Kane's POV: I sit on the edge of my desk, frowning at my phone. I received one notification for a transaction, the salon Mina talked about, but nothing else. “Come in,” I say before either Jackson or Glenn can knock and indicate towards the chairs. “Willow?” I mind link with my mate. “Yes.” “Where are you?” “Hell. I am in hell, Kane. Please get me out of here.” I start laughing, ignoring Glenn and Jackson’s curious stares. “Shopping not your thing?” “Why would someone buy the same skirt in three different colours, and insist on trying each one on…with matching tops…and shoes. And then they tell me this is supposed to be fun.” “Oh Goddess,” I keep laughing. “Buy something, will you? It’s almost winter, and it gets cold here. You’ll need proper winter clothes.” “I’ll get something if I see something I like and want. I’m not spending money just for the hell of it.” “Well, it will make me ha

After a day in the city, going in and out of every shop Mina took a fancy to, I’m physically and mentally exhausted, but Mina is still full of energy, chattering all the way back to the apartment, and making plans for the evening. “We should go out tonight. Dancing. I haven’t been in ages.” Just the thought makes me tired. “I am sorry, Mina. I can’t. I was up most of the night, and this day was just a little much.” “You didn’t have fun?” Mina asks, her face falling. I glance over my shoulder at Erica who is scowling at me. “I did. I’m just tired. Why don’t you and Patrick go out?” “You’re nothing like Shay. She could party for days on end without a break.” “I’m not Shay,” I say. “Good,” Erica mutters from the backseat. “We’ll stay in then. Do an old-fashioned pyjama party.” I sigh inwardly. I’m exhausted. I felt it when Kane dropped the bomb on the witches – a day ahead of schedule, so I wasn’t prepared– and while he doesn’t know it, he used some of my energy to cast his shield

Kane's POVI rush from the apartment, the blood pumping through my veins, my heart hammering in my chest. Glenn told me before that he can feel when Charmaine is about to go in heat. He told me how uncomfortable he felt, the strange crawling sensation under his skin, the insatiable need to couple with his mate. At the time, I thought he was taking the piss, but now that I’m feeling it, I don’t think it’s that funny.For Willow, it will be much worse in a few hours. She’ll be half out of her mind with sheer lust. She doesn’t have a mother or the guidance of an older she-wolf to help her through it. To explain it to her, and teach her how to manage her instincts. At least Mina told her about the basics.Richard and Glenn are waiting for me in my office. I nod at them as I enter and take my usual place on the edge of my desk. I summoned the Alpha to my kingdom yesterday, not knowing that only a few hours later, I&rsquo

It’s a rough night. Kane keeps rolling over to my side of the bed, losing his mind and groping at me, trying to be with me. And every time he does, he shakes himself out of it and asks me to stop him. And as the night wears on, I’m becoming more and more reluctant to do it.The physical sensations caused by the heat are nearly unbearable, but it doesn’t cloud my mind like it does Kane’s. It’s becoming almost painful to deny him now. My muscles ache and throb, my skin is on fire, and the constant arousal that was merely annoying earlier is now an intense, pulsating need.Sometime during the night, I wake up with Kane lying flush against me, his face in my neck, breath racing past his lips as he growls and begs me to stop him. “Why?” I ask. “Why do you want to stop? You are in pain.”He’s out of his mind, delirious, scratching at his own body like he’s trying to tear his own skin off, but there is a

Kane’s POV:I leave Willow to sleep. She is exhausted, while I’m filled with a strange, jittery kind of energy. I’d love to go outside and run it off, but I don’t want to leave her alone.At one point, when we took a break, she told me how clear her mind becomes when I touch her. She’s not reacting like other she-wolves. From what I’ve read and heard over the years, she-wolves go nearly insane with the need to mate. They react very much in the same way I reacted, although they’ll always stay in control during the deed, whereas the males usually can’t.But she kept her promise all the way through. She forced me to stay in control. The only time I lost it a little bit was when I came – and even then, I had much more control than I usually have. It’s a strange new development for me. Every male wolf I know loses control when his orgasm approaches.I thought it would take away some o