Kane watched as the events unfolded before him in slow motion. He had just come back from a fierce battle that had left him more scarred than he would like, and he was livid.
The only thing that has been keeping him sane is the fact that his mate is coming back home after so many years. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was nervous.
He wondered about the changes that had occurred to her all the while she was outside the country, and he couldn’t help but want to see her.
His wolf had been giddy all day long, dying to see his mate, and Kane, despite his outward disposition, shared the same fate.
He had confirmed from Toby that she was sleeping peacefully in her room, and that was the only reason he had entered in his wolf form. Changing to human will slow down his healing.
Kane had been trying to remove the splinter from his fur when he heard her footsteps even before she entered his room, and he had been praying to the moon goddess that she wouldn’t enter his room. But the moon goddess could be a bitch sometimes because Ariel opened the door and entered like she owned it, and it took everything in him not to pounce on her.
Kane had held his breath while still praying under his breath that she wouldn’t venture further into his room, but who was he kidding?
One moment, he was hiding himself before her, and the next, a powerful light shone on his face, and he shielded his sensitive eyes from the rays. Her screams were all he heard before she fell backward.
Not on his watch!
Before her head could touch the ground, Kane was running towards her, catching her before she could meet a terrible fate.
“Shit.” Kane wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of electricity he would experience as their skins made contact. He sucked in a sharp breath, closing his eyes to steady himself, and he was able to help her towards the bed.
She could wake up at any moment, so he had to be fast. He was changing into a human despite the pain that licked at him for disrupting the healing process.
He barely spared a glance at his bruised knee with discoloration all over because he was picking up a mop and cleaning every trickle of blood.
He needed to wash off all the evidence before she woke up.
Kane was running to the bathroom, turning the knob to the hottest he could bear without getting burned, and taking the fattest bath ever before he rushed out of the bathroom all red and looking like a tomato.
He was just putting on his clothes when he heard her breath returning to normalcy, and Kane was literally flying to go and meet her.
And he was just in time because her eyes fluttered open, and he was rewarded with an alluring set of blue eyes that only seemed to draw you in the more you looked at them.
“Hello.” Kane said in his baritone voice that it had Ariel shivering against her will.
Oh my gosh! She had a mini-fangirl panic in her mind. That was one of the hottest baritones she had ever heard, and she just wanted to curl up on the sofa and listen to him read her bedtime stories.
But the haze was quick to disappear, and she suddenly remembered how she got here.
“Oh my god! The…the…the... Be-be-bea” Suddenly, she lost her ability to breathe, and she was whizzing. Her mouth was opened, and her chest was rising rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.
“It is alright; you are safe.” Kane whispered into her ears while his hands caressed her arms gently. “Just take a deep breath.”
Ariel’s eyes were fixed on him as she followed his instruction, taking puffs of air and inhaling it on his command.
“Good girl, just like that.” Kane whispered, and Ariel was going crazy.
Fuck! If he was sounding like this when he was comforting her, she wondered how he would sound when she was taking him in, and she was going crazy.
The sharp look Kane gave her was as though he could read her thoughts, and she was sinking into the sheets.
Good going, Ariel. You got the man thinking you are a horn dog. She chided herself.
“How do you feel now?” Kane's voice was breaking her out of her thoughts, and she nodded her head. She opened her mouth to talk, but she felt cold fingers on her lips, shutting her.
“Shhh. Don’t talk too much; let me get you water for your throat.”
What do you do when you have a fine piece of sex fawning over you?
You keep mute and heed his advice, and that was what Ariel did. She nodded her head mechanically, like a robot, and wondered if she had somehow landed in heaven.
She watched him go, looking at his powerful limbs as he threw them in front of him. She had never felt this sexual attraction for anyone in a long time.
Ariel had declared herself asexual when she didn’t find anyone attractive on her campus. No matter how handsome they were, their appearance wasn’t making her insides turn to jelly or her lady part throb.
Yet this man came, and she was almost putty in his hands. She could understand why people have one-night stands, and right now she was lusting after this man.
Kane came back almost immediately, holding a bottle of water and a glass cup in his hands, and Ariel watched as he poured her a glass, bringing it closer to her mouth.
“Drink.” It was a simple command, and she needed no prompt before she started chugging the water until she tapped his arms to signify she was satisfied.
“Thank you.” Ariel said, expressing her gratitude in a polite voice. She wasn’t a shy person; hell, she participated in student politics back at the university, but she wouldn’t meet this man's eyes.
