III

Kane had me cornered by evening. I wasn't surprised because I'd been expecting it, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. The moment I stepped into my car and straddled myself to the seat with the belt, he came into view, and leaned against the front of the vehicle, his shoulders and arms muscles flexing in the cotton round neck vest he now had on, a replacement for the shredded shirt from the morning's fight.

I was scared, shitless, trembling in my seat.

His eyes were focused intensely on me, and I could swear that his lips didn't move when I heard him speak in my head. “We need to talk.” The fool was mindlinked to me. “Now!”

It was an order, not a request, and though the urge to run over him overwhelmed me, I knew better. My hands tightened on the steering wheel, the engine rumbling beneath me as I revved it.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

Kane stood his ground, unmoving, his expression unreadable.

“Drive,” The strain in his voice defied the blank look on his face, completely healed from the fight in the morning. “I dare you!”

I immediately killed the engine. Running over a werewolf like Kane was pointless. He'd destroy my car in seconds, not the other way around, and I couldn't risk losing the only thing I owned that worked halfway decently.

Before I could unbuckle my seatbelt, Kane rounded the car and ripped the door open with such force I thought he'd tear it off the hinges. My body jerked back, heart pounding, as his familiar scent of coffee, wood and pine invaded my nostrils.

His next words hit me like a slap in the face. “Did you kill him?” Almost reluctantly, he added, “So Kayden will return?”

I scoffed, “That's another version of the story going about the pack? I always thought you were at least a little smarter than every other person, turns out you seem to be more of a fool—”

“Answer me!”

I jerked back, my heart thudding in my chest. Running my mouth against Kane would just get me hurt. I feared him just as much as I did his mother and even though he had never hurt me physically like she'd done countless times in the past, he had ways to make me bend. His bullying was on the devil's level.

No kidding.

My hard font had quickly collapsed, now I was trembling, “I don't have an answer to that. He was perfectly fine—”

Kane's snarl was low, barely restrained. “And he just dies? Convenient, isn't it?” His eyes burned with accusation, their intensity threatening to bore holes straight through me.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry and constricted. “I don't know what happened,” I choked out, barely above a whisper. “He was fine... I swear he was fine when I left him.”

Kane leaned closer, his towering figure casting a shadow that made me feel impossibly small. “Do you really think anyone's going to believe you didn't have a hand in this?”

I flinched, my fingers gripping the edge of my seat until my knuckles turned white. “I didn't... I didn't kill him.” The words spilled out. I was desperate for him to believe him. “Why would I hurt him? He was the only one who cared about me.”

Kane sneered, his jaw tightening. “You're pathetic. Weak. Disgusting." He looked at me like I was trash. “My father's dead because of you, isn't he? And now, Kayden's returning, thanks to your little mess.”

Tears blurred my vision, Kane's figure doubling before into a distorted haze. “I didn't ask for any of this!”

Before I could flinch, his hand shot out, capturing my chin in an iron grip. His fingers bit into my skin, and I winced, every nerve in my body screaming to run. “But here you are,” he hissed, his fingers lingering against my skin. “And now, you're my problem to fix.”

“What are you going to do?” I whispered, barely able to force the words past my trembling lips.

He released me with a sharp motion, as if the mere contact sickened him. His eyes raked over me, lingering too long on my lips before they flickered back to my eyes. He leaned in, close enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath against my skin when he spoke. “That depends on you, doesn't it?” he murmured, each word deliberately slow, his nose brushing softly against my cheek. Much to my surprise, he seemed to be taking deliberate sniff of my scent.

Slowly.

His lips touched my skin, then dropped to nuzzle against my neck. He inhaled loudly, brushing the plumpness of his wet lips against my neck, causing me to shudder in response.

It wasn't something I could stop. It just happened. In that moment, I felt the pull, the need to touch him, to match the way he breathed me in. The low sound in his chest, like a growl, made my heart race.

But this wasn't the first time Kane and I crossed the line. It had happened once before. Two years ago. I went to his room that night to grab a book he'd taken from me and never returned. I wasn't supposed to be there long, but when I opened the door, I froze. He was sitting on his bed, his back to me, his hand moving under the blanket. I didn't understand at first, but then I heard Amber's voice. She was on the phone, moaning, and he was touching himself to the sound of it.

I should have walked out, slammed the door, left without announcing my presence. But I stood there like an idiot until he finished. When he finally noticed me, I panicked and ran. I stayed out of his way for days, but on the third day, he cornered me.

The look in his eyes burned, like he was mad but also trying to figure me out. I opened my mouth to speak, but he didn't give me a chance. He grabbed me and kissed me hard, like he was trying to prove something. It was angry and messy, full of things neither of us could say.

That was my first kiss. I was sixteen.

It never happened again, cause ever since, his look of disgust had only intensified.

Today, I squirmed against the seat, fingers digging into the leather, my chest rising and falling.

My stomach twisted as he stepped back, his towering frame still casting a shadow. His next words hung in the air like a death sentence. “Tonight,” he said, “I will hunt you. Through the forest. You'll have until daybreak to survive.”

My heart stopped, the blood draining from my face as his meaning slammed into me.

“If you make it,” he continued, his smile widening, “you live. Our bond stays intact, and the pack doesn't lose its precious runt.” He glared down. “But if I find you…”

Kane leaned forward again. “That's the last the pack hears of you.”

The world seemed to tilt, my vision swaying. My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out everything but the cold certainty in his tone. When he straightened, I exhaled shakily. “You have until the moon reaches its peak,” he said, already turning away, his back to me as though I were as good as dead. “Run, Feyre. Make it interesting.”