The aura surrounding the wild-looking man sitting at the kitchen table with Hannah and Noah matches mine. There’s no denying that. This male isn’t my pack mate, though. He doesn’t smell like a Kane. Doesn’t look like one either. Owen’s eyes are hazel, not orange. His nose is wider, his jaw is blunter, and his disheveled hair is wavier. He’s also not a Royal.
My wolves sense only one wolf spirit within Owen’s body, and they’ll never accept it as pack.
Owen pushes his chair out, the wooden legs scraping on the hardwood floor, and stands next to the table with his stance widened and arms held loosely at his sides. “Tell me when you want me to turn around so you can check out my butt too. Just be warned, I’m not into guys.”
Instead of answering, I focus on the scars marring Owen’s face. They’re easy to see through the growth of beard. Claws wouldn’t have caused them. Maybe the sting of a whip, hard to tell, but even if he’d gotten injured as a youth, the wounds would’ve partially healed. These stand out starkly on his face, adding to the wild appearance he carries. “Did they use salt or a witch’s salve on your face?”
Owen touches his face where a wide white scar cuts through his beard, then drops his balled hand. “Why are you here? They wouldn’t tell me. Are you another one of those Shifter Affair shrinks sent to assess my mental state?”
“Why would anyone need to assess your mental state?” Just how far up in the Shifter Affairs hierarchy did knowledge of Owen go? And why haven’t I been told?
“To determine if I’m feral.”
“You’re not feral. One look at you and I could’ve told them that.” My wolves would’ve shown me the easiest way to end his life the way they did with Eli.
Owen yanks up the leg of his pants, exposing a white band around his ankle. “They said the same, but I still gotta wear this. They don’t want me running off on them.”
“Where would you go?”
“Back to where I was kept. I’ve got unfinished business there.”
I slide my gaze from where Hannah and Noah sit silently at the table to Ethan, who’s standing near the door in the back of the room. “I’d like to speak to Owen alone.”
“I don’t think—”
“I’d like to speak to Owen alone.” I cut Ethan off.
Ethan holds my gaze for a long minute before nodding. As silently as they entered, the leaders of the Jager pack leave. Once the door clicks closed, I meet Owen’s gaze. “What kind of business?”
Owen smirks. “The unfinished kind.”
Any other time, the smartass answer would amuse me. Not today. “Where were you kept?”
He shrugs. “Don’t know exactly.”
“Then how do you expect to find your way back there?”
Owen thumps his balled fist against his chest. “Instincts. All shifters have them. I just have to follow mine.”
Or maybe the pull to Gabriel will lead him back. “If I get you out of here, will you lead me back there?”
Eyes narrowed, Owen studies me with open speculation. “Why?”
I take the stance he did minutes ago. “Do you recognize me, or should I turn around so you can check out my butt?”
A rough laugh shakes Owen’s chest. “I’ll take a hard pass.”
“You don’t recognize me, do you?”
Owen raises a brow. “Should I?”
“How about your wolf? Does it recognize me?”
“No. Should it?”
The debate plays out in my head. I didn’t learn from Ethan how much Owen knows about his bond with my alpha. “Then tell me about your dreams. Have any of me?”
Owen gives a slow shake of his head, his gaze never leaving my face. “You ask a lot of questions but don’t give any answers. I don’t even know your name.”
“Ilan.” I step forward. “Now, your dreams. Have any of me?”
“No.”
“A baby with my eyes? A human female, brown hair, gray eyes?”
“No and no.”
“How about a male who looks like me?” I take another step forward. “Orange eyes, dark blond hair, lean build.” Another step brings me within Owen’s arm reach. “Goes by the name Gabriel Kane?”
“No.”
A growl crawls up my throat. “Don’t lie to me.”
Owen sneers at me. “Taste my scent, Royal. I’m not lying.”
I don’t need to. He’s not lying. My wolves sense that, but this visit is proving worthless. “Gabriel Kane is my alpha. He’s been missing for over three hundred years.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but I know nothing about him.”
I close the distance between us so a deep breath would press our chests together and hold Owen’s gaze, Dominant to Dominant. “Then tell me what you know about the man who can control your body.”
A predatory stillness settles over Owen. He wets his lower lip while his hazel eyes turn cold. “I know he needs to die. If he doesn’t, I will. As it is, I feel my soul tearing. Once it does, feral won’t be a strong enough word to describe me.”