"Stop!" I called after Kane, reaching the door before he did in order to block his path. "Where do you think you're going?"
He clenched his jaws. "To do her bidding. Now get out of my way."
"No." I lifted my chin in defiance. "I don't care if she's whoever she or you say she is, I won't let you nor anyone touch my mother."
"You do not have a choice."
"Oh yes, I have," I retorted, narrowing my eyes at him. "And it is to protect the woman who gave birth to me."
Kane's own eyes didn't waver from mine as he moved to close the distance between us. His grey pupils focused intently on me. "I said get out of my way."
I stood firmly at my position in the doorway. "From the way you spoke to her, I assumed that you wouldn't think twice about doing her dirty work. So why aren't you not doing what she wants? Was all that bravado a bloody façade? Are you actually scared of her?"
He glared at me and gritted his teeth in both annoyance and impatience. "No. But I am not stupid. I know a threat when I sense one."
"But she didn't even threaten us!" I argued. "I'm sure she just said those words to scare us."
"You do not know her, Kara."
"I don't care if I don't-"
"That witch is a sly demon who does not play fair," Kane interrupted, pinning me on the spot with his unwavering stare. "And when she wants something, she gets it through her minions, us. Never herself. That is her game, and someone's life always has to pay for it. So there is nothing you can do to stop this, she-wolf. We must get that moonstone and that female has to die. That is all. There is no other way around this."
He bowed his head a little so that we would be on the same level. "So, for the last time; get out of my way."
"Not until you promise not to hurt my mother." I refused to back away until I got his word.
"That cannot happen."
"Then I won't stand aside," I said in response.
Kane stood silent for a moment before taking a step back, putting some space between us. "I am afraid you leave me no choice."
An unexpected toss of his hand had me slammed against the opposite wall, breaking right through the aged wood and landing painfully on my backside against the hard, dirty floorboards.
I groaned at the impact but bit my tongue to swallow in the rest of my moaning when I felt Kane lean towards my stiffened figure and grab the back of my neck.
"You will either finish the job with me or stay here while I get it done myself. Do I make myself clear?" He moved his hand to curl his fingers around the base of my throat but then hissed and pulled away so quickly after his digits had grazed the side of my neck.
I would've used that chance as a distraction to knock him out cold. But unfortunately, he wasn't the only one affected.
I let out a surprised yelp when I felt a burning sensation slice the part where he had just touched, causing me to squeeze that particular portion with my left hand as Kane got up from his kneeling position and swore.
"What the hell just happened?" I asked in bemusement as I too rose from the ground, my hand still clutching the side of my neck. Yet even as I awaited his answer, I already had a fair idea of what exactly had happened.
Almost afraid of what I knew I would discover, I slowly traced the outline of the bite mark Albus had given me during our brutal sexual encounter.
"He bit me," I murmured softly, although I was well aware that Albus had. But the knowledge of the bite had me repeating those words again, uncertain of what they would mean. "You bit me."
Kane didn't respond. Instead, he just stared at his bruised hand in shock before he looked up at me with surprise clearly evident in his facial features.
I had never seen that expression on Kane's face before, so I began to get a whole lot more nervous than I naturally would've been. "Why are you looking at me like that? I had nothing to do with this."
He didn't answer immediately, just proceeded to stare at me until he took a step forward and reached his hand out to me. I held in my breath as he pushed away my hand and used his thumb to lightly brush against the surface of the scar he'd permanently marred on my skin.
The motion instantly sent a wave of carnal desire through me and I gasped at the intensity of it. However, that feeling all too soon morphed into one of immense pain the second he dug his nails into my flesh.
That same shock ignited again and my whole body vibrated with the pressure just as Kane abruptly pulled away once more. The werewolf hissed and examined his wounded fingers whilst I bit hard on my tongue in order to prevent any sorts of distressed noises from escaping.
"She actually did it," he muttered before turning to face me, his pain momentarily forgotten. "She made you mine."
My heart skipped a beat for the second time within that hour. What the hell? "Excuse me?"
"You are my substitute mate," Kane said, almost as if he couldn't even believe what he was hearing himself say. But I couldn't exactly blame him, because I too bloody well couldn't.
"What did you just say?" I narrowed my eyes. The pressure in my heart increased, making my breathing come out unevenly and causing disruption to my nerves.
Kane didn't seem at all bothered by the sudden pitch in my tone as he replied, "Was I not clear the first time?"
My lips thinned. "I don't believe so."
"You are my substitute mate, she-wolf."
"That's impossible," I said.
He glared at me. "Then how else will you explain that?" He referred to what had happened earlier. "You were not supposed to survive, she-wolf, you know that. No one has ever survived a bite from a partner who does not belong to them. You being my substitute is the only explanation for this. That is why Albus felt, not the exact same, but a similar kind of pull he had always felt towards Alba when he first met you. You were made for us."
