Caine
Chapter 22

Macon and I followed behind Leila. Every time I tried to get near her, he would pull me back.

“It’s a direct order from Victor. I need to keep you away from any Midnight Moon member,” Macon told me.

“Why would I follow a direct order from Victor? Isn’t he beneath me?” I asked him.

I almost laughed at Macon’s face. He didn’t know how to reply to my comment, and it was looking to me like Victor was trying to pull rank on me again. I couldn’t blame the guy, not really. He had been the voice of the pack right below Caine, and it didn’t help that most Wolves saw men as the dominants.

There were guys on every side of me, too close for my comfort. Even Macon was holding on to me tightly, and I was pressed to his side.

“They’re in the back,” Macon told me.

“I can hear them. I’m sure anyone within a mile radius can hear all that snarling,” I replied.

My voice sounded more confident than I felt. Seeing the way Jace, Alpha Dylan’s Beta, was holding Leila and how protected and out of reach she was — it worried me that this thing between Caine and Alpha Dylan might have been worse than I originally thought.

Macon’s eyes zoned in on the Wolves fighting in front of us. Everyone had made a circle around them, but I could easily pin point which Wolf was from what pack.

Once I saw Leila, and how distracted Jace was, I jogged up beside her. Everyone was looking at Caine and Alpha Dylan.

“What is this?” I mumbled to myself.

Caine and Alpha Dylan were fighting in their Wolf form, or at least attempting to do so. They were both black Wolves, I hadn’t expected that. I had seen Caine’s Wolf before, but I hadn’t seen Alpha Dylan’s Wolf.

I smiled, for some reason, when I noticed that Caine’s Wolf was bigger than Alpha Dylan. But that didn’t mean that he was stronger.

I couldn’t tell who had the advantage, or if they even wanted to really fight each other. They were throwing lame pushes, and rolling around in the floor. The most threatening thing about them was probably how much they growled and they snap their teeth at each other. That was it. They didn’t do anything else.

“Uh…” I said, trying to find coherent words, or to at least make sense of what was happening.

“Are they…” I said, cocking my head to the side, while I continued to watch the performance in front of me.

“Fighting?” Macon spoke up.

“About to mate?” Liam asked, coming to stand between Leila and me.

I hadn’t really thought about Liam, but having him there brought my nerves up a notch. I didn’t want him catching Alpha Dylan’s attention, and then for them two to start fighting, even though what Alpha Dylan and Caine were doing didn’t really constitute as fighting.

“What?” Leila asked loudly, and she broke out laughing.

Liam was grinning at her, and I couldn’t help but crack a smile too.

“Seriously, they look like they’re about to get it on,” Liam said.

Either Leila’s laugh or Liam speaking got Caine and Alpha Dylan’s attention. They stopped fighting and turned to look at us.

“Caught red-handed by their mates,” Liam taunted, shaking his head.

There was a heavy silence in the area, with the exception of the ragged breathing from both Wolves.

“Maybe we should… go inside?” Leila proposed, and that was an idea I supported.

“Shift back, we’ll wait inside,” Leila told them, her voice an order, not a question.

We all ended up in a conference room, inside the pack building. It was all more dramatic than I assumed it would be. Caine, Victor, Macon, me and some other guys from the pack were standing on one side of the table. Leila, Alpha Dylan, and their guys were standing on the other side. Liam was just in the middle, enjoying it all.

I didn’t know what was worse, the confrontation we were having or the fact that Caine and Alpha Dylan were acting like babies because they just couldn’t talk things out.

“Where is Eric?” Leila asked.

Everything was quiet until Leila spoke out. She had been the only one with guts enough to break the silence. If it had just been Caine and me, I would’ve been yelling my head off at him for the scene he was creating. But with Alpha Dylan there, I couldn’t bring the words out.

“He’s with my…” Liam started to say, but he didn’t finish the thought.

Those were the moments I wished Lesley would have been around, so that she could have seen for herself how seriously Liam took her that he hadn’t even given a name to their relationship.

“He’s with Lesley?” I asked.

“Don’t tell me that she’s…” Leila mumbled.

“What?” Liam asked her.

