Caine

It took no effort from his part to bend the bars and enter my cell. The look in his eyes was enough to leave me standing in place, shocked.

I had been about to collapse, but somehow the surprise from hearing his words was keeping me up.

He had said ‘mate’. Was he talking about me?

“Alpha,” I faintly heard Lesley say.

“Caine,” another guy who had just walked into the hall called out to the Alpha.

I didn’t need to be a Wolf to know that he also had a title. He was exuding power that even a human like me would feel. Not as strong as the Alpha who tearing into the cell I was in, but enough to kick some ass.

The Alpha didn’t even acknowledge them.

His intense gaze was focused on me. His grayish green eyes were completely dark now.

“Mine,” he growled.

I didn’t know if he was growling at me, or at the group behind him.

I swallowed loudly and felt my breathing pick up.

“My mate,” he repeated, as he closed the distance between us.

I was about to speak, when he lowered himself to my height and nestled his head in the crook of my neck. I hadn’t felt his arms wrap around my waist, until I felt the pressure of his hands. He was holding me with a strong grip.

Lively electricity passed between us and I felt my body respond to his touch. The pain from the bump in my head was long forgotten as small tingles ran through my body wherever he touched me.

Just as I was about to protest- even though a part of me was definitely enjoying his touch- I felt his teeth grazing my skin.

“What are-” Those were the only words I voiced out, before his teeth sunk into my neck.

I focused on the gasps from the little entourage that came with the Alpha, until the pain that erupted from my neck got my entire attention.

I cried out in pain- slapping at his shoulders, his chest, and at a certain point even tugging on his hair.

His grip on my waist tightened, and I felt my body loosen in his arms.

The only strength I had left, I’d been using to stand up. After the bite, I felt like everything in me was gone.

My mind was telling me to let go, to sink into darkness.

The Alpha had already pulled away, and he was looking into my eyes- almost like if he was lost in a trance. The ghost of a smile was playing on his lips, but I was barely able to make it out.

“What the hell did you do?”

In my mind, that question came out in a yell. In reality, it was just a soft croaky whisper. I took a few deep breathes, trying to get my voice back.

“You, you- you animal!” I yelled in a whisper, trying to push him away.

I slapped at his chest, but I could feel they were all weak hits. My efforts to get him to move were useless.

After a few minutes, I noticed something cross over his eyes, before he snapped out of it.

“You’re a human,” he said, sounding confused.

“What did you think Einstein?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

“I’m Caine,” he introduced, like if I’d asked him his name.

“I don’t care! You bit me,” I said, putting extra emphasis on the fact that he had attacked me.

All of my energy was focused on getting out of his embrace. It was to no avail, because when he let me go, I fell to the ground. Just before I landed on my ass, his arms caught me.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, as he helped me take a seat on the floor.

“What’s wrong? Are you serious? You just bit me!” I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him.

Right after I said that, I had to close my eyes for a moment to keep myself from blacking out. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping for the latter.

If the guy had bit me, who knew what he would do if I blacked out.

“Are you okay?” He asked, running the outside of his hand over my cheek.

I had the urge to lean into his touch, but I pushed it away. The man had just bit me- there was definitely something wrong with him. Then again, he was a pack Wolf. I should’ve expected something like that from him. Liam had warned me from his kind.

I slapped his hand away, and he seemed surprised by that.

“Don’t touch me sicko!”

Either my words or the slap made him frown, because he was looking at me disapprovingly.

“What’s wrong with her?” The Alpha asked, as he stood up and looked behind him.

The five guys who’d been there before, along with Lesley- all suddenly went pale.

When I touched my neck, it slightly stung. It didn’t exactly hurt. There wasn’t much blood either, which was also surprising.

“You just bit me and you think something is wrong with me?” I asked him.

“The claim shouldn’t make you sick, even if you’re a human,” he said to me, like if that explained everything.

“Right,” I said, stretching out the word for emphasis.

“I won’t ask again,” he said, ignoring my comment.

“She was with a Rogue.” Lesley was the first to speak.

Her voice was shaky and she looked scared. I rolled my eyes at her, but she didn’t notice. They were all focused on the Alpha- who now looked taller than before.

It was partly because I was sitting on the ground, and partly because they had all shrunk back with the killer look the Alpha was giving them.

“You’re all crazy,” I added my input.

The Alpha turned to face me when I spoke. When his dark look landed on me, I noticed his features soften.

He lowered himself on the ground, kneeling in front of me.

