Page 72 of Fated (The Bonded Legacy #1)

Her lips curled into a bitter smile. “I was protecting you, Kai,” she said, tone syrupy and mocking.

“I didn’t want Caleb and the others to think—” She paused, voice dropping to a whisper.

“That you’re not taken care of because your ‘mate’ is more interested in politicking with the ‘favored alpha’ than standing with you. ”

Kai recoiled as if struck. “Protecting me?” A snort caught in his throat. “You embarrassed me, Ava.” His voice dropped to a low growl. “And yourself.”

“Why do you even care so much about what Caleb thinks? Is it because of her ?” Ava’s voice broke on the word, but she pressed on. “You’re so damn enchanted by your perfect fated mate that you can’t even see what she’s doing?”

Kai’s gaze darkened, shoulders squaring. “This isn’t about Lena.”

“Isn’t it?” Ava shot back. “She’s leaving tomorrow. Do you really think she gives a damn about you? About Bloodstone? Yeah, she’s helped this week, but when she leaves, it’ll be to Moonshadow. Her home, not yours.”

“That’s enough,” Kai snarled.

She ignored him, her words spilling out in a torrent.

“Do you even realize what you’re throwing away?

” Her voice faltered for a moment before hardening again.

“For a nobody female and an alliance with a forgotten pack?” Ava’s voice cracked with emotion, but he detected a hint of deliberate vulnerability beneath her words.

“You’re going to lose me, Kai.” She fixed him with a possessive, defiant stare. “And when she leaves you behind? You’ll have nothing.”

Her words wrapped around his guilt like a noose, tightening with each breath. He took a step closer, green eyes no longer defensive but burning with something new—the first spark of defiance.

“I’m not losing anything, Ava,” His voice was cold, though exhaustion dulled its edge. “You’re pushing, pulling, forcing ...just like everyone else.” He gritted his teeth as he stepped back. “And it’s ruining whatever was left between us.”

Ava’s mask slipped, anger flashing raw and unfiltered. “I’ve weathered every storm with you. Elias’s death, the rogues, every Goddess-damned thing this pack has thrown at us since we were pups. And her? You’ve known her for a month. You really think she’s the one for you?”

“How long will you let her chain you with guilt?” Orion’s tone dripped with disdain for Kai’s former lover.

“This isn’t about her,” Kai repeated. Resolve threaded through his voice where there had once been doubt.

“It’s not about my dad, or Caleb, or anyone else.

It’s about us . And right now, you’re destroying our friendship because you won’t acknowledge the truth.

” He met her gaze without flinching for the first time.

“I care about you, Ava,” he said, voice quieter but unbending. “But you are not my forever.”

Ava’s gaze locked onto Kai with predatory focus.

The air between them pulsated with unspoken words, the silence crackling like the moment before lightning struck.

“You’re a coward.” Each syllable calculated to find purchase in the fractures of his confidence.

Her eyes never left his face, searching for the wound her words would open.

“And she’s not good for you, but you’re too terrified of disappointing Daddy, too afraid of actually being the alpha you were born to be, to see what’s right in front of you. ”

Kai saw her declaration for what it was: the desperate final play of someone losing their grip. Still, her accusations slid beneath his skin like splinters. The tension between them thickened, breathing, expanding, nearing the point of combustion.

“She’s wrong.” Orion assured. “You’re not afraid of losing her . You’re afraid of letting yourself heal, letting yourself be happy.”

Kai stood motionless as understanding crystallized within him—sharp-edged and painful, but undeniably clear.

His gaze dropped, not in submission as she might believe, but in recognition of a truth he’d been avoiding.

“Maybe I am a coward, Ava,” he said quietly, meeting her eyes again. “But not for the reasons you think.”

The transformation that swept across her face was instant—practiced vulnerability hardening into something bitter and ugly. In that moment, the mask fell completely.

“You’ll regret this,” she spat, each word both promise and threat. “When she’s gone and you’ve lost everything, you’ll regret it.”

The statement hung in the air like a challenge, and for a moment, Kai felt a pang of doubt.

This wasn’t how he’d wanted things to end.

Despite everything, he’d hoped to salvage something of their friendship.

He remained silent, staring at the ground as Ava turned and walked away, her footsteps fading into the distance.

Kai let his legs fold beneath him. His back slid down a scorched beam until he hit the ground, ashes rising around him in a small cloud that settled onto his shoulders alongside the bite of her parting words.

Orion’s presence settled in his consciousness like an anchor in rough waters. “Let her go, Kai. Then you’ll see what you’ve been blind to all along.”