Kane (9 page)

They did it naturally, without any need for
discussion. It was just instinct to pair up with her. If he’d had
time to think about it, he would have wanted to protest even though
he knew it was a better arrangement. She wasn’t strong enough to
support Sebastian. He or Mathias would have to do that. So he
ignored the nagging feeling he was putting her into even more
danger, and followed everyone out the door.

He could see Alec and Izzy working their way
through the shadows to the main gate, and he waved Sebastian and
Mathias ahead. He dropped back to protect them and Calista fell
into step beside him. Some of Tobias’ officers were organizing men.
The confusion was beginning to pass.

Calista moved in front of him, stepping into
the shadow of a doorway when shooting broke out. He tried to blend
into a wall, and they whispered at each other.

“Who’s shooting?” she asked. “And at
who?”

He shook his head, but realized she couldn’t
see his response. “I don’t know. It’s stopped for now. Let’s
move.”

Alec and Izzy slipped through the gate,
probably using Alec’s ability to confuse minds. Kane heard the
distant whinny of a horse and hoped they were leaving the area. He
spared half a second to worry over the vampire, hoping he had some
place safe to hole up. The sun would rise soon. Sharpening his
attention on the here and now, he saw one of the guards at the gate
drop to the ground, clutching the knife protruding from his throat.
The other one quickly followed, and his men were out.

The yard was filling with light, lanterns
appearing in odd places and leaving shadow in spots but brightening
the area around the gate. The downed men were noticed, and Kane
knew time was running out. He grabbed Calista’s hand and sprinted
up the side of the building they stood by.

Another explosion rocked the night and he
sent a silent thanks to his brother. Where the gate shack had
stood, now there was a huge opening. The blast took a large section
of the fencing with it, part of the rubble in the dark, and he
switched directions for the dim cover. Another detonation rocked
the earth, and Calista stumbled. He barely caught her before they
both fell in a heap on the ground.

“How much dynamite did y’all use?” he
grumbled.

“Enough,” she answered, voice tight, gaze
fixed ahead.

They reached the rubble of what had been the
perimeter fencing, but before he could help her over a growl
rumbled at his back. He whirled around to face a huge black
werewolf, knew who it must be even though he’d never met him
before. Next to him Calista stiffened and hissed his name.

“Tobias.”

They’d holstered their weapons to climb over
the fence, but instead of attacking them while they were in a weak
position, Tobias shifted. He met Kane’s gaze, arrogant, tall and
naked. A knot formed in Kane’s gut.
I’ve got a bad feeling about
this.

Tobias’ smile was sly, his bearing superior.
“Challenge.”

Calista went to draw her gun, but he caught
her hand. “No. He’s issued a challenge.”

She looked at him like he’d lost his mind,
and he was reminded how little she knew of his world.

“You’ve got to be joking. We’re not in New
Atlanta. He’s not in your pack. Let me shoot him so we can get out
of here.” Her weapon cleared the holster, and he grabbed her
shoulders, spinning her to face him.

“No.” He shook his head, wondering how to
make her understand. “This is territory my pack claims. Anyone can
challenge the Alpha. If you interfere, I lose face.”

She sputtered. “That’s just dumb, Kane.” She
lowered her voice. “He’s bigger than you. What happens if you don’t
win?”

He winked and started to strip off his
clothes. “Then you shoot him.”

He wanted to order her to leave, but knew she
wouldn’t and didn’t want the other werewolf to see he couldn’t
control his own mate. Besides, he justified, it was probably better
if she got a look at how brutal his world could be right from the
get go. He shifted and circled Tobias, watching the way the wolf
moved, the way he held himself. Tobias hadn’t reached his current
position by being nice or easy to take in a fight, and it showed in
his smooth movements, his straightforward strength. He heard the
approach of others but didn’t dare turn to see who they were.

The wolf outweighed him and stood two hands
taller. Kane was far from inexperienced, held his Alpha position
not only because of family connections but because he was the only
one strong enough. But where he made an effort to fight fair, he
recognized Tobias as someone who would use every dirty trick in the
book. He studied his enemy as long as possible, decided his best
option was to go in hard and fast.

