Page 8 of Brutal Mate

What the fuck? He had never felt that before. He wanted to feel it again.

Clearing his throat, he said, “Then you're right. You are old enough to know it's none of my business, but anything you can tell me might bring us one step closer to finding Deneen and Tommy, and maybe even Miss Coleman if the disappearances turn out to be connected somehow.”

Miley nodded and clasped her hands together.

“Like I said, Deneen and Tommy come to hang out in the woods with Callum pretty often. At least once a week. Callum and the others are there most nights.”

Kane's insides twisted. He had heard stories from Jack and Zander a million times of how they'd had a pack within their pack when they were younger, practically teenagers, and how they’d spent a lot of time in the woods drinking, dancing and doing all kinds of rebellious shit before they’d left. If it had been Callum who had disappeared, he might believe that was happening here. But from what Jack had said, Tommy and Deneen were far too young for that.

“It's really all I know,” Miley admitted, looking down as if it embarrassed her. “But I thought it might help.”

“You're right. It's the first lead I've gotten, so thank you,” Kane said. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder with gratitude, surprised when she shrugged him off.

“Yeah, well, don't go telling anyone where you learned it!” she said, and Kane sensed her hackles rising.

She stepped back, and at almost the same moment, her entire body stiffened. Kane's did, too, having heard exactly what she had.

“Miley! Miley! Where the fuck are you?”

“I've got to go!” Miley exclaimed, and before Kane could thank her or offer any kind of help for her situation, she was gone.

Fuck! he cursed, his teeth clenched, his hands tightening into fists.

What he might have done if her father hadn't interrupted them, Kane didn’t know, but he was enraged at being unable to find out.

He was still standing there when the bell of the tattoo parlor dinged at the opening of the door and Hanson’s scent wafted into Kane's nostrils.

It did nothing to remove Miley's scent. She had smelled like a mixture of earth, vanilla, and citrus cleaning products, and yet as the scent started to fade, he actually felt the disappointment of missing it.

“Kane? Everything alright?” Hanson asked, appearing outside the alcove. “You hiding from something?”

Hanson glanced up and down the street as if he expected some enemy to jump out of nowhere. Then he leaned against the brick wall and crossed his arms. “I don't see anybody.”

Kane leaned out of the alcove and looked toward the hardware store. She really was gone. His chest tightened.

Fuck! He cursed again. This odd feeling in his chest was so foreign to him; he wished he could reach inside himself and rip it right out at the root.

“Kane?” Hanson barked with concern.

Kane flinched and shook his head. “Sorry, just processing a lead.”

Hanson cocked his red-blonde head. “What lead?”

Kane bit the inside of his lip, wishing he hadn't said anything. He always liked to check these things out first before sharing with anyone, even his alpha. It helped avoid blame when things didn't pan out the way they hoped. And yet, here he was, blabbing to a man who had slowly come to be trusted by him and his friends, a man who had found his way into the inner circle of the new pack, and yet Kane still hesitated.

He did help us save Bonnie, and he hasn't done anything to mistrust him since then, Kane reminded himself. It had been over a year since their arrival in Nightstar, even since they'd taken over the town.

He should trust him by now.

“Someone said the two teenagers have a habit of sneaking into the woods,” Kane explained. Hanson scoffed.

“That's hardly surprising. They're teenagers.”

“Human teenagers,” Kane pointed out, “in a town full of werewolves. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how dangerous young shifters could be for humans in a town like this?”

Hanson shook his head and asked, “Should we take it to Jack?”

Kane pursed his lips and shook his own head. Straightening his back, he said, “Let's keep questioning. We might learn more, and I don't want to take anything to Jack until we have something solid to go on. We don't want to miss anything just because of one tiny lead.”

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