Kane's POV Willow watches me from the bed while I get dressed, her eyes pensive. I didn’t handle our physical interaction too well, and it's bugging her no end. She wouldn’t let me hide behind my chosen excuse, and when she went down on me like that, I came very close to shifting. She doesn’t know, because I never told her, that it happens from time to time. If I had shifted while she had my dick in her mouth, I would have scared the living shit out of her, and she doesn’t know what to do when that happens. I had to use every bit of willpower I possess to stop Dario from surfacing. I make a mental note to talk to her about it just as soon as the subject comes up again. “What are you doing today?” she asks. I look at her in the mirror while I fold my tie. “I have some business meetings I can’t miss and the elder council is gathering for the first time today, I have to welcome them.” “What about that ball thing? Isn’t that something I should handle?” I shake my head at her and tu
Kane's POV The flat is dark, empty, and quiet. It’s been a while since I came home to an empty apartment, and it grinds my nerves. “Willow?” I call, even though I know she’s not here – at least it breaks the silence. I go to our empty bedroom. The place smells like my mate, clean linens, disinfectants, and baby. It’s oddly comforting. I kick off my shoes and carelessly throw them into the closet, followed by my tie. On my socks, I undo the top button of my shirt and go back to the living room, taking the good whiskey out of the liquor cabinet. If I didn’t have a pup in the house, I’d get hammered tonight. All my Alphas reported weird human behaviour – some brushed it off as “just humans being humans,” and didn’t investigate, but when I asked them about it, they could at least give me a verbal report. By the time my new council gathered, I already had our first point of order on the agenda. “Kane?” Glenn says through our mind link, interrupting my thoughts. I scrunch up my face and
Kane's POV Before I go upstairs, I gather some of my warriors in the foyer and order a search of the castle and the grounds for the mysterious Claire. “Gamma Carl will lead the search,” I say as I look out over my gathered warriors. Carl gives me a curt nod. “What does she look like?” I turn to Willow, waiting for her to answer. “Oh, right--” she shakes herself lightly --“about as tall as me, short brown hair, hazel eyes.” “She’s as tall as you?” Carl asks. “Yes, why?” “Willow,” I say softly. “A born wolf, a warrior she-wolf…they’re tall and muscular, like Ashley and Kaylee.” She just shrugs. “Maybe she wasn’t born. I mean, Tully is a warrior and she’s small.” I glance at Carl who looks utterly defeated. “We record the names of turned wolves, my queen. I checked the registry -- in the last fifteen years, only eleven wolves were turned. There’s no mention of a Claire.” Finally, Willow has the good sense to look a little afraid. “I didn’t know,” she mumbles, then quickly straigh
I’m aware that Phillip leaves to fetch his fellows, but I don’t move. I keep playing with Adare, pretending that I didn’t just hear everything the two men discussed. “Willow?” Kane asks. “You’re upset.”“A little, yeah.”“It’s just a bit of hair…and a few drops of blood.”I scoff at him, as if I care about my hair and blood. Finally, I look up from my baby to glare at my mate. “They’ll be forced to protect me, right? With their lives?”“Yes.”“I don’t like it.”“They would also be unable to betray you, won’t be able to give our enemy any information about you...or Adare for that matter.”“Then why do you need guards you trust? Just find anyone and make them swear the oath.”Kane smiles indulgently. “Because then it’s meaningless. They must take the oath willingly, otherwise, it doesn’t work as well as it should.”“I don’t want people to die for me.”He sighs and rapidly brushes his hands up and down his face. “We’ve been over this a hundred times, Willow.”Yes, we have, but that doesn
“I volunteer,” Phillip says before I can pick a single guard. Finally, he takes a knee, like the rest of the assembled guards, and bows his head. “I pledge my service to you.”My mouth drops open as panic starts to eat away at my insides. Am I supposed to say something? Is there some kind of incantation or magic I have to perform? Kane looks at me and nods but doesn’t offer any further insight. “Five more,” he says.A she-wolf who towers out over the men, even on her knees, catches my eyes. I walk up to her and touch her shoulder. “What’s your name?”“Julia,” she answers.This is the one Phillip wouldn’t vouch for because she said some troubling things about witches. “How do you feel about witches?”“In general or as individuals?”“Both.”“I think in covens they’re easily manipulated and dangerous to our kind…as individuals, I think they’re redeemable.”I laugh softly. “Do you want to take the oath?”“Yes,” she says immediately and looks up. Her wolf’s eyes burn into mine. “My wolf in
Kane's POVI give the guards their orders, then take my mate home. Whether she knows it or not, she needs to rest. The silver, brief as the exposure was, has weakened her, and the creation of the oath bonds themselves can be tiring.Willow still doesn’t understand why the wolves would offer themselves up in the way they did, but at least she grudgingly accepts it now. “Are you hungry?” I ask as we walk into the living room. “I will quickly slap something together.”“I suppose so,” she says and without another word disappears down the hallway with Adare.I follow her to the bedroom, just in time to see the tips of her fingers glow blue-white. “What are you doing?”“Healing my fingers,” she says, holding her hands out in front of her, a look of surprise on her face. “I’ve never tried to heal myself before.”“Is it working?”“Yeah.”She’s like a piano wire, tense and stretched way too tight, right on the brink of snapping. “Do you want a glass of wine or something?”“No. I have to nurse
Kane’s POV We fall backward on the rug, Willow opening her legs and wrapping her feet around my waist, pulling me closer to her. Goddess, what I wouldn't do to get lost in her, forget about everything and everyone for just a few minutes. I want her back, want her to break through the wall and drag me out of the darkness. Moaning softly, I nestle between her legs, pushing the painful erection tightly against her, feeling my resolve to stay emotionless slip away when her hands curl around my ass and she starts to urge me on. Dario comes panting to the surface. There’s little of the intelligent creature I know and love present tonight. He’s more animal and desperate instinct than anything else. “Our mate,” he growls. “I'll fix it.” He’s been desperate to break the wall, aching to feel the full strength of our bond with Willow. As always, he’s hurting so much worse than I am. “Back off, buddy,” I say, trying my best to be gentle with him. “You’ll scare her.” But there’s no holding him
Kane's POV Four hours later, I sneak through the quiet castle, ignoring the few Omegas that are still awake and going about their work. They’re not used to seeing my wolf in the castle, and most of them cower away in fear. The guards, on the other hand, give me curious looks, following me with their eyes. I have no idea what Dario did or where he went, but I woke up right on the boundary of the witches’ forest, naked and freezing cold. I did a quick self-check to reassure myself that I didn’t kill someone or inadvertently hurt myself. I am hungry and thirsty, so at least I haven’t eaten some poor, helpless witch child. Without any interference from Dario this time, I shifted back to wolf form and ran home. He must have really pushed himself to the brink because everything hurt. Within seconds of starting the run home, my lungs burned and every muscle screamed at me to stop, but the worst was my paws. They’re ragged and raw and each step sent sparks of pain up my legs. I forced myse