Page 33 of Brutal Mate

Was he the only one elated to see her safe?

The second he laid eyes on her, his heart skipped a beat. She had to have felt that too, surely? He couldn't possibly be the only one.

Stroking a thick red curl back behind her ear, Miley averted her gaze and stepped out of his way. With a gesture of her hand, she said, “Come on in.”

“Please, have a seat. Any friend of my granddaughter's is welcome,” Grandma Peters said, gesturing to the round kitchen table with its pink and white polka dot tablecloth.

“We aren't exactly friends,” Kane grumbled without really thinking. He bit the inside of his lip the second the words left his mouth.

Having already sat, he felt entirely at the old lady's mercy as she turned with a jug of iced tea in hand and her brow raised. “Oh? Then what exactly are you?”

She looked between him and Miley, who had taken the seat closest to him.

“You aren't in some kind of trouble, are you, Miley?” she asked, looking to her granddaughter. “You don't owe this man money, do you?”

Miley seemed to bite back laughter at that, and Kane straightened his back.

“Grandma, Kane might look like a drug dealer, but he isn't,” Miley said, and with a smile, she turned to Kane and added, “Are you?”

“Definitely not! I'd have been court martialed for certain if I was,” Kane said, imagining how his pack might rip him to shreds if he’d ever brought that kind of trouble to their door.

“A military man, then?” Grandma asked, intrigued.

“Yes, ma'am,” Kane said, tipping his head respectfully as he took the glass of iced tea she offered, “Thank you.”

Grandma placed another glass in front of Miley and one on the table for herself before she sat down opposite them.

“So then, how do the two of you know each other and how did you come to find my farm, Mister…?”

“Please, just call me Kane,” he said quickly, trying to avoid the question. How did he tell this sweet little old lady that her son had sent him for the daughter he had promised to him in exchange for the pack paying off all his debts?

“Well, Kane, how do you know my granddaughter?” Grandma asked again, her expression more than a little suspicious.

Kane opened his mouth, unsure what to say, and was utterly shocked when Miley placed a hand on his forearm.

“I told you my boyfriend would be picking me up to finish our road trip, didn't I, Grandma?” she said, and Kane’s breath caught in his throat.

Boyfriend? Nobody had used that term toward him, not in a long, long time—not since his human life had ended.

Grandma looked between them again. She still looked suspicious, though slightly less so now. “It must have slipped my mind.”

“Kane had some work to finish up in Nightstar before joining me, didn't you, babe?” Miley said, and the strength with which she squeezed his forearm was most surprising indeed. He hadn't ever known a human to be that strong. It was actually painful.

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “I would have liked her to wait for me, but as I'm sure you've realized, Mrs. Peters, your granddaughter is a stubborn one.”

“Indeed,” Grandma scowled at Miley before looking to Kane again. “She has refused to let me do any of the heavy lifting since she got here yesterday.”

“Sounds like my Miley,” Kane said, forcing a smile, though as he placed a hand on top of hers on his arm, he realized it wasn't entirely forced. The warmth of her hand was welcoming, and he only started to scowl again when he realized she was shaking. “Miley? Are you alright?”

Miley cleared her throat. “I'm fine.”

Kane looked closely at her, his stomach twisting. Something was wrong. He sniffed discreetly. Now that he was closer, he realized, she smelled different.

He couldn't quite put his finger on why.

“You're looking a little pale, sweetheart,” Grandma said. “Drink your tea.”

Miley smiled and slipped her hand out from beneath Kane's to take hold of her glass.

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