Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 607(@200wpm)___ 485(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Even Cain heard the skepticism in his voice. His witch was a force of vengeance. Leaving the distribution of punishment to others really wasn’t her style.
She sat back on her haunches. “Happy to do it? Uh, no. Not even a little bit. But what I most want is for him to be caught. There’s more chance of that happening if you and the other Ancients tackle his ass. I’ll keep him occupied in the meantime. Come on, I’m making sense. You can’t deny it.”
“Of course I can.”
“Okay, you can’t truthfully deny it. And if I was anyone else’s consort, you’d be all over this plan.”
“But it’s me you belong to, and we’ve already established that I’m not entirely rational when it comes to matters concerning your safety,” he pointed out, unapologetic.
Everything in Cain balked at sending her into a dangerous situation. Always did, always would. She was the one thing he couldn’t lose. The one thing he couldn’t be without.
His sanity had survived being caged, but it would unravel if he lost her. She’d fast become his anchor, become an integral part of his world. He wasn’t sure she truly realized, despite his efforts to communicate it, just how very necessary she was to him.
Wynter crawled to the edge of the mattress and then got to her knees again. “You want me safe? Help me capture Saul. Don’t you want him out of the way once and for all?”
Obviously, but . . . “Using you as bait doesn’t appeal to me at the fuck all.”
Her brow shot up. “Hasn’t bothered you before.”
All right, he deserved that.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hold it against you that you’ve been using me to draw the ruling Aeons here—I’m a willing participant in that, I find some delight in luring them to their deaths. I’m just making the point that I’m already bait.”
Cain pinched the bridge of his nose.
She slipped off the bed, crossed to him, and set her hands on his shoulders. “It’s not like I’ll be alone when he comes at me. I’ll have my coven. I’ll have whatever guards you put on me. And if all goes to shit, you can abandon the plan to nab his ass and instead come save me. Not that I think it’d be necessary. It’s not like I can’t protect myself, is it?”
No, but that didn’t make him feel any better about her suggestion. Even the knowledge that she was a vessel for something that—taking into account she was often covered in blood and brain matter after letting her monster free—seemingly tore apart its enemies with little effort brought him no reassurance.
He’d asked to see her monster, but she’d been dead set against the idea since the entity had no loyalties and would attack him just because. “Out of curiosity, what did Kali put inside you?”
She slid her hands from his shoulders down to his chest. “Probably nothing even half as scary as what’s inside you.”
Cain stilled, his muscles stiffening in shock, his world imploding around him. His creature’s head snapped up, its body just as tense.
She shrugged. “I sensed it a few times.”
For a long moment, he could only stare at her. Little took Cain and his creature off-guard—they’d lived too long, seen too much, become too jaded. But Wynter had a knack for shocking the shit out of them.
“You never said anything before now,” he said, his voice like crushed gravel.
“I didn’t see the point in asking questions, since I figure this is one of the many things you can’t talk about. You would have told me about it otherwise.” She bit her lip, letting her arms fall to her sides. “I’m sure there’ll come a day when we can be fully open with each other about everything, but that isn’t going to be today. There’s something I need to know, though. What lives inside you . . . would it hurt me? Is that why you say I’m not safe with you?”
His creature drew back, displeased that she’d make such an assumption. But the frustrating truth was that she wasn’t so far off the mark.
Cain cupped her hips. “My monster wouldn’t want to hurt you. But it would be highly tempted to bite you—not to harm you, but to mark you. Still, that wouldn’t be a good thing.” It could actually kill her, but Cain didn’t add that part. He didn’t want her to fear his creature. “It would refrain. But if out of control for one reason or another, it could bite you.”
“Why mark me like that?”
“It’s possessive of you. Refuses to share you. It’s been territorial of you since the beginning. That’s why it insisted on me plugging you.”
She frowned. “Plugging me?”
“Remember the barrier inside you? Our kind term it a plug.” Cain couldn’t explain further. Not without scaring her anyway. “My creature is set on keeping you, but it doesn’t know what to do with you. It’s not built to care or protect or pleasure. It’s primarily designed to destroy.” He took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Never let it bite you.”