“Eric and that girl, Lesley,” Leila asked.

“Oh, no!” Liam told her, laughing. “God, you and Charlie make Lesley sound like a monster. She’s cool, you know.”

“So where is Eric, and who is her mate then?”

“Eric’s mate belongs to Knight Pack,” Alpha Dylan replied, while he shot a glare in Caine’s direction.

“I am not going to release any of my prisoners,” Caine told him firmly.

They were both staring at each other down, their eyes enough to intimidate anyone in the room.

“She’s Eric’s mate,” Leila said to Caine.

When Caine turned to look at her, his expression actually softened. “For the moment, she belongs to me. She’s my prisoner and I’m not going to release her. This isn’t an act of betrayal on my part, Leila. It’s pack law. If the situation would have been reversed, Dylan would have done the same thing.”

“You can spare a prisoner, Caine. You wanted to keep Liam, go ahead. We’ll make a switch. You keep Liam and I’ll take the girl off your hands,” Alpha Dylan said, in the same accusing tone.

“Any other prisoner, I would do so. You should know that by now, Dylan. But things between Knight Pack and me are bad as it is,” Caine told him.

I wanted to agree with Caine. He was my mate after all, and now my Alpha. But I thought Leila and Alpha Dylan were right.

“How exactly is an eighteen year old girl a threat?” Alpha Dylan asked in a sarcastic tone.

Caine growled threateningly at him, but I was too lost in my thoughts to pay attention to him. My mind was stuck on Alpha Dylan mentioning Eric’s mate being an eighteen year old girl and from Knight Pack.

I hadn’t thought much about Eric, or who his mate might have been. But the only girl that was captured was Tempo. It was wrong on so many levels, but I wanted to break in a fit of giggles. I could not imagine how Tempo would react to her mate.

I wondered if she would behave like Lesley did with Liam, or if Tempo would actually continue being as tough as she seemed. Liam wasn’t even Lesley’s mate, and he had managed to change her, soften her up— at least when she was with him.

“It’s Tempo, isn’t it?” I asked Caine once Leila and Alpha Dylan were gone.

“She’s my prisoner,” Caine told me, his voice leveled and controlled.

Beneath that, I could hear the growls he was trying to contain. Just his dark eyes told me that Caine’s Wolf was unsettled.

“You would be doing Theo, Alpha Dylan, and me a favor by letting her go,” I told Caine.

“I don’t need to do Theo any favors,” Caine growled.

“You don’t, but I do. I owe Theo, a lot. If you cared about me, you should want to thank Theo for all the years he protected me, instead of having him locked downstairs!” I yelled back.

“A Knight Pack member? You want me to thank him?” Caine asked, laughing bitterly.

“No, I don’t. But I’d be happy if you would let Tempo leave with Eric. You-”

“Don’t even start with that!” Caine snapped.

Victor and Macon were standing to the side. I wasn’t even sure what the hell they were still doing there, and seeing them just pissed me off more, Victor specifically.

“Leave us alone,” I told him.

They didn’t leave the room until Caine nodded at them to go, acting like if my order counted for nothing.

“Well it’s good to know how much say I have in this pack,” I told him after Macon and Victor left.

“You already know my thoughts on releasing any prisoner, Charlotte. My decision shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.”

“Yes, but Tempo being Eric’s mate changes things. Besides, I wasn’t talking about that. Victor ‘ordered me’ to stay away from Leila?” I asked, remembering Macon’s earlier words.

“That was for your protection.”

“So he can order me around?”

Caine sighed, and he tried to get me in his arms. I sidestepped him before he could wrap his arms around my waist, and took a few steps away from him.

“No, he can’t,” Caine told me, but I wasn’t totally convinced. “But you wouldn’t know what to do in case Dylan’s men would have tried something.”

“He’s your friend, Caine— your best friend. He’s not going to try anything against us. Didn’t you see how he was fighting you? The guy didn’t even want to touch you, let alone hurt you. And this entire situation is just silly and stupid.”

Caine growled, and let out a string of curse words, which was very unusual from him. He rarely ever cursed. He was in control, and kept his cool most of the time.

