Page 44 of Brutal Mate

“Miley, I was the wolf who rescued you that night,” Kane admitted in a heartbeat. “The night I'm guessing you were bitten, so I guess in truth I didn't really rescue you at all.”

Guilt bit into Kane's stomach so violently he felt like his insides might spill out.

“That's impossible,” Miley protested. “How could you be?”

“You said you read, didn't you? You tell me,” Kane growled back at her, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

Miley shook her head as if she didn't want to think about it.

Kane pulled himself forward to perch on the edge of the chair. “Werewolves are real, Miley. I am one.”

Her gaze snapped back to his, and he thought he saw fear flash through her. He half expected her to scream or yell at him, maybe even tell him to get out.

Instead, she laughed. She actually laughed. And the sound made every nerve in Kane's body light on fire with anger.

“That's ridiculous!” she said, struggling to speak for her laughter.

Kane couldn't control himself any longer. He pounced to his feet, his hands tightening until his elongating claws cut into his palms. His fangs bit into his lip, but he refused to show them to her. The last thing he wanted was to scare her, even if she was pissing him the hell off.

“Get out!” she said so suddenly that it took his breath away. “Get out or I'll scream!”

There was the reaction he had been expecting. It was late, but it had come at last.

For a second, he was unable to move. He was frightened of what he might do if he did. Closing his eyes, he breathed deeply in an attempt to regain control of himself. “Miley, I would never lie to you.”

“Are you deaf as well as insane?” Miley demanded angrily. “I said, get out!”

Fighting the urge to dominate her, to pin her to the bed and make her listen like he would another wolf, he stepped backwards toward the door.

Opening his eyes, he found her glowering back at him. She stared at him without blinking, as if she wouldn’t dare to do so until he was gone.

She was angry, but Kane could see fear, too. She didn't want to believe him because the truth frightened her. He couldn't blame her for that. And so, he dipped his head and sighed, “I'll go.”

With that, he turned and left the room, clicking the door closed behind him.

“Fuck!” he cursed under his breath again. Even with the door closed behind them, he could smell her ever-changing scent. It had been sweet and seductive before, but now it was downright intoxicating. And that was even more infuriating, because he knew the truth.

She had been bitten. That meant one of two things. Either she would transition and forever be a mongrel like him, only the entire pack would know it and hate her for it. Or the transition would kill her, and she would be lost to him forever.

For the life of him, Kane couldn't decide which would be worse for her. Yet he knew without a doubt which would be worse for him.

He had just found her. He had just made love to her. He had offered himself to her without thought or regret. And now he might be forced to watch her succumb to pain and agony and a torturous death, one he had seen all too many times in his early years as a wolf.

He couldn't leave her. Under the watchful eye of Moses, he slid down Miley's bedroom door and sat propped against it.

He would sleep there all night with one eye on the damn collie if he had to. He wasn't leaving her, whether she liked it or not.

And first thing in the morning, he was taking her home. Now more than ever, she needed to be in Nightstar.

All Kane could do was pray that the pack would accept responsibility for her, that they would welcome her into the pack to die or transition as the wolf gods saw fit. And after that, if she survived, he only hoped they would be more welcoming than the packs he had first approached when turned, those that tried to kill him or run him off when they learned of his origins, when they began to fear he might become feral.

That was how he had ended up in the army. It had been the only place that would have him. Until Jack. But even he did not know the truth. Would he accept Miley back into Nightstar even if she wasn't human anymore?

Chapter 16 - Miley

The pain was everywhere, right from the top of her head to the very tips of her toes. Even her finger and toenails hurt. If it were possible, Miley could have sworn that her hair was hurting.

She writhed in agony beneath the full moon. Its light was like pinpricks upon her skin, burning with icy cold fire over every inch of her naked flesh.

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