30 Caine: Behaving Strangely

CAINE

There’s something strange about her tonight. She’s calmer than this morning, a little more assured, despite the familiar scent in her room. Storming down the hall, I snap at Fenris, iAre /iiyou /iisure /iiit’s /iihim/ii? /i

iWhen /iihave /iiI /iiever /iimistaken /iia /iiscent/i? iIt’s /iithe /iiwolf /iiwho /iifollowed /iiher /iiwhen /iwe ifirst /iimet/i. His irritation only feeds mine, like a cloud of dark energy following behind.

No new injuries marred her skin, no fresh bruises. At least there’s that. But that doesn’t exin the scent of another wolf in her room. A Blue Mountain wolf. One who shouldn’t dare approach…

“Damn it. She’s driving me crazy.”

iIt /iiwill /iionly /iiget /iworse iif you /iikeep /iidenying /iiour /iconnection to heri. /i

The tattoos on my neck burn, and I lift my upper lip in a snarl. “Everything will be fine once I settle things.” The others were right; she’s a victim, not a prisoner. And yet I can’t bring myself to send her back to human society.

She’s been under Brax’s thumb for six years. There are things she needs in order to survive as a human. A driver’s license. A ce to live. Money. Food. A job.

The more I think of, the worse it feels to even consider sending her back to the humans. At least if I brought her with us, she would have shelter, food, and never have to work again…

Shit. Fenris is messing with my thoughts again. Now I’m even considering bringing her to our pack, as if a human could ever survive surrounded by Lycans. 3

I want nothing more than peace in my head again. Peace without this obsessive need to surround myself in the aroma of blueberry muffins fresh out of the oven. Without imagining how her hair would feel between my fingers. Without wondering what her skin tastes like.

My mind betrays me, conjuring an image of her bare beneath me, her skin flushed and warm beneath my touch. I see every curve, every soft ne of her body, exposed for my eyes alone, the vision so vivid. I can almost feel her pulse beneath my-

Fuck.

I shake my head sharply, forcing the image away.

This obsession Fenris has forced upon me is disrupting everything. I’ve already killed for her, and I’m acting…

iStrangely/ii, /iFenris agrees. iI’m /iid you’re finally /iiseeing /iiit/i.

“Because of you,” I grumble.

30 Caine: Behaving Strangely

iNo. /iiBecause /iyou’re ifighting /iiwhat /iiwe /iiboth /iiknow /iiis /iitrue/i. iMy /iimind /iiis /iiclear /iibecause /iiI’ve /iiepted /iiour /iconnection with ithe /ihuman. Youi, /iion /iithe /iiother /iihand/ii, /iiseem /iiperfectly /iiwilling /iito /iidescend /iiinto /iimadness /iiwith /iyour idenial/i.

“Ignoring a mate bond doesn’t cause madness. Some even reject their mates.” Or so I’ve heard. I’ve never had much interest in the issue. One mate was enough.

iYou’re /inot a normal wolf. Or even a inormal /iiLycan/i.

A grunt escapes my throat. The cost of the throne weighs heavy, its evidence marked on my skin in the form of tattoos. The separation between wolf and manes at a steep price. It leaves me stripped of the natural bnce other shifters enjoy.

Where they feel love, I feel possession. Where they feel protectiveness, I feel rage. Where they

feel desire… 2

The igods /igave you ipower/i, ibut /iithey /iitook /iiyour /ihumanity iin /iiexchange/i.

I reach the end of the hall and turn, pacing back the way I came. The Blue Mountain shifter standing guard outside her door stiffens. It wasn’t his scent in her room, but he probably knows

who it was.

But if I force an answer out of him, what am I going to do? Hunt the man down? Demand to know why he was visiting? The girl isn’t hurt; if I go around tyrannizing everyone who looks at her twice, the rumors will only grow. As if Jack–Eye’s nagging isn’t enough.

My hands curl into fists as I spin on my heel and stalk away again, cursing myself for being weak enough to go back in the first ce. She won’t eat with me standing there, and she needs the sustenance. I have to give her space, even if I want to throw open the door and stand there, breathing in her scent for the next hour. Maybe three hours. A day. A week.

iForever/ii? /iFenris suggests.

No, damn it. She’s human. I killed Brax to uphold ourws; what would it say of me if I followed in his footsteps? I swore to uphold thew when I became King. I said I wouldn’t let power

define me.

iBeing /imated is a separate iissue/i.

4

My teeth grind together as I tense my jaw. iShe /iiisn’t /iiour /imatei, /iiFenris/i. She’s ihuman/i.

His tone turns calcting. iI /iisee/i. Tell mei, /ithen, ihow /iido /iiyou /iifeel /iwhen you’re itouching /iher?

The question stops me cold. My mind shes back to this earlier–the soft skin of her wrist beneath my fingers, the gentle pulsing of her heart against my thumb. The way her scent surrounded me, letting me breathe freely for the first time since I tackled her onto the forest floor.

Peace. For that brief moment, there was peace in my mind.

iExactly/i, Fenris purrs, catching the edges of my thoughts. He’s like a snake, striking while I’m

30 Caine: Behaving Strangely

weak. iIf /iiyou /iwant peace againi, /iiyou /iineed /ito iget /iicloser /iito /iiher/ii, /iinot /iiact /iilike /iia /iiferal /iibeast /iiwho’s /iinever /ibeen iaround /ia femalei. /iiYou’re /iiscaring /iiher /iioff /iipletely /iiwith /iiyour /iibizarre /iibehavior/ii. /i

“I don’t care if she’s scared. She won’t be around much longer, anyway.” Maybe I can stretch out this investigation for a few more days, though. Just enough to get things settled for her in the human world, not because I want to keep her around.

It’s for her benefit. Not mine. (2)

Hell–my pack can afford to subsidize an apartment for her. She’s a victim, after all. And if she’s in the apartment I’m paying for, I can keep an eye on her. Get her a job somewhere I know she’ll be safe. Somewhere without other men. Maybe I can convince her she doesn’t need to work; I’ll send her an allowance… Enough to keep herfortable. Happy. Safe.

iYou’re /ian iidiot /iiif /iiyou /iithink /ithat’ll ibe /iienough/i. Just itake /iiher /iwith us. 5