When his hand moved to touch my shoulder, I shrugged it away. For some reason, a pained expression took over his face, but it only lasted a second.

Without getting up, he turned back to the group.

“Macon?” He was looking at the guy who had more or less defended me

He’d been the only one who believed that I was a human, while Lesley and the rest of them thought I was a Werewolf hiding my scent.

Stupid stupid Wolves.

“I told Lesley she was a human,” the guy, who I assumed was Macon, replied to the Alpha.

“You’re my third in command. You don’t take orders from Lesley,” the Alpha said in a reprimanding tone.

“Third in command?’ I asked, impressed that the dude had a title.

“I’ll explain later,” the Alpha said, turning back to me for just a moment.

Now he knew I was a human. However, he had no idea I knew what they were.

“Let’s get you out of here,” he told me.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I stated.

I backed away from him when his arms tried to pick me up.

I was already at the back of the wall. When my head made just the smallest of contact with the wall, the pain from the bump returned.

I cried out and my hand instinctively moved to the back of my head.

“What happened?” the Alpha worriedly asked, as he tried to touch me.

I cringed when he pressed his hand against the back of my head.

“Stupid, it hurts!” I snapped, trying to push his hand away.

His eyes widened at me, and it was my time to shrink back. So maybe calling the Alpha stupid hadn’t been my brightest idea.

“Um, it hurts,” I tried to correct, but I was sure it didn’t sound sincere.

Heck, I shouldn’t have cared whether I offended him or not. But the close proximity between us was making me nervous and my heart raise.

I thought my words had angered him, but it was from. He moved me enough to see the back of my head. I couldn’t see his expression, but I heard him gasp audibly.

One moment he was kneeling next to me with a dark look in his eyes, and in a flash he was moving towards the group outside of the cell.

“Who did that to her!” He growled so loudly, his voice made a shiver run through my body.

The shiver wasn’t from fear- it was from excitement. I shook my head at the thought, castigating myself for having it. I blamed it on the bump that was messing with my head.

When I turned back to the group, I noticed that I must’ve spaced out for a while.

I looked up just in time to catch the Alpha swinging his arm with so much force at one of the guys who’d been at my apartment yesterday.

The blow made the guy fall to the ground and I was sure we all heard the loud snap that came from him.

After that, the Alpha did the same to three other guys. Although he hadn’t touched Lesley, she was looking scared.

Macon and the other guy, who’d entered later, stood to the side. They were staring at the Alphas as he continued to beat the guys.

The last thing I remember was seeing the Alpha approach Macon, before I drifted off into darkness.

I felt thirsty and hungry. I was pulled away from a deep sleep that had been nothing but restless because my stomach felt empty and it hurt.

“Martha,” I heard a deep voice say somewhere near me.

I frowned when I heard my cousin’s name.

What the hell was Martha doing here? I wondered.

I cracked an eye open, noticing the dim lighting of wherever I was. I felt the softness of the bed under me, so I knew I was no longer locked up in that cell.

I wanted to believe that maybe I’d just dreamt it all- that I was at the apartment, in my comfortable bed.

No such luck.

Just as I was getting my hopes up, I noticed the Alpha leaning closer to me. He was sitting on a chair beside the bed.

“Martha,” he said, sighing in what looked like relief.

Why he was relieved when this was his entire fault- I didn’t really know.

“Martha?” I managed to ask.

My throat hurt and it felt completely dry. I hadn’t drank or eaten anything since- well since I’d been kidnapped by psychotic Wolves.

The Alpha nodded at me, answering my question with an obvious lie. I knew my name, and it was definitely not Martha.

“I brought you to my room. You hit your head,” he told me.

His forehead creased and his eyes began swirling with that dark color again.

I sat up on the bed, resting my back on the headboard. When I did that, I noticed just how big the bed was.

“I didn’t hit my head. One of those loons attacked me.”

“I have taken care of them,” he said, sounded angry.

The faraway look on his face told me his anger wasn’t directed at me.

I remembered how he’d bitten me in the neck. He had claimed me. It was what Werewolves did to their mates…

My hand quickly went to my neck, and sure enough, the bite still felt tender. I wasn’t pressing my fingers too much, but the teeth marks from his bite were definitely there.

“You attacked me too,” I snapped.

The Alpha remained quiet. Instead of replying, he began pouring some water into a crystal glass. The pitcher holding the water had plenty of ice and little droplets of water covered all of the outside- showing just how cold it was.

I was too thirsty. I saved my complaints for later when he handed me the glass filled with water- some ice cubes were floating on the surface.

While I drank, he began talking.

