An Ally.

KANE

Oh my! Her lips were softer than I imagined. Damn! Her taste alone was intoxicating. I could feel her resistance slowly melting by me as her body yielded to the pull between us. 

My hands slid to the back of her neck, drawing her closer, deepening the kiss.

Catherine’s breath came in shallow gasps, and I felt her fingers tighten in my shirt as if she was torn between pulling me closer and pushing me away. 

I moved my lips to her neck, trailing slow, deliberate kisses down her throat. She shivered under my touch. In fact, her pulse quickened beneath my lips.

“Kane...” she whispered in a shaky tone.

There was no need to tell me. It was obvious that she was torn between the anger she had tried to hold onto and the desire she couldn’t suppress at that moment.

I smirked against her skin, knowing I had shattered her defenses, at least for the moment. 

“Do you still think you won’t respond to me?” I murmured, brushing my lips over her collarbone.

Her breath hitched, but instead of answering, she sighed and her fingers loosened their grip on my shirt as her body melted fully against mine. 

Something slipped from her shoulders, but I couldn't care less. I pulled her tighter and I captured her mouth again, hungrier this time.

She responded to my every touch.

Goodness, she responded. Her lips moved against mine with a fervor I hadn’t expected, and the heat between us ignited into something dangerous, something that pushed me toward the edge of control.

Catherine’s hands slid up to my shoulders and her fingers dug into my skin as if she wanted to anchor herself in the storm we’d created.

 I could feel the beast stirring inside me, clawing at the surface, desperate to take more, to claim her fully. But I held back with everything in me. I didn't want to scare her off now.

“Kane…” she gasped again as I nipped at the sensitive skin below her ear. She arched her body into mine, letting her guard completely down now.

I didn’t want to stop. I couldn’t stop.

But just as I was about to pull her even closer, the doors to my chambers burst open with a loud crash.

I froze, and Catherine jerked back, startled, her wide eyes snapping to the doorway. The air around us suddenly felt cold now.

“Kane,” a familiar, icy voice called from the entrance.

My blood ran cold, and I released Catherine instantly, turning to face the woman who stood in the doorway.

My mother.

Zelda’s gaze swept over the room, her lips curling into a sly knowing smile as she stared at us both, Catherine’s flushed face and the disheveled state of my shirt. She raised an eyebrow Asher eyes glinted.

“Well,” she drawled, stepping further into the room, “I see I’ve come at a rather… inconvenient time.”

A low growl escaped my throat as I glared at my mother. 

“What are you doing here, Mother?” I demanded, barely containing the snarl that wanted to rip free. “You left years ago to travel the realm. Why do you have to return now?”

Zelda’s smile was unfazed by my anger. It was as if she had expected this reaction. 

Instead, she stepped closer, her eyes gleaming with amusement and something darker, something I had long learned to distrust. 

“Oh, darling, is that any way to greet your mother after all these years?” She glanced toward Catherine. “Well...I was in town coincidentally and heard about you finally taking a bride.”

Her eyes flicked over to startled Catherine, who was still adjusting her gown as if trying to recover from our moment. My teeth ground together, feeling the crazy urgent to draw her into my arms right away again. 

This was not how tonight was supposed to go.

Before I could stop her, Zelda crossed the room in a sweep of elegance, her arms opening toward Catherine. 

“My dear,” she cooed, embracing her warmly, much to my disgust. “I’m so sorry you had to deal with this brute of a son all on your own.”

Catherine blinked, clearly caught off guard. But she didn’t pull away. I could see her stiffen, uncomfortable in my mother’s embrace, but the force of Zelda’s charm was undeniable.

Zelda pulled back just enough to study Catherine’s face, her hands gently cupping her cheeks. 

“You’re absolutely stunning,” she murmured, more of her passing a comment. “And I must apologize for Kane’s lack of manners. A proper mating ceremony, a formal introduction to the pack, that’s what you deserve. Not, this.”

My fists clenched at my sides. I knew exactly what she was doing. She was no doubt trying to sabotage this moment. It was a game to her. It had always been. 

Right then, I could see the calculating glint in her eyes as she acted her role of the kind and doting mother.

Catherine looked conflicted and glanced at me before turning back to Zelda. 

“I don’t need anything formal,” she said hesitantly.

Zelda shook her head dismissively. 

“That’s nonsense,” she insisted. “Kane has always been impulsive, but this is no way to start a bond as sacred as yours. You deserve better, darling.”

I took a step forward. “Mother,” I growled as the beast within me stirred dangerously. “This isn’t your place. Leave.”

But she ignored me. Her attention was fully on Catherine. 

“Come, dear,” she said softly, taking Catherine’s arm. “I’ll have my maids prepare a proper introduction ceremony for you, one befitting your status. You shouldn’t have to rush into things like this.”

“Mother,” I snarled, but she waved me off as if I were nothing more than a troublesome child.

To my utter frustration, Catherine allowed herself to be led away after casting one last conflicted glance over her shoulder as Zelda whisked her from the room. 

The doors slammed shut behind them, and everywhere became silent.

The growl building in my chest erupted as I punched the nearest wall with my knuckles cracking against the stone. The beast within me roared, pushing me toward the edge.

I had her. She was mine, and now my mother of all people had torn her from my grasp.

“Damn it!” I hissed.