“Hey, congratulations, man!”
Kane pursed his lips as one of his old buddies, a man named Darious, slapped him on the back.
“We didn’t think you were ever going to remarry after what happened to Ava,” Darious said, his eyes serious.
Kane prickled but he forced himself to smile.
“Well, in Lia’s case, here, I had to make an exception.”
“I can see why,” Darious confided, eyeing the young woman from across the room. Somehow, that made Kane even angrier than he had been at the mention of his wife. How they had been lost to humans. Humans like Lia. “She’s a cutie.”
“Well, it’s not really your business, is it?” Kane asked pointedly. It was strange to feel possessive of Lia. Or was it being protective? She was a young woman. He was probably letting his instincts have their way, just as he would have done with his own daughter.
“Hey, point taken, man,” Darious said with a hearty laugh and another slap of Kane’s back. “Nobody’s going to mess with her. She’s your girl now.”
“Yeah…” Kane mumbled as Darious left to go join the party elsewhere. “I guess so.”
His eyes lingered on Lia, who somehow seemed to sense his attention and caught his eyes through the crowd. His heart hammered hard in his chest, and he tore his eyes away from her. He couldn’t help but feel as if he were taking advantage of her. Lia was young. She had a lot to live for. And although it wasn’t as if it were a real marriage, it was going to be treated as such by the courts. It didn’t matter what they felt for each other. For the rest of her life, she would have a marriage to a surly shifter in the dark closet of her life. It hardly seemed pleasant for her, but then, it was difficult for him too. It probably wasn’t worth overthinking it. They were doing it for a reason, and that reason would have to stay at the forefront of his mind if he was going to get anywhere.
Kane tried to hold back his growl and retreated to the porch of the house, where he could be alone to get some fresh air and collect his thoughts. He sat down heavily in the porch swing where he and his wife had spent many comfortable evenings in the twilight, and looked up to the sky.
“What would you want me to do?” he whispered. But it was no use. Once a shifter was dead, they were gone for good. There was a special place for their souls to reside, where, one day, they would all be reunited. At least, that’s what Kane had been taught. And it was a comforting lesson.
Kane clamped his mouth shut when he heard the screen door close gently and he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the gentle, innocent scent of Lia.
“Are you all right?” she asked quietly, walking lightly toward Kane. He clenched his jaw and shrugged. There was nothing about this situation he was enjoying. He had half a mind to get to the bottom of a bottle to deal with the situation, but he was afraid it would just make it harder for him to keep his mouth shut. He was often a blabbermouth when he had enough booze in his system.
Lia seemed to be studying his face, and for a moment, he was afraid she was going to take his wife’s place beside him on the swing. To his relief, instead, she walked in front of him and leaned against the railing, bending down just enough that she was able to meet his eyes.
“Yeah, that’s kind of what I figured,” Lia said, her voice mild and careful. “I’m sorry that you have to go through this. But your wife would understand. I know she would. If she’s anything like Courtney…”
“She is,” Kane interjected.
“Well, then I truly believe she would understand why you’re going through this. Don’t worry. She would just want to see you happy.”
Lia smiled gently at Kane and he was briefly mesmerized by the perfection of her face; the smooth skin and the gentle light blue eyes that wanted nothing more than to comfort him in what was turning out to be a trying moment for him, in more ways than one.
Kane nodded curtly at her and Lia turned away from him and went back inside. Kane was overwhelmed by the feeling of peace that her words introduced to him and he sat back in the porch swing and exhaled heavily. It gave him chills that an answer to the question he had asked his wife might reach him through the very girl he was conflicted about. Although it seemed impossible, the truth was that there was no end to the mysteries of the shifter arcana, and unexplainable things happened all the time.
It would be stupid of him to brush it aside, and yet, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe that Ava would be all right with the arrangement. Especially not if she knew just how tormented he was by his attraction to the human. A human who was loosely related to those who were single-handedly responsible for Ava’s death.
Even if his wife was all right with it, Kane wasn’t. And whether that was going to make this arrangement difficult or not, he was just going to have to find a way to deal with that, no matter the cost. He wasn’t going to abandon everything he had held onto, his vengeance and his loyalty to his wife, for a human. That fact was just going to have to be the end of it.
***
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Kane’s hackles rose and a growl began to form in his throat when he heard the voice of the man he hated the most – Max.
“What are you doing here?” Kane snapped, jumping up from the porch swing to intercept Max before he made it through Kane’s front door.
“Whoa, I’m just your typical run of the mill party guest, Desmond. Don’t need to get all bent out of shape about it.”
“Well then,” Kane said, bowing mockingly to Max. “Welcome. And to what do I owe the honor?”
