Chapter Text
Kaiden James was not the type of guy who got jealous. At least, he didn’t consider himself one. But at this particular moment, he wasn’t so sure. This uneasy feeling developing in the pit of his stomach felt, quite frankly, ridiculous; because realistically, he shouldn’t be jealous. Yet here he was feeling like a third wheel while his girlfriend was showered with kisses.
More specifically, Shadow Wolf kisses.
Almost all week, Soraya had stolen Alex from him. “She’s going through a clingy phase,” Alex had justified. “Growing and needing more love and attention.”
Kaiden had been fine with that; he honestly had. But when it got to the fourteen-day mark of barely seeing his girlfriend at all, he’d finally managed to catch her and ask if she wanted to spend some time with him.
Of course, she’d agreed, and he’d been more relieved than he cared to admit. They’d decided to keep it simple, a nice picnic down by Lake Fee. And it was nice—really, really nice. Everything had been going great… Until a certain pitch-black and extremely boisterous wolf had shown up.
So now Kaiden was watching Alex and Soraya playing something they’d dubbed ‘ Shadow Fetch. ’ Basically, Alex would use her Meyarin abilities to throw a rubber disc as far as she could. Soraya’s goal was to Shadow Walk, catch it and bring it back, all without hitting the ground. Which she pulled off flawlessly every time. And every time, Kaiden’s gut would churn uncomfortably as Alex cooed pretty praises and peppered the pup in pecks, lips roaming from the wolf’s nose, and all over her face, as her hands rested either side of her snout. Soraya seemed to be enjoying the attention very much, returning the kisses with her own tongue.
He was so lost in these ridiculous thoughts that he didn’t even notice when Soraya tired and laid down in the shade to rest— finally— and his girlfriend came to sit beside him.
“Why are you pouting?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. The movement caused her hair to tumble over one shoulder.
He shook his head, confused. “I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Your brows are pinched, and your bottom lip is sticking out—making it extremely hard not to kiss you, might I add.” She insisted. Her thumb ran up the bridge of his nose where his brows were, in fact, pinched together—effectively smoothing them out again. He sighed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“I call bullshit! ” Alex exclaimed dramatically, flopping onto her back, effectively resting her head in his lap. “What’s wrong, Kaid?”
Kaiden sighed again, running a frustrated hand through his hair, tugging on the roots lightly. This was so stupid. So, so stupid. “Fourteen days,” he sighed quietly.
“What?” It was Alex’s turn to look confused, turning her head in his lap to meet his gaze.
“Fourteen days,” he said louder. “That’s how long it’s been since we’ve spent any time together.”
“Oh,” her lips pursed. “You’ve been counting?”
“Yeah, I have, Alex, and I’ve missed you. A lot.”
Alex sat up again, facing her boyfriend and resting her hand on his thigh. She ran her opposite hand along his hairline, tucking a few stray strands behind his ears. “You could’ve asked. I love spending time with you, babe, you know that.”
“I could never manage to catch you. You were always out with Soraya. It’s always Soraya this , Soraya that . She always comes first. And believe me, Alex, I was trying to be patient, but—”
“Oh. My. God.” Alex said slowly. Kaiden began to panic, worrying he’d offended her. Apologies were on the tip of his tongue as she burst out laughing. Laughing . Her whole body doubled over as she chuckled. Grasping for composure, she sat up again and wiped the tears—tears of mirth —from her eyes.
“What…?” Kaiden faltered.
“Are you jealous,” she drawled, “Of my wolf?” When his mouth opened and shut like a goldfish, another fit of giggles overtook her.
This snapped him out of his stupor. “I—what? No!” He stuttered. His best efforts to deny her accusation didn’t sound convincing at all, even to himself.
Alex paused, eyes widening before a grin spread across her gorgeous features. “Quick, somebody grab a camera! We need to capture this moment in history forever!” Kaiden was beyond bewildered as she continued. “I, Alexandra Rose Jennings, have officially made Kaiden James blush!”
He noticed then that his cheeks indeed felt hotter than usual, and they seemed to heat more at the thought. “The tables have turned!” She jested.
She was smiling at him and it was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. The sun was setting behind her, giving the luscious chocolate brown waves atop her head a golden sheen. It was how he imagined the glow of the Vaeliana bond—that her skin apparently took—would look if he had the eyesight to see it. Alex’s complexion resembled, in all honestly, a Goddess. One that he would worship for as long as he lived. Kaiden gazed into her beautiful brown eyes that were crinkled around the edges in the midst of her laughter and couldn’t stop himself from leaning forward and capturing her lips with his.
The kiss was soft and sweet and one of Alex’s delicate hands came to rest against his cheek. Kaiden pulled back to study her features again. Her full lips were parted slightly; it was adorable. His fingers reached up to her face and traced down her jaw and Alex smiled softly.
“I love you,” she whispered as she leaned forward and kissed him again. Their kiss was more passionate this time around, with parted lips and dancing tongues. Kaiden, with his hands settling on Alex’s hips, pulled her into his lap. Hands roved, teeth clashed, and fingers tangled in hair before they finally broke apart to breathe.
They both startled as a bark sounded from beside them. A very lively Soraya was watching them, tongue hanging out of her mouth. Alex laughed breathlessly, her head coming to rest in the crook of Kaiden’s neck.
“Looks like my other baby’s jealous,” She joked, planting one, two, three quick kisses on Kaiden’s lips before extracting herself from his lap. He pouted. “Don’t tempt me, Kaid. It’s almost dinner, anyway, so I’m gonna take her on one last run and meet you in the dining hall.”
It must’ve been obvious he was about to protest because she amended. “I promise we will spend all of Free Time together. Just the two of us— Alone . Until then, I’ll see you at dinner.”
Kaiden sighed, relenting. “Okay. See you then, babe.”
She smiled brightly and turned on her heel. Soraya began to follow, but not before turning her head to meet Kaiden’s eyes. He could’ve sworn the wolf’s lips curved into a smile. Triumphant and smug.