Chapter 49 CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
CAIUS
Fighting with is not a problem. The rogues came before we were ready so we never got to finish our conversation. After the fight ended, I hoped she’d go back to the pack house immediately and remain there and thankfully, it looked like she did.
I’d just come from making sure the two rogues we captured alive stay alive when I saw her leaving the pack house. I thought she’d be going to see the witches and since I knew nobody would let her in, I ignored her.
She started sniffing the air and going in the wrong direction so I knew she had other plans and followed her. I realized she was looking for Clayton but I still kept my distance so I could see what she wanted from him.
From the window, I saw her enter his house and crouch low, waiting. When his door opened and she leaped at him, I moved too and cut her off. Why would she want to attack him? He’s been nothing but nice to her.
“I’ll be anywhere but here.” Clayton says through the mind link and slips away.
Maeva struggles against my weight on her but I make no moves to get off her. I shift just as she tries to kick me in the balls and she freezes.
“Why were you trying to attack him?” I ask, growling.
She doesn’t say anything. She’s holding her breath and looking at me frozen. I probably shouldn’t be naked on top of her but I need to talk to her to find out why she wants to attack Clayton and if I climb off her, she will bolt.
While I’m distracted with watching her reaction she frees her hand and before I can grab the hand, she pulls me down and kisses me. Now I’m the one frozen. My shock lasts two seconds before I growl and take over the kiss.
I’ve dreamed of this moment. I’ve always imagined her initiating the kiss and I always imagined it would be this fiery and hot. She moans against my lips and lets her hands slide down my body. What is happening? She’s kissing me like her life depends on it but I don’t smell her need or see it in her eyes.
I pull away and climb off her body. She starts laughing maniacally when I do and I stand four feet away, looking at her like she’s crazy because I think she is.
“What? Why did you run? Isn’t that what you wanted when you were lying on me with your naked body?”
“That’s why you kissed me?”
“Why else would I kiss you, Caius? It’s definitely not because I want you.”
She’s crazy. She has gone mad. I shake away the tremors I feel. That kiss might have been a game to her but it rocked me to my core. It was everything I dreamed a passionate kiss between us would feel like – explosive.
“Why did you try to attack Clayton?” I ask, clenching my jaw and giving her a hard look.
“Put some clothes on. I’m not talking to you while you’re bloody and naked.”
I haven’t cleaned myself off from the fight. After putting the witches in the cell, I supervised and made sure the rogues were kept in a way that they can’t hurt themselves. After that, I chased down my mate to my Beta’s house and stopped her from attacking him.
“Find your way to my house.” I say then shift back to wolf form.
I run to the house and wash off all the dirt and blood on me. I hear Maeva come in while I’m in the shower. I make my shower long so she has to wait for me to come out. It’s petty and foreign to me. Clayton is right, I’m acting out of character, and I’m not sure I like where this is going.
“This place looks different when I’m not a prisoner.” Maeva says as soon as I come out.
She’s standing on the far side of the room looking at the deer head on the wall. It’s the only thing on my wall. My house is bare and I like it that way, but seeing her here, I imagine a wall filled with pictures of us or art. I laugh at the thought, Maeva is not one for art or pictures.
“Why did you try to attack Clayton? He’s been on your side.”
She sighs and turns to face me. “If you didn’t interrupt when you did, I would have threatened him into telling me everything that has been happening and then after, I would have apologized for threatening him in his house.”
“He wouldn’t have said anything.” I say, folding my arms together.
She scoffs. “You don’t know my methods.”
“You could have asked me.”
“You would’ve turned it into a manipulative game. I’m not in the mood. I’m no longer going to let be myself be manipulated. You can do whatever you want. You’re obviously physically stronger and have more weight with the council.”
I almost smile. Somewhere between the fight and now, she got her fire back. I miss it. A sad feeling I’ve been pushing down rises to the surface and this time, I can’t push it down. I know what it is but I’ve been trying not to name it. It’s heartbreak. We would be so good together but she doesn’t want me.
When I found out about the blockers, it broke something in me. I snarl in annoyance. I should not be feeling these things around her. I turn, enter the kitchen, grab a beer and return to the living room. I take a seat while she stands with her hands on her waist. Cute.
“The new witch is Elaine. Moira brought her in because the rogues turned out to be more than she can handle alone.”
Her hands fall from her waist and she looks at me in confusion.
“The last time the rogues attacked, Moira was alone with them and they were feeding off her energy and came back to life.”
She gasps and takes a seat on the couch, invested in the information I’m giving her.
“She couldn’t use her powers against them and she couldn’t cut their hearts out. Who ever made the spell made it impossible for witches to hurt them. She called me to help and I did. That’s when she asked to being Elaine in.”
“Were they able to find anything from the heart you cut out?”
“They couldn’t find out much which is why we set the trap today to catch more rogues. They’ve been masking their energy since they came so the rogues wouldn’t come for them.”
“We’re dealing with a lot worse than we initially thought.” She says, looking lost in thought.
I take the time to watch her. Now that she kissed me, will the blocker act out again? Did she do it because the witch is here and she knows that if something starts happening to her, I’ll call the witch to take care of her?
“You’re thinking too much.” She says, meeting my eye.