Kane's POVThe fever wakes me I don’t know how many hours later. I can smell a guard right outside my door, and someone, I’m guessing Willow, opened the window to let the cold night air blow over me. I can barely breathe, and my heart feels like it’s pulsing in my cock.I fall off the bed and crawl to the bathroom, where I fill the tub with cold water and roll into it. Holding my breath, I sink my whole body into the freezing water, biting back a scream as the ice folds around me.It helps, but doesn’t do the job as well as it did earlier. I come up for air, and lie back, ignoring the urge to get out of the tub so I can escape the cold. At least it numbs my body, and I can barely feel the hard-on that refuses to let up despite the icy water.I will not touch myself below the waist. Dani will feel it, there’s no way she wouldn’t, and I refuse to give her that kind of satisfaction. I’d rather see my cock rot off than give in to any physical desire for her.Such is the pull of her heat t
We drive up to a large building I’ve never seen before, not that I’ve had much time to explore the castle’s grounds, but you’d think a double-storey mansion would be more difficult to hide. The whole place is fenced in behind a row of trees, and female guards patrol the perimeter of the mansion’s grounds. “Lots of security for a bunch of women and children,” I say. “Hm,” Glenn grunts. “It’s a somewhat arcane set-up…but back in the day, before we outlawed rape, widowed she-wolves needed protection from the young males. They have no mates, and they are not virgins anymore, so the unmated males used to see them as free game.” “That has changed, I trust?” “Oh yes. Decades ago when Kane’s grandfather put a stop to it, but some of the old traditions and ways of life stuck. It helps, the routine and the laws, it keeps the order.” “I know, Kane told me.” No one tries to stop us as we get out of the car and walk up to the large front door. “The she-wolf in charge is called Mistress Elsa. S
Kane’s POV I steer clear of the widow’s hostel, knowing that if I’m alone with Dani now, I won’t be able to stop myself. Though I don’t feel sick anymore, she’s pulling me in like a siren, trying to force me to go to her – and I don’t know if it’s her or the heat doing it. Probably a little of both. I run to our place of worship. The place I want to bring Willow tomorrow. It’s ancient and remained untouched for centuries. I run into the clearing, a perfect circle surrounded by the runes of our Goddess. We lost the ability to read the writing on the old standing stones, but we can still feel her here, her power and magnificence. Nothing grows in the circle except grass, and on the very edge of the clearing, a little purple flower that doesn’t grow anywhere else on the property, and never dies. We call them The Goddess Garland, and when we bring a new wolf into the light, the she-wolves will fashion a crown from the flowers and their stems for the new wolf. We believe the mysterious l
I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to see the look in Kane’s eyes or hear the desire in his voice, but I can’t leave. He’d never abandoned me. No matter what I’ve done, no matter what I’ll do in the future, he’ll never leave me. I have to be there for him, even if it hurts. He pulls me back against him like a shield. His erection pushing into the small of my back. I understand what he’s trying to do, he’s been doing it all night. It kills me that Dani’s the one having this kind of effect on him, but I don’t move. Not just for him, but for me. I’d go out of my mind if she saw his desire for her. “You are my mate,” Dani insists, her feverish eyes never leaving his face. “I can feel it.” “Hm no, you are wishing the bond back into existence,” Kane says. “I hate you, do you understand. I can’t stand the sight of you.” “Your mother…she said I was in danger…” she starts rambling. “Stop lying,” he snaps, cutting her off. “My mother paid you to leave, and you chose the money.” His hand
Kane's POVI lean back on the couch, one arm behind my head, trying not to give in to my broken heart. I didn’t expect it. I thought that I’d feel nothing because I have Willow, but I was wrong. It wasn’t as bad as the first time, but the longing and pain caused by the broken bond is unmistakable.I hear my mate in the bedroom, singing to our son while she nurses him, and concentrate on that, on my love for them and her love for me. It was her love that broke Dani’s hold over me, when she stood by my side, refusing to leave even though it hurt her to be a part of it. She never wavered, never doubted me. Maybe her love and trust will help me heal again.I’m aware of Willow walking towards me, but don’t open my eyes to look at her. “It still hurts, huh?”“Yes. But it’s not like the first time. I don’t feel like I want to die.” That part is true enough. I grunt and sit upright, opening my eyes so I can look at her. “I’m sorry…I know this hurts you too.”She shrugs. She hasn’t said a word
Kane’s POVI don’t move from the couch. I can’t. All I can do is lie here and listen to Willow as she bustles about doing Goddess knows only what. She’s all over the place and fucking hyper today – an effect of the approaching full moon no doubt, but I don’t feel any of it right now. I'm sluggish and tired and don't know what to do with myself.I’m aware of her standing in the room with me. Suddenly quiet and unmoving. “Willow? What’s wrong?”“Oh. You’re awake.”“Uh-huh.”“I was wondering…with the full moon tonight and all. What do I do with Adare?”“Mothers usually shift away from the tribe. We have this sort of…nursery thing where you put the pup when you shift, and you stay with them. Males are not allowed, you know, for the pups’ safety.”“You kill babies?”“Nooo.” I groan, open my eyes and turn my head to look at her. She’s sitting on the coffee table, for once without Adare attached to her chest. “But you should know better than anyone that you can lose control of your wolf, and
The rooms in the South wing are magnificent. Despite the dust and debris of years of neglect, the structure is still sound. It’s as if the previous occupants simply up and disappeared, leaving all their belongings behind. All over the place, I find remnants of their life. Crumbling clothes, clunky shoes, a broken porcelain doll. I could spend days in here, just rummaging around, looking at all the history they left behind. I pick an odd black and white photograph up and stare at it. In it, are four people lying on an old-fashioned bed with copper posts – a mother, father, and two children, all of them asleep. “This is weird,” I say and turn the photograph over. “Josiah Madden and family.” “Let me see,” Kane says and holds out his hand. “Oh. They’re all dead. It’s a memento mori.” “A what?” “Back in the Victorian era, having your photograph taken was expensive, so families would only take pictures of their loved ones after they died. Memento mori means, ‘Remember that you must die.
I can feel the fragile peace between us shatter. Kane glares at me, and he doesn’t have to say the words to make his accusation clear. Unconsciously, I take a step away from him, not thinking what it might look like to him when I retreat. Breathlessly, I wait for him to ask the question. “Dammit, Willow,” he sighs and sinks to the couch. “What did you do?”“Nothing.”He doesn’t believe me. “Did you kill her?”“No!” I snap. “Why do you just automatically assume I killed her? It could be anything. Maybe she just went for a nice long walk, you know. She is gone, not dead." I take a deep breath, trying to get myself back under control. "I was here all night. You know that.”“I don’t know!” he hollers. “I was asleep.”Behind me, Adare starts crying. Shooting Kane an ugly look, I turn around and bend over to pick him up. “Don’t shout.” Cradling the baby close, I ask, “Why does it matter one way or the other, really? Why do you care if she’s dead or alive?”Kane scrubs his hands over his fac