While hers were fixed on the abstract painting on the wall, Kane's eyes roamed about his mate, appreciating the view.
“You may speak.” Kane said, and Ariel was taken aback. How dare he tell her what to do?
She would speak if she wanted to and not because a man asked her to, yet she was opening her mouth before her brain could process it.
“A bear.” was all she could stammer out when she remembered the furry creature she had locked eyes with before she passed out.
“You are going to have to talk to me in full sentences if you want me to understand you, Ariel.”
Ariel was flying up from the bed into a sitting position before she could think of it. “How did you know my name?” Kane was taken aback by her sudden outburst, and his shoulder shook as he laughed. “I didn’t crack a joke, Mr., how did you know my name?” She snapped, her voice ringing in the hallways.
Kane took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He disliked any atom of disrespect, but he would let it slide since she was still new to their world. “Where do you think you are?”
Ariel looked around her for a moment, connecting the dots, and she suddenly remembered who she was. This person was talking like he knew all about her, and only one person could come to mind.
“You are Kane.” Ariel stated as a matter of fact, and he smiled.
"Indeed, I am; now you were about to tell me what happened.”
“I saw a bear.” Ariel finally managed to speak out, and from the look Kane was giving her, she knew she would have kept her thoughts to herself.
“Don’t be silly now, Ari; there is no way a bear could get inside here.”
“It is true. I saw a bear.” Ariel shouted in defense, but she remembered the look he had given her when she raised her voice, and she was lowering her tone. “I could swear I saw blood dripping on the floor and a large bear.”
Kane shook his head, and Ariel was not sure she liked it. “Look around you.”
Ariel hated the tone he was using on her, as if she were a stubborn child, and it was not sitting right with her. She grudgingly swept her eyes around the room, her lips forming a pout, but to her dismay, everything was looking sparkly clean, and she was losing her mind.
“I swear I saw blood around and a bear, and everything was dark, and…” she said, shutting her mouth as she felt his arms wrapped around her.
“You must be experiencing jet lag and hallucinating. But it is fine; I will send in someone with your food so you can eat.”
“Fine.” That statement was enough to keep her shut. She could never say no to good food. So she sat and folded her hands as she waited for the food.
As she took a bite of the tuna sandwich, all she could think of was welcome back home.
The event that happened in Kane’s room has taken place for a day now, yet Ariel couldn’t get it out of her mind. Talk about one of the most unexpected ways to meet the man who had been her sole financier.Yet what she was feeling for the man wasn’t something you are supposed to feel for a guardian, and she was ashamed, to say the least.The next day, she tried to avoid Kane with all she had, staying up in her room, but she shouldn’t have bothered because Kane had made it his life mission not to come close to her.Ariel had taken to staying in her room and spending her time with Claudia, who always had a gist for her, while she was being waited on by the men in the house.“Oh my gosh!” Claudia exclaimed one day as one of the warriors dropped a tray of food in her room. “Who is that sexy piece of hot ass that just entered your room?”“Claudia!” Ariel shrieked, beyond mortified by her friend's outburst, and she was sure 'the sexy piece of ass' heard what she had said.“What?” Claudia rol
I don’t know why I thought opening my mouth and telling the whole world that I needed Toby was a good idea. Ariel thought as all pairs of brown, blue, and gray eyes were trained on her.Can the ground just open and swallow me?"Ariel?” Toby asked with a look of confusion, looking at her like she had lost her mind, and she agreed with him. Indeed, she has. “Alright everyone, training is over; you can go rest your lazy ass.” Toby said, and there was a collective sigh of relief from the lips of everyone.Ariel moved to the side, making way for them as they began to file out of the room, but not before giving her a once-over.Yep, she was sure they were judging her in their minds. Suddenly, the shorts she had worn were too short, the shirt too old, her posture too slouched, and she was sure there was a horrible pimple sticking out of her face, just ready to burst.“Ariel?” Toby's voice was breaking her thoughts, and she was grateful for that. “Come in.” He gestured inside, and she didn’t
"You have been avoiding me." Ariel grumbled as she looked at Kane. The latter looked at her like a deer caught in a trap, and Ariel had no plans of letting this deer go.“I don’t think so.” Kane argued, doing everything in his power to avoid looking into her eyes. He knew it only took one look before he was sucked into the hole that was Ariel, and he didn’t think he was ready for that now."Yes, you are.” Ariel repeated, tucking her arms into themselves to appear menacing while she inches closer to him.“No, I am not; if you would excuse me, I have some things to attend to.” Kane said, and he moved to the other side, trying to pass around her.“At least, you should have the decency to look me in the eyes if you want to lie to me. Don’t you think?” Ariel huffed, not at all impressed with his performance.Kane’s patience was already hanging on a thin thread, but he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He needed to keep reminding himself that Ariel wasn’t a werewolf and that she h