“The bite on your neck will be the last time I ever hurt you,” he said.

I slowly pulled the glass of water away from my lips, before putting it on the bedside table.

“Like I’m going to believe that,” I muttered

“How are you feeling?” He asked, changing the subject.

I gave him a flat look, rolling my eyes at him.

He didn’t really pay attention. It seemed like he was waiting for me to reply.

“I’m-” I was about to say hurt.

When I took count of my injuries, the bump in my head- which was still very much there- didn’t hurt anymore. The bite on my neck felt sensitive, but not painful.

It didn’t feel right to lie to him, so I returned to my previous accusation.

“I got kidnapped by a bunch of psycho’s. How do you think I feel?” I glared at him.

I didn’t even get a rise out of him. He just stared at me.

“Martha,” he said.

I laughed, because I couldn’t stop myself from not laughing.

“What?” He asked me, this time actually frowning.

“Um, nothing,” I replied.

At least they didn’t know my real name. I had only told that fake name to Travis, the guy from the supermarket. I was hoping they hadn’t done anything to him to get my fake name.

“What do you remember about earlier?” He asked.

“Waking up locked up in a cell, with all those weirdoes talking about killing me,” I said without thinking.

It might not have been a good idea to insult his friends, because he growled at my words.

“They got punished for that, trust me,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Sure… Trust the kidnapper who bit my neck. That won’t be hard,” I muttered under my breath.

I forgot he was a shifter and could indeed hear any little thing I mumbled.

“I did that to claim you,” he said to me, looking like he was trying to hold in a growl.

I raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Claim me?”

“I will explain-”

“Are you going to kill me?” I asked, interrupting whatever he was about to explain.

“No,” he replied, widening his eyes.

It almost seemed like the idea pained him, because he had a horrified expression on his face.

“Will you hurt me?”

“No. I’m not going to do anything to you, I told you that already.”

“Your word doesn’t mean a lot. You bit me, remember? And your buddies beat me up,” I said, slightly exaggerating on the last part.

I didn’t know if knocking me out counted as beating me up, but I didn’t care. They hit me and it hurt. Besides, a Wolf shouldn’t get one on one with a human- let alone four on one.

That wasn’t ever a fair fight, they knew that.

After I came back from my thoughts, I noticed he’d closed his eyes and was holding his face in his hands.

He got up from the chair he’d been sitting in a while later, and slowly began pacing the room. I couldn’t help but acknowledge his height- it was truly impressive.

“Uh, are you okay?” I awkwardly asked.

I wasn’t sure why I felt worried, but something inside of me was bothered by how troubled he looked.

“Do you want me to kill them?” He asked me, with a deadly look in his eyes.

I frowned at his words.

“Kill who?”

“Lesley and her team,” he replied.

My frowned deepened after he answered my question. The Alpha looked like he was seriously expecting me to give him an answer.

“Are you joking or are you stupid?”

“Stop calling me stupid.” He tried to sound casual, but I heard the warning in his voice.

I noticed the word ’stupid’ sounded funny on his lips. I almost laughed because he looked too tough to be saying that word.

“Stupid is my favorite insult,” I shrugged.

“Do you?” He asked, throwing me off once again.

“Do I what?”

“Do you want me to kill them all?”

I shook my head, while rolling my eyes.

“Isn’t killing them a little too radical?”

“Not if they hurt you. We will do whatever you decide,” he said, keeping his steady gaze on me.

So maybe he was crazier than I thought. It didn’t surprise me, considering how unlucky I was.

“I decided that I want to go home,” I told him.

When I tried to move, I felt it. My head didn’t hurt, but it didn’t mean it had healed. Of course it wouldn’t heal so soon.

‘I wasn’t a shifter’ I bitterly thought to myself.

“I think I need to go to the hospital,” I said, as I ran my hand through my hair, over the bump that had slightly gone down.

“The pack doctor took a look at your injury. He gave you something for the pain. There shouldn’t be anything wrong. It was just a bump.”

“Just a bump?” My outraged voice returned when he tried to downplay it.

He took a step back, but his calm demeanor was still present.

“Does it hurt anywhere else?”

“How about my neck?”

“Your neck will be fine. The bite isn’t deep, just deep enough for my claim.”

I sobered up after he said that. The claim- right. I had forgotten that small piece of information.

I was his mate, according to him.

“Martha,” he called to me.

I wanted to roll my eyes at him, but I’d been doing that too much. I also thought he might somehow suspect that ‘Martha’ wasn’t really my name.

