Chapter 5 - Kane

Having found no other leads in town, there was only one thing left for Kane to do. He had to search the woods and find out wherever the hell it was these damn teenagers were meeting at night.

He"d never forgive himself if any others went missing, and from what the girl, Miley, had said, he suspected there were a few teenagers creeping out at all hours of the night to avoid or annoy their parents.

He couldn"t exactly blame them. It wasn"t so long ago that he had been one of them, sneaking out for a few hours peace away from his own fucked up parents.

It didn"t feel like nearly twenty years had passed since then, but they had. He was certain he would always carry the scars from that time no matter how old he was.

Perhaps it was for that reason he felt such a need to find these teenagers, to ensure that nothing bad befell them as it had him all those years ago.

And seeing her again wouldn"t be a bad thing either, he thought as he wandered the woods, though he tried to force the idea away as soon as it entered his head.

She was nineteen. An adult, sure, but still nineteen. Already in his thirties, anyone whose age ended in teen should be the last person on his mind. And yet, when he imagined what he might find in the woods that night, he almost always came up with an image of her. Redheaded, smiling in the light of the moon as she drank and danced and messed about with friends.

It was an image that did all kinds of things to his insides, and before long, he was wandering aimlessly, unsure whether he was searching for the missing teenagers or for her.

Miley Peters had given him no real reason to think about her, and yet he couldn"t get her out of his mind.

It was only the sound of music and raised voices coming from up ahead that made it possible for him to think of anything else.

By the sounds of it, someone was having a whale of a time. Unwilling to break up the fun of young folk, remembering just how much that fun had saved his sanity when he had been younger, Kane crept forward stealthily.

If he ran in there all guns blazing to ask questions, he was certain they"d all turn tail and run, thinking he had come to break it all up or something.

Kane bit back laughter imagining the stupid pigs who had so often stormed through the woods near his childhood home in order to break up late-night teenage parties. Every time, it only made the teenagers more determined to do it again the next night.

Creeping to the edge of a ravine with the scent of woodsmoke, marijuana and alcohol in his nose, Kane watched what was unfolding below.

Ten or so teenagers, some younger than the others, were all sitting around a bonfire on logs that looked as if they"d been moved to form a seating area. The lanterns and foil decorations that hung from the trees suggested this was a regular meeting spot of theirs, and the teenager that still dwelled within Kane actually felt a small flash of jealousy. Music played from a speaker system clearly owned by one of the richer kids in town, and there were a couple of girls dancing.

Kane recognized their kind immediately, the ones who wore the skimpy short skirts and wiggled their behinds to attract the too-young, too-dumb jocks and other popular guys.

Damn, it was like watching his high school years unfold all over again.

He watched for a while, reminiscing while alert for any kind of danger, wondering whether he should make himself known and ask the teenagers a few questions.

If Miley hadn"t been there, he might have, but when he spotted her sitting on one of the tree trunks with a drink in hand and a smile on his face, he knew he couldn"t risk breaking up the fun. She was much safer here than she was back home with those assholes who claimed to be her parents.

With a deep sigh, he took in the scent of his childhood memories before he turned and started to walk away. Maybe there were clues elsewhere in the woods, ones his packmates might have missed when they patrolled that morning.

But he had barely gone ten paces when he heard the scream. He reacted on instinct alone, turning on his heels to dash right back to the ravine. Nothing about that scream had been playful or silly. It had been filled with terror.

And the desire to protect overwhelmed Kane so violently that he could barely think straight. The urge to shift was painful, and it took all he had in him to fight it. Turning up in a ravine full of humans in wolf form would not go down well.

"What is going on down here?" Kane demanded even as he pounced down into the ravine, scaling the steep side of the natural bank effortlessly with his powerful human legs.

The mood in the ravine had changed so dramatically that it caused him to halt at the edge of the clearing.

The teenagers were no longer sitting around drinking or even dancing. They were huddled in small groups, looking absolutely petrified. And when they looked at Kane, their eyes widened further.

