“I’m glad to be coherent again.” I attempt to smooth down the hair on my head that sticks out at all angles. He laughs. “How long was I out of it?”
“Three days.”
I gape. “Thor’s hammer.” How had I lost so much time. Memories of tangled limbs, heated kisses, and bodies moving together is a blur in my mind.
“Yeah.” Cadoc’s smile fades. “We had a lot of time to talk.”
“That doesn’t sound ominous.” I lick my dry lips.
Cadoc runs his knuckles down the side of my face. “It looks like you’ve been kept isolated on purpose,”
I stare at him, unsure how he came to this conclusion. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
“My bid to keep you being ignored, Fell being forced away, and the way the town was stirred to see you as an outsider adds up.”
The town turned its back on me the minute the rest of my family with the properly working genes died. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”
Kirk clears his throat. “Plenty of people wanted to step in over the years, Yl. We weren’t allowed to.”
My heart squeezes. I blink, processing the reveal. All this time, I felt forgotten. “Are you sure?”
“We were always told to let the kids work it out amongst themselves.” Cadoc glances away. “Even when it was adults who were misbehaving.”
“Why?” I struggle to keep my voice steady as a sinking suspicion grows.
Cadoc scratches his temple. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. Someone out there knows more than they’re letting on.”
“Alpha?” The man’s steeped in darkness. I’m not sure what he’s capable of anymore.
Cadoc frowns in displeasure. “I think he would’ve done everything in his power to ingratiate himself to you if he’d known who you were going to be.”
“He wouldn’t have sent you away. He likes to keep his investments nearby.” Kirk scowls.
“Doc?” I twine our fingers and Kirk squeezes my hand.
“Alpha has a dark side.”
“Are we in danger?” Cadoc asks.
“Yeah.” Kirk nods. “I think we are.”
I gulp. “How dark are we talking?”
Kirk shrugs. “I was ousted before I could dig too deep into things, but his wife’s death broke something in him. He’s been different ever since. Maybe he was always walking the narrow gray between light and dark and this tipped him over.”
“You sound scared.”
Kirk pauses, and takes a deep breath. “Because I am.”
“If he turns the pack on us, things will get ugly fast,” Cadoc adds.
“How do we avoid that?” My heart races. I’ve seen what happens when wolves turn on someone.
“I don’t know that we can. Delaying it might have to be enough,” Cadoc admits.
“We’re too useful now to get rid of.” Kirk tugs me closer.
I read between the lines. “And when we aren’t?”
“We’ll be ready to defend ourselves,” Cadoc solemn vow is meant to comfort.
Kirk kisses my cheek. “I need to arrange a meeting with my contact. We need to see what’s being said in the Alpha’s Circle.”
“Do it today,” Cadoc points at Kirk.
“Alright, I’ll make a call.”
“Get dressed, Brat. We’re going to show our faces around town.” Cadoc runs his thumb over the mark on my throat. “And put those pretty new bites on display.”
I pick up what he’s not saying. We’re making a show of a united front, and leaning into Alpha’s demands. Survival depends on how well we play the game.
I whimper at the burst of pleasure his touch causes. He chuckles.
“You look good like this, branded as ours. I can’t wait to add my own,” Fell growls.
“Go, before you get us both in trouble.” I press my thighs together. My core wakes, pulsing as my body tingles.
Cadoc stands and walks to the door. “When you’re dressed to impress, join us downstairs.”