They attacked at the same time, Kane going
for the other werewolf’s throat, Tobias going for his side. A
tactic meant to slow Kane down, wear him down. They met in midair
and broke apart, circling again. He ignored Calista’s gasp and the
blood running down his side, noted with satisfaction the blood
matting the hair on Tobias’ nape.

Tobias was slower the next time he attacked.
Instead of countering the move, Kane just avoided it. Hoping to
turn Tobias’ tactics against him, he didn’t go on the offensive,
but let the other wolf come at him. Over and over again, until they
were both panting. Tobias got in a few lucky scratches, but nothing
that slowed Kane down. The next time Tobias leapt forward, Kane
twisted under him, caught his neck in his snout. He bit down hard
and heard bone snap, tasted the gush of blood on his tongue. When
Tobias stopped struggling, he wormed his way out from under the
dead body and shifted.

He stood and for the first time noticed the
crowd gathered around, saw Calista eyeing it warily with both guns
drawn. She spared a glance for him, but her expression was closed,
her gaze all business. He couldn’t read her assessment of the
scene. He stepped forward, and the crowd parted for him, silent as
he dressed. Covered in blood, he ignored his shirt and just pulled
on pants and shoes. He kept one eye on the crowd, saw a couple men
carry the General’s body away. Several others drifted off and
finally only two remained. One of them grinned before speaking.

“Even here we have rules. A challenge fairly
fought.” Respect tinged the stranger’s voice. “You have twenty-four
hours safe passage. Then I’ll have no choice but to avenge my
uncle’s death.”

Kane nodded his understanding. He didn’t dare
trust his voice.

The werewolf chuckled and nodded at Calista.
“That’s some mate you have there. Keep her close.”

With a wink, he slipped into the shadows,
taking his companion with him. Kane didn’t stick around to see if
his word was good. Taking Calista’s hand, he led her through the
woods where they found the others waiting and headed home.

* * * * *

Going stir crazy, Calista was past wanting to
strangle Kane. They’d made the trip back to New Atlanta in record
time, stopping only for a couple of hours to sleep. They’d been
home three days, and she’d been cooped up in her house since with
Kane’s guards everywhere. They refused to let her leave and refused
to let anyone else in. She’d sent messages to him, demanded he get
rid of his goons, but he hadn’t responded.

Where the hell is he?
And why had he
stayed away? His men refused to speak, even Mathias, who was by far
the most talkative of the bunch.

She paced around the drawing room having long
ago given up on the book Rheana insisted she’d love. Her thoughts
were consumed with Kane, wondering where he was and why he was
gone. Was it her declaration of love? It sure as hell wasn’t like
her, but once she accepted it she hadn’t seen any point in hiding
it. Had he decided he didn’t want her for a mate after all? She
ignored the way her heart twisted in hurt and fear. It was obvious
he had. Best deal with it and move on. She’d never been one to
mope. She was meant for action. She was straightforward and to the
point. If he wanted to call it quits, he should just do it and get
it over with. She wanted to scream her frustration, wanted to beat
something and cause a scene.
God help him when he does finally
make an appearance.

Where the hell was he? She recalled the
injuries he’d received fighting Tobias. The cuts and scrapes and
deep gouges. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing away nausea. He’d
been so covered in blood she hadn’t realized how extensive the
wounds were until they paused by a stream long enough for him to
wade in and wash off. How resilient were werewolves? How close had
Tobias come to killing him? Mathias insisted the injuries weren’t
bad at all, that he wasn’t holed up somewhere on his deathbed, but
how could she know? He wasn’t coming to her, and they wouldn’t take
her to him.

The door creaked open, and Rheana stuck her
head around it. “Dinner’s ready.”

She nodded to acknowledge she heard, but
didn’t turn from the window. Rheana sighed and shut it behind her.
She was probably tired of fighting with her over food. Calista was
too tied up in knots to eat. Too angry and confused. Too worried
and exhausted. Maybe she’d just lie down for a little while. She
left the window and stretched out on the sofa.

