Page 184 of Wolf Caged
How strongly I wanted that beautiful vision he had painted in my mind should have startled me and even shocked me, butrather than feeling horrified by it, I embraced it. Lucas would pay for what he had done, and if I unleashed Kaeleron upon him, I would only find satisfaction in his bloody end.
“Kael,” I murmured as my brow furrowed and my thoughts turned to Morden again, and what his appearance might mean. “I’m afraid my pack might be in danger. Lucas is… He’s strong and cruel with it. Since he became alpha of his pack, they’ve been growing violent, many of the males going to other nearby packs to gather females for their own. I thought it was just because Lucas was grieving and that he would get them under control, but I’m beginning to suspect that he’s letting them do those things… might even be encouraging it. I’m worried that if Morden is here, and he has my bracelet with him—a bracelet Lucas took from me—that either Lucas came to my pack or my pack went to him. What if?—”
I couldn’t bring myself to say it, to voice my fear that my pack were now at the mercy of Lucas and his men, some part of me feeling that I would only make it come true if I put it out there.
Kaeleron’s skin darkened to light tan and the shadows around his eyes melted away as his irises returned to silver and his hand remained on my face, cupping it now, his palm warm against my chilled skin.
“We shall recover the heart quickly and then you can speak with the wolf.” His thumb brushed my cheek close to my eye, his gaze so earnest that it stole my breath and all I could do was nod in agreement.
His hand lowered to my arm and he skimmed it down the length of it, and surprised me by taking hold of my hand.
“Come, little wolf.” He gently tugged me forwards and as he walked, the sand settled and the sky stilled, and all the stars were back in their places, twinkling among the aurora.
The raw power of Kaeleron sent a shiver coursing through me and I thought about his promise, about how fierce and angryhe had been, and something deep within me stirred in response, as if it had been slumbering and his wrath had awakened it.
Or maybe it was this strange world and the connection I felt to the lands, how strongly they called to me, its dark power seeping into me and affecting me.
Because I wanted Lucas on his knees, begging forgiveness.
Only I wanted to be the one who had put him there.
Chapter 50
KAELERON
Icould not get my mind off what Saphira had told me. Rage simmered in my veins, barely leashed and in danger of stealing control from me as we trekked through the Wastes, teleporting ahead a few miles whenever the magical field that coated the land here allowed me to use that power.
Her own mate had humiliated and sold her.
A male she had clearly loved.
No wonder she had been in so much pain when I had met her, and had been lost to darkness at times, grappling with a hunger I could name.
Vengeance.
No wonder she had grown withdrawn at Beltane, on edge and tormented by the festivities.
I catalogued every moment I had glimpsed her pain, her darkness, and her trauma, filing them away because for every second she had suffered, I would make Lucas suffer a lunar cycle when I found him and dragged him to the Shadow Court. I would make him weep. Beg. I would make him so desperate for death he would plead me for it rather than his life.
The stars blurred above me and I reined in the darkness howling within me like a storm, pulling it back under my control before I did something reckless, like teleporting to the nearest waygate to the human world and hunting this male down, leaving Saphira undefended.
I still could not believe that someone, especially a shifter who were known for being so possessive and protective of their fated one and felt strongly about their mate bonds, would do this to her. To someone so pure and kind, so loving and beautiful. Someone who deserved a male who would worship her, would strive to take care of her every need, and would destroy the world to defend her.
I could only imagine how deeply the betrayal had cut her, and how that wound festered.
And how she must have despised me for buying her.
I had saved her from a far worse fate than she would have had if another at the auction had bought her. That was my only consolation as she continued to walk beside me, lost in her own thoughts.
Her fated one was unworthy of her, and destiny had been cruel to bind her to a male who had not only treated her so abominably, but did the same to other females. I had done my research as best I could in the limited time I had to act between Neve’s vision and the auction. Saphira had not been the first female Lucas had sold. He had been making a name for himself in the seedy underground as the place to go for virgin females.
My gaze strayed to her, that distant look in her eyes unsettling me and making me want to find a way to bring her back to me. She needed time. Patience. I could be patient while she fought through the mire of her thoughts and her feelings for this male, while she clawed her way back to me and vanquished the wolf, banishing him from her mind.
And her heart.
I was not sure how I could make things better for her. I wracked my brain as I sensed the magic around me weaken and gripped her hand and teleported us again, landing us barely a mile deeper into the Wastes this time, and hitting upon a way I could help her.
“When we return, we shall resume our training, and I shall school you in the art of war.”
