VINCENT
The scorching water from the shower streamed down my shoulders as the night played over in my mind. I pictured Cacey wriggling beneath me, sending me to further heights with her moans each time I drove deeper into her. My pulse skyrocketed in a second flat at the memories.
Overnight, the hot chocolate had somehow lowered our inhibitions, and considering I’d never behaved that way after such a tame drink, I’d say the thing was spiked. But this morning my thoughts were sharp and crisp and centered on Cacey. These two weeks in Susi promised me a much-needed break with fantastic company because no other wulfkin played on my mind like she did, lingered in my veins, consumed me. Not even my last girlfriend.
The minx remained in bed, fast asleep. Later, I’d join her for a cup of coffee. Or tea. Depending on what I uncovered in the kitchen.
I grabbed the towel hanging over the railing when Cacey stepped into the bathroom. She stood there, staring at me, wrapped in a bed sheet. Her hair resembled a porcupine’s while her gaze traveled down my body. Well, someone was up for another round, and I wholeheartedly agreed. I dried myself off in a hurry.
“Morning.”
“What happened last night?” Sleep clung to her raspy voice.
I lowered the towel from my hair. “Would you like me to show you?”
Her focus lowered for a moment. “It was that stupid hot chocolate. I never behave that way. Henri said it would relax me, but . . . ” She ran a hand through her tangled hair, reminding me of how I held on to her strawberry-blonde locks while taking her from behind, as per her instructions. I loved every second of claiming Cacey.
“My head aches.” Her voice was a whisper. “We need to forget last night.”
The hurt from her words was a knife to my chest, reminding me of Laila’s rejection, a disappointment that she didn’t reciprocate my feelings. I sighed and swallowed past the dryness in my throat. “I won’t forget you, or the five times I made you orgasm.”
Her cheeks deepened a shade of red. “Stop talking and get dressed.” She huffed and vanished into her bedroom across the hall.
Well, at least she hadn’t chased me from the house yet, but after our sex marathon, I wasn’t sure I could walk away from her now. But something deeper pulled me to her . . . she had innocence about her, yet she carried a fierceness when it came to protecting her daughter. It reminded me of my parents, my alpha and his loyalty to protecting all wulfkin. There was no selfishness there, just pure devotion.
I quickly dressed in my wrinkled jeans and shirt.
Cacey reappeared, wearing black leggings and a white blouse with a frilly collar. Despite her hair patted flat, the wild curls around her shoulders were rebelling. “The worst of the weather is over, and I’m heading out.” Her intense undertone told me to go, but her lingering stare betrayed her.
“Thanks for taking me in during the storm. And sorry we never tracked down the fox, but I’m sure he’ll come out eventually.”
She shrugged. “I’ll leave some food and water out for him. Then I’m grabbing Tianna’s skis from the basement, and I’m leaving.”
Her defenses were back up. She’d probably thought her ex was her mate and look how that turned out, so I understood her reaction of getting away from me fast. “Need help?”
“Nah. All good.”
A response tacked to the front of my mind about leaving. “I’ll be in Susi for a couple of weeks.” I cringed on the inside at how desperate I sounded. Pull your fuckin’ shit together.
She disappeared into the corridor, unable to leave my side quick enough. Well, if that wasn’t rejection at its finest. Fuck. The early cheer now sat like a brick in my gut, weighing me down. Maybe she needed time to get her head together. My wolf demanded she was ours. Something I’d only ever heard other wulfkin talk about but never experienced myself, until now.
The night’s warmth had now morphed into an iceberg. I’d give her space, and maybe soon she’d realize I hadn’t meant her any harm. Hopefully by the time she understood this, I wasn’t back in Hungary.
First Laila and now Cacey. Her pushing me away hurt worse, and I’d only known her for a night. My wolf had never reacted so forcefully to anyone else.
But in the long run, I had to return to Hungary. I’d worked too damn hard to secure my second-in-command position and trained to the point of exhaustion. Marcin was more than my alpha. He was the closest thing to a brother I had. Then why did the notion of pushing Cacey away claw at my chest?
My wolf rumbled through me. You can protest all day. A Varlac isn’t her type. She said so herself.
Slouched on the edge of the bathtub, I was pulling on my socks when a yelp ricocheted from somewhere in the house.
