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There’s only one thing I want to give Alice and I can’t. She owns my soul and I can’t give it to her.
My wolf howls angry lamentations in my ears as he scratches furiously under my skin, desperate to be free. To go back to her and show her the truth.
The cold and snow pierce my face and hands as I fight to stop my shift. It’s not been that long since I last shifted but my human body is screaming like my wolf will tear me apart if I don’t let him out.
There’s no reason for me to be out here. There’s plenty of firewood in the house. I only made that excuse so I could leave and hopefully get my wolf under control. And to get out of talking to Alice.
I want to tell her the truth but it’s not my place. She needs to hear it from her father. Coming from me, it could shatter any trust, however little, she has left in him.
So now, I’m stuck out here, trying to figure out how to avoid being confronted again with the question I can’t answer. Or exposing the truth unintentionally by letting my wolf loose.
Not ready to face her again, I duck into the shed. My mind is a mess. It’s lucky I had the sense to put on my coat and boots to avoid making Alice suspicious going without them. The cold doesn’t bother me, but I’m hoping I can find some calm, getting out of the snow and wind.
Look at me… Immortal shapeshifter, brutal killer, afraid to face the eighteen-year-old, smart-mouth girl who gets drunk on one gin and tonic.
That girl is infuriating, but damn if her impertinence doesn’t make me want her more. With her sharp tongue and take-no-shit-from-no-one attitude, she’s going to slot right into the role her father will have ready for her when he returns.
If she’ll take it.
Dimitri is as stubborn as she is. Not likely to take no for an answer. Not even from his own daughter.
I tried telling him no when he demanded I come back to keep an eye on Alice while he was gone. I tried to convince him it was too dangerous. It would blow our cover. The hunters know my face too well. That’s when he told me the hunters had discovered Alice. He’s convinced now they will use her to get to him and the rest of the pack.
Even though I didn’t like the idea of coming back and facing my past, it meant seeing Alice again. I just wish someone would have given me the heads up that she turned into a woman while I was gone.
I mean, I knew. Of course, I knew, but I never knew how hard it would be to fight these feelings when I saw the truth of it with my own eyes. I never expected fate to bind us. So fast and so fucking strong.
And the more time I spend with her, the stronger and more prominent the bond becomes.
Just because the fates have spoken doesn’t make it any less dangerous. Or forbidden. Not just because she’s so young, but because she’s my best friend’s and boss’s daughter.
Despite the distance Dimitri’s kept between himself and his daughter, Dimitri does love Alice. Even if he isn’t there for her like he should be, everything he’s done has been to protect and take care of her. It proves his love.
She’ll know all about it soon enough. But until then, it’s my job to take care of her. To protect her and give her something to believe in.
And when I eye the hack saw hanging on the peg board on the far wall of the shed, I know just what to do.
Chapter nine
Alice
Icould have sleptall day if it hadn’t been for the clang of cast iron on the stone hearth.
That’s the first thing I hear, but the first thing I see when I wake is several tin foil ornaments, reflecting firelight on a freshly cut pine tree.
No way.
A Christmas tree?
My heart skips as my eyes drift to the hulking man crouched in front of the fire place.
Did Kane do this for me?
Why?
Besides doing what’s necessary to keep me alive, he’s done nothing but fight with and tease me since he dragged me out of that bar.
My throat swells as the tin foil twinkles when Kane stokes the fire with the iron poker once more.