“This is not all about Eric and his mate,” Caine said in a low voice a few minutes later.

“What are you talking about? What else happened?”

“I would rather tell you while we’re alone, and not in the middle of the pack building. But we may not have Dylan’s support if we go to war against Knight Pack.”

We were interrupted when Macon told us that Alpha Dylan, Leila, and their guys were leaving back to the mansion. Liam was staying behind. He was the only person from our pack who Eric trusted to watch over his mate while we were gone.

Caine accepted, mainly because Liam didn’t give him a choice. Caine didn’t trust anyone from Midnight Moon after the confrontation with Alpha Dylan. It seemed like Alpha Dylan thought the same way, because he surrounded himself with his men. He didn’t let me get near Leila at all, and he even glared at me whenever I was near.

The next few hours went by in a blur. Caine was quiet for most of it. Alpha Dylan and Leila took off. Eric got his mate in exchange for Liam staying in the pack, which was what Alpha Dylan had initially proposed.

Ever since they took off, Caine had been really quiet. I kept trying to strike up a conversation, but Caine would simply nod, shake his head, or sigh.

I tried to poke around with the guys too, but most of them didn’t know much. Victor hadn’t been willing to share, and Macon told me he only knew half of the story.

Caine had locked himself in his office, and he didn’t want any company. I had been in there with him for about ten minutes, and that was as much as I could handle. The quiet was getting on my nerves, and I felt like I was disturbing him each time I opened my mouth.

“I’m going to leave,” Liam told me.

“You’re going back to the apartment?” I asked, getting comfortable on the couch in the TV room.

I’d put in a movie, and Macon was on another couch, watching along with me. Not even Liam walking into the room got his attention away from the screen.

“No, I’m going back to Midnight Moon.”

“What?”

“I’m not changing my mind, Charlie” Liam told me.

“What do you mean you’re leaving? Why would you do that? Alpha Dylan is going to leave you alone!”

“Eric usually watches over Leila. He just found his mate. Dylan and Leila are probably going to give him some time off. Leila doesn’t like her other usual guard, so I’m going to take Eric’s place. I owe her at least that. She gave me my freedom back,” Liam shrugged, like if his explanation should’ve been enough.

“But he’s not making you go back!”

“Do you honestly think that even if Dylan wanted me back in his pack— that I would’ve left? I’m going because I want to.”

“You don’t want to be here?” I asked him, feeling hurt that he just wanted to take off. “I thought you hated that pack? You complained about them all the time!”

“I complain about this pack twice as much. That isn’t going to change. You want to do your thing here with Caine, and I get it. But you shouldn’t expect me to stay here, and watch you make your life with an Alpha,” Liam scoffed.

“And yet you’re going back to another Alpha? Alpha Dylan is worse than Caine. Caine lets you do whatever you want!”

I was panicking, and it was showing in my voice. I kept yelling at Liam, but I didn’t understand his decision.

“Dylan also lets me do whatever I want. And if he doesn’t, then I just go to Leila and she lets me do whatever I want.”

“You’re seriously going to leave?”

“Not yet, but in a few days,” Liam nodded.

He didn’t approach me before heading out the door. The way he was talking to me, and how he didn’t try to get near me— it bothered me.

“I don’t know what the Alpha will say when he finds out Liam is leaving,” Macon told me after Liam left.

“It’s not like he can do anything about it. Liam does things his own way,” I said, bitterly.

The house was quiet. I could hear any little sound, and it was driving me insane. Since it was already late, Macon had taken off. I hadn’t heard from Liam or Lesley all afternoon. Caine still hadn’t left his office.

I tried going out for a walk, but even that was unbearable. I had been walking outside for about ten minutes down a trail when I stumbled with a few pack members. Victor was with them.

“What are you doing out here?” He asked, frowning at me.

“I came for a walk,” I shrugged, and continued on my way, even though I had been about to turn around and go back home.

“Where’s Macon?”

“It’s already seven. Caine usually lets him go around one or two in the afternoon. He left the house a little while ago.

“You shouldn’t be walking out here on your own,” Victor scolded me.

“Caine’s locked up in his office. I tried talking to him but he wants to be alone.”

