Chapter 17 Kain #2
“When I first saw Meredith, the thought that someone else might win her made me sick with rage and sorrow. And I know had I not won her bid, you would have done anything in your power to ensure she’d still become mine.
So I will do this for you, my friend. If making her disappear is what you can do to protect your Breeder, I will help make it so. ”
“What about my things?”
“They are in the trunk. Thomren got them out before dumping your car in the river,” Kain said, keeping his focus on the road ahead.
A small, indignant gasp sounded from the passenger seat. “You dumped my car? I spent a quarter of my savings on that!”
He refrained from mentioning that, according to his underling, that moving pile of junk was better suited for the bottom of the river than transporting anyone around. “It was too easy to track. If your Procurer is following you, he’ll have a harder time tracking you this way.”
“Will this… this sanctuary truly stop him?” She looked at him through fanned lashes, the intensity of her gaze making him glance at her out the corner of his eye.
She looked so vulnerable his instincts reared up hard, desperate to soothe, to prove to her that she’d made the right decision when she put her faith in him to keep her safe.
“The contract he made me sign… he… thinks he owns me.” She shuddered.
Kain’s looping thoughts came to a screeching halt, his eyes widening as he whipped around to stare at her. “You signed a fucking contract? Fuck!” He slapped both hands against the steering wheel so hard the car swerved before he caught it again.
“Is… is that very bad?” she squeaked.
Only the spike of fear in her scent made him take a deep breath before answering. “You signed a contract with a demon! Yes, it’s bad. Dark skies above! What exactly did this contract say, Selma?”
“T-That I… That my soul is his,” she whispered. “You don’t understand… I had to sign. It was my only chance at escaping him. I—”
“I understand,” Kain ground out. It suddenly made a lot more sense why a demon as old and crafty as Marathin had let a Breeder he wanted to claim out of his sight long enough that she could escape. A contract on her soul meant he’d be able to track her—and that he most likely was.
“What happens now?” she asked, the tremble in her voice more than evident that his reaction had alerted her to how completely fucked they were. “Can… Can you not help me after all?”
Kain rubbed the bridge of his nose. No. He couldn’t.
Nothing and no one could break a contract, and there was no escape.
Even if this sanctuary turned out to be more than just his mother’s desperate pipe dream, the magic in any contract made with a demon was binding and final.
Somehow, some way, she would end up in the hands of her captor.
He could break the law and help her disappear—but even a demon Lord couldn’t break contract magic.
But if he abandoned her now…
He glanced at her again, and clutched the steering wheel at the ache blooming in his chest at the desperation in her brown eyes.
He knew what demons did when a human tried to break a contract. He’d carried out such punishments himself more than once.
But what was he supposed to do? Kill an ancient demon and start a war in a doomed attempt to right a wrong that could never be undone anyway? Saving this little thing would not bring back his mother.
But as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye, saw her scared face and smelled her fear at the memory of the man she’d run from, he knew he would try, consequences be damned.
Fucking pheremones.
“I won’t let him hurt you,” he said softly. “I’ll find a way.”
They sat in silence for a little while, the miles eaten up by the steady thrum of the car's engine, until she spoke again.
“Why?”
“Why what?” It came out snippier than he’d wanted.
“Why are you helping me?”
Kain scoffed. He hardly knew the answer himself. The swirling inferno of emotions and instincts that had been warring inside of him made clear thinking excruciatingly hard.
“You have no idea the impact your scent has on us, do you?” He was aware that he sounded bitter.
“But Marathin… All my scent did to him was make him want me, not want to help me. Why is it different for you? Are you tricking me?”
His lips twisted in dark amusement. “If I were, you think asking me would make me tell you?”
She sighed. “No. I just… If you are, please just tell me, okay? It's not like I can get away from you, and I can't bear getting my hopes up if… if you're planning on selling me or something.”
The defeat in her voice made his heart twist.
“I'm not out to trick you, little one. It's a little different for Lords.
Most regular demons don't realize it, but our reaction to Breeders is… stronger.” Kain sighed.
“It's not just about sex; it's about providing you with protection and safety. When you are frightened or upset, your scent messes with my brain chemistry until I act to make it better. And yours is… potent.”
She was silent again for a little while, until finally she said something that nearly made him crash the car.
“I'm sorry.”
“You're what?” He was almost certain he'd heard her wrong.
“I'm sorry. I know what it's like to have your mind play tricks on you and force you, and I hate that I'm doing the same to you.”
Her small hand found his arm, a little awkwardly, but the feeling of it burned through his coat and shirt all the way into his bloodstream.
How could someone that small, that soft, shake him to his very core? And how could someone who'd been put through the kind of abuse she had, have any empathy for anyone of his kind?
The chuckle at the absurdity of her apology erupting from his throat made her pull her hand away. “What?”
He offered her a gentle smile. “Breeders are known to care about others more so than most humans, but you apologizing for how your scent affects me? That’s… a first. And I appreciate the sentiment. Quite a bit.”
Her responding blush made his blood heat again, this time more predictably from arousal.
He forced his focus back on the road instead of on the odd little Breeder who made breathing difficult.