Chapter 869

Baxter:

“Babe, what’s going on?”

Kaylee’s soft, gentle voice made me clench my fists. I hadn’t even gotten a moment to enjoy this victory with Madeline, and Kaylee was already awake.

I cast a brief glance at Madeline before walking toward the bedroom.

Once I stepped inside, I found Kaylee standing outside the door, looking impatient.

“Nothing, my love. I was just fixing a few things before we leave for the trip,” I told her, forcing a smile.

My wolf groaned inwardly, already losing patience with her.

Well, at least we were both on the same page now. Neither of us wanted her toxic energy around us.

The problem was, we had no choice.

We would have to tolerate her for at least two more days.

“Oh, you know, I was packing, but if you could just tell me where we’re going, I could

pack accordingly. Like, do I need sweaters? Warm clothes? Or…” she rambled, gesturing animatedly with her hands.

I glanced past her and noticed all the bags lined up behind her.

“Oh, this one is my makeup bag. This one is for jewelry, and this one is for my

shoes,” she continued, pointing at each bag as she went on and on.

“You know what?” I said, forcing myself to reach out and lightly pat her shoulder with two fingers.

That was all the affection I could bring myself to show her.

I couldn’t go beyond that.

No. Never.

I would never betray Madeline, even if I had to pretend to be in love with someone else.

And I had made that very clear to everyone, including Madeline.

“I’ll get you everything new. You don’t need to worry about any of it. If you need something during the vacation, we’ll buy it there. You have my word,” I told her, giving her a smile that reached my eyes.

“Really? Oh my goodness. You’re so sweet, Baxter.”

As expected, she purred and opened her arms, moving toward me for a hug, but I immediately dodged her by pretending to inspect the bags.

“So you don’t need all of these,” I said, because there was no way I was taking all that stuff with me.

Or perhaps I could take it and drop it all in the water on my way back home, I thought.

“But if you want, I’ll bring it along. I mean, anything for you, babe,” I added, watching her smile softly.

“So when are we leaving?” she asked, clasping her hands in front of her.

“Huh? We’ll be leaving in two or three hours. Just get ready, okay? And also–“

I cleared my throat and faced her again.

“We’ll be traveling by ship,” I explained carefully.

She seemed to zone out for a moment before nodding, completely unaware that I

was actually taking her back to the werewolf world.

The next few minutes were painful because she wouldn’t stop talking.

Even her makeup was so unappealing that I could barely focus on anything.

I honestly couldn’t wait to take her there and feed her to the monster. Then it hit me just how fucking unlikable she was.

No wonder Graham couldn’t stay with her. She was wicked as fuck.

Just thinking about Graham made my muscles tense.

“Come on, let’s go,” I told Kaylee as I stepped back into the room.

I hadn’t gotten a single moment

alone with Madeline because Kaylee kept hovering around me. The second I walked away, she would come looking for me or call out my name.

I desperately wanted to spend some time with my children and Madeline, before theft, but guess we didn’t have that luxury right now.

WI

Kaylee eventually came out wearing a white dress that looked almost like a wedding gown. She clearly believed that the moment we

reached the island, would mark her and turn it into some kind ofo

wedding moment.

So, of course, she had dressed for the occasion.

“Where are Madeline and the children? We should say goodbye to them,” Kaylee

insisted, starting to walk toward the children’s room.

I quickly grabbed her arm and stopped her.

I knew exactly what she was trying to do. She wanted to make Madeline and my

children uncomfortable.

I wasn’t that stupid.

“Let’s not do that. I don’t want anything to jinx our trip,” I muttered.

She stared blankly for a moment before nodding.

“You’re right. You know, the evil eye can be very dangerous,” she remarked dramatically.

“Come on, let’s go, babe.”

She grabbed my hand and tried to pull me along.

As I was leaving, I stopped briefly and looked back.

The children’s door opened, and Madeline stood there with my children, watching

me.

She lifted a hand and waved, smiling softly.

That small gesture gave me the comfort and confidence I needed for what I was about to do.

Then I made my way to the car and got in with Kaylee.