Chapter 6

It was him. The man Tata had been talking about. It was him. Kane.

Her mate.

But he was human. How could he be her mate? It didn’t make any sense. Was the moon goddess playing a trick on her? Tata said he was a bad man. Other than the bow across his chest, arrows at his back and the silver dagger she knew was firmly tucked inside his boot, he didn’t seem like much of a threat to her. Still, she couldn’t be too sure.

She wondered if he knew they were mates. Her father certainly would never be okay with it. The man who had come to kill his subjects being his daughter’s mate? He’d die first.

Ophelia herself didn’t even want him as a mate. He was her enemy. No matter how she tried, she just couldn’t see it happening. Though unlike Viktor, he didn’t repel her. He wasn’t old and didn’t have that air of arrogance hanging around him. In fact, he was very pleasing to look at. She could imagine him running his hands over her body and knew for a fact that she would not hate it.

“Ophelia,” he murmured, turning her name over his tongue like he was savoring the taste of wine. It ran shivers down her back. “How… peculiar.”

She glanced down to her wounded leg, already feeling better. The wound was healing, albeit slowly.

Kane followed the line of her sight. “It’s healing nicely.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, then looked at him. “Less than an hour.”

“I’m sorry about that, by the way. Our leader asked some of us to set traps. I didn’t know it would get you.”

He genuinely seemed sorry, Ophelia realized and that was the problem. “Well, if not me, then someone else, right?” She tried to make light of the situation, not liking the way tension settled around them awkwardly.

Kane chuckled, and she realized he was closer to her now than he’d been. “Yeah, we’re not exactly what you’d call nice. Our leader, Eric, has a fierce hatred for wolves. He’s relentless.”

Was he always this handsome when he laughed? She wanted to hear the sound of his laugh boom. “Then I guess we have to be ready. Why are you telling me this anyway? Aren’t you one of them?”

“I am,” he acquiesced. “Though I don’t share his sentiments that every wolf must die. Just rogues.”

“Then why are you here? With them?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “They’re my team. I guess I owe them my loyalty.”

“Yet right now, you’re here with me instead of them,” she said. “Why did you choose to become a wolf hunter?”

There was a haziness to his gaze, like the shadow of a passing memory. Ophelia waited for him to answer, fearing that saying anything could interrupt his flow of thought. “I witnessed a murder when I was younger. A wolf killed a woman in front of me. It was… eye-opening.”

She watched him, not knowing what to say. Finally, she settled on, “That’s rough for a child to experience. I’m sorry,” she said. “But we’re not all that bad. The wolves who are members of a pack are governed by an Alpha, and in this kingdom, it’s my father. The Alpha keeps us in check and ensures that we’re not breaking any rules or killing humans unjustly. Any member who decides that they’re too big to be told what to do or goes and breaks any of these rules are cast out and thus become rogues.”

Kane stared at her after her speech like he was hearing the words for the first time, which she supposed he was. They were all true. Contrary to popular belief, wolves were peaceful creatures. They only attack when attacked.

“So, you’re saying you’ve never killed a human?” he asked her.

“None whatsoever. In fact, you’re the first human I’ve seen in my life. The Blue Hound kingdom is my home. I was born here; I grew up here. I’ve lived here all my life.”

He seemed to ponder on her words. Ophelia realized if she could get him to see that her kind were not dangerous, then maybe he would see things differently. And until then, she would not accept him as her mate.

“I’m trying to believe you,” he said and she could see that he meant it. “It’s just… For the longest time, I’ve seen wolves do terrible things. I’ve seen your kind kill and rip people apart just for the heck of it and there has been no one to stop them. I decided to become a hunter so I could do precisely that: stop them. And now you’re telling me I made a mistake?”

“I’m not saying you did. No. I’m saying you’ve been barking up the wrong tree. Yes, there are some bad wolves but there are also some very good ones, like my friends Emmett and Dalia.”

“The other two wolves I saw earlier?”

“Yeah.” Ophelia nodded. “They’re good, just like the rest of the Blue Hounds. I could show you, but you’ll have to give me a chance.”

“How?”

“Let me take you around the kingdom. I want to show you that we are peaceful and content and not murderous like you think we are.”

He eyed her for a few seconds and she could practically see the gears in his head running. She would give anything to know what he was thinking about. Would he reject her offer or take her up on it?

She only wanted him to see that they were harmless, maybe then he’d changed his mind about where his loyalties lay. After all, they were mates and if he didn’t feel the connection between them by now, then there had to be something wrong with him.

Ophelia reasoned her father would be frantic by now, no doubt searching for her. Dalia and Emmett would have gotten to the castle by now, she terribly hoped so, and told her father about the wolf hunters. She prayed to God they would give her a few more hours before venturing into the forest in search of her. By then, she would have shown Kane around the kingdom.

The tension crackled as she gingerly awaited his response. Her leg was fully healed now, the ugly wound closed completely. Her eyes drifted to her leg and then to him.

“Ophelia, I don’t know,” he finally said with a smile. “I should be heading back anyway.”

“If you’re worried about being mauled to death by wolves, I can assure you that won’t happen.”

“What makes you sure?”

“Well, for one thing, wolf can sniff out the scent of silver from miles away. No one’s going to come near you when they realize you possess the one weapon that can kill them.” She would be sure to get him to leave that behind on their exploration. It would only serve to bring him unnecessary attention. “Come on. Just for an hour.”

She had no idea why she was doing this, fraternizing with the enemy but she just knew she had to. Marrying Viktor when she had a choice… No, she had to try.

He finally sighed, acquiescing. “Fine. What the hell. Let’s go before I change my damn mind.”

Ophelia grinned, getting to her feet. She hadn’t been surprised at his answer; she’d been known for being extremely persuasive.

“Come on.”