADEN

What the hell has come over her?

I found my way to the window after she left. I helped myself into a chair, staring out at nothing in particular as Lila’s words played over and over in my head.

Just a few years ago, she was Ronan’s little sister, the kid who followed us around everywhere. Now she was standing in front of me, offering something that could make her brother send me straight to an early grave if he ever found out.

But, God. I could not deny my need for her.

My fingers tapped restlessly against the window frame. Desire, guilt, confusion—all of it hit me at once. I wanted her. That much I couldn’t deny. But it wasn’t that simple. It could never be that simple.

“No strings attached…”

She made it sound so damn easy, like we could go on with this secret without consequence. But I knew better. I’d lived long enough to know nothing was ever without strings, especially something like this.

Shit.

I ran a hand through my hair, trying to shake off the growing temptation. If I wasn’t careful, I might actually take her up on the offer. I could already feel my self-control slipping.

Just then, my phone rang, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts. I glanced at the screen—Peru.

I let out a low sigh and answered. "What happened yesterday?" I asked, my voice sharper than usual.

"Uh, Caden," Peru’s voice came through, hesitant. "There was a bit of a mix-up. The SOBs entered the wrong room. No one was there all night."

I closed my eyes, jaw tightening. I should’ve been pissed. Hell, normally I would’ve been, but instead, all I could think about was the fact that because of that screw-up, I got to spend the night with Lila.

Just the two of us. Alone. And damn, I enjoyed every second of it. More than I should have.

More than was right.

At that thought, my wolf stirred, a low growl rumbling inside me. My grip tightened on the phone.

"Sorry, Caden. Won’t happen again," Peru continued, his voice anxious now.

I tried to focus, but all I could see was Lila—her body against mine, her soft, teasing voice in my ear. My wolf growled again, this time louder, more insistent.

"It better not," I finally said, forcing my mind back to business, though my heart was still racing from the memories. "I don’t tolerate mistakes like that."

"Understood. I’ll be more careful next time."

Without another word, I hung up, staring at the phone like it held the answer to the storm raging inside me.

My wolf never reacted this way before. Not like this. It wasn’t just the physical pull—I’d had that with other women. But there was something more with Lila, something I couldn’t put my finger on. And that scared the hell out of me.

Before I could think too much about it, my phone buzzed again. This time, Ronan’s name flashed on the screen.

I sighed and answered. "Hey, man."

“How is it going?" Ronan’s deep voice sounded from the other end of the line.

“I’m all good." I forced a smile on like he could see me.

“Who the fuck cares about you?" Ronan chuckled. “How is Lila?" He asked.

“Damn it man! For a brief second I thought you really cared." I said and we laughed. “She is in her room." I added after the round of laughter.

“I told you she would disappear on you." He said with a chuckle.

I sighed as I heard him talk with a female voice in the background. That had to be Joan.

"Hey man, Joan and I are going to be out until dinner," Ronan’s voice came back on the line, casual and unaware of the mess I was tangled in. "Make yourself comfortable."

"Sure," I said, keeping my tone neutral, even though guilt gnawed at me.

"And don’t worry about Lila," he added with a laugh. "She’ll probably lock herself in her lab all day, messing with her experiments. You know how she is."

I forced a chuckle, though my heart wasn’t in it. "Yeah, always focused on her work."

"Exactly. She’ll be buried in her stuff, so no need to worry about her getting in your way."

If only he knew.

"Got it. See you later." I said.

As I ended the call, I sat there, my thoughts circling back to Lila. Ronan thought his sister would spend the day holed up in her lab, minding her own business.

But what Ronan didn’t know—what he couldn’t know—was that his little sister had grown into a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. And what she wanted... was me.

Fuck.

I pushed myself off the chair and ran a hand over the back of my neck. I had to put a stop to this before it went any further. I couldn’t let it go on.

No matter how much I wanted her, no matter how much my wolf reacted to her, I owed Ronan more than that.

My feet felt heavy as I made my way to Lila’s room. Every step felt like I was walking toward the edge of something dangerous, something I couldn’t come back from.

I stood in front of her door, hesitating. My hand hovered over the wood, and for a second, I considered walking away. Leaving. Pretending like none of this ever happened.

I would act like she never existed, only talking to her when Ronan needed me to or for when it was really required of me.

But instead, I knocked.

The door opened a moment later, I frowned.