Chapter 15 Mila
FIFTEEN
MILA
The ceremonial hall had fallen into a hushed stillness that felt almost sacred, broken only by the soft echo of their breathing against the marble floor.
Mila’s hand traced gentle circles on Cade’s back as his ragged breathing slowly steadied.
His intense grief had crashed through their mate bond like a hurricane, leaving her own cheeks wet with tears she hadn’t realized she’d shed.
I can feel everything he feels, she thought, wonder and concern warring in her chest. His pain, his fear, his desperate need to be strong for everyone. How does he carry all this alone?
She reached out with trembling fingers to wipe away the dampness from his cheeks, her touch feather-light against his skin. He flinched slightly at the contact, shame flickering across his features like he’d been caught committing some unforgivable sin.
“You don’t have to be made of stone to be a king,” she whispered, her voice barely audible in the vast space. “Strength isn’t about never breaking. It’s about letting the right people help put you back together.”
Something shifted in his piercing green eyes—surprise, perhaps, or gratitude. His large hands came up to frame her face, his thumbs brushing away her own tears with a gentleness that made her breath catch.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice raw with emotion. “For being here. For not running when you saw me fall apart.”
The vulnerability in those words sent warmth through her chest. This powerful Alpha who commanded respect with a mere glance had just thanked her for witnessing his humanity. For seeing him as more than a crown and a duty.
“You don’t have to protect me from the truth,” she said, her voice gaining strength. “Or from yourself. I’m not as fragile as you think I am, Cade.”
She sensed the shift in him—the storm of emotions beginning to ebb, replaced by something quieter but no less intense.
He was trying to pull himself back together.
But Mila could feel through their bond that something fundamental had changed between them.
The careful distance they’d both been trying to maintain since yesterday afternoon had been obliterated by shared tears and desperate honesty.
His eyes searched hers with a piercing intensity that made her pulse jump. She could practically see him wrestling with something—some internal battle between the king who needed to appear invincible and the man who desperately craved connection.
He’s been carrying this weight alone for so long, she realized. Protecting everyone else from his fears and doubts while slowly drowning under the pressure. But he doesn’t have to anymore. Not if he’ll let me help.
“There’s something you need to know,” she said quietly, “before we take another step forward.”
Wariness flickered across his face, and she felt a spike of anxiety through their newly formed mate bond. He was bracing himself for rejection, for her to tell him this was all too much and she needed to return to Earth.
Instead, she settled more comfortably against him on the cold marble, her hand finding his and intertwining their fingers.
“Yesterday morning, when Lyra was showing me the castle archives, we found something in one of the ancient texts. A record of humans who lived alongside the wolf packs centuries ago, before the great migration that separated our worlds.”
His brows drew together in confusion. “Mila, what are you—“
“My mother’s maiden name,” she interrupted softly. “It was listed in that book. The Aylwards were guardians, Cade. Spiritual and social protectors of the Ice Moon pack. My maternal lineage was associated with your kind long before either of us was born.”
The transformation in his expression was immediate. Confusion melted into something approaching wonder, his grip on her hand tightening as understanding dawned.
“That’s why,” he breathed. “That’s why my wolf recognized you instantly and so intensely. Why the mate bond formed so quickly. Why you feel so right here.”
“I felt it too. From the moment I stepped through that wormhole, something in me just... came alive. Like I was remembering something I’d forgotten rather than discovering something new.”
“You were never just a visitor,” he murmured, his free hand coming up to cup her cheek. “You were always meant to return home.”
The word ‘home’ sent shivers through her entire body. Not the small ranch house on Earth where she’d spent her adult life feeling invisible and overlooked, but here. This impossible world of twin moons and aurora-lit skies, of powerful wolves and ancient mate bonds that transcended species.
This is my true home, she thought with utter clarity. Not because of what I can offer him, but because my very soul recognizes this place. Because my blood sings with memory of what it means to stand beside wolves, and to be their guardian and their equal.