“He told you that?” Victor asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

I glared at him when he did. “He didn’t have to tell me. I could tell. He kept ignoring me.”

“And you left him alone?” Victor asked. “I’m surprised. You usually bother him until he talks to you.”

“I don’t bother him!”

“Yes you do. You always push him into talking. I’m not saying it’s bad,” Victor said, holding up his hands defensively.

I hadn’t talked to Victor in a while, at least not without fighting or bickering. Most times, I felt like Victor resented me. Like if I had come to the pack to take his place. I wasn’t interested in that. Other than their respect, I simply wanted to be let in on everything. Caine still struggled with that one.

“He didn’t want to talk this time. I think this thing with Alpha Dylan really got to him. Do they ever fight?”

“Not like this,” Victor replied, shaking his head. “Dylan can be temperamental, but Caine usually agrees to whatever Dylan wants. It’s amusing to watch. But they always end up agreeing on the same thing.”

“Not today?”

“No, but you should ask Caine about that. I’m sure he will tell you. You should have insisted. The last time he locked himself up like this was when the incident with his brother happened. Whenever he locks himself up, he starts thinking, and those thoughts usually lead us to no good.”

Victor was being nice, like he had been in the beginning. When I looked up at him, I noticed for the first time that he was actually a good looking guy. I knew he was Caine’s age. They had grown up together. But Victor looked younger than Caine, and his baby blue eyes made him look softer. Unlike Caine’s fierce eyes, which made him appear intimidating and unapproachable.

“Do you think it was right to let Tempo go?” I quietly asked, after we’d been walking in silence for a few minutes.

“Yes,” Victor simply replied.

“You didn’t tell Caine that before he started fighting with Alpha Dylan?”

“Caine has little common sense when it comes to trespassers, Rogues, and prisoners. He doesn’t trust them.”

“You’re the Beta of this pack. Don’t you have a say in this?” I asked.

“I do. But Caine was already arguing with Dylan. He has a lot of respect for Dylan, and yet he was disagreeing with him. What do you think he would’ve said if I’d given him my opinion? It would have just gotten him against me too.”

“That’s such an Alpha thing of them to do. Their reason for fighting was lame.”

“Their fight consisted of more than just Eric and his mate. Caine and Dylan were putting that as an excuse, but this was all over their disagreement with Caine’s plans against Derek and Tristan,” Victor said.

“Meaning?”

Victor sighed, and he gave me a smile. “Meaning it’s late, and you should go back home. Talk to Caine. Even though he’s trying to keep you out, you should be there with him. He’s too stubborn to admit that he needs you right now.”

I was walking down the hall to his office, wondering what I would say to him. I didn’t bother knocking. I walked right in, repeating to myself that I wasn’t going to leave until we had a proper conversation.

I was about to start talking, but Caine wasn’t sitting behind the desk. I looked around the room and found him laying down on one of the couches on the other side of the room. The lights were off, and only a small lamp beside his couch was dimming up the room.

I made my way towards him, smiling as I did. He was too big for the couch, so he was half sitting down. He looked relaxed, which was a huge difference from how he’d been all afternoon. I was surprised that he hadn’t woken up with my entrance.

I quietly made my way towards him, and sat on ground, in the space between the couch and the coffee table.

I could hear his soft breathing, and his chest was rising and lowering. One of his arms was on his stomach, while the other was over his head.

He looked peaceful.

Caine slept for a few more hours. Neither of us had eaten, so I left to make a quick snack. When I walked back into his study, he was sitting up on the couch and running his hand through his hair.

“I fell asleep,” he said in a husky voice.

“A while ago,” I said, placing a plate with sandwiches on the coffee table in front of him. I had a big bag of chips and a couple of cokes.

“Hungry?” I asked, holding up the chips.

Caine picked up a sandwich from the plate, and helped me set the things down on the coffee table. While he remained sitting down on the couch, I sat on the floor, right in front of him.

“You want to go to bed after this?”

“I’m not tired anymore.” The serious expression had returned to his face, although he still looked kind of sleepy.

“Are you finally going to tell me what happened with Alpha Dylan?”

