From Substitute To Queen novel Chapter 57

Chapter 57

I whipped my head to the side, avoiding his penetrating stare. “Nothing. Just… finish healing it.”

“Nothing?” The amusement in his tone made my cheeks burn hotter. “Your scent says otherwise.”

Damn werewolf senses.

“Make sure you wipe away the saliva when you’re done,’ I said stiffly. “I don’t want to walk around with… evidence.”

I felt rather than saw his smile against my skin. His throat worked as he swallowed, then returned to his task.

By the time he finished, the deep gash had closed to nothing more than a thin pink line. I stared at my arm in amazement.

“How is that possible?”

“Lycan King is more potent than regular Alpha healing.” Caelan’s thumb traced the faded mark. “It should disappear completely within a few hours.”

“Thank- I caught myself mid-sentence, remembering his repeated warnings about my excessive gratitude. “I mean… wow, you’re amazing at this healing thing. Like, ridiculously talented.”

Something shifted in his expression. The gentle concern hardened into something colder, more dangerous.

Without a word, he scooped me up in his arms.

I gasped as he lifted me, one arm under my knees and the other supporting my back. “Caelan, I can walk-

‘No. His voice was flat. Final.

He carried me toward the mouth of the alley with long, purposeful strides. I could feel the tension radiating from his body, the controlled fury simmering beneath his calm exterior.

What changed? A minute ago he was gentle, caring. Now he looks ready to murder someone.

I studied his profile as he walked. The muscle jumping in his jaw. The way his eyes had gone cold as winter storms.

‘Are you angry at me?”

He didn’t answer. Just kept walking.

I settled against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Whatever had shifted his mood, I had a feeling it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with the man who’d attacked me.

The one who was probably halfway across the city by now.

Caelan’s POV

I felt Sable’s confused gaze boring into me as I carried her toward my car. Her amber eyes searched my face, looking for answers I couldn’t give.

I should have protected her.

The thought hammered against my skull with each step. She’d been hurt – actually bleeding – while I sat in my office buried in paperwork like some useless bureaucrat.

If I hadn’t been working tonight… If I’d been with her…

My jaw clenched tighter. The rage boiling beneath my skin had nowhere to go. The attacker was gone. Vanished into the night like the coward he was. All I

could do was carry my wounded mate and hate myself for failing her.

Fuck. I replayed the scene in the alley. The moment I’d shouted her name, searching frantically through the darkness.

What if calling out to her is what spooked him? What if my voice is the reason he cut her and ran?

The possibility made my stomach turn. I’d been so desperate to find her that I might have escalated the danger.

I already owe her too much. I can’t let her get hurt because of me.

I reached my car and shifted Sable’s weight to open the passenger door.

“Caelan. Her voice was soft. You can put me down now.”

I lowered her carefully onto the leather seat.

I leaned across her to grab the seatbelt, my chest brushing against her shoulder as I pulled the strap across her body. The click of metal into the buckle sounded too loud in the quiet car.

Our faces were inches apart. Her strawberry scent filled my nostrils.

I forced myself to step back and close her door. Walking around to the driver’s seat took longer than it should have. My legs felt unsteady.

The engine turned over with a soft purr. I gripped the steering wheel and reached for the gear shift.

“Oh. Sable’s voice cut through the silence of the car’s interior. “I moved out of Crawford Manor. I have a new apartment now.”

My hand froze on the gear shift,

I turned to stare at her.

My eyebrows pulled together as my brain tried to process this information. Then memory crashed back – Scarlett’s voice on the phone earlier tonight.

‘Her new apartment.”

I’d been so focused on finding Sable that I’d completely ignored that detail. But now it hit me like a sledgehammer.

“When?”

“Today.”

“What’s your new address?”

“Mason Street. The Riverside Apartments.”

I stared at her for several heartbeats before forcing myself to shift into drive. The car moved forward, but my mind was spinning.

“Moving is a big decision.” My voice was getting colder despite my efforts to control it. “Don’t you think I should know about something like that?”

Sable’s head snapped toward me. “Why would you need to know?”

“Because you’re my fiancée!’ The words exploded out of me. “Why didn’t you ask me to help you move?”

“I handled it myself.”

“That’s not the point.” My knuckles went white on the steering wheel. “What other major life decisions are you making without telling me?”

She shifted in her seat to face me fully. “Caelan, your mood has been strange ever since you found me in that alley. I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Now you’re suddenly interrogating me about where I live?”

2/3

I’m not interrogating-

“Do I need your permission to make decisions about my own life?” Her voice rose. I’m your fiancée, not your property!”

The accusation hit like a slap. I never said you were my property.”

Then why are you acting like it?” She crossed her arms. “Even after we’re married, I’m still me. I’m still free to make my own choices!”

The car swerved slightly as I fought the urge to pull over and… what? Shake some sense into her? Demand she explain why she was treating our relationship like some casual arrangement?

No. 1 forced my hands to relax on the steering wheel. This isn’t about her choices. This is about my fear.

I pulled into an empty parking lot and cut the engine. For several seconds, we sat in silence.

“I’m sorry.” The words tasted like ash. “I overreacted.”

Sable didn’t respond immediately. She stared out the windshield at the empty lot.

I just… I swallowed hard, still avoiding her eyes. “I don’t want to lose you.”