“Kade the man might have kissed you,” Leah said. “But the wolf doesn’t have feelings for anyone. He has one focus, and that’s it.”
“And what is that?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“To kill.” Leah’s voice echoed with sadness.
“Is he your maker?” Trina asked, turning to look at the silver-eyed girl. Her eye color matched Kade’s.
“Not on purpose,” Leah said with the ghost of a smile.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean Ethan ordered him to Change me when I was hurt, but it wasn’t his wolf’s choice. He wanted to kill me instead. He tried, but Ethan kept him off me.” Leah inhaled deeply and brightened her smile. “But no one is perfect, and his wolf is just a quirk to deal with.”
A quirk? Trina was looking at quite possibly the most dangerous shifter in existence. Why? Because a man who was out of control of his demons couldn’t keep anyone safe. In the other cage, his wolf hadn’t settled down at all. She’d never seen one so big in all her life. He had thirty pounds on the biggest Wulfe Clan wolf. His fur was dark gray with light points, but he was matted with blood. His hackles were raised down his back like some wild boar ready to charge. He was creating a soundtrack of terror from his growling and wolfish promises of destruction. Of pain.
She stared down at the faint scratch from where his bite had barely missed her forearm. If these metal bars weren’t between them, would he stop himself from hurting her?
He glared at her with white-hot rage simmering in his eyes, his teeth bared. She’d fought the Wulfe Clan alongside him, but he still didn’t feel any loyalty to her. He would still kill her if given the chance.
Bad wolf.
Big. Bad. Wolf.
Chapter Five
The sound of footsteps was barely audible over the constant sound of Kade’s growling. It had been hours since she’d woken up down here, but there was still no word from the officers talking in a low murmur upstairs. Twice, one named Officer Donovan had come downstairs and gone straight into the room they were holding the Wulfe Clan, but he hadn’t even bothered to look over at their cages.
And Kade’s growling was only punctuated when he took a breath or snapped of his teeth if she moved even an inch.
Leah was a chatterbox. Trina liked her. She was funny and read like an open book. She practically hummed with happiness, and Ethan seemed to be feeding from his mate’s natural joy. Seeing a big, badass crow shifter smile so much was a little weird, but it was good.
They’d told her how their Clan had formed and talked a little about Kade, but it was hard to focus with his attention pinpointed on her.
It made her sad.
Her animal had been so interested in him. She still was, just sitting inside her, watching him, always watching him…but she could never have him. No one could. He wasn’t a safe bet.
Officer Donavan came stomping down. “Ethan and Leah, you’re free to go.” He lowered his voice as he unlocked their cell and muttered, “Rike and the entire damn Red Dead Mayhem Clan bailed you out.”
“What about them,” Ethan asked, gesturing to Trina and Kade.
“The New Darby Clan is working on her release, but what do you suggest I do with that one?” Officer Donavan asked, jerking his head toward Kade. “I can’t just release him to the masses. He looks like he wants to kill you, and you’re his own damn people. We will release him when he Changes back.”
“That could take him days,” Leah said. “He isn’t like other shifters.”
“Clearly,” Donovan said, resting his hands on his hips. “He stays until we deem him fit to be in public again.” He frowned at the snarling wolf. “Just a heads up,” he said low, “there’s talk upstairs about him.”
“What do you mean?” Ethan asked.
“I mean look at him. Can you blame the people in this town for wanting him gone? Or locked up? This isn’t a threat. I’m actually rooting for you guys. This is me saying figure something out. Fix him.”
“He isn’t broken,” Ethan gritted out through clenched teeth. “He’s just different.”
“You and I both know that’s bullshit, man.”
“Ethan,” Leah whispered. “We can’t leave him like this.”
The look that passed between them was unreadable. But Ethan turned slowly to Kade and demanded in a booming voice, “Change back. Now.”
A whine interrupted the snarling, and then Kade just…broke. That was the only word that came to mind as Trina watched his body shatter inward, bones snapping, muscles stretching, his face twisting with pain just before he Changed back to his human skin. Curled in on himself, Kade laid there panting.
Donovan looked equal parts disgusted and sympathetic. “We still have to keep him for observation for a while. I’ll give you a call when he’s ready for release.”
Fury took Ethan’s face and, for a moment, Trina thought he was going to smudge Donovan out of existence, take his keys, and set them both free, but Leah slipped her hand into his and whispered his name. Ethan relaxed immediately. Oh, his face was still seven shades of terrifying, but he looked a little less murdery. Ten points for Leah the Monster Tamer.
“We’ll be outside when you’re released,” Ethan rumbled, his pitch-black eyes freezing Trina into place.
“O-okay.”
Ethan and Leah followed Officer Donovan upstairs, and the echoing of those fading footsteps was a truly lonely sound.
Now it was just her and the crazy werewolf down here.
“Are you okay?” Kade sounded like he hadn’t spoken in a week for how gritty his voice was.
His back was to her, so she could see the full extent of his injuries from the fight. She had some too, but not like his. He had bite and claw marks all over him.
“I’m doing better than you,” she murmured softly.
With a grunt, he pushed himself up, stood stiffly, and made his way to the pair of jeans someone had wadded up in the corner of his cell.
“No fair,” she teased as he pulled them onto his powerful legs slowly. “All I got was this prison jumpsuit.”
He slid a silver-eyed glance at her and gave the slightest smile. “How do you look pretty in every color?”
Stunned by his surprise compliment, she covered her shy smile by looking down at her pumpkin-orange outfit. It really was hideous though, so she huffed a laugh and said, “Well, apparently, you’re still crazy.”
He grunted and nodded once as he buttoned up the jeans. They fit him perfectly. Maybe those were his jeans someone had brought from the bar. They sat low on his hips, and as he fastened the belt, his eight-pack abs flexed. That man was fine. Terrifying, but fine.
Every movement he made looked painful. “Is that the first time you’ve had a forced Change?” she asked.
“Yep, and I’m probably gonna kill Ethan later for doing that. Fuckin’ Alphas. That right there is why I miss being rogue.”
“Being rogue is probably what made you like this.”
“Like what?” he asked, eyes flashing.
“Crazy.”
He huffed a breath and made his way to the other side of the cage. Now they were both sitting as far away from each other as possible. He slid down the bars, sat on the cement, and rested his elbows on his bent knees, staring off with a faraway look.
It was a long time before he spoke. “I wasn’t always rogue.”
They’d sat for so long in silence his admission surprised her. “What?”
He scooted a few feet closer to her cell, then cleared his throat and repeated, “I wasn’t always rogue.”
“Were you part of the Wulfe Clan? Is that why you have a beef with them?”
He rolled his head back and forth against a bar. “My real mom is a wolf. High ranking. She’s in the Wintercast Clan.”
“Wow,” Trina murmured, scooting a few feet closer as a reward to him for sharing with her. “I don’t follow wolf Clans, but even I’ve heard of that one.”
“Biggest wolf Clan in the world. Forty-two members last I heard, and my Mom is Second. And not mated either. She fought her way there. Highest ranking female of our kind.”
“Why aren’t you with her?”