"We weren"t doing anything illegal!" one of the boys insisted, throwing up his arms, dropping a half-empty beer bottle behind his back.

Drinking underage was most definitely illegal, but that wasn't a concern of Kane"s right now.

"I heard a scream," Kane growled, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands into fists. "Is everyone alright?"

Though he tried to examine everyone in the clearing, Kane's eyes darted to one person in particular. Miley Peters looked as if she were trying to hide behind one of her friends, her gaze averted from his.

Was she hurt, or was she merely trying to avoid him after the awkwardness that morning?

He remembered all too well what it had felt like to be so close and alone with her in the alley on the high street.

He cleared his throat and again asked, "Is anybody hurt?"

And finally he managed to look at the whole group. Though they all looked shaken, not one of them appeared injured, and when he sniffed, he did not smell blood.

When they all started to shake their heads, Kane demanded, "What happened? Why did someone scream?"

"You wouldn"t believe us if we told you," one of the young men huffed, kicking the leafy ground with the toe of his boot.

That sounded like a lame excuse from somebody who didn"t want to get into trouble.

"Try me," Kane barked, his hands tightening to fists.

"There…there was a wolf," a young woman of no more than seventeen said, clinging onto the man who had spoken first.

Out of experience and gut instant, Kane laughed. "You're right. I wouldn"t believe you," he snarled, feeling a little claw of guilt in his stomach. "There aren"t any wolves in these woods."

"We know what we saw, sir!" the man insisted, though he dipped his head the second Kane glowered at him.

"I think it"s time you all packed up and headed home," Kane said through gritted teeth, gesturing at the nearest makeshift ashtray that had been made out of an old candy tin surrounded by half-empty bottles of beer. "Seems to me like all that smoking and drinking has gone to your heads."

"I"m not drunk!" one of the women yelled, but another elbowed her in the ribs and the two giggled. They were most definitely drunk, and Kane could only hope that they were all drunk or high enough not to remember any of this in the morning, because the truth was, they had seen what they thought they had.

Kane could smell the wolf as if it were standing right next to him, but when he scanned the tree line at the top of the ravine, he saw nothing.

"You can"t make us leave!" one of the men said, stepping forward. He was tall and fairly well built for a human, but he would be no match for Kane if he so much as tried to start a fight. Kane would put him on his ass before he had even finished the thought, and that was the problem. Kane could likely snap at least three of these guys like twigs before one of them managed to get a blow in. But that wouldn't do anything for helping him and his pack fly under the radar.

So Kane stepped up to the man and loomed over him as he growled through gritted teeth, "I said leave. Now!"

He barked the final word when nobody made a move to go.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" a blonde-haired, blue-eyed muscular guy who looked like he was barely out of college demanded.

Kane didn"t answer. Instead, he remained stock-still, glowering at the man with a sneer on his lips.

"How are you going to tell us to leave when there"s fifteen of us and only one of you?" the first guy who had spoken asked.

Kane laughed at that. These guys were either brave or just plain stupid, maybe even both. There was a time when he had first shifted, and even before then, that he might have beaten the shit out of them just for the fun and thrill of it, just to see the terror in their faces because it made him feel powerful. But that was the old him, the him he had been long before he had joined the army, before black ops, before he had found Jack and actually had something to live for.

Now, just knowing he could put every one of those guys in the clearing on their ass was enough for him.

"I"m warning you," Kane said with a clenched jaw. "Do not test me, or it will end badly for you."

He tightened his hands into fists, fighting the urge to let his claws elongate.

"What are you going to do, old man?" the blonde guy demanded, and he had barely finished speaking before he shoved Kane hard in the chest.

Kane smirked with satisfaction when he saw the way the man"s eyes widened. He had remained still as a statue. The guy was strong but not nearly as strong as a werewolf, and he looked absolutely horrified at being unable to move him. "What the fuck?"

