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Cain’s monster unceremoniously dropped him to the ground and stared down at him. The other Ancients didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Didn’t so much as twitch.
“Oh, hell,” Anabel murmured as she took a nervous step backward. A twig beneath her foot snapped.
Cain’s head whipped their way, and the monster inside him pinned them to the spot with a mere look. It fixed its gaze on Wynter, its focus more intense than even Cain’s. Black, thin, vertical pupils were set into a yellow-green eyeball. Yes, she was staring into the unblinking eyes of a serpent. An actual, honest to God serpent.
Wynter’s mouth went dry, and her stomach rolled and churned.
It prowled toward her, as fluid and predatory as a snake on the hunt. Her pulse kicked up, and panic briefly flared in her belly. Cain’s words of warning sounded in her mind like a bell.
Never let it bite you.
There was something else he’d once said . . .
If there ever comes a time that you’re so afraid of me you want to run, don’t run.
She wondered if he’d been preparing her for this very moment, worried she would flee and trigger his monster’s hunting instincts.
She stayed very still, aware of just how—depending on its mood—precarious the situation could be. “Nobody move,” she told her coven, worried they’d jump to defend her.
It might not come to that, right? Cain had told her that, despite its wish to mark her, his monster would refrain unless out of control. She couldn’t quite tell if it was in control now. Those eyes gave away nothing. Nothing at all.
Finally, it came to a stop in front of her.
She wasn’t gonna lie, it wasn’t easy to hold its inhuman gaze. It just seemed so . . . wrong to see serpent eyes in the head of an actual person. She didn’t like that “something else” was using Cain’s body this way—her Cain. It was only now that she understood why he hadn’t liked that Kali had once possessed her.
But, she reminded herself, his monster had as much right to that body as Cain did really, didn’t it? The creature might be a separate entity, but it was still a part of him. And to reject it on any level would be to also reject Cain. She could never do that.
So Wynter didn’t flinch or recoil when it lifted its hand to her face. She didn’t tense when it drew its fingertips down her temple, cheek, and jaw. She didn’t even complain when it nuzzled her neck and flicked its tongue out to lick her pulse . . . though she felt as though she was being tested.
She must have passed said test, because it raised its head and slid its nose against hers in what felt like a gesture of affection. Which was just about when grass crunched beneath a shoe, and she realized that Seth had taken a step toward them.
The monster went unnaturally still and then ever so slowly turned its head. It pinned Seth with the mother of all glares and hissed between its teeth.
Like that, the tension ramped up.
Azazel grabbed Seth’s shoulder, staying him. “It’s not going to let us near her. Let’s give them both space.”
Seth grimaced. “Cain will never forgive the creature if it hurts her.”
“It won’t,” said Azazel. “She’s safe with it.”
Ishtar snorted. “No one’s safe with Cain’s monster.” She didn’t sound whatsoever concerned about the possible danger to Wynter, though. In fact, she seemed rather delighted by the prospect that the creature might kill her.
“Go,” Wynter told the Ancients. “I’ll be fine.” She figured there was more chance of the creature losing control if they got too close than if they left, since it was currently eyeing them all with suspicion. It didn’t seem bothered by the presence of her coven, probably because it didn’t view them as a high level of threat, or maybe it simply trusted that they wouldn’t hurt Wynter.
Dantalion tossed a limp Saul over his shoulder. “I highly doubt it will kill you,” he told her.
Comforting.
Seth didn’t seem too happy about it, but he left with the other Ancients.
Cain’s creature returned its gaze to her. Those eyes dropped to her mouth, and then it used its thumb to tug her lip free of her teeth—it was only then she realized she’d been nibbling on it. The monster dipped its head and, holding her gaze, scraped that same lip with its teeth.
Annoyed, she flicked up a brow. “You done testing me?”
One corner of its mouth quirked, and then it must have chosen to withdraw or something because Cain’s dark eyes were staring out at her.
He palmed the back of her head, slipped an arm around her waist, and then drew her close. Pressing his mouth to her temple, he let out a heavy breath of what could have been relief when she hugged him back. If he’d expected anything else from her, she was truly insulted.