"Stop, I don't believe you." I held myself from reaching out to touch the bite mark again. "You're just trying to sway from the subject, but I'm not easily fooled. You're not murdering my mother. I will come with you, but we're going to find a way to get Alba out of my mother's body without spilling blood once we find her."
A glare was his only response until; "I do not have time for this."
Quickly, I grabbed his arm before he could get away. "Please, please don't kill her," I forced myself to beg. "There has to be another way of getting her out of my mother's body without causing her harm, there has to. So please, I'm begging you, give me your word that you won't hurt her until I figure out a way."
Instead of uttering a reply, Kane snatched his arm from my grasp and headed for the front door. But not before nodding his head once in my direction.
Aware of the sudden anticipation sizzling in my system, I swallowed in an also growing fear and followed him out of the cabin, ready to protect Mum no matter what. I didn't care if Alba had possessed my mother's wolf or not, she was still my mother, and I would kill just to get her safe and well by my side.
Besides, I had procrastinated long enough.
Certainly not prepared for the chill breeze that swept along my spine, I shivered as I hurried down the porch's steps and tried to catch up with Kane who had stopped right in front of the trees that led deep into the woods.
Although it was no longer Kane that I met once I'd caught up with him.
Albus was on all fours. His long thick-looking fur danced along with the cool night's air and for a fleeting moment, I marvelled at its creamish beauty. But it passed quickly enough when the beast turned to stare at me through bloody red eyes.
The sight caught me off guard for a second because it contrasted with the wolf's attractive fur, but then I regained my focus and loosened up a little when it became obvious that Albus wasn't going to pounce on me.
The minute it sensed me, the huge cream coloured wolf turned its head to face me before jerking it towards the trees.
I blinked. Huh?
What seemed like a growl of frustration vibrated from its chest as it jerked its head once more.
"Oh," I uttered with understanding before moving to stand beside the enormous creature. "By all means, I'm coming with you so that wasn't necessary."
Albus snorted, though his eyes still focused on me as if he was trying to tell me something. Then he jerked his head once more.
Choosing to simply follow his act, I looked towards the trees and eyed them warily, my mind trying to comprehend what exactly Albus was trying to tell me.
Unfortunately, I saw nothing but the shadows of thick swaying branches and bushes and the gloominess the blood moon cast upon the woods. With a frown, I turned to face Albus again and shrugged. "I don't see what you're trying to tell me."
He growled in what I assumed to be annoyance before he kneeled, his body lowering to the ground as if he was offering me a ride.
My eyes widened. Offering me a ride.
"Wait, you want me to ride on your back?" I asked in surprise, not in the least expecting such a proposal from him.
I eyed that part of his body warily, then his face, then back to his back once more. "No thanks, I can kee - ah!"
I yelped when Albus suddenly shoved his head against my stomach. But instead of me being pushed backwards, I was rather pushed onto his back since he had hoisted me there using none other than his snout.
"What are you doing?!" I yelled after I was dumped ruthlessly with my head facing his long and slightly fluffy tail and my legs dangling over his head.
"Wait!" I cried. "At least let me sit well before I fall off!"
I felt Albus' body move beneath me, but at my plea he hesitantly stopped, giving me the time I needed to righten myself before he took off again.
As Albus constantly sniffed and weaved through the trees, I couldn't help the excitement that arose while I clutched tightly at his soft, silky fur.
I'd never ridden on a werewolf before, but I had to admit that the feeling of moving this fast whilst everything else including the wind brushed by in a blur was exhilarating. I had never wanted to know how it felt like to go for a run in wolf form, and although my mindset didn't change, the emotions coursing through me were enough to give me a little taste of what I had always rejected.
However, a sudden familiar scent wafting across my nostrils made me freeze on top of Albus.
The wolf must have caught the scent too, because it immediately quickened its pace and ran towards the source of the blood.
My heart accelerated as the stench grew stronger by the second. We were so close. It was so close. And if it weren't for the curiosity bubbling inside me to find out what exactly was being slaughtered on this night of the sacred blood moon, I would've turned away.
"There!" I pointed unnecessarily at where I saw the silhouette of a lifeless-looking figure hanging from the side of one of the trees.
My eyebrows furrowed as Albus slowed and cautiously approached the body. For a moment, I studied the figure with a close look although we were still metres away from it. The grip I had on Albus' fur tightened even further just as my hands subsequently shook the minute I depicted certain details on the sight before us.
The figure looked too human. Too dead. Too familiar.
"No," I whispered out in shock and dismay. This can't be happening to me. "No, no, no!"
Before I even realized what I was doing, I found myself screaming at the top of my lungs and kneeling beside the tree that had one of its thickest branches protruding fatally out of the almost unrecognizable she-wolf's bloodied chest.
Sobbing, I cried out once more, "Mum!"
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