Chapter Seven

Willow

Neither of us get much sleep that night. I tell myself it’s because I can’t relax, knowing there’s a rogue alpha in my cabin, but it’s more than that.

Kane is better company than he lets on.

“I went rogue about five years ago. Parents kicked it, not many siblings—at least, none who wanted jack shit to do with me. So, I took myself out of the picture.”

Judging on his hard monotone, I’m guessing no-one even cared enough to look for him. Meanwhile, there are probably whole search parties out for me. When my fathers realize I haven’t been kidnapped, I’m not sure what they’ll do.

“If you’ve been rogue for five years, what’re you suddenly doing on my side of the mountain?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Can’t always stay in one place for long. Whole packs move in, take up resources, and, eventually, drive you out.”

“Join a pack, then,” I say, exasperatedly.

“Look who’s talking.”

I want to snarl at him. Hell, I want to smack him. But—maybe as belated thanks for saving my life—I restrain myself.

“Can’t say I ever saw a rogue omega,” he tells me. “Doubt they survive long on their own.”

Yes, yes, message received . Kane is big strong alpha, Willow is small idiot omega. If he insults me one more time, I really will have to smack him.

“So,” I say, turning the conversation back around, “who drove you out this time? Any other packs I need to be worried about?”

To this he bristles. “Wasn’t a pack . Just an alpha.”

“Seriously? You let one alpha drive you out?”

“I didn’t let him do shit.” Kane’s scent is charred, his shoulders stiffening. “Fucker was big. Strong. Never fought anyone like him.”

“What were you doing fighting in the first place?”

“He was on my territory,” he says, like it should be obvious.

And I’m the stupid one.

“Okay.” I sigh. “Here’s hoping neither of us have another run-in with that guy.”

For some reason, Kane’s scent gets even thicker, his anger filling the room. “You see another alpha out here,” he growls, “you run the fuck away, and you call for me .”

“Why? So you two can fight over my territory?”

“Like it or not, omega, you need me. The next time someone comes knocking, they’re gonna take a hell of a lot more than your fish.” His expression darkens. “So you run , and you call me .”

A shiver runs down my spine. Slowly, I nod.

“Good.” He relaxes ever-so-slightly, gesturing to the to the top of the bed. “Enough questions. You need to sleep.”

As soon as he says it, the exhaustion creeps in, curling me up in its clutches. Not to mention hunger. Definitely some thirst mixed in there, too.

“I’m not a pup,” I assert, “I’ll sleep when I want to.”

He gives me a hard look. “You want that fever to come back?”

A compelling argument. If fever means another sweaty night curled up to this guy, I need to snap out of it right the hell now.

Begrudgingly, I crawl into bed. Kane snags the pillow that was sitting between us but, rather than returning it to me, drops it on the floor. He lays out his cloak.

I frown. “You can sleep like that?”

“You giving me another choice?”

My inner omega whines pityingly. Alpha was nice, she insists. He saved me. Then, a little more sheepishly, And he has nice abs.

No. No abs. No alphas. He can sleep out in the open for all I care.

“Tomorrow,” I remind him, “you’re leaving.”

He punches his pillow, evening out the lumps. “Uh-huh. Heard you the first time.”

Maybe it’s because I’m drifting to sleep, but I can’t help but notice his shift in tone. The first time we met, and the time after that, he sounded so harsh. Almost animal. Yet, now, he’s lying on my rotten floorboards, grumbling quietly.

He didn’t ask about me , I realize. For all the poking and prodding I did at him, all he seemed to care about was my name. Was that a deliberate effort to respect my privacy? Or does he just not give a damn?

I try to remember what it was like when he was holding me. It must’ve been warm—the only real warmth I’ve had in weeks.

I curl into myself, allowing the fuzzy memory to seep through me.

Carrying me into dreams.