No Cage In This Silent Night Chapter 04

No Cage In This Silent Night Chapter 04

On the drive home, Elyse took the front seat again. Kael dropped her off first.

I sat in back, confirming an apartment in Paris with the landlord. Sunlit, with a view of the Seine. I paid the deposit.

“Come sit up front.” Kael’s voice came through.

I didn’t look up. “I’m fine back here.”

Two beats of silence.

“Whatever.”

At home, he pulled a thick catalog from his briefcase and set it in front of me.

“Take a look.”

Wedding gowns.

“Pick fast. Ceremony’s in a month. The designers need lead time.”

He pointed at a necklace with an “E” pendant.

“Something like this.”

My gaze went cold.

“E.” For Elyse.

She was everywhere.

In the past, I’d have lost it.

But now?

I just nodded.

“Sure. That’s fine.”

In two days, I’d be gone. The ceremony in a month? Not my problem.

Kael seemed pleased with my compliance. He dropped a kiss on my forehead.

“Good. That’s what I like. That moody thing you had earlier—don’t let me see it again.”

He turned and disappeared into the bathroom.

I wiped my forehead where his lips had touched until the skin burned, feeling nothing but disgust.

Nine.

Kael turned off the light and got into bed. Phone face-down. Black stud in his right ear. Off to soothe someone else’s wolf again.

He didn’t notice the empty vanity.

Didn’t see that all my things were gone from the bathroom.

Didn’t spot the suitcase by the nightstand.

He never noticed anything except Elyse.

Late night. A scream split the silence.

Kael shot up, roaring at his earpiece, voice shaking.

“Elyse?! What happened?!”

The Alpha who never showed emotion was on his feet in an instant, sprinting out the door.

That nine o’clock rule.

That schedule.

Before Elyse, it was all a joke.

I didn’t follow. Couldn’t sleep either.

Opened my phone. The Greythorn University group chat was exploding.

[A rogue got into the faculty apartments! Blackthorn’s place!!]

[She’s fine—I saw it! The rogue was still on her window when Draven got there!!]

[Draven looked insane. Went feral on that rogue. Total Alpha move.]

[Police are here too.]

I scrolled quietly. Every post came with photos. In the dark, cold bedroom, each one cut deeper.

Then a video dropped.

I tapped play.

Just like they said. The man who always lectured about discipline lost it completely. Fists slamming into the masked rogue, again and again. He only stopped when the cops pulled him off.

Then he turned and wrapped Elyse in his arms. Shielded her from the blood.

“Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

The video shot to PackNet’s trending list. Everyone swooned. An Alpha going that hard for his Omega—how could you not love it?

I watched for a long time.

I clicked “like” on the top comment, the one wishing them a long and happy life.

Then I closed the app.

That night, Kael didn’t come back. I wasn’t surprised.

I slept dreamlessly until six.

Grabbed my suitcase. My documents. Took one last look at the wedding catalog on the table.

Left my keys on the entryway shelf.

Walked out without a backward glance.

Greythorn City terminal. 6:40 a.m.

I pinned my withdrawal notice to the pack bulletin board.

As the plane lifted off, Kael Draven became nothing to me.