38. Connor
38
CONNOR
T he moon—just a night past full—shines down on us as we make our way across the wide, grassy expanse towards the venue’s parking area. It’s strong tonight, making my skin itch from the inside-out. I shrug my shoulders against the itch. I don’t have to Shift right now like I do on the night of the actual full moon, though I could if I wanted to.
Speaking of Shifting and my Wolf , he couldn’t be happier. We finally have our mate back— I can feel him inside me, wagging his tail.
I don’t have the heart to tell him that we probably won’t get to keep Sunny . I don’t expect her to forgive my deception, just because I bought her. Though at the moment, I don’t believe she knows who I am. She hasn’t yet connected me with the guy who lied to her and pretended to be her brother for two long years. I’m not exactly in a hurry to tell her either— I want to keep her with me for as long as possible— I fucking missed her.
Plus, she’s going to need to be bred. Her Heat Cycle is well advanced—even now her warm, feminine scent is teasing my nose and making my cock rock hard in my tux trousers. I’m not sure if I should tell her who I am before that or not. On one hand, I want her so much it hurts. But on the other, I don’t want to deceive her again—she really needs to know it’s me who’s breeding her. And? —
“So, bunkie— I wondered if it was you. I can’t believe you paid five million for this little slut.”
The voice of my old cellmate stops me dead in my tracks. Instinctively , I push Sunny behind me.
Kane steps out from the shadows of a copse of nearby trees, his eyes glowing with Were -light.
“The fuck do you want?” I growl, glaring at him. “ Stay away from my mate!”
The words are instinctive, they just come out. At the same time, I feel the Wolf inside me raising his hackles and growling. Kane is most definitely the enemy—especially considering that he’s already kidnapped Sunny once.
Behind me, I hear her give a little gasp as she understands who I am. Well , it’s too late to explain myself now— I’ll try to talk to her once I get rid of Kane .
“Just thought I’d come say hi to my little sis,” he says casually, but his body language is anything but casual. He’s glaring at me, trying to intimidate me, looking around my shoulder to catch a glimpse of Sunny .
“You said enough to her when you kidnapped her out of her home and sold her to the highest bidder,” I point out. I can’t imagine the trauma Sunny must have gone through. “ All she ever wanted was a big brother who cared about her,” I say. “ And look what she got instead!”
“You’re one to talk, bunkie—you’re the one who tried to sell yourself to her as me. And you were the highest bidder,” he counters. “ Thanks for the five million, by the way. Now I’ll be able to get my network back together and go back into business.”
I know what his business is—trafficking underaged girls and selling them to men who use and abuse them. My hands curl into fists.
“Get the fuck out of my sight!” I growl. “ You make me sick— I only paid that much to be sure Sunny got free of you.”
“Well, she’s not quite free yet.” Kane takes another step towards me. “ She’s so rare—a Recessive Omega . And I’m her only kin.”
“I doubt she wants to see you again, but that will be up to her,” I growl. “ What’s your fucking point, Kane ?”
“My point is that as her only male relative, I get to say who breeds her first,” he says.
I shake my head.
“That’s an old ruling—nobody goes by it anymore.” In fact, it was a law meant to keep female Weres in check over a hundred years ago—no pack that I know of uses it anymore. It’s like saying women are still the property of their male relatives like they used to be a long time ago before women got the right to vote—it simply isn’t true anymore.
“I go by it,” Kane insists. “ As her only male relative, I get to choose who breeds Sunny her first time. And I say I should get to breed her first.”
“What?” I stare at him blankly. “ You’re fucking kidding me. That violates the Unbreakable Laws and you fucking know it!”
“So?” He shrugs, as if he doesn’t care about the basic principles that unite all Weres around the world.
The Unbreakable Laws are sacred and the two most important ones are No Incest and No Breeding in Fur Form . That is, you can’t Shift into your Wolf before or during breeding a female. It could hurt them because most Were males have pretty huge Wolves with equally huge equipment.
“You’re fucking with me,” I say shortly. “ Well , it’s not funny. Get out of the way, I’m taking Sunny home.”
“Not before I breed her. Been smelling her sweet scent for hours on the trip up here,” Kane growls, still looking around my shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of Sunny . “ I just want a taste of that sweet little pussy and then you can have her all to yourself.”
I glare at him.
“I knew you were a fucking degenerate, but I didn’t think you’d stoop this low. No , you’re not breeding Sunny . She’s a person —not a bottle of wine I just bought that you can have the first drink of,” I tell him. “ Now get out of my way unless you want trouble.”
“So you want to fight for her, then,” Kane says and it’s not a question.
“You really want to do this?” I demand. “ You remember what happened the last time we fought?”
“That was in the cell—no Shifting allowed,” he says. “ But I know my Wolf can take yours. I’ll give you one more chance—let me breed her right fucking now or I’ll rip your throat out and breed her in my Fur Form .”
The Wolf inside me howls with outrage. How dare he threaten our mate? I can already feel my body starting to change.
“You want a fight?” I ask, my voice coming out in a low, inhuman growl. “ I’ll fucking give you one.”
Kane is starting to Shift too, but there’s something I need to do before I let myself go completely. I turn to Sunny , who’s pale in the moonlight.
“Here, baby—you need to get to safety,” I tell her, shoving the keys to my car into her hand. “ It’s a black Lincoln Escalade . Press the key fob to find it and then lock yourself in. I’ll come find you as soon as I finish this.”
She takes the keys, her eyes wide.
“Kane,” she begins. “ I mean, Connor? —”
“Later, baby,” I tell her. “ There’s no time now.”
Then I turn away and throw myself into my Shift . This fight is to the death and I don’t intend to leave Sunny to fend for herself.
I’m going to kill this fucker if it’s the last thing I do.