190 Caine: A Night of Unrest

I’d like to think she wouldn’t mind, but she’d been devastated after killing Brax. The Alpha who’d treated her so poorly, and yet still became a wedge between me and my mate. Instead of considering me a savior, she’d seen me as a monster.

iBecause /iyou won’t istop /istaring at iher/ii. /iiAren’t /iiyou /iiusually /iicalmer /iafter…?

The quicker we can leave Blue Mountain again, the better for Grace. If it wasn’t for this damn energy transfer issue, I wouldn’t have allowed her toe back.

My tongue slides over my teeth as I adjust myself again, my body still raging with need. Especially after that brief moment where it seemed like she was about to-

Scowling, I tear my eyes away from my mate as she clips Bun into her carseat and stomp toward the truck, where Ron’s already inside, fiddling with the radio.

Fenris is silent in my head.

A movement to my left catches my attention. Andrew. Coming out of the other bathroom with perfect fucking timing. Our eyes meet, and I catch the flicker in his expression before he manages to mask it. But there’s no hiding his scent: discontent.

As expected, I get no sleep, though my raging hard–on did fade–eventually.

But it doesn’t ease his worry as he keeps observing her as we prepare to leave once again, our new normal.

There are dark circles under her eyes-

My jaw tightens.

She hadn’t even eaten the four–pack of blueberry muffins I’d grabbed from the store for breakfast, handing them out to the children instead. Not that I mind, but the woman needs to eat something. She’s skin and bones, wasting away by day.

The kid’s worried.

iAnd /iiyours/i.

I clear my throat as I settle onto the couch, already knowing this will be a night of restless, frustrated sleep./

12:05

190 Caine: A Night of Unrest

iBesides/ii, /iyou ishould /iibe /iimore /iiworried /iiabout /iihow /iishe’ll /iifeel /iiabout /iiyou /iicrushing /iithe /iiAlpha’s /ihand iwhen she disappeared/i.

He has clear feelings for Grace, even if he’s not acting on them. It isn’t good to keep him around, muddling the picture.

iAh/i, Fenris goes, and then says, iWell/ii, /iiit’s /iifine/i.

Ron stares at me, then at the pillow between us–something I’d snatched from Grace’s bed during our preparations to leave–but then looks out the window instead of asking what’s wrong. He’s a smart kid.

I hesitate as I watch Grace and the younger children pile into Andrew’s car. Not my car. It rubs me the wrong way, more than ever.

iIt’s /iinot /iijust /iiabout /iitomorrow/i, I snap at my wolf.

iIt’s /iibetter /iiif /ihe iapproaches /iiher/ii, /imy wolf says, still eerily calm. iThen /iwe have a reason ito /iikill /iihim/i. 3

But instead I just keep hearing the way her breath hitched, my fingers twitching as they remember her heat, and all the things I wish I could have done to her if we weren’t so constrained by this damnable issue of ours.

My already–aching cock refuses to settle, and I grind my teeth together, trying again to focus on the rain. On the annoying bastards I’ll have to see again once we officially

return to Blue Mountain territory in the morning.

I’d been so close to extending the intimacy with Grace…

He woke up at a convenient fucking time, didn’t he?

iShe /idoesn’t ilike /iiher /iipack/ii. /iiYou /iiknow /ithisi. /iFenris’s voice in my mind is calm and reasonable, but it only serves to annoy me further. iControl /iiyour /itemper before iyou /i

scare iher /iiagain/i.

iAh/i, what? I snap.

He inclines his head at me before lying back down on the dte–converted sleeping

area.

iAmong /iiother /ithingsi, /iI admit grumpily, further irritated when Fenris snorts.

12:05

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190 Caine: A Night of Unrest

My bad mood lifts instantly.

I sigh and pat Ron’s shoulder. “She’ll be fine in a few hours. Don’t worry about it.”

iShe /iilooks /iithe /isame ias /iiyesterday/ii, /imy wolf observes calmlyi. /iiIt’s /iionly /iibeen /ia ifew /iidays/ii, /iiand /iiyou’re /iacting as iif /iishe’s /iilost /iififty /iipounds/ii. /i

-and she’s moving a little slower than usual.

CAINE

So, despite knowing how she’s probably mortified by our little connectionst night, I’m on edge and irritated. Worried.

iAh/i.

I bite back a growl. Sometimes my wolf is too damn helpful. iWe’ll /imake sure ishe /idoesn’t find outi. /i

Sharing your thoughts with a wolf makes moments like these particrly frustrating. “That bastard would never have the courage to approach her if Grace would just let me tell the pack she’s my mate.”

Across the living room, Jer suddenly flops on the bed. His new position causes him to

snore.

Then he suddenly drawls, Yeah, iTHAT’S /iwhere iyou /iiwent /iwrong.

iHe’ll /iibe /igone tomorrow. Back ito /ihis master’s iside /iiwhere /iihe /ibelongsi, /iFenris reminds me, but the knowledge does nothing for irritation flickering through me.

An already tense morning is made worse by Grace’s obvious avoidance of me, even though it’s obvious she’s just embarrassed. Her red cheeks have been noted by even the children; Ron keeps asking if she’s okay and even privately pulls me aside to worry about her having some sort of fever.

I stare at the bathroom door, bemused by how quickly Grace shoved me out, like we’re teenagers caught in apromising situation.

I stare at the ceiling as lightning shes, focusing on the sound of the rain against the roof and not the images of Grace’s sensual curves and the sound of her whimpers.

12:05

190 Caine A Night of Unrest

I can’t help frowning at Grace as she carries Bun through the camper. The only time she’s met my eyes this morning is when I tried to take Bun away from her, and she gave me a defiant stare and said, “It’s fine.”

You know ishe /iwon’t ever igo /iiback /iito /iithat /iipathetic /iipup /iof an iAlpha/i. iWorrying /iiabout /iiit /iiis /ipointless.

It takes all my control not to rip the door off its hinges as I hop into the truck.

He sounds far too calm, and I snarl, “It’s not fine.”

Grace is too soft–hearted, emotionally weak thanks to her human soul. My biggest mistake was letting her see the dark, gritty reality of pack life before she’d epted

our bond.

The way she looks at him sometimes, like she trusts him even as she pretends not to, crawls under my skin. Granted, he seems loyal enough to the girl, and I have yet to find him attempting to contact his new Alpha, but I’m not stupid enough to trust a Blue Mountain cur.

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