Chapter 4

"Stay close." Cain killed the engine. "Don't shift. Don't talk back. And for god's sake don't tell anyone what you are."

"So I'm your dirty little secret now?"

He looked at me. His eyes did that gold-flicker thing Alphas do when their wolf's too close to the surface. "You're alive. That's more than you were an hour ago."

Fair.

I followed him up the stone steps. The place was huge, all dark wood and floor-to-ceiling windows that probably cost more than I'd made in three years of slinging coffee in the human city. A couple of wolves watched from the shadows inside. I felt their stares like hands on my neck.

Cain pushed the door open.

She was waiting in the entrance hall.

I knew it was her before he said anything. Ivy Grey looked like money and good breeding and everything I wasn't. Blonde hair in a perfect twist. Cream-colored dress that probably had a designer name I couldn't pronounce. And a smile that didn't touch her eyes.

"Cain." She moved toward him, all grace, and put a hand on his chest. Didn't even glance at me. "You said you'd be back by noon. It's almost sunset."

"Something came up."

"I can see that." Now she looked. Her gaze slid over me like I was a stain on the floor. "Who's this?"

"Lila Ash," I said before Cain could answer. "Nice to meet you too."

Her smile tightened. "Ash. That name sounds familiar."

"Probably from the trial," I said. Kept my voice light. "Three years ago. You were there."

Cain shot me a look that could've peeled paint.

Ivy tilted her head. "Oh. The cursed girl." She said it the way you'd say rat or garbage. "I thought you were exiled."

"I was."

"Then why is she here, Cain?" Ivy's hand was still on his chest. Possessive. Territorial. "We have protocols. Exiles don't come back."

"She's under my protection." His voice was flat. Alpha-command flat. "That's all you need to know."

"Your protection." Ivy's eyes narrowed. "For how long?"

"A year."

I hadn't agreed to a year. We hadn't agreed to anything except him not letting those hunters kill me. But I kept my mouth shut because three wolves had drifted into the hall and they were all looking at me like I might explode.

Maybe I would.

"A year," Ivy repeated. She stepped back from Cain. Her smile was gone. "And where exactly is she staying?"

"Guest wing."

"The guest wing is for allies. She's an exile."

"She's staying in the guest wing."

Ivy looked at me. Really looked, the kind of look that takes you apart piece by piece. Then she laughed. It was a pretty sound. Cold as hell. "I see. Well. Welcome back, Lila."

She walked past me close enough that I could smell her perfume. Something floral and expensive. And under it, just for a second, fear.

She was scared of me.

Good.

Cain waited until she was gone, then grabbed my arm and hauled me down a side hallway. His grip was careful, avoiding the bruises the chains had left, but his jaw was tight.

"What part of don't talk back did you not understand?"

"The part where you think I'm gonna stand there and let her look at me like trash."

"She's my fiancée."

"She's the reason I got exiled."

That stopped him. He let go of my arm. We were in some kind of corridor lined with old portraits, dead Alphas staring down at us. The light was dim. I could hear voices deeper in the house, cooking smells, normal pack life I hadn't been part of in three years.

"You don't know that," Cain said.

"I saw her. In your memory."

"You saw a girl at a trial."

"I saw her smiling while they called me cursed. While you threw me out." My wolf pushed at my skin. I shoved her down. "What did she tell you? What lie did she sell?"

Cain ran a hand through his hair. He looked tired. Older than I remembered. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

"Lila." He stepped closer. Too close. I could feel the heat coming off him, the Alpha presence that made every wolf instinct in me want to either submit or fight. "You're here because I need you alive. That's it. I don't owe you explanations. I don't owe you anything except a roof and protection for one year. After that you're free to go."

"Free." I laughed. It came out bitter. "You mean you'll use me for whatever ritual you need my blood for, then kick me out again."

"I mean you'll be alive."

"As what? Your secret weapon? Your pet wolf?"

His eyes flashed gold again. "You want to leave? Go. I won't stop you. But those hunters will find you in a week and you know what they do to red wolves."

I did know. I'd heard the stories. Seen the photos on hunter forums when I was trying to figure out what the hell I was. They didn't just kill us. They took us apart.

I hated that he was right.

"Fine," I said. "One year. But I'm not your property. I'm not something you parade around or hide in a corner when it's convenient."

"I'm not asking you to be."

"And I'm not playing nice with Ivy."

"I'm not asking that either." He turned and started walking again. "Come on. Your room's this way."

The guest wing was nicer than anywhere I'd lived since the exile. Soft carpet. Actual furniture. A bathroom that didn't have mold in the corners. Cain pushed open a door at the end of the hall and stepped back to let me in.

"There's clothes in the closet," he said. "Should be your size. Food gets served in the main hall at seven but I'll have someone bring you a tray tonight. You need anything else, there's a phone on the desk."

"How generous."

He ignored that. "The bond's going to get stronger. You'll feel what I feel sometimes. See things. It goes both ways."

"So you'll see my stuff too."

"Yeah."

"Great. That's not invasive at all."

"You want me to break it? Because I can try. Might kill us both but I can try."

I looked at him. His hands were still bleeding sluggishly, torn open from the silver. He'd done that for me. Or maybe he'd done it because he needed me alive for his ritual. I didn't know. Couldn't tell through the bond yet.

"No," I said. "Not yet."

He nodded. Started to leave.

"Cain."

He stopped in the doorway.

"Why did you really bring me back?"

For a second I thought he might actually answer. Then his face closed off. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll talk about the northern packs."

He shut the door.

I stood there in the middle of the too-nice room and felt my wolf settle, finally, now that we were alone. The bond hummed in my chest. I could feel Cain on the other side of it, moving through the house. Anger and guilt and something else, something sharp I couldn't name.

I went to the window. The pack lands stretched out below, forest and hills and the border I'd been thrown across three years ago.

My wrist itched.

I looked down.

The hunter mark was glowing. Faint red light under my skin, the same mark those silver-chain bastards had tried to burn into me before Cain showed up.

It shouldn't be glowing. They hadn't finished the ritual.

I pressed my hand against it. The light pulsed.

Then I heard it. A voice. Male. Close. Coming through the wall like he was standing right next to me.

"Red blood's home."

I spun.

The room was empty.

The mark burned hotter.

And somewhere in the house, something laughed.