Chapter Three
Caine
He stared at the raven-haired beauty, his excellent vision allowing him to see her with ease, despite the shadows and darkness. Her entire body, draped as it was in thick layers of dark cloth, was still readable. A stiffness that had nothing to do with muscle soreness had entered her movements, and now this close to the church she seemed ready to turn to stone, so rigid had she become.
“I understand.” He turned his back on the building, walking past her, slowly meandering out among the gravestones, though he tried to stick to the path between rows. After a moment she came along with him.
“You do?”
“Yeah. I can’t do weddings either. Even rehearsals of weddings.” He shrugged. “It’s just not my thing.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.”
Caine nodded, secretly happy she was accompanying him on his walk without needing to be encouraged. He wanted her to feel comfortable around him, to know that while he was near, she would never need to fear. After all, that was how it would be if she was who he thought she was. His dragon was clamoring out to him, trying to tell him things, but Caine had long ago learned that he couldn’t necessarily trust the beast within him. It sometimes acted on its own without his input. This was not going to be one of those times. He couldn’t afford to screw it up.
“I was outside when you came around,” he reminded her.
“Yeah, I just figured you were security or something.”
“For a church?” he chuckled. “I don’t think the dead need my protection.”
“No, but I meant…” her voice trailed off. “Yeah, I guess it was kind of silly to assume that, wasn’t it?”
Caine shrugged. “No matter. So, what’s your issue with weddings?”
There was a long pause, and he thought he’d lost her. Turning back though, she was still there, trailing behind him. Caine waited and eventually the woman came alongside. Looking up she too shrugged, the same casual non-caring manner as he. “Bad memories.”
“Ah.” That could mean a million things, but none of them were good.
“What about you?”
Caine wasn’t sure why he responded. He didn’t even know the woman’s name, and though he suspected who she was, to him at least that didn’t mean he was willing to open up and just share his life with her. Whether she was interested or not, it wasn’t a burden she needed to bear. There was such a thing as oversharing.
“Sometimes I think that those inside would be better off without me in their lives.” He held up a hand. “I’m not talking about offing myself or anything. I just mean moving on, starting fresh, and letting them do the same without me.” He licked his lips. “It would be better for them that way.”
“I understand. Who is it in there you know?”
“My brother. He’s getting married.” Something occurred to him. “How did you know to find Violet out here?”
“The internet. It told me this was the venue for the wedding and that she was part of the bridal party.”
Caine couldn’t find fault in that answer. The whole sequence of everything still didn’t sit right however, and he needed to know more. “Why not go to see her at her house? Surely that would be a bit better way to say hello?”
Brown eyes tinged with yellow-gold flashed, and heat blossomed in her cheeks as she looked away from him at nothing in particular. “It’s more than just hello. You’re out here avoiding your brother’s wedding?”
Interesting. He’d phrased his question specifically to try and figure out what she wanted to say, but whoever the mysterious beauty was, she was quick. “It’s a rehearsal,” he repeated. “Besides, I’m not the one getting married. He can do that without me.”
“Yeah, family isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Caine disliked the way she spoke about that. He loved his brothers and would defend them rigorously. The problem didn’t lie with them. It lay with him, and the trouble that always seemed to follow him around.
“Maybe,” he agreed, then stuck out his hand. “I’m Caine.”
“Uh, Annalise.” She refrained from taking his hand, looking at it suspiciously, as if he were going to latch on and never let go.
“I’m not out here to hurt you,” he repeated, giving his hand a shake before dropping it, so she knew what he was talking about. “If I wanted to do that, I would have already. You’re free to go at any time. Though that probably won’t get you in to see Violet.”
Annalise shoved her hands in her pockets in response, but she didn’t go anywhere. She in fact seemed to be thinking about something.
“Do you want me to tell Violet you’re out here? She’s the maid of honor, so she’s really busy. But if it’s a good enough reason, she’ll make time.”
“Okay, fine.”
He watched her with extreme interest, part of him wondering what she would look like if he peeled back some of the many layers she was wearing that hid her figure from him. Her face spoke of soft, creamy skin, covered in freckles. He wanted to explore more, to see if she had the adorable little dots everywhere or not.
“I was adopted as a child.” Annalise kicked at the ground as she spoke. “I don’t know anything about my birth family. But I think we might be sisters.”
Caine’s jaw dropped open. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, I’ve done some research. I know that the last name is Walker. That’s all I know. But I mean, we look somewhat alike based on her social media pictures. I just…I had to know, okay?”
Caine understood. He knew what it was like to wonder if you had family out there. He’d thought several times of trying to see if any of the brothers’ extended family was still out there, if any of the other dragons had slept through the ages like they had. But so far he’d refrained. Even if they were out there, they wouldn’t want to see the brothers. There was a reason they’d grown up alone.
What bothered him the most about this, however, was the knowledge that someone had purposefully abandoned Annalise. He couldn’t believe someone would do that to such a beautiful person, but the world was a cruel place sometimes, and it worked in mysterious ways. He didn’t know the mother’s reasoning, but he could feel for Annalise and understand her pain. No one should ever have to feel like they weren’t good enough for a parent’s love.
“Caine!”
Ivore was at the side door calling his name, motioning for him to come in. He lifted a hand to acknowledge his brother, holding up a solitary finger to let him know he’d be just a moment longer.
“I have to go in now, I guess. Duty calls.”
Annalise nodded, shifting her weight from side to side.
“Sure you don’t want to come inside?”
“Yeah,” she said heavily. “I’m sure. I’m not ready just yet.”
Caine nodded. He’d suspected as much. “Wait for me?” he asked suddenly. “We can talk some more in a bit.”
“Wait for you. Out here. In the graveyard?”
He winced. Clearly not his best thought-out plan. “You could always wait in the dark, creepy woods over there?” Humor would be his best bet at salvaging things.
“So much better,” she said dryly.
Caine laughed.
A light flicked on and off nearby, briefly illuminating them as Ivore signaled for his attention once more. Caine was able to get a better picture of her face, imprinting it upon his brain. The beautiful curve of her eyebrows and the blossoming redness on her face as she stared at him in surprise.
“You’re young,” she gasped, then slammed her mouth shut in embarrassment.
“What, did you think I was old?”
“I don’t know. Your hair is so white, so I just figured…”
Caine chuckled. “You assumed I was a senior citizen.”
Annalise looked away. “I can’t see very well in the dark, okay? Go easy on me. I’m sorry.”
He smiled. “Well now I think you have to wait for me.”
“Go on,” she said, shooing him off as the light flicked some more and Ivore shouted again. “It looks like they need you.”
“I hope you wait,” he said quietly, then left.
Ivore was waiting for him, looking frustrated. “Who the hell was that?” he asked, holding the door open until Caine had come inside.
He considered his answer. “I’m not entirely sure yet.”
But he was. There were no doubts in his mind, the cold of his powers long since frozen them away. If they hadn’t, the memories of twin golden-brown orbs, black hair, and freckles beyond counting surely would have. He smiled to himself.
Annalise was his mate.