It was then that the redhead swooped in like a guardian angel, barging her way between Kane and the little blonde fuck.

Kane never took his eyes off his target, but just the scent of her as she slipped in between them was enough to make his entire body tense up.

"Oliver, take it down a notch. He"s just here to keep us all safe," Miley said, and the way she laid her hand on the other man"s chest made Kane"s tighten. "He"s one of the mayor"s men."

The guy she had called Oliver continued to glower at Kane over her head.

Fucking idiot, Kane thought. If she had touched him as she was touching Oliver now, there"s no way in hell he would still be staring at another guy. All his attention would be locked on her, on her hand on his chest.

"How do you know that?" Oliver snapped.

"He came into dad"s shop today asking questions about Deneen and Tommy. He"s just doing his job. We should leave."

Kane wanted to thank her, but sensing it would make him look weak, he held his tongue. Besides, he wasn"t sure she would thank him for making it look as if they respected one another.

Do we? He wondered, remembering how short she had been with him outside the shop and how she had rushed off before he could finish questioning her, before he could…

He forced all thoughts of that afternoon away. It wasn"t safe to think of her like that.

When nobody made a move to listen to Miley, Kane growled, "Leave now, or I"m well within my rights to arrest you all for disturbing the peace."

"Ha! I"d like to see you try!" Oliver laughed, but Miley shoved him hard just as he had Kane. This time, Oliver almost went flying off his feet, and Kane had to hide his admiration for the woman"s strength. He set his lips in a grim line and crossed his arms.

"Callum, get him out of here before he makes a total fool of himself!" Miley insisted, and before anyone could protest, another girl stepped forward to help her.

"You heard her, time to go."

"Thanks, Lauren," Miley said, just loudly enough for the other woman to hear, but Kane heard her perfectly. An affectionate look passed between the two women, and Kane guessed they had to be fairly good friends.

Miley glanced at Kane just long enough to make his heart skip a beat, then turned and started to head across the clearing to where she had been sitting on the fallen tree.

"Get on home now and I"ll pretend I didn"t see any of this!" Kane called around the clearing. Oliver laughed aloud, and several of the others sneered with distaste. Clearly, they weren"t happy about having their night ruined.

It was only as the clearing started to empty that Kane dared to move. He strode across the clearing and gripped hold of Miley's wrist, dragging her to one side, out of earshot of the other humans.

"Are you alright?" he asked even as she fought his grip.

"What"s it to you?" Miley demanded, glaring down at his fingers wrapped around her wrist.

He didn"t answer. Instead, he warned, "You really need to be more careful."

"Who are you?" Miley demanded, her tone so harsh it stung Kane as she yanked her wrist free of his grip. "My father?"

His stomach twisted, throat constricting. "No!" he growled, "I would never hurt you like he has!"

As if she were taken aback by the tone of his vow, she stepped away, her eyes wide. She stared at him as if she couldn"t believe the words that had just left his lips.

"You don"t…" Miley stammered, "I…"

It was clear that she was lost for words. Her gaze turned from shocked to hard. Her brow furrowed and she glared at him for several seconds before she turned on her heels.

Kane watched hopelessly as she hurried away from him, called along by her friend. Clearly, what he had said had stung her. It wasn"t hard to guess why.

And all Kane could do was watch her leave.

In fact, he remained right where he was beside the dying bonfire until the clearing was empty of life.

It was only then, as he kicked dirt over the firepit to kill the last of the flames, that he finally managed to concentrate on the scent he had smelled before it had all kicked off properly.

A wolf had definitely been in the ravine, and recently—as recently as he had been. There was just one problem: the scent didn't belong to any one of his packmates, old or new. And that made his hackles rise.

***

"This had better be good," Jack grumbled as he answered his front door to Kane"s hammering.

It still felt odd to Kane to have the alpha living outside the manor, but with a growing family, it was for the best.

He didn"t like rousing the house during the middle of the night, but what other choice did he have?

