I find Nicholas kneeling next to Justine’s body, his forehead in the palm of his hand, crying softly – the sound of someone whose heart is genuinely broken. “What am I going to do now?” he asks me through his tears. “You are going to bury her,” I say and crouch next to the boy. “Then you are going to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and go on with life.” “I want to die,” he says. My insides go cold. I loved Justine, but I barely see Nicholas. He’s quiet, a bit of a loner who prefers to keep to himself, but I don’t want to see more of our wolves die. There’s nothing I can do about it though. If he decides he’d rather die, no one can save him, but I have to try. “Do you want to go to the doctor? He can help.” “No. There’s no life for me without her.” “You don’t know that. There may be someone else for you.” He shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” “Willow?” Kane asks in my head. “Are you about ready?” “In a minute,” I reply. I squeeze Nicholas’s shoulder. I have a feeling when
Kane's POV I wake with a violent jerk, the sun relentlessly stabbing my eyes. Groaning, I swallow against my sandpaper tongue and struggle upright. I have the mother of all hangovers, and I regret my decision to go on a bender last night. Somehow, we ended up spending the night in my mother’s apartment. Minutes after we left, she came storming up to us, livid that I didn’t summon her the moment Narcissa broke into our flat. Even if I lived to become as old as Zael, I would never have expected my mother to change this much. I am not quite sure if it is because of Willow, Adare’s birth, or because my father is dead and she is finally free to be herself, but I don’t want to question it too much. As soon as we walked into her apartment, my mother gave Willow something to help her sleep, and shooed her off to bed, sitting next to my mate and son while they slept, keeping vigil over them. I found a bottle of whiskey in my mother's liquor cabinet, took two glasses and walked out to the p
Kane's POV I leave my mother’s apartment with about two litres of water and my mate who is cackling at me like an amused hyena. “What's funny?” I ask. “You look like you’re getting ready to go on a trek through the Sahara.” I smirk and shrug. “I’m afraid I won’t make it otherwise.” She puts her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “Was it worth it?” “No,” I burp and pull a face as acid pushes its way up my gullet, burning my throat. “Maybe I should just take my mother’s herbs next time I feel like checking out for the night.” She laughs again and lightly slaps my shoulder. “What fun is life if we don’t lose a little control every once in a while?” “I didn’t lose control,” I say. “I never lose control.” “Yeah you do,” she teases lightly and touches the mark on her shoulder. “Or do you so easily forget the night you gave me this.” “Do you wish I could take it back?” “No,” she says quickly. “No. Never. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.” She’s in a muc
I quietly watch while Innocent tears into the food Tessa brought him. Kane is right outside the dining room, I can hear him pace up and down, feel the tension that rattles through him like bolts of electricity.A lot hinges on this scheme of his, which I have to admit might work if we can pull it off. “So, Miss Jones,” The Pope says and wipes his mouth with a napkin. “You surely had me fooled, didn’t you?”“Yes, I guess I did.”Slowly, he nods. “I have to take some of the blame…I wanted to believe you turned over a new leaf.”“Sorry to disappoint.”“Oh, on the contrary, you are quite the worthy adversary. It’s been a while since anyone challenged me as much as you have. It’s been…fun, for lack of a better word.”Innocent still has the power to make me feel nervous and slightly hopeless. Now that he has washed, is dressed in clean clothes, and has eaten, he’s almost back to normal. Back to the man I met. He has that same, arrogant air of authority he had back at the stronghold. It’s as
Kane's POVI take a seat next to Willow opposite Innocent. I give him a moment to compose himself. I’d accomplish nothing if I showed any kind of acknowledgment of his tears. Instead, I mind link with my mate to tell her, “You did well. I’m so proud of you.”She gives me an uncertain, wavering smile, and I briefly squeeze her hand. I’m the only one who knows how nervous she is, how close she is to running from this room and never looking back.“I don’t think we officially met,” I finally say to Innocent.“No, but I know everything about you.”“Do you think so?”The Pope sits up straighter and squares his shoulders. A clear display of dominance if I ever saw one. “You’re all the same.”“Hm,” I grunt. “Does that help?”“Does what help?”“Dehumanising us, pretending we’re all heartless monsters that go around killing children. Does that make it easier to slaughter us?”Innocent doesn’t answer me. That’s all right. I don’t really need one. I just want to see his reaction to my question. H
Kane’s POV “What is it with that man and his obsession with you?” I ask Willow when we’re alone in a random hallway. “I don’t know,” she answers in a teary voice and pulls at the neck of the thick dress. She's just about to reach breaking point. “I want to take this fucking thing off.” I nod. “Come. We have some time.” “The Alphas--” “It will take time for them to gather. We have an hour or two. Jackson will let me know when everyone’s ready. Let’s go upstairs.” She doesn’t ask any questions, just follows me back to our apartment. She’s tired. Tired of the drama, of being in control, of the fear and the pain. She's just done, and while she doesn't say it aloud, I know that she needs me to take care of her for a little while. “Get out,” I say to the construction crew when we enter our apartment. The wolves immediately drop their tools and leave. Willow stands rooted to the spot, clearly unwilling to go to our bedroom. “Anything in particular you’d like to wear?” I ask. “You pick
Holding two glasses of ice tea, I watch Kane from the backdoor. He’s sitting on the porch, holding his head in his hands. The oaths were brutal and took a lot more out of him than the rest of us. As he did with the messengers, he took most of it on himself, but there were a lot more this time, and he could barely move.Adare toddles up to his father and pats his thigh. “Papa,” he says.Kane lets go of his head and looks down at his son who is holding on to his leg for support. Groaning softly, he leans over and picks the baby up to sit on his lap. “And what did you do with yourself all day?” my mate asks.Adare frowns at Kane. “Papa,” he says again. “Papa sah?”I almost fall on my back. It’s not so much the fact that he’s putting words together that surprises me, it’s that he can tell his father isn’t feel well. My mate, though, is unperturbed. “Yes, Daddy’s a little sad.” He taps the tip of Adare’s nose with his finger. “But less sad now that you’re here.”I walk out onto the porch a
Kane's POV I bring a whole squad with me when I leave the castle to send the two traitor kings’ subjects on their way. They are outraged, but not stupid enough to attack me. They are from small kingdoms, and the fight isn’t worth it to them. “Make sure they leave,” I tell Susan. At least the departure of the packs and two small tribes frees up some space for the rest of the wolves. The grounds are becoming cramped, and hygiene is turning into a bit of a problem. “King,” Drummond calls to me on the way back to the castle. Tired and cranky and not in the mood for anyone, I stop to talk to the Alpha anyway. “What’s up?” “The Alphas were talking.” “And you were chosen as the unfortunate spokesperson?” I ask, smiling at the wolf. “Yes--” he shuffles around and glances over his shoulder at the Alphas coming over to back him up --“we’re just wondering what your plans are. We’re just…camping out, doing nothing. Are we going to war any time soon?” I nodded. That’s a fair question. “I’ll