Chapter 31 · Hunter's Counterstrike

"Get your hands off me, Cain!"

I didn't just say it. I shoved him. Hard.

He didn't budge. It was like hitting a brick wall. Cain’s fingers stayed locked around my wrist, dragging me through the palace corridors like a piece of forgotten luggage.

"Shut up and move," he growled. Low. Dangerous. The kind of voice that meant someone was about to get their throat ripped out. "Silas isn't here for a family reunion, Ivy. He's here to kill you. Or worse."

"And you're doing a great job protecting me by treating me like a dog!"

I dug my heels into the marble. Hard.

Cain stopped dead. The sudden halt sent me stumbling, my chest slamming into his back. He was radiating heat—cedar and something metallic. Blood.

He spun around and pinned me against the cold stone wall in one fluid motion. His forearm pressed against my collarbone. Not choking me, but letting me know he could.

"Listen to me," he hissed. His face was inches from mine. Gold flecks swirled in his eyes, that predatory Apex hunger simmering. "You think this is a game? You think your little blood-awakening makes you safe?"

"I think you're a bastard," I spat.