Cade’s thumb traced along her cheekbone, his touch reverent. “Gerri knew, didn’t she? She had to have known what you were when she found you.”
“I think so. She kept saying I was special, and that I had qualities that were rare. I thought she was just being kind, but...”
“But she sees things the rest of us don’t.” His voice held a note of amazement. “Fate, destiny, whatever you want to call it. She brought you home to me.”
The air between them felt supercharged now, electric with possibility and promise. Gone was the careful politeness of their early interactions, replaced by something raw and honest and utterly consuming.
Cade’s gaze locked with hers, and she saw the exact moment he made his decision. The king and the wolf aligned for once, both wanting the same thing.
“Stay with me tonight,” he said, his voice low and commanding but edged with vulnerability. “I can’t be alone. Not tonight.”
Mila’s heart stuttered in her chest. The request hung between them like a bridge—one she could cross or retreat from.
She thought of the guest suite with its beautiful but impersonal furnishings, of lying awake wondering if he was grieving alone in his chambers.
Of the wall he’d built around himself crumbling piece by piece until she could finally see the man beneath the crown.
She didn’t see the king now, with his impossible responsibilities and the weight of three packs on his shoulders.
She saw only Cade—the man who’d claimed her body with desperate passion, who’d trusted her with his tears, who looked at her as if she was the answer to a question he’d been asking his entire life.
“Yes,” she whispered.
The walk through the castle corridors felt like crossing a boundary between two different lives. The imposing grandeur that had made Mila feel small and out of place now seemed to welcome her, as if the ancient stones themselves recognized her rightful place here.
Everything feels different now, she thought, her hand naturally finding Cade’s as they moved through the quiet passages. Like I’m not a guest anymore. Like I’m home.
The castle staff they passed bowed respectfully to their new king, and their eyes lingered on Mila with curiosity rather than judgment. Word had clearly spread about the human who’d stood by their grieving Alpha’s side.
When they reached his private chambers, Mila felt her heart thundering in her chest. He opened the heavy wooden doors to reveal a space that was unmistakably his—masculine and powerful, yet surprisingly warm.
A massive stone fireplace dominated one wall, flames dancing across dark wood and gleaming glass.
Paintings depicting wolves hung between tall windows that offered views of the twin moons hanging like lanterns in the star-studded sky.
This is the man behind the crown, she realized, taking in the leather-bound books scattered across a table, the half-finished glass of whiskey still sitting by his favorite chair. This is where he comes when he needs to just be Cade.
He moved to the fireplace and sank heavily into one of the chairs, still wearing his formal suit jacket and the crown that seemed to weigh more than gold and jewels should.
The firelight caught the exhaustion etched into every line of his face, and the grief that had carved new shadows beneath his eyes.
Mila approached slowly, her heart aching at how isolated he looked even in his own sanctuary. Without a word, she moved behind his chair and reached for the crown, her fingers gentle as she lifted it from his dark hair.
“You don’t need this right now,” she murmured, setting the symbol of his new authority carefully on the side table. “Tonight, you’re just Cade. Just mine.”
He leaned back into her touch as she combed her fingers through his thick hair, smoothing away the indent the crown had left. A low sound escaped him—part sigh, part growl of contentment.
“How do you do that?” he asked, his voice thick with emotion. “Make everything feel... manageable.”
“I’m just showing that you don’t have to carry it all alone anymore.
” She moved around to face him, settling onto the arm of his chair and placing her palm over his heart.
The steady thrum beneath her hand matched the pulse she felt through their mate bond, synchronizing their heartbeats until she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.
“I’m here now. And I’m strong enough to help you bear whatever comes next. ”
When he reached for her, pulling her onto his lap so she straddled his thighs, the movement was both possessive and reverent.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered against her temple. “After how I’ve treated you, keeping you at arm’s length, making you feel like an outsider yesterday—“
“Stop.” She cupped his face in her small hands, forcing him to meet her gaze. “You were protecting yourself. Protecting your heart from more loss. I understand that completely.”
“But you stayed. Even when I pushed you away.”