~ CAIN ~
Leaving her to tend to my wounds shouldn’t even be a consideration—but I’m tempted. I know the kind of woman she is. The second she wakes up and finds me gone or unconscious, she’ll bolt. No hesitation. I need to explain things before that happens. She needs to know why I stepped into her business with West, why I interfered and broke her trust. I just hope that once everything’s out in the open, she’ll understand. I glance down at my shirt, caked in blood, and tug it off with a grimace. Pain lances through me as the silver bullets burn in my chest. I walk over to the phone beside the bed, yank the receiver free, and hit the pound key. It starts to ring. After a few moments, Draven Thorn’s familiar voice crackles through. “Calling already?”~ CAIN ~ Leaving her to tend to my wounds shouldn’t even be a consideration—but I’m tempted. I know the kind of woman she is. The second she wakes up and finds me gone or unconscious, she’ll bolt. No hesitation. I need to explain things before that happens. She needs to know why I stepped into her business with West, why I interfered and broke her trust. I just hope that once everything’s out in the open, she’ll understand. I glance down at my shirt, caked in blood, and tug it off with a grimace. Pain lances through me as the silver bullets burn in my chest. I walk over to the phone beside the bed, yank the receiver free, and hit the pound key. It starts to ring. After a few moments, Draven Thorn’s familiar voice crackles through. “Calling already?”
~ CAIN ~ West wheezes beside me, blood crusting under his nose, forcing him to breathe through his mouth. "Look, apart from the fact that she's a thorn in our flesh, there is nothing special about her," he says hoarsely. "Moreover, she’s nothing to you. Just a half-vampire, half-wolf with no past and no future. No one will miss her. Do the world a favor and destroy what was never intended to exist in the first place." West wheezes beside me, blood crusting under his nose, forcing him to breathe through his mouth. "Look, apart from the fact that she's a thorn in our flesh, there's nothing special about her," he rasps. "She’s nothing to you—a half-vampire, half-wolf with no past and no future. No one will miss her. Do the world a favor. Destroy what was never intended to exist in the first place." I glare at him, every muscle in my body tightening. He says it like she’s a dise
~ CAIN ~ I recognize the look in her eyes—because I’ve seen it in mine. She wants blood. More specifically, she wants West’s blood. And she’ll do anything to get it—even if that means going head-to-head with a werewolf three times her size. A pang of guilt shoots through me for what I’m about to do, but there’s only one way to keep her from ripping West apart, no matter how much I’d enjoy the show. I drop my gaze, shift to the side, and murmur, “Then by all means, take him.” Her eyes flicker, that dark blue flashing bright for a second before settling back to calm. Her full lips part slightly, and she narrows her eyes in confusion. “I hold no grudge against your kind,” she says, as if clarifying. I almost smile at the sudden note of uncertainty in her voice. But I don’t. Instead, I shuffle my feet and gesture for her to pass. “Gl
~ CAIN ~ At noticing my change, West stops sneering and tries to back away—but he isn’t fast enough. My fist connects with his nose, the bones beneath my knuckles cracking with a sharp, satisfying crunch. His pitiful cry is muffled by the hand he slaps over his injury, blood trickling through his fingers. “You’re right. We’re an obstacle your master doesn’t need. But don’t threaten me or my pack. You might get what you want, but you won’t leave happy.” I turn, eyes shifting just in time to catch a vampire edging closer to his opponent. The female sees the opening and takes it—shoving into his body with her smaller frame. Her fingers grip his jaw and force his head back. The dagger in her hand slices through tissue and muscle like butter, nearly taking his head clean off. She releases him and turns, already back in motion. The two remaining vampires dive for the guns hidden under t
~ CAIN ~ I squeeze out of the booth just like West did, grunting as my knees slam into the edge of the table. It’s a blessing and a curse being built like this. One look is usually enough to make most creatures back down. But fitting into smaller-sized furniture? That’s the real war. I finally manage to untangle myself, tossing a few bills onto the table, and trail after West and his group as they make for the door of The Grit. The overhead light flickers as I pass beneath it—buzzing softly, like even it senses the tension bleeding into the air. As I approach the corner booth, I glance sideways. She’s gone. I take a long, steadying breath. I’m not supposed to be distracted by random women—because yes, this scent might just be one similar to Catherine's and not really hers.
~ CAIN ~ "I won’t kill a female for your Master." The words fall flat between us. I don’t flinch. Don’t blink. I just watch West across the table as his face twists like I slapped him. "Then don’t," he sneers, the corner of his mouth curling like he’s chewing on something sour. "Leave her breathing if you must. We only need her to understand the position she places herself in by killing off our kind. We’ll appreciate a hard lesson learned just as much as a loss of life or limb." His casual cruelty is suffocating, but I keep my expression blank. A female killing off leeches can’t be that bad, I think to myself. Still, something itches at the back of my neck. “She’s killing vampires?” I ask, unable to hide the flicker of interest in my tone. The idea alone is enough to stir somethin