I’d been giddy all morning. Nervous, but only the kind of anticipation that came with something exciting. Cain and I were already mated, already claimed and marked. So I didn’t expect the ceremony to have any real impact, except to make me and my mother cry.
But the moment the wolves closed in around us, it was like the air began to crackle.
And then, when Cain started the words, goosebumps trickled down my spine.
He swallowed hard, his voice deep and husky—and echoed a second time in the pack link.
“See here my will that is bowed to yours,” he started quietly. “I eat my pri
~ Cain ~The celebration lasted late into the evening. We talked and joked through the afternoon until the bonfires were lit. Then we feasted and danced. And the pack… whatever had happened between all of us was a miracle. Because suddenly, Kelsie could hear all of them clearly, and they could feel her—sense her love, her strength, and her heart.And they were starting to love her as much as I did.Well, almost.For the past hour we had huddled together on a log next to the bonfire, a thick blanket over our legs. But then Kelsie leaned into my ear and whispered, “I need to go to the bathroom. And I’m going to have to put pants on, there is just too m
~ Kelsie (KELL-see) ~“Happy Birthday, Daniel. My present to you this year is… me.” My hands shook with nerves as I whispered the words to myself. I was hurrying up the stairs in Daniel’s college dorm, practicing how to say the words. Should I sound serious, or sexy? Should I sound excited?“Happy Birthday, Daniel! My present to you this year is me!” Shaking my head with embarrassment, I pulled my long winter jacket tightly around myself. It wasn’t cold enough yet for a jacket like this, but I didn’t want anyone to see that I was wearing nothing but lacy lingerie underneath it. My heart was pounding. I had been dating Daniel for two years. The first year was his senior year in high school. Back then, I was scared to sleep with him because he was older and I hadn’t done it before. If we had been at high school together last year, I probably would have given in. But Daniel was a year ahead of me and came here to university while I finished high school. Even though Chandler Universi
~ Cain (KAYN) ~I was walking across my new front yard when something hissed loudly then slapped at my back.My wolf-instincts kicked in.I whirled, throwing an arm wide to catch an attacker—only to be struck in the face by a spray of freezing water. I spluttered for a moment, still bracing for the attack, before I realized the lawn sprinklers had turned on and were soaking me.With a muttered curse, I ran to the side of the house and pulled myself up the railing on the outside of the covered porch like a swimmer out of the pool, swinging my legs over and landing lightly on the boards—right in front of the wide-eyed neighbor who was standing at the door with a plastic box under one arm, and the other hand raised like she’d been about to knock, staring at me like I was a water god rising from the sea.More like a wet-dog jumping out of a swamp. But she didn’t know that.I straightened quickly from my crouch, shaking water off my arms and running one hand back and forth through my hair s
~ Kelsie ~Mom made me go to classes the next day. Because she said it was only the fourth day and my first session in an English class, which was my major.Villains and Anti-Heroes in Modern Fiction was technically a second-year class, but my Advisor let me take it because I’d won a President’s Award in English during my last year of high school. This class was the one I had been the most excited about for my first year. Yet, here I was creeping around campus, trying to get to the room without seeing anyone I knew. All while trying to ignore the tightness in my chest that had appeared yesterday when I’d talked to my very hot, but very insane neighbor.When he came at me on the porch I thought he might actually kill me. I had fled, terrified. But even when I calmed down later that night I still couldn’t relax. I wanted to be at the windows, looking for him. In my mind I kept seeing him pull himself up and over that railing on the porch. The strength he showed, his muscles rippling und
~ Kelsie ~Cain looked furious, like I had put him in this situation on purpose. Yet, I had the sudden urge to lean into his chest and… hold him?As if he heard the thought, he stiffened. Then he lifted his head and raised his voice to speak to everyone in the room.“I am your professor for English Lit 202 this year. You can call me Professor C, or Mister Cain, I don't mind. But unfortunately, I need to take care of this... incident,” he said with a disapproving twist to his lips. “While I'm gone, please take your seats and begin the reading for today. I'll return as quickly as I can.”The fact that everyone did as he asked while he marched me out of the room just proved the difference between college and high school.When he got me out of the room, he stopped to look up and down the hallway. But there were still students everywhere. Lots of them recognized me. All my embarrassment from that picture made my cheeks go hot and I wanted to hide. I turned my back to the hall and dropped my
~ Cain ~ Since I was a professor it was very risky for me to be seen in the student’s dormitories. Especially since I knew this Melinda girl wasn’t afraid of public confrontations. She would draw a lot of attention if she got angry. But a surge of protective rage rose in me every time I thought about the way Kelsie had shrunk in on herself when she looked at that picture. It was very obvious she wasn’t afraid of confrontation either. Yet this simple picture had saturated her scent in shame. She should not feel shame. Even if she wasn’t my mate I would have taken her side in this conflict. But with my wolf howling for her, I could barely think straight. I was a bristling bundle of rage. I desperately needed to do something. So, I ignored the risk and hurried to the dormitories. I would not hurt the other girl. But I would make certain she never hurt Kelsie again. As I hurried toward the dormitories thought about the way the humans would discuss these things and their strange way o
~ Cain ~“Please, Cain…”My hand trembled as I it to comb back a strand of hair from Kelsie’s face. When my shaking fingers traced her temple she closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.“Kelsie…” I breathed.She whimpered when I said her name, and the sound was so raw, the last of my control snapped.I plunged a hand into her hair, tugging her head back as I took her mouth in a searing kiss.Her breath caught when our lips met. I didn’t stop.Lips, tongue, the flutter of hot breath…I lowered her to the bed, devouring the sweet honey of her mouth, pinning her to the mattress with my weight as my kiss grew deeper, more desperate.Teasing her tongue with mine, I began to follow the hills and valleys of her body with my hands until I was tracing fingers down the back of her thigh, cupping the back of her knee, pulling it up and over my hip.And when she arched into me, then used that leg to pull me closer, I broke the kiss with a hiss. With my teeth gritted I pushed up on my hands and
SOUNDTRACK: Vampire by Fame on Fire. ***** ~ Kelsie ~ I snapped my head around to look up. The hair on my arms and neck stood up when I found Cain standing a few feet away. He wore dark gray pants that hugged his thighs, and a collared shirt with no tie. His shirt was open to bare his throat and his sleeves were rolled up to show his forearms. Our eyes met and my belly clenched. The muscles in his jaw twitched. Then he cut a look at Daniel that made my heated blood run cold. His bright eyes were fierce and threatening. Feral. Daniel straightened, no longer leaning on the wall behind me, but he didn’t move away, just shrugged. “There’s no problem. We’re just talking.” Cain looked at me intently like he was checking to see if I agreed. I stopped breathing. Something flickered in Cain’s eyes that was terrifying. But I knew it wasn’t directed at me. He looked like he was ready to kill Daniel. I shivered and slid out from against the wall, glaring at Daniel when he shifted his wei