"Something"s happened," Kane said, dipping his head. "Can I come in, or will Bonnie try to tear my head off for waking the kids?"

"She"ll understand," Jack said, stepping out of the way to allow him into the townhouse.

It wasn"t often that Kane had been inside, but when last he had, the place had been covered in dust covers and paint mats, in the middle of renovation.

Now the place looked like a real home with pastel-painted walls and photos of the children hanging in the hall.

"I love what Bonnie has done with the place," Kane said quietly as Jack showed him to the back room that had become his home office.

"She has a good eye," Jack agreed. Kane laughed at that.

"We both know this place would be bare if you were alone," Kane agreed playfully.

"I wouldn"t need this place if I were alone," Jack pointed out, closing the office door behind them. The minute it was closed, talk turned to business. "What"s happened that couldn"t wait till morning?"

Jack shoved his hands into the pockets of his pajama bottoms.

Kane ran his fingers through his dark hair and cleared his throat. "There"s been a wolf sighting by some human teenagers in the woods."

Jack raised one dark brow. "And you know this how?"

"After getting only one lead in town today on the missing teenagers, I thought I"d see if I could find these so-called hangouts for myself," Kane said, shrugging. "I found one, but they weren"t doing anyone any harm and I didn't want to spoil their fun, so I was headed back to town when I heard a scream."

Jack"s face paled as if he already knew where this was going.

"I ran back, but by the time I got there whatever had happened was over. I questioned them and they said they saw a wolf."

"Was anybody hurt?" Jack asked, always the first to care for his townsfolk.

Kane shook his head.

"And what did you tell them about seeing a wolf?" Jack asked.

"The usual," Kane shrugged, "That they must have had too much to drink or whatever they were smoking was making them see things, because there aren't any wolves in these parts."

"Good," Jack said, sighing as he dropped down into one of the armchairs opposite his desk. He gestured for Kane to take the other and he did. "And was there really a wolf? Did you see it?"

Kane nodded and explained, "Yes. I didn"t see it, but I certainly smelled it. It wasn"t one of ours."

"Trespassing fucks," Jack cursed, his jaw clenching. "Did you recognize the scent?"

Kane gritted his own teeth. "No."

"If you had to guess, what would you think?" Jack asked, his expression curious.

Kane straightened his back and looked Jack in the eye. "Christian"s men did promise to come back and cause trouble. Maybe they finally have the numbers to do so?"

Jack exhaled and rubbed his temples. "I was worried you were going to say that."

Kane felt a shiver down his spine. The thought of an enemy pack on their doorstep once more didn't sit well with him, either. "Perhaps we should double the patrols again?"

Jack nodded agreement. "I"ll have Zander see to it. There"s already one set for dawn."

"And maybe it"d be a good idea to try and prevent any more teenagers wandering into the woods late at night."

Jack cocked his head. "You and I both know that"s easier said than done."

Kane averted his gaze and played with a loose thread on a rip in his jeans. "The Peters girl was there."

Jack's interest was clearly piqued. Kane felt it even before he looked up again. And when he did, Jack was staring at him, interest evident in his gaze. "And? Did something happen?"

Kane gulped and shook his head. Nothing did happen, so to speak. And yet, just talking of her now made Kane's insides twist into knots.

"Kane?" Jack said, the alpha-like tone of his voice making Kane cringe. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Kane insisted, meeting Jack's gaze. "It's just, well, have you given her parents' proposal any more thought?"

"You mean, have I reconsidered marrying her off to one of the pack?" Jack said, his tone deep and dark. Kane already knew what was coming. "Do I really need to answer that?"

Kane shook his head and averted his gaze once more. He felt stupid for even suggesting such a thing. "I know it"s not something our pack even considers, not like many other packs, and especially not with humans," Kane said, stammering over his words with the fluttering in his chest. "It's just that perhaps, well, in this case it might actually be to the benefit of the woman."

Kane felt Jack watching him closely again. It made his skin tingle and his insides cringe again, but he forced himself to meet his alpha's gaze.