Kane had been working around the clock for so long that he decided to take a break today before he collapsed. There was a war brewing between some Latina gangs, and it meant good business for him, so he had been trying to supply them with the weapons.But right now, he is stretched thin.The suppliers were acting up and refusing to keep the end of their deal, and he had to go there physically to solve the issue.He thought that was all it took for him to receive a call from Mason that the American government was becoming strict with their rules and he could no longer operate business as usual.Last week was a whole lot, but he had managed to keep his end of the bargain, everyone was happy, and he had decided to give himself the day off, and maybe he could go and see his mate.Kane had been so busy that he hadn’t allowed himself to think of her; otherwise, he was going to be taking the next available flight to run back to her.But now that he was around, he would try to get to know her
Ariel looked at the door as Kane left, and she was almost foaming from her mouth. Her fist tightened in anger, and she wanted to do something.Like punch the wall or scream her lungs out."Gosh, I hate him.” Does he think he owns her just because he is her caretaker? Newsflash, she didn’t ask to be adopted.She may seem like she is ungrateful, but that is the truth.“Shhh, don’t say that.” Toby tried to caution her, but Ariel was not hearing anything of it.“Oh, what is he going to do?” She asked, rolling her eyes. She was tempted to open the door and give him a reply, but she held herself back and turned to Toby. “I am sorry for what happened.” She apologized to him, but he was shaking his head.“It is fine; I should be the one apologizing. I knew it was going to cause trouble, yet I still allowed it. I will be taking my leave now.” Toby didn’t even give her a chance to reply before he was walking out of the room and leaving her alone, speechless.Ariel stared at the empty space; her
Okay, Kane didn’t actually fuck her, but his lips inched closer to her, sounding like a warning that she failed to heed. “D-don't come near me, Kane; don’t you dare?” Ariel was stuttering, yet she couldn’t deny the hint of excitement she felt as he got closer to her.Is this what they call sexual tension, because she was definitely experiencing it now?However, she took a step backward, trying to move away from him, but Kane wasn’t letting that happen. With each step she took from him, he took one towards her, and like that until her back met the wall.“Kane. Don’t.” Ariel whined, although she had no idea why she was telling him not to. His gaze dipped to her lips, and she looked into his eyes, wondering just how long his lashes were.He caught her off guard for a moment when he stared into her eyes, and she was whipping her head to the side in a bid to avoid him, but his hands held her jaw firmly, and he turned her to face him.“Never hide away from me, love. I want to see those beau
Something wasn’t just adding up from his explanation, but Ariel ignored the questions that had been plaguing her and decided to put them away. She didn’t totally forget it, but right now, her mind couldn’t think of anything but rest.Kane had managed to push her body to the limit, and while it was fun then, she needed to rest her weary limbs before she collapsed.She dragged herself to the bed and managed to take a short nap, but even that one proved difficult because she was just turning and tossing on the bed, reliving the minute they kissed.It had been long since she had been kissed like that, after her first relationship, which had pretty much failed, but even that couldn’t hold a candle to what she felt.Kane was a grown man, and he kissed her like one, holding her close and pressing into her and- “Arrggghhh.” Ariel grabbed the pillow in front of her, screaming into it as she could barely contain her happiness.It had happened in a way she didn’t expect, but she couldn’t have ha
“Ariel?”“Oh my gosh!” Ariel couldn’t help the sigh of relief that left her when she recognized the intruder at the door. There was no way she could forget that voice, and she was running towards him as soon as she heard him. “Kane.” She cried out as she saw him, running to his embrace.“Ariel.” Kane said with a humph as she collided with him, but he welcomed it, wrapping his hands around her. He felt at home as the familiar sparks developed between them, and he inhaled her scent, letting it wash over him. But as soon as their bodies touched each other, she was inching away from him, and he let his eyes roam over her, trying to determine the cause of her discomfort. “What is wrong?”Ariel couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth; instead, she nodded towards the room, where the strange man was still standing there.“Mason? Really?” Kane said in a monotone voice as he regarded his beta. “Why are you terrorizing her? Come on, Ariel, he is harmless.” Kane said, leading her into his office