I frowned at the thought of my former mate. Somehow he always managed to worm his way into my mind. But despite my mistrust towards him, he was still Angel’s father. He deserved to know she was alive, at the very least.
Paranoia gnawed at the corner of my brain. What if Kass used that information to find her and hand her over to Silas?
No. I shook my head almost violently, rejecting the idea. He wouldn’t. No matter what an honor-bound, goody-goody dipshit Kass could be sometimes, he wouldn’t hand Angel over to Silas.
He did it once,the nagging voice reminded me.
I scowled at myself. He wouldn’t do it again. I was sure of it this time. Kassius helped me escape earlier, and he even told me himself that he didn’t trust Silas. He had no reason to turn on me this time.
That realization - that I couldtrustKass, at least a little bit - made me pause. I remembered Ryu and Scar’s kiss. The love in their eyes. My stomach turned with…
Jealousy. I was jealous of their love.
Frustrated at myself, I turned and kicked the brick wall. The sudden shock surged through my ankle, which was still healing from my injury, and it took every ounce of willpower to swallow my yelp. Tears really did flow from my eyes this time, from physical pain instead of emotional, and I whimpered.
Great. I ended up crying alone in an alley anyway.
Now with a prevalent limp of my own, I grumbled and started back towards the square where I’d left Kass behind.
* * *
Thankfully,he wasn’t far from where I last saw him. At the sight of my awkward shuffling movement, Kass’s eyes widened with concern and he rushed to my side.
“Halo, what happened?”
“Er, I kicked a wall.”
Some of the concern visibly melted from his expression. He sighed. “Okay. Well, does it hurt badly?”
I shrugged. “I dunno. Can’t tell by my zombie crawl, huh?”
Kass exhaled in exasperation while looping his arm under mine to help carry me, muttering something about how he couldn’t take me anywhere without me causing trouble.
“The money I had in my wallet from four hundred years ago is apparently worth a hell of a lot more now. I booked us a motel room for the night,” Kass told me.
Kass alwayswasfrugal. It didn’t surprise me. “So, you’re saying we’re rich but you got the crappy version of a hotel anyway?”
He ignore me. “I’m taking you there now. You’re in no condition to walk around anymore.”
I didn’t argue. Walking was the last thing I wanted to do.
But the mention of a room made me remember something. “Kass… Do you think our house still exists?”
Kass paused. A bittersweet note of nostalgia and sadness tinged his expression. “I really don’t know,” he finally answered. “I never returned to it. I honestly haven’t a clue.”
“Oh.” If Kassius didn’t know, that meant there was a possibility of it still standing, at least. “Maybe… We can check? Tomorrow? I want to know if it’s been demolished or turned into something else, or - ” I paused, then added somewhat hopefully, “still around?”
Kass smiled. “Sure. Of course. I’d like that, too.”
* * *
It wasn’t home,but the motel room bed beat a cold stone floor in a cave any day.
I picked at the thin comforter, half considering about shifting into wolf form and smelling all the dubious scents I’d no doubt find on the fabric, then thinking better of it when Kass emerged from the bathroom.
He stood in the doorway, steam billowing from behind him, his eyes shut while he sighed contentedly. One hand gripped the white towel wrapped around his waist. My eyes immediately fell to the paler flesh of his abdomen, and the downward trail of hair that disappeared behind the towel. My fingers twitched, wanting to run my hands down his skin, past the droplets of water and the towel -
“Halo?” Kassius asked, quirking a brow.
