Page 66 of The Enforcers: KANE

Kane stretched out carefully on the bed next to Rachelle. She looked so alone and vulnerable, and his newly awakened heart was already breaking.

He didn’t have any idea how to do this, so he gathered her in his arms and held her close. He took the hand that held the gold coin and wrapped his much bigger hand around it, nestling their clasped hands in between their two chests, near her heart.

He closed his eyes, and then, very softly, he began to speak.

He’d already told her about his childhood, about his longing to feel like part of the pack and the ways he’d messed it up.

But he’d never told her about the raid that had destroyed their pack, killing nearly everyone in it. How he’d fought and killed two raiders in the forest, and then returned to his home to find the bodies of the dead lying sightless throughout their village, eyes staring blankly at the sky.

He’d run as far and as fast as he could, but the loneliness and the grief nearly killed him. He’d headed for the city, for lights and people, but the cold concrete forest was just as lonely, and even more frightening.

And then there was Raven.

“You saved me, Raven,” he said. “I don’t know if I ever told you that. You gave me something to live for when I just wanted to die and didn’t know how. Wolf and I, we need people to protect. People to take care of. And you were it for us.”

He stroked her hair, snuggling her warm body against him.

“You were so small and fragile-looking and feisty, but you could be so gentle. I remember when you used to just put your hand on my chest like you did the other night, and Wolf would calm right down. You’d sing us to sleep and make us feel safe. And you trusted us. You made us feel…good about ourselves.”

He sighed. “I was always a bully, always the one who hit things because I didn’t know what else to do. But you made me believe I could be a good person.” He paused. “Did you know I became an Enforcer because of you? After Jace found me and brought me back to the pack, that’s all I wanted to do. Take care of the people in it and keep them safe.”

He wrapped a strand of her hair around his fingers. “I wish I’d become a better person sooner. I wish I hadn’t abandoned you for Selina. I should have been stronger, no matter what her powers were.”

He’d never told anyone about his time with Selina. Not the details. But he needed to get it out of his heart and out of his soul. It had festered inside him for too long, and Rachelle was right about one thing.

He had to let it go.

So he talked.

He’d blackened his soul for Selina, hunting down anyone she told him to hunt, tearing out their hearts and bringing them to her like a dog fetching a newspaper, panting for approval and pats on the head.

She told Kane he was looking out for her and the crew. Protecting them, hunting down their enemies, eliminating threats.

It had taken him way too long to realize she was lying.

She liked blood and she liked pain. She liked to torment shifters and see how their powers worked.

Israel had fought back, fists and teeth and claws, and when he was too beaten to fight he still snapped and snarled, refusing to back down or give in. Watching his courage and his helplessness had broken something in Kane.

He’d turned on Selina and their crew, and escaped with Israel. The first weeks were bad—he’d made Israel chain him down to keep him from going back. Gradually, it got better. He gotten control of the urges, beaten them back like a drug addict getting clean.

But like an addict, the cravings had never entirely gone away.

He wondered if a mating bond could replace that—break Selina’s hold on him forever. Or if all it took was love.

“I love you, Raven,” he whispered. “Israel’s right. You were always the one. You have to come back to me.”

And, holding her tight, he let himself drift into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Rachelle was in a dark cave, alone. It felt like she’d been there a long time, sitting huddled up with her back against the cold stone wall, clutching a cold metal disc in one hand. She’d sensed large, dark shapes around her, and sometimes she’d heard far-off whispers or the rustle of great feathered wings, but she had to block it all out.

If she let down her guard, the pain and torment would come rushing back. It would tear her apart until there was nothing left, and her soul would be scattered among the stars.

She had to concentrate. And she had to keep hold of the metal disc. Somehow, it was anchoring her mind.

Kane, she thought.