He sighed loudly, took a long drink of his coke, before turning to face me. “Dylan thinks it’s a bad idea to go and attack Derek and Tristan. He wants me to wait.”

“Okay…” I said, trying to process his words.

“But Knight Pack and I have been feuding for years. We’ve had confrontations, but we’ve never gone to war. I want to end this,” Caine stated.

“What’s your plan exactly? Why does Alpha Dylan think it’s so bad?”

“You can call him Dylan, Charlotte. And Dylan thinks it’s bad because I want to destroy the entire pack,” he replied, calmly.

“You want to destroy the pack? That’s my pack, Caine.”

“Not anymore.”

“But it used to be. I have family there. My mom and my dad are still there!”

“We would get them out before anything happens.”

“That’s not enough.”

“I thought you hated Knight Pack,” Caine questioned.

“I do. Most of them treated me like crap. But I don’t hold it against them. If I wasn’t your mate, and I belonged to this pack, you would’ve done the same thing.”

“You can’t know that,” Caine defended.

“I know you well enough to be able to say that. You love humans because I’m one of them, and I’m your mate. If I wasn’t your mate, you wouldn’t even have given me a second look before killing me.

Caine’s glare was enough to scare anyone, partly even me. He didn’t say anything, but his cold calculating eyes on me were enough to tell me what he thought of my words.

“Alpha Dylan is right. Killing them all is unfair. You guys practically destroyed Raven Pack. You two destroyed Highland Pack years ago. Aren’t you scared that if you and Alpha Dylan keep wiping packs off, you’re going to start creating enemies?”

“I’m not scared of anybody,” Caine growled.

“Such an Alpha thing to say,” I said, harshly.

“I am an Alpha. I have decisions to make. I know what I’m doing, Charlotte. I don’t need you or Dylan telling me what’s right or wrong,” he said, with finality in his tone.

He set his coke so hard on the table, he almost broke it. Caine didn’t let me get a word in. He stormed out of the room. A few seconds later, I heard the front door slamming shut.

His behavior annoyed me to no end. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him to decide to talk to me. I had been trying all afternoon, and he had shut me out.

After sitting around a few minutes, waiting for him to come back even though I didn’t think that would happen— I finally called Liam.

“You two had a fight?” Liam asked. We were down the hall of his apartment. Liam had rushed back to the mansion after I called him.

“I don’t want to talk about it. I’m sleeping here tonight,” I told him.

I didn’t want to ask him to kick Lesley out, even though I didn’t want to be around her. But it wasn’t fair for me to suddenly drop in and ask her to leave.

“Fine by me,” Liam said, grinning teasingly.

“Don’t look so happy,” I said, grumpily. I wasn’t happy at all. Caine’s abrupt departure had somewhat thrown me off guard. I wanted to talk, and I wanted him to trust me enough to talk to me. Getting angry wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

“This is about Dylan leaving?” Liam asked.

I nodded in reply, but didn’t add anything else. I wasn’t up for it. I had wanted to spend more time with Leila. I liked how excited Caine had been with Alpha Dylan there. Caine had said that we were going to mate, and now he was more distant than he’d ever been with me. I had several reasons to be unhappy.

“They’ll get over it. Leila will calm Dylan down, and you’ll do the same for Caine.”

“Lesley’s not here?” I asked when we stepped into the apartment.

Liam shook his head, and chuckled. “She overheard me telling Leila that I’m leaving.”

“So she’s not going with you?”

“She belongs to this pack.”

“She told you that?”

Liam sighed dramatically, and he slumped himself in the couch. “Don’t act so surprised, Charlie. I need to take care of some stuff. Having Lesley around is going to slow me down. Besides, she doesn’t know how to live like a Rogue.”

“Like it’s so hard,” I said, mockingly.

“It is for someone like her. She’s got being a pack member too ingrained in her system.”

“That sucks for her. You’re a jerk,” I told him, and lied down on the other side of the couch with my feet over his legs.

“Didn’t you want this thing between Lesley and me to be over?” Liam asked, as he picked up the remote control to turn on the TV.

It felt like if it had been ages since Liam and I hung out, just us two.

