Chapter 10

No matter how much she tried, Ophelia could not get Dalia’s concern out of her head. She’d told her friend she knew what she was doing but did she? Or was she just letting her heart led her? What if Kane wasn’t who he said he was? How sure was she that he wasn’t just using her to get to the rest of her people?

They reached the cave in silence. He didn’t seem like to her like a dangerous person but how would she know? She thought about her father and his prohibiting her from entering the forest until the wolf hunters were gone. What if disobeying him had been wrong choice?

Who would she call to for help if she was suddenly attacked? Would Kane let that happen?

Suddenly, she wasn’t sure anymore. About him, about anything.

“Why are you so quiet? What are you thinking about?” Kane asked her.

Ophelia didn’t sit, only stood by the entrance of the cave. Never before had she felt so unsure in her entire life. “Nothing.”

He was beside her in an instant. “Was it something your friend said?”

Had he overheard their conversation? “No. I’m just… uneasy.”

“I’m not going to hurt you, Ophelia,” he whispered, edging closer. “Did she say I would?”

“Don’t.” Ophelia took one step back, meeting his eyes for the first time since they arrived at the cave. The night air felt thick and crickets chirped in the background. “Don’t come any closer, Kane. I’m serious.”

“Tell me what I did wrong.” He sounded so earnest, so sincere, that Ophelia almost budged, almost decided to forget about her uncertainly. This was what he did to her, she realized. This was exactly why she didn’t want to be with him at a time like this. He turned her brain to a muddle and made her forget everything—his scent, his face, the look in his eyes, all of it was too much. Too confusing.

“What are you really doing here in our kingdom? What is the hunter’s true purpose?” The question had been on her mind for a while now. “What do you want from me?”

Kane stared at her for a few moments and Ophelia was almost scared to hear his answer. If he said something resembling the thoughts that were going through her mind, she might just expire. Her heart was already in too deep to forget him.

“Come, sit down for a moment,” he finally said. “I don’t think you’ll want to be standing for this.”

Oh, God. That didn’t sound good. Her dinner was rising up from her throat to her mouth and she was trying her best to keep it down. Still, she moved forward with his guidance and settled on the ground of the cave opposite him.

“Go on,” she urged, swallowing.

Kane sighed, licking his lower lip. “Our leader, Eric, is a gruesome man. I met him when I was eighteen, when I was at the lowest point of my life and he took me into his team, trained me to be a wolf hunter and has been my leader ever since.”

As he spoke, his eyes glazed over, like he wasn’t there anymore but at another time, another place. Ophelia let him think, holding her breath at each sentence. His words felt heavy, and she wondered what he had been like as a young teenager. She was only nineteen herself but something told her they lived different lives.

“Eric says he met a seer not long ago who spoke of a prophecy about a powerful werewolf descended from witches with the power to change the human-wolf world.”

Blinking, Ophelia stared at him. “What? How? And why does he think whoever it is resides in this kingdom?”

Kane shrugged. “I don’t know. He just does.”

Ophelia’s mind was reeling. How on earth had she not seen this? The only wolf she could think of with a witch heritage was Tata, her grandmother. Was she the wolf in the prophesy? Her blood ran cold. Whoever this Eric was planned to use her grandmother for his nefarious plans.

And he’d probably sent Kane to seduce the princess and use her to get to her grandmother.

“You used me,” she whispered, her vision blurring. “You’ve been using me.”

“What?” Kane went rigid. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Maybe he sent you to use me to find the wolf from the prophesy. After all, who better to control than the princess of the kingdom? God, I’ve been so stupid.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Ophelia?” Kane demanded, his voice hard.

A tear ran down her face. She tried to stop the well that threatened to break out from behind her eyes but failed. Ophelia had never felt so used in her entire life. Barely thinking, she got to her feet, almost staggering. She didn’t see Kane get up as well as she made to dash from the cave.

Thank the moon goddess she had figured out their plan early. At least now she would know that she had tried. She would go home and forget all about her mate. She would marry Viktor and put Kane behind her. A memory flooded her mind—a few days ago when Tata had said her mate was not a good man. Her grandmother had been right; Kane was not a good man. He had used her for her position and he didn’t even have the decency to look sorry.

“Ophelia, don’t do this. Let me explain.”

She heard his voice from somewhere behind her, she didn’t know how far. Whatever it was he had to say, she didn’t want to hear it. She did not want anymore of his lies and manipulation that she so shamelessly fell for without a second thought. The realization that her people could have been killed because of her was like a knife twisting in her chest.

How would she be able to live with herself?

But she wouldn’t, she thought, because after they were done with the Blue Hounds, then they would kill her too.

She whimpered, her feet carrying her forward. When Kane’s strong hand gripped her shoulder, she recoiled. “Don’t touch me!”

But he didn’t loosen his grip. If anything, it became tighter. “Listen to me, Ophelia. Whatever you think you believe, I can assure you that you have the wrong of it.”

“So you’re not trying to use me to get to some wolf in a prophesy?” she cried.

“No,” he said, shaking his head, his expression pained. “I’m not. I never even thought about it. You have to believe me.”

“I don’t know what I believe anymore, Kane.”

“Then believe this. I would never do that to you, Ophelia. I would never use you like that. I care about you too much.”

Ophelia stared at him. He cared about her? She wanted to believe him so badly, needed to believe him so her heart wouldn’t shatter into a million pieces but what if he wasn’t telling the truth? Could she afford to fuck around and find out? And if he was telling the truth, then what did that mean? Could she trust him? With her life and that of her people? If it came down to it, who would he choose? Her or Eric?

But that was the thing about trust—you had it until you didn’t.