I catapulted into the hallway where a white blur nudged open the basement door, sending it into a wide swing. I chased the fox downstairs. While I’d lost sight of the fur ball, the dread of Cacey injured tightened around my neck.
The earlier reek of mustiness deepened at the bottom of the darkened basement.
“Cacey?” I choked on the truckload of odors that crashed into me—mold and pungent smells.
Shuffling sounds came from my left. I jerked in that direction. The darkness remained impenetrable. My nerves prickled.
“Are you here?” My strained words floated through the dark. I harnessed my wolf’s sight, and like an electric charge jolting through me, my eyes shifted. Shades of dark gray and black outlines surrounded me. Stacked chairs, a huge table, boxes, skis against the wall, and even a sleigh on its side.
A muffled moan came, followed by a gurgle from farther in the corner.
It was as if an invisible fist knocked the wind out of my lungs. “Cacey?” If anything happened to her . . . My hands curled into knots.
I sniffed Cacey’s honeyed scent, along with something else—a wolf smell. Faint but present. I silenced my breathing and listened.
A rapid intake of air, then another too soon after that. Two wulfkin shared the room with me. Cacey’s fears about Daan coming for her and Tianna sent a chill through my bones.
“One more step, and she’s dead.” A gruff male voice echoed from the back corner.
I spun about and spotted two figures. A bulky wulfkin towering over Cacey, his arm wrapped around her throat. Too dark to see his features, but none of that mattered. If he hurt Cacey, the fuckhead would choke on his own blood once I got my hands on him.
“Be a good mutt and fuck off. You’ve had your fun with Cacey, but she’s not your property.”
A raging blaze burned within my veins, and the more I stared at his hulking figure, the more I shook with urgency to plow his head into the wall. “Big mistake. Do you know who I am?”
“A fuckin’ lucky bastard if you leave now.”
My fake laughter filled the silence, while my wolf chewed on my insides for release and to teach this intruder a lesson. “I’m the second-in-command to the Varlac alpha, and you’ve just gained yourself a spot on our hit list. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of how vicious we can be, or how we never stop hunting until we catch our prey.”
Stillness and only the sound of hitched breaths resonated from the corner of the basement.
“This ends one way.” I stepped closer. “Release Cacey, or I will rip you apart.”
When the coppery tang of blood reached me, adrenaline shot through my veins like a piercing arrow, and the threads of hope that Cacey would be okay were slipping away. My wolf rushed out. I tore my clothes off and transformed, hair snapping across my body, and a howl burst free. Negotiations end now.
With the force of a train, I lunged forward at the wulfkin and Cacey.
A sharp nick of a blade sliced across my cheek. I ducked low and attacked. I tore into the intruder’s leg from the side, flesh and bone. Blood coated my tongue.
His yells filled my ears.
Cacey didn’t move out of the way, only made muffled sounds.
A whack to the back of my head had my legs wobbling. I stood my ground even as confusion gripped me and the world spun. My bite loosened, and I stumbled backward. The intruder kicked his foot into the side of my face. I felt as if my skull split in half, my vision bounced.
Shithead.
Cacey’s desperate cry tugged at my heart. Despite my head and body aching, my lungs gasping for breath, I’d fight to the end before leaving Cacey at the mercy of this slime.
“I warned you.” Dickhead’s raspy voice floated around me like a swarm of wasps. “Leave. After the count of three, she dies.”
Shudders swept through me. Keep it together. Still, the knock to the head had made me stumble sideways. My legs faltered beneath me, trembling, threatening to give out. I couldn’t let him win. Couldn’t let him hurt her.
“One.” Footsteps echoed from ahead, and I stared upward at the dark figures approaching, Cacey in front of the gutless ass who held her as a shield across his front.
Bastard was going down. How dare he touch her. I embraced the pumping adrenaline. Suck it up and beat the asshole at his own game.
“Two.”
They were standing near the table. Now was my chance because living with regret wasn’t my thing and no way was this wulfkin leaving the house with Cacey.
“Three. Time’s up, fuckhead.”
I retreated and leapt onto the table. Then in a thunderous launch, I catapulted myself into the wulfkin’s side, driving him into a wall, praying he released Cacey.
With claws piercing his back and shoulder, my mouth wrapped around his neck, teeth piercing flesh. My weight dragged us both backward.
His gargled sounds gave me the satisfaction I craved. But when Cacey’s screams started, my world shattered.