“Now that it’s over, I can feel bad for her. I am happy that you two aren’t together anymore. It feels weird seeing you in a serious relationship,” I shrugged.

“Why? Because you’re jealous?” Liam asked, teasingly.

“Nope,” I told him, but it did make me smile.

“If Caine ends up here once he realizes that you’re gone, he better not break down my door,” Liam warned me, but there was a grin on his face.

About an hour later, I left to my room. It was already late at night, I was tired, and I wanted for the day to finally end.

Liam stayed in the living room watching TV. He had brought out a lot of snacks, and he settled comfortably to watch a TV show. He kept making fun of it, and calling it fake. I didn’t know why he didn’t just change the channel. Either he secretly liked it, or he was having too much fun laughing at it.

I ended up dozing off, with thoughts about Caine, Liam, Lesley, Leila, Alpha Dylan, and even Derek.

I felt like I had just closed my eyes when I heard someone moving around the room. I lazily sat up on the bed, wondering if Liam was sneaking around or going through my stuff. Hardly anything of mine was left in Liam’s apartment, but I still had a few things I had decided not to take to Caine’s place.

“It’s me.” Caine’s deep voice startled me. It made a shiver run down my body.

“You didn’t break down the door, did you?” I asked, and chuckled softly.

“Liam’s still awake.”

“Yeah?”

“He heard me coming. Strangely enough, he warned me about the same thing,” Caine said.

Even though it was dark, I could faintly see the smile on his face. He had gone after me. I couldn’t explain why, but that made me extremely happy.

“He’s sensitive about it,” I told him.

“You’re staying here tonight?” He asked.

I expected him to tell me that he was taking me home. I would have rather him demand that I go home with him, instead of asking me if I was going to stay in the apartment.

“You left,” I told him.

“I needed a run,” he said, coming towards me.

My room there was smaller than our room in the mansion. Caine’s height and how he dominated the place made the room appear even smaller.

“Did it help?”

Caine shrugged, and he sat on the bed. I wanted to reach out to him, but I also wanted him to make the first move. I had been trying all afternoon to get to him and he’d created a wall between us.

“Well I’m tired,” I said.

I turned away from him, and laid down facing the opposite wall. Now that Caine had arrived, there was no way I would be able to sleep. I could feel him sitting there.

“You could lie down too. Unless you’re leaving,” I whispered.

“You’re mad?”

“I’m not mad,” I replied, but I was somewhat annoyed with how my afternoon had played out.

Caine lied down on the bed. He slipped his hand over my waist, and made me turn to face him. My bed was smaller than his, and it was a little too small for him.

We were only inches apart from each other. I could feel his breath fanning across my face. He didn’t let his hand drop from my waist, but instead slid it down to my hips.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“Do you know why you’re saying sorry?”

“For not talking to you?” Caine asked.

“I know what happened between you and Alpha Dylan was tough.”

“He’s my best friend.”

I sighed when Caine brought me closer to his chest, and he nestled his head in my neck, nuzzling his nose against my skin. I was only wearing a tank top with some short shorts. Caine was fully dressed. I felt exposed to him, but I liked it.

“What are you going to do?”

“Cool off,” he replied. “We didn’t get a chance to talk-”

“Because you were blocking me out,” I reminded him.

“Killing Derek and Tristan has been something I’ve wanted to do for years now. When Dylan told me he didn’t want that, it made me angry. I felt like he was turning his back on me,” Caine explained.

He pulled away, and rested flat on his back. I took the opportunity to climb on top of him. I didn’t know why I was nervous at the beginning, but Caine just smiled when he saw me moving around. He grabbed my waist and helped me straddle him.

“When you agreed with Dylan about letting Eric’s mate go, it made my Wolf angry,” he admitted.

“So you were mad at me?”

Caine’s hands were running over my thighs, but his eyes were closed. He was breathing evenly. If it weren’t for the fact that I knew he wouldn’t fall asleep on me, I would’ve thought he had dozed off.

“Yes,” he curtly replied after a while.

“You could have told me that, instead of ignoring me all afternoon.”

