Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(97)
But the girl wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Melanie, where’s Mack?” she demanded more firmly.
“He’s not here, Katherine,” a voice answered her. But it wasn’t Melanie’s high-pitched soprano. It was a lower timbre – one she’d only heard once before and just barely recognized.
She could hear rustling in the greenery behind them and turned to watch as the owner of the voice emerged from the trees. “You’re little friend isn’t here. Just me.”
Katherine forced her facial expression to remain neutral – to not give away her surprise – as she stared at the man.
It was Cain.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The head alpha of Haven Falls stood in the clearing, his dark eyes drinking in Katherine’s form.
And the small brunette, of course, didn’t know what to think. She was beyond bewildered. Ignoring Cain’s words and the horrible feeling they instilled deep in her gut, she turned to face her friend, who was still avoiding eye contact.
“Melanie, what’s going on? Where’s Mack? You said he was hurt.”
A bark of rough laughter escaping Cain’s mouth forced Katherine’s attention to jerk back to the man. “I’m sorry, my dear. Did you not hear me? I said that he’s not here.”
Narrowing her green eyes at the man, Katherine addressed her friend once more, forcing out the words between gritted teeth. “Melanie, what is he talking about?”
“Yes, Melanie darling. Just what am I talking about?”
Twirling her brightly colored scarf with suddenly nervous fingers, the girl attempted to explain. “I… well, you see, he said that…” she trailed off, biting her lip. Melanie briefly met Katherine’s eyes before swiftly lowering them once more. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
No answer was forthcoming.
“For what, Melanie?” Katherine demanded more urgently – an angry edge to her voice.
What in God’s name was going on?
“Now, now,” Cain chided, taking a step closer to the two girls, which immediately caused Katherine to take a step back. The alpha grinned – his smile all teeth. “There’s no need for such hostility, my dear. I merely asked your friend to bring you out here so that we might speak privately about something that’s been troubling me.”
Katherine continued to eye the man suspiciously. “Why out here? And why trick me? Couldn’t you have just asked Bastian to bring me into town?”
Cain’s smile – insincere as it was – grew wider. “Aw, your naivety – it’s surprisingly charming. And you really are a pretty girl. It’s not hard to see why Bastian’s so taken with you.”
Cain moved closer to her still and Katherine backed up another two steps, incredibly wary of the man who was making very little sense. The sense of danger was thick in the air. “What does that have to do with anything? You said you wanted to talk.”
“Yes,” the man agreed, halting his movement for a moment, “but, you see, that is precisely what I wanted to talk to you about. It unfortunate, but your arrival here has… interfered… with plans I’ve set into motion long ago.”
Katherine licked her dry lips, sparing a glance at Melanie, who was worriedly watching the action unfold from where she’d planted herself under the shade of a nearby evergreen. “What plans?”
“Why, my plans for Haven Falls, of course,” the man said as if the answer should have been obvious to her. “You’ve been here for a few months. I’m sure you realize the trouble you’ve caused in that short time.”
Katherine furrowed her brow. “If this is about what happened with Rip-”
Cain released a derisive snort. “Don’t be absurd. What Brigg’s pup gets up to hardly concerns me. No. I’m talking about your alpha – Bastian – and the changes I’ve seen in him. He’s more involved than ever with the community here. He no longer acts like a rabid dog, bothered only with finding the murderers of his parents. It’s very… disconcerting.”
Katherine just didn’t get it. “Those sound like positive changes to me.”
That was when Cain began to lose his composure. His very real temper revealed itself. “Do you know nothing of werewolf tradition, you stupid girl? Of politics? His behavior concerns me because any day, at any time, your Bastian could challenge me for the title of head alpha. He could take control of the entire village. It is his birth right, after all,” he sneered, making his opinion of that particular fact clear.
Katherine refused to let herself be cowed. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at Cain. “Well maybe you should save yourself the trouble and give him the title then.”
The man laughed incredulously. “Give it to him? Give it to him? Do you have any idea how hard I’ve worked to secure this position for myself? How many people I’ve bribed? Manipulated? How many I’ve killed? Do you, Katherine?”
Her breath hitched when that word, that horrid word – killed – escaped Cain’s mouth. Ignoring how her palpitating heart was now thundering in her chest – and somehow in her ears – Katherine forced herself to ignore the instincts that were screaming at her to run and stayed still. “Killed?” she whispered.