Kane’s sudden disappearance a week ago threw me off my game. I’ve been unable to concentrate; my magic is shoddy, and my attempts to track down Aunt Mildred’s killer have yielded zero results. It annoys me that I want him so much, that I feel like I can’t go on without him by my side. I at once miss him and hate him. I am furious at him for just leaving like that, without even saying goodbye. How important can this mate bond really be to him, if he can just run off like that? Maybe if I can talk to him and tell him what I think of him. Maybe if I can tell him I reject him. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. So many maybes and no certainties. But it’s worth a try. There’s only one way to get his number. After just more than two weeks, I finally gather the courage to go into Aunt Mildred’s room. The stuffy room smells like strong disinfectant and decay. I open the window, inhaling the fresh sea air that floods into the room, then start to rummage through her things. I find what I’m looking for in t
Kane's POV: I hang up the phone and let out a slow breath. Glenn has Willow. She’s safe. I shouldn’t care this much, it’s downright inappropriate. She’s not officially my mate and I have no authority over her, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t leave her to that fate. Especially not after I’ve found out who is after her. The witches of Moon Flower are trying their best to eradicate Crystal Rose. They are sick of living under Daniel Jones’s thumb. Why they’re going after their exiled members first is a mystery though. That is why they killed Mildred. Purely because she was tangentially connected to the coven. But getting their hands on the coven master’s heir…now that would be a real prize. And I have a sick feeling they won’t just kill her outright -- no, they’ll make her suffer first. Now that I know Willow is safe, I can finally concentrate on my work. I go over the last of the contracts that need my signature, before piling them on my assistant’s desk so she can send them off to ou
How can one person have so much stamina? Wolf or not, the man just keeps going. I look at Glenn as he bounces down the steps that lead to the convenience store, carrying a paper bag. We’ve been driving all day, and as day gave way to night I thought we’d stop somewhere, but he just keeps going and going…like the bunny from that battery advertisement. He opens the door and gets back into the SUV with a huge smile on his face. “I have everything we need here…drinks, food, sandwiches…there was something they call sushi, but I don’t think it technically qualifies as sushi – that’s also, a great way to get food poisoning, and that’s something we really don’t need right now.” Gods, the man is hyper. He’s like a Ping-Pong ball. Boing, boing, boing, all over the place. I am getting tired just listening to him. “Well, thanks,” I say and yawn. “Did you recast that cloaking spell?” “Yes.” I try to stifle another yawn and fail. “You can go ahead and take a nap. It’s not too far now.” “Why ar
I wake up with a pounding head and a burning throat. All alone in the dark. Panic course through my body. No. It can’t be! How did I get back here? Last thing I remember I was in the car with…what was his name? Glenn, that’s right…I was on my way somewhere safe, away from the coven. Away from my father. And it was all for nothing, he still found me. Biting back tears of disappointment and fear, I groan and struggle upright, cradling my aching head in my hands. In the darkness, I hear something rustle, and my heart nearly climbs out of my chest. “Father?” “Your father’s not here,” a deep, familiar voice says. Kane. I’m at once infinitely relieved and enraged. I hear a click, and soft light illuminates the inside of my…cell, it’s the only word for it. Instead of bars, there’s a heavy steel door, but otherwise, it resembles a cell in every way, right down to the steel toilet and washbasin in the corner against the back wall. He sits on a steel chair opposite me, resting his elbows
Kane's POV: Long after Willow has fallen asleep, I lie on the uncomfortable cot and stare at her. I trace the outlines of her sweet face with one finger. My whole heart and soul aches to be with her, everything in me wants to claim her as mine. I fled from her because I couldn’t stand being close to her, then I bring her right back here. Why? So I can torture myself? Sighing, I roll off the bed and tiptoe out of the cell. I close the door behind me, making sure to lock it, and let out a slow, stuttering breath. What the fuck am I going to do? I have no plan. It’s like I’m begging for a war with the witches. When Daniel Jones finds out I’m holding his daughter here, more than likely against her will, there will be hell to pay. “What are you doing, man?” Glenn asks in my head. Wolves can communicate through a psychic connection we call a mind link. It’s how we can talk to each other when we’re in wolf form. “I don’t fucking know anymore.” “It’s not too late. I can still smuggle her o
I’m lying flat on my back on the floor of my cell, staring up at the unremarkable roof. Somehow, it feels less claustrophobic down here, and despite the cold seeping into my body, and my steadily pounding head, I don’t move. A panel on the steel door slides open. I tense and sit upright. “Are you decent, little miss?” Glenn asks on the other side. “You have some gall coming here.” He chuckles. “Fair warning, I’m coming in.” “Whatever,” I say and get up, moving over to the bed. A loud clang echoes off the wall in my tiny cell, and the door swings open. I grip the edges of the mattress to stop myself from bolting out of the cell in a panic. I can’t outrun a wolf, I can’t use my magic, and I have no idea where I am. “I brought you some breakfast,” he says and puts a metal container on the little cabinet by my bed. “I’m not hungry,” I say, folding my arms across my chest. “Come on, you must be starving. When is the last time you ate?” “For all I know, that food’s poisoned.” Grinni
Kane doesn’t bother to ask me if it’s okay to come in before he bangs the door open. “Good evening,” he says as he steps into the little room, his velvety deep voice washing over me like hot chocolate. I hate that I’m so happy to see him, but it’s a side effect of being locked up with my own company all day. That has to be it right? It can’t be because I actually missed him. “It’s night time?” “Yes. I couldn’t get away sooner. Sorry.” He doesn’t sound sorry. In fact, he sounds like he’s in an exceptionally good mood. “Well, come on,” he says, holding the door open. “Where are we going?” I ask, eyeing him with suspicion. I don’t really care, anything to get out of this damn cell, but I also don’t want to look too eager to follow him. “Upstairs. I figure you’d like to get out of here and have a shower. Or would you rather stay and try to wash in that little basin--” he points at the steel sink next to the toilet --“either is fine with me.” His arrogance is infuriating and exciting m
Kane's POV I roll off the bed and stand on the other side of the door, inhaling her scent that’s drifting out from under the door. I close my eyes and lean with my head against the wall, my fists clenched around my thighs, willing myself to stay in the bedroom. “Glenn?” I mind link with my chancellor, hoping he’ll distract me. “Are you asleep?” “Of course not. What’s up?” “I need you to talk me out of having sex with Willow.” “She won’t let you.” “Are you sure about that? I can be very charming.” Glenn laughs. “You keep telling yourself that, man.” “Have you ever had sex with a human before?” “Once. With Charmaine…before she turned.” “How did that turn out? They are so…delicate. What if I break her?” Glenn is quiet for a while, then splutters laughter. “They’re not made of porcelain man. They don’t break that easily…but you have to be, ah…gentler. You can really hurt her if you aren’t careful.” “They don’t like it rough?” “They do, it’s just that our rough and their rough