ENDURING {Sequel to Everlasting}

Chapter 28

Hardin scratches Apollo's cheeks affectionately, standing head to head with one another. Apollo doesn't even flinch, instead he nibbles on Hardin's arm as he searches for treats.

Hardin and I laugh at that, taking only a few minutes to say goodbye before I load Apollo into the horse box with Aurora. It still amazes me that Hardin has gone through the effort of gaining Apollo's trust, and the fact that Hardin shows him affection despite the bad blood between wolves and horses only makes me realise that coming here wasn't all bad for Apollo.

"I'll text you once we get to the other end." Adrian promises, securing the door and double checking the locks.

"Ok, thank you again, and drive safe." I tell him with a small exhale, instantly feeling a little lost as Adrian gets in his truck and leaves.

"They're going to be ok." Hardin says softly, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and giving me a small squeeze.

I sigh a little. "I know."

Hesitantly, I rest my head against Hardin's chest, relaxing a little against him. Being close to him always comforts me, even now without a bite or a wolf.

"Do you know what happened to that box Kade gave me?" I decide to ask, suddenly realising that I never did open it, and now I'm curious.

"It's in my office." Hardin tells me, and I turn my head a little to look up at him. He kept it? Why am I even surprised? Hardin kept everything that belonged to me.

"I hope Layla hated that you couldn't bare to throw my stuff away." I tell him with a smug grin. Perhaps I shouldn't have said it, but I did, and I stand by it no matter how petty it is.

"She did, is this going to be a habit?" Hardin asks me with a raised eyebrow, clearly meaning the mention of his almost mistake.

I shrug.

"If this goes well and we end up mated, all those memories of her become mine too. I'd rather know everything than be surprised later on." I admit as I pull away from him.

"Mated?" Hardin repeats, hearing nothing last that word and the good chance of mating with me.

"Get your head out of the gutter." I muse, ten steps ahead of him as I walk to his office. Hardin eventually joins me, when he's done thinking about me sitting on certain parts of his body.

The box is untouched as he hands it to me, and I suspect that he's kept it well hidden. I didn't hesitate to open it, because everything with Kade is different now.

But I am surprised by the contents inside, I always assumed that they never kept anything from my childhood. Yet in the box there's little booties, and keepsakes that I would never have imagined Kade keeping.

"He kept all this stuff?" I whisper, tenderly picking out the small envelope labelled pictures. Inside are photos of me, not many, maybe one photo for every year up until the age of around five.

"Kage got into Zeds head and twisted him all up, do you think your mother did the same with Kade? It seems strange that he'd keep all of this, if he had such hatred for you." Hardin tells me.

To be honest I've thought about it myself, it does make sense. After years of mental manipulation Kade was her puppet, and after she died he started to change.