She must have dozed off. When she woke it was
late afternoon, and she heard soft voices outside the door. Before
she could investigate, it opened and Kane stepped through. He shut
the door and flipped the lock closed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted
to rush over and kiss him or kill him. Anger won out, but she held
herself still, afraid she might actually do it. Rising slowly from
the sofa, she stood in place, ignoring the trembling in her limbs.
She looked him up and down, searching for signs of damage, but he
appeared whole. She breathed in a sigh of relief and exhaled one of
anger.

“Why the hell am I locked up in my own house,
Kane?” The spell finally broken, she stepped forward and let loose.
“We’ve been through this before. I don’t need or want your
protection. And frankly, if this is what it gets me I’d just as
soon you stay the hell out of my life period.”

His eyes narrowed. “Good evening to you too,
mate.”

She put her hands on her hips and faced
him.

“Oh, please. Three days, Kane. Three days
being locked up, three days of silence.” She shook her head. “I’m
not mate material. Partner I could work with. But this? When did I
ever strike you as someone who wanted to be kept in a cage?”

“I had some things that had to be taken care
of. Things you couldn’t help with.”

She clenched her jaw, refusing to let even
one tear fall. After all they’d been through he still didn’t trust
her. With his secrets. With his life or identity. She just wanted
it all over and said and done with. Was that too much to ask? The
fight went out of her, and she shoved her hands in her pockets,
went to move around him. He caught her, his fingers wrapping around
the sensitive skin of her upper arm, and she fought the shiver of
recognition, fought the urge of her body to lean into him. She
tried to shake him off and refused to meet his gaze, staring at the
door.

“Let me go, Kane. I’m not up for this
tonight.”

She didn’t bother to keep the weariness from
her voice, didn’t even care anymore if he saw how much she was
affected. She just needed some time and space to lick her wounds,
then she’d move on with her life.

“Sure, darlin’.” His voice was as soft as the
touch that traced a line down the side of her face. She struggled
to hold in a contented sigh. “You look exhausted. I’ll just put you
to bed, and we can discuss this tomorrow.”

There was no mistaking the husky timbre in
his voice, and her gaze flew to his face. No way in hell. His
eyebrows flew up in mock surprise. Had she said that out loud? She
gave in to the renewed rage flooding her system and turned to poke
a finger in his chest. Surprised, he took a step back but she
followed.

“You disappear for
three days
and
expect me to just fall into bed with you when you come back? Are
you insane?”

He smiled a little, which just made her more
furious.

“We were always good at the bed part.”

“Well, this isn’t always. Things aren’t like
they were before.” She turned, unable to stand looking at him
anymore, unable to take the pain seeing his face gave her. Her
voice softened to a whisper. “You wanted that change, and I was
right. It was a mistake.”

He sighed a moment before he lifted her up.
She struggled against him, but it was no use. He walked to the sofa
and sat down, holding her on his lap and refusing to let her up.
She hated her body for responding to his, to the feel of him, hard
and strong surrounding her. A secret part of her had always yearned
for a partner, and when she thought she’d found one, she’d lost
it.

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead
against hers. She realized he was as exhausted as she was and
ignored the surge of sympathy she felt. Why was he dragging this
out? Why was he acting like she meant something to him? Her heart
raced, and she took a deep breath, knew it was a mistake when her
breasts thrust up, and he licked at the exposed skin at her opened
collar dangerously close to her cleavage. Ignoring her rising
arousal, she shoved at his shoulders. He didn’t let her go, but he
lifted his head and met her gaze.

“Sorry. No falling into bed. See? I
remembered. You must be making progress.” He gave her the crooked
half smile that always melted her heart.
Not fair
.

He chuckled. “Remember when we met?”

She cocked an eyebrow and smiled a little.
“As I recall, you were trying to steal my bounty.”

“I believe I was.” He laughed. “I followed
you in. Not because I didn’t think you couldn’t bring him in--I
knew your reputation--but because I couldn’t believe I’d found
you.”