“I didn’t know I was mad at you until I took off for a run. I kept thinking over everything Dylan told me. I disagree with him, but I know he’s trying to help.”

“I was pretty bummed that you two got mad and Leila and I were left to deal with that.”

“I know.”

I sighed, and got off him so that I could cuddle closer to his side. Caine wrapped his arm around me, while I rested my head over his chest.

“You should call him,” I said in a soft voice. It was risky on my part to tell him that, because I didn’t know how Caine would take it.

I was surprised when he sighed, and I felt him nodding. “I will. But I still want the same thing. I thought about it all afternoon. I understand what Dylan is trying to tell me, but I still consider Tristan and Derek scum. They’re not fit as Alphas.”

“And killing them would fix things?” I asked.

“It would be a start. You weren’t the only one to remind me of the packs Dylan and I have destroyed. He threw that in my face too. He did it out of anger, and that was what got to me the most. My Wolf didn’t like the way Dylan spoke to me, and neither did I.”

I remained quiet, listening to his breathing, while organizing my thoughts.

“You feel good,” Caine said, and he inhaled a shaky breath.

“You feel good too,” I told him, smiling because I could feel his heart beat slightly picking up.

He was so strange. He could be serious, and talking about war. Then he could say things like ‘you feel good’ and drive me crazy with just that.

“I should go and shower before going to bed,” Caine said.

“Right now?”

Caine nodded. I didn’t want to do it, but I was too curious not to. I slowly slid my hands from his chest, down to his taut stomach, until I reached his member, which was as excited as I assumed it would be.

“A cold shower?” I asked, and Caine pushed my hand away and sat up abruptly from the bed, pulling away from me.

“The bathroom’s right there,” I told him, pointing at the door on the side. “I could join you,” I suggested.

“Charlotte,” Caine said in a strained voice.

“I won’t try anything,” I quickly told him, innocently.

“You don’t have to try anything. Just having you in there would be enough temptation,” he said, and I faintly heard the growls in his voice.

“Maybe that’s a good thing. You said that once Alpha Dylan was gone…”

“We will, but not tonight. It’s been a long day.”

“Excuses,” I told him, shaking my head and crossing my arms over my chest.

“I’m stronger than you,” Caine told me, nonchalantly.

“Jeez, thanks for the reminder,” I said, sarcastically.

Caine shook his head, and he got closer to me. “Listen,” he said, cupping my cheek so that I was looking up at him.

“I am significantly stronger than you in my human form. Against my Wolf, there’s no competition. My Wolf is at bay right now. He’s been trying to get out ever since I fought with Dylan earlier in the day.”

“I’d hardly consider that a fight,” I said, just because I wanted to show him up somehow.

Caine ignored my words. “The run I took earlier was just enough to not drive me insane, but he wants me to shift. If we start anything, I’m going to lose control.”

I swallowed loudly at his words. It was slightly terrifying, but I didn’t want Caine to notice.

“You said the same thing the last time. That you were going to lose control. You said your Wolf wanted me, and wanted to come out. Are you going to say that every time we go too far?” I snapped.

“You really have no idea how much I want you,” Caine said. I yelped when he roughly grabbed my hand and placed it over his hard on. I thought he wanted me to do something, so I tightened my hold over his member as best as I could— since he was still wearing his jeans.

But no, Caine did that to make a statement. “That is there every morning I wake up, every time I catch your scent, every time I see you in anything even slightly revealing, every time you touch me, every time you kiss me, and whenever I think about you. I want you. My Wolf hungers for you. It’s easy to lose control.”

“You can lose control with me, Caine.”

“I know, and I will. It won’t hurt either of us to wait until you turn eighteen. It’s what I’ve wanted all along. I want this to be your decision, and I would like it very much to happen once you shift into your Wolf,” he said.

“What if I never do?”

“Then at least give me the few months you have before turning eighteen. It’s all I ask.”

He was speaking in that low, mysterious voice that always drove me crazy. Whenever he spoke like that, I just wanted us to be together.

“There’s only a few weeks left,” I said.

“I know, and I’m going to make it really special for you. I promise,” Caine said, before leaning in to press his lips against mine.

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