"Are you really suggesting that it might be good for a woman to be forced into an arranged marriage?" Jack growled, his teeth were clearly gritted.

"She might not like the idea, but yes," Kane said, holding Jack's gaze even though he could feel the weight of his alpha's disgust. "I know it"s not something any sane person would suggest under ordinary circumstances, but these aren't ordinary circumstances."

"How so?" Jack asked, his head tilting with interest. He leaned forward in his seat, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair. "What ought I to know?"

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the Peters couple are pieces of shit," Kane growled, unable to hide his temper at the reminder of what the two of them had been like in Jack's office alone, even without thinking of what he had witnessed in the hardware store or the bruises he had noticed on Miley. It didn't take much to know where they had come from, especially not when he had seen similar ones on the mother. "You met them. You spoke to them. I mean, what kind of people actually want to sell their daughter in the first place?"

Jack huffed in agreement at that but said nothing.

"It's clear the woman is being mistreated," Kane added, and his gut twisted as he remembered once again the bruises and the familiar look in her eye, the sympathy he had felt when he looked at her as he remembered all the times he, too, had been beaten as a child.

"As you just said yourself, she's a grown woman. She can do as she wishes," Jack pointed out. "If she is so badly treated, she can leave."

Kane growled at that. It was a challenging thing to do in the face of the alpha, and yet he couldn't stop himself. He glowered at Jack and hissed, "You and I both know it"s not always that simple. Besides, nineteen is no age to be out in the world on your own. You took an oath as pack alpha and as mayor of this town to serve and protect all within its borders—"

Jack cut him off with a raised hand. He sighed deeply and dropped his gaze. A thoughtful look crossed his face, and Kane was almost certain he had gotten through to him. "I can't condone an arranged marriage," Jack said, shaking his head again, and Kane's hopes plummeted. "I could never ask one of my men to make such a sacrifice like that. Do you honestly believe that Will or Eddie or even Hanson would be willing to take a nineteen-year-old bride for the sake of the town or even the pack?"

Kane hadn't really thought that far ahead, and just the idea of any one of his packmates married to Miley, able to put their hands on her and have her to mate with, made him feel sick to his stomach. He bit back the urge to say a word, worried what he might say if he opened his mouth.

Jack looked him deep in the eye and said, "If you want me to arrange a marriage to protect her, then I may be willing, but as you are the one who brought this to me, you should be the one to make the sacrifice. I couldn't ask it of any of the other men."

Kane dipped his head in acknowledgment of the words, too scared to speak in case he inadvertently accepted responsibility for something he hadn't yet had a chance to think about properly.

"Kane, you and I have been packmates for a long time," Jack said, perching right on the edge of his seat. He leaned over and laid a hand on Kane's shoulder. "If you really think this is for the benefit of the girl, then I shall give it some serious consideration, but arranged marriages were one of the very reasons I left my old pack in Blackwell Falls."

Again, Kane nodded.

"It isn't something I wish to implement here in Nightstar," Jack continued.

Finally unable to stop himself from speaking, Kane lifted his head and said, "Perhaps, just this once, we ought to."

"You really feel strongly about this, don't you?" Jack sighed, leaning back in his chair.

A hard lump formed in Kane's throat. "I've never told anyone this before, but as a kid, I was abused. I was beaten black and blue near on every day of my life, and I have no idea how I lived to see ten, let alone thirty-six," he explained, every word a pang in his chest. "I've seen that kind of abuse more times than I care to count, and I can see it right now in the Peters household. I can't help but feel that if you don't take this deal, something far worse will happen to the girl before she manages to find the courage to escape those horrid people."

Jack met his gaze unwaveringly as he said, "I know the feeling all too well. I will consider all you've said."

Kane gulped, barely able to breathe past the lump in his throat. Had this been what he wanted when he raised the subject? He wasn't sure, but either way, if Jack decided it was the right thing to do, then who was he to question the alpha?