“I just wanted to introduce you to a few of my friends. We heard about the celebration being held in your honor and thought it would be in poor taste to pass by without stopping to say a few words of congratulations.”
“I’m not sure what’s so congratulatory about ‘you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,’” Kane said as pleasantly as he could muster. “But you can go right ahead.”
“I’m sorry,” Max said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I just didn’t realize we were allowed to elope with our students. It’s a very special bond between a student and a teacher, you know. One that could easily be corrupted by the power balance.”
“I can assure you, it’s nothing like that,” Kane said.
“Of course not!” Max said cheerfully, stepping aside and giving Kane another sinister smile. If Kane could throttle this guy there and then, he would. But when Max moved, he saw he had come prepared for such an advance. There were six other men with him. Burly, mean looking men. One of which didn’t smell quite right at all.
“This is Thames,” Max said, gesturing to the man who was putting Kane off. “He’s a good friend of mine. The two of us have been speaking at length about what kind of a mentor the students of the future need. Shifters are at a very vulnerable point in history, you know. It’s going to be difficult to turn the tides without proper procedure in place, as I’m sure you’re aware.”
“Hello, Thames,” Kane said, eyeing the man suspiciously. Thames was tall and gaunt, with cold, hard eyes that were as dark as the night sky. It sent a shiver through him, if he was going to be honest. There was something lacking in this man. Something close to common decency. It was exactly the kind of friend Kane would expect someone like Max to have.
“Nice to meet you, Professor Desmond,” Thames said, without making a move to issue a proper wolf shifter greeting. Kane found it odd, but said nothing. Perhaps Max’s kind had finally succumbed to the point where they felt above the old laws. Did they fancy themselves to be such pioneers of a new age that common courtesy was just going to be thrown out the window from then on? The stakes were high, and Max’s presence on his porch was a disturbing reminder of the fact.
“Likewise,” Kane said darkly. “Do you boys want to come in for a drink? I was just about to get one myself.”
“Certainly,” Thames said, stepping to the front of the group and leading the men inside. The last thing Kane wanted was to allow Max and his posse into his home, but at the same time, he was burning with curiosity. Something had compelled them to come, whether it was to fuck with Kane or to see the results of his engagement for themselves. Either way, something was going on, and Kane wanted to know what it was.
“Professor Fredrickson, what a nice surprise!”
Kane was shocked to hear the genuine warmth in his new fiancé’s voice upon greeting Max. Either she was a legitimately kind-hearted person, or she was good at putting on a show. Either way, it was impressive.
“Why, you’re looking lovelier than ever, Ms. Pike,” Max said, kissing Lia’s hand and holding Kane’s gaze maliciously from across the room.
“Thank you,” Lia said, pulling her hand away from him gracefully and smiling brightly. “I see you’ve brought guests!”
“Not guests,” Max said, swiping his arm out behind himself, the hard look returning to his eyes. “Friends. We all wanted to wish you and yours a congratulations on your engagement. Surely, your family is thrilled at the news!”
Lia seemed taken aback by the suggestion and Kane’s heart pounded hard in his chest. So that was their plan then. Go right for the throat.
“Actually, I don’t speak to my family anymore, Professor Fredrickson. I’ve been disinherited.”
“Oh, my dear, I’m very sorry to hear that.”
Lia smiled again, but her face seemed troubled.
“Well, if you ever need anything, anything at all,” Max said, looking closely at Lia in a way that made Kane want to deck him. “I’m here.”
“Th…thank you, Professor.”
Max bowed deeply and then stood up straight. “I heard something about an open bar!”
“This way!” one of the guests beside Max said, leading Max and the group of rogue shifters deeper into Kane’s house.
Courtney’s eyes were wide and she caught her father’s gaze through the crowd, mouthing ‘I’m sorry.’
Kane smiled and shook his head. There was nothing for her to be sorry about. She had organized the only possible way for Kane to get the position of power at the university, and had even managed to make the engagement believable. There was nothing more that could be done.
Relief flooded his daughter’s face, but her eyes remained troubled. Most of the shifters at the party knew about Max, and if they didn’t, they were all just as put off by Thames as Kane was. Something was wrong there, but wasn’t it better to keep your friends close and your enemies closer?
And so, Kane resigned himself to enjoying the rest of his engagement party, rogue shifters be damned. If nothing else, he might be able to get an idea of what it was exactly that Max and his cronies were planning. With Ava on his mind, it was impossible for him to enjoy anything anyway. Even with Lia’s sweet eyes staring at him from across the room.
Kane sighed. Who would have thought that hanging around a bright, beautiful girl like Lia could actually make things worse?