“If you aren’t going to kill me, and you aren’t going to hurt me- I want to leave.”

“You’re not leaving,” he stated.

“Yes I am. I want to go home. I think you people have done enough.” I was about to slip-up and say ’you Wolves’.

“You’re staying here,” he countered, completely dismissing my words.

“No, I’m not. If you force me, I’ll find a way to leave,” I told him.

“I’ll catch you before you get far,” he easily said, not looking worried that I might escape.

I glared at him, trying to put as much hate as I could in my eyes.

“I…” He began saying.

“You have issues, I’m aware of that. If you let me go, I won’t tell anyone,” I told him.

‘I’ll just get as far away from you as possible,’ I thought to myself.

“I’m not going to hurt you if you stay here,” he said.

Although he did have the power to keep me there if he wanted, it almost seemed like he wanted me to willingly agree to stay. I wasn’t going to do that though.

“I don’t want to stay here, that’s pain enough.”

The Alpha cringed at my words, and took a step closer to the bed I was on. I didn’t think he would take my words so badly. I hadn’t even used a harsh tone.

“I,” he paused, taking a deep breath.

“I’ll drive you home,” he nodded at me.

My mouth dropped open in shock and my eyes widened. I didn’t know if I had imagined him saying that.

“I’ll get you some clothes. It’s cold outside,” he said, walking away from me.

After he opened one of the doors in the room, I realized he’d gone into his closet.

So he was letting me go. That was odd.

The Alpha, who insisted I call him Caine, told me I’d been sleeping only a few hours. It was almost midnight when he drove me home.

I didn’t ask him questions about him being a Werewolf and he no longer tried to explain. He had a solemn expression on his face the first half of the ride.

We were far from the apartment, and I felt forced to break the thick silence.

“This isn’t a trick, right? You won’t kill me once we get to my apartment?” I didn’t think he would, but I still wanted his reassurance.

Caine snapped his head in my direction, giving me a clear look of his dark expression.

“I will never hurt you,” he repeated what he’d been saying before.

I wanted to remind him that he already had, but I decided against it. He was letting me go, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

After a few minutes of silence, it was him who spoke.

“Do you live alone?” He asked me.

I was tempted to say that I didn’t, so that he wouldn’t get any smart ideas. But, I quickly remembered that Lesley and the other guys had been at my apartment before. He probably already knew that I lived alone.

“For now,” I replied, still not sure about admitting to that small piece of information.

“Good,” he said.

I turned around to roll my eyes at him. When I did, I was left speechless. He really was good looking.

When we arrived outside the apartment building, Caine parked the car.

“I can just get off in the front,” I told him, as I pointed to the main doors.

“It’s late and it’s dark. I’m not letting you get off alone,” he told me.

“Okay,” I said, not feeling in the mood to argue.

I was tired, sleepy, and hungry. At that point, I just wanted to get to my bed and cuddle with a hot pocket or a bag of chips.

Caine was walking a step behind me, but he still kept close by to my body.

“Just because I’m being nice doesn’t mean I’m going to forget what you and your friends did to me,” I stated when we entered the building.

I looked up at him and caught sight of a faint smile playing on his lips.

“Just because I’m letting you go doesn’t mean I won’t keep an eye on you- I will,” he said, stepping in front of me and blocking my path.

I swallowed loudly, but it wasn’t out of fear. The way his strong gaze focused on me was truly hypnotizing. Slowly, he ran his fingertips over my cheek. His fingers were barely grazing my skin as they trailed down to my jaw and over the bite on my neck.

“You’re perfect,” he whispered, lowering himself to reach me.

I felt his warm breath blowing across my face. I probably should’ve pushed him away, but I was too stunned to move.

“Charlotte?” I heard someone’s voice behind me.

My name being called was enough to make me take a step back from Caine. I shook my head to shoo away the thought’s I’d been having about him, about us.

“Adam?” I asked when I turned around. He was stalking towards me, with a worried look on his face.

When Caine noticed Adam, I felt his entire posture stiffen.

No, no, no! I kept thinking in my mind.

Adam stopped midstride when he caught sight of Caine.

I pressed my back completely against Caine’s chest, not wanting him to get any closer to Adam. I was really hoping that Caine wouldn’t sense what Adam was.

“He’s…” Adam whispered, not finishing that thought.

Just as he said that, Caine wrapped his arm around my waist protectively.

His features became aggressive, his eyes quickly shifted to that dark coal color, and he was clenching his fists.

“Rogue,” Caine said through gritted teeth, as he glared at Adam.