Chapter 12
Cinjin
––––––––
Pivoting in my seatto face him, I look at Kaige in a new light. Until Bo had mentioned it, I hadn’t considered things from that angle. I was more upset about those three wanting to take my mate away from me, of everyone currently trying to kill us, and the whole fuckinghellhoundadjustment.
That I’m not allowed to enjoy the benefits of.
Shaking away the cynical thought, I focus on the foreign alpha’s face; namely, his eyes. While people claim that they’re the windows into a person’s soul, it’s ten times harder when said person doesn’t have one. If they can keep their facial tics and heart rate in check, the only way to check if a wolf is a liar is via their pupils. The black spreads like ink into our irises when our wolves have more of a hold over our frame of mind, so the more defensive or upset they get, the smaller the sliver of color in their eyes becomes. Most times it’s nearly imperceptible, especially if you don’t know to look for it, but thus far, I’ve only ever witnessed two exceptions to the rule.
Me, and Reid.
“It’s understandable that they’d be anxious to meet the daughter they didn’t know existed, even if she were being mated off,” he states. “Though I doubt anyone’s so dense that they don’t assume most of that excitement is at the prospect of hearing where their mate has been all of this time, or where she is now. As for us-” he runs a hand through his hair, leaving the blonde strands standing up on end “- we need her.”
A low growl escapes from my brother, but I simply cock my head, assessing his words and reading between the lines. ‘We’, not ‘I’. And everything I’ve observed of the guy in the last week shows him more collected than most.
Well, until he’s hopped up on energy and turns into a fucking psycho that could givemea run for my money, at least.
Bouncing his leg as said restless energy that he siphoned from Brent courses through his veins, he elaborates, “Like we mentioned the day we arrived, when Sabrina’s mom left... it broke something, for lack of better phrasing. Can’t fucking explain it, but seeing as we have wolves living in our chests, I’m not about to scoff at ghost stories or magic. How else could our existence be possible?”
He takes a breath and dials back how animatedly he was speaking. “No girls have been born since she left. So theoretically, if their mate leaving broke something, maybe their daughter returning will fix it. We all have packs under our care, and unless something changes, they’re doomed. The mated women will eventually reach an age they can’t bear any more children, and every new son that’s born adds to the strength of the pack, but also adds one more person that might never have the blessing of a mate. And if they can’t have kids of their own... it’ll be the end of our kind. We’ll die out after the latest generation.”
Bo’s rumbling has grown silent as he listens, weaving us through traffic. We have about two hours left before the mall closes, but night’s fallen in full force, and after the events in the warehouse, we’re all pretty keyed up. I’m rather impressed that at the thought of all of those men making a play for our mate, Bo only shows his rage by white-knuckling the steering wheel until it groans under the pressure instead of running us off the road.
Kaige catches on quickly, hastily backpedaling and lifting his hands in surrender. “Shit, I don’t meanherdoing something about the problem directly! I’m talking about her being therechangingthings. We’re desperate. Sabrina is-” he shakes his head, sighing almost wistfully. “She’shope; a reason for us to keep hanging on. These are men that I’ve known my entire life, and if I can at least give them a little hope that things might get better, it’ll be the best thing I’ve done in my reign since my father died. And if someone winds up pregnant with a girl while she’s there? Fuck, that mate of yours will be revered as a saint.”
The silence is painful. I can’t get a read on where Bo’s head is at, and honestly, I don’t know wheremine’sat with that sentiment. He talks about my mate like she’s some goddess come to bless their crops, like they want to make sacrifices in her name simply for the chance she’ll grace them with her presence.
As if he knows exactly what I’m searching for, he locks eyes with me as he declares, “I will do everything within my power to ensure Sabrina is safe... even from the four of you. And with as many people as are gunning for your heads right now, yeah, I’m a little anxious to get her away from here and back where she belongs; home.”
She deserves every bit of adoration thrown her way, but if history has taught us anything, it’s that if people are as desperate as he appears to be, it’s a precursor to something worse on the horizon. That place is a barrel of gunpowder scattering on the breeze, and Sabrina’s a match. She’ll bring life back to a dying breed, sure, but I’m afraid it won’t be the one that they’re hoping for. The fire that rages in her wake will change everyone’s lives... but not necessarily for the better.
She’s already proven that she’s capable of being the Slaughters’ daughter if not in blood, then in namesake. That woman’s a Trojan horse infiltrating all of our lives, a genuine wolf in sheep’s clothing, and I don’t think Kaige’s people actually know what they’re in for by welcoming her home with open arms.
But what do I know? I’m simply the unstable wolf that can’t be trusted to run off leash.
