Turning from him, she wiped her eyes, not wanting him to see her cry. But Kane reached out and touched her, an agony and an ecstasy rolled into one as his fingers touched her skin, making a connection that went deeper than flesh. He reached into her soul and when he suddenly let her go, she knew he had felt it too.
“What is this?” he asked. “Why do you have this effect on me? I’ve met your kind before, touched them before. But I have never experienced this. Is this a new weapon? Are you using some kind of chemical warfare?”
She rounded on him, her temper rising, her wounded pride at having this man as her mate conquering her reserve. “My kind? I only wear this collar because humans are scared of what they don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “This is confusing. It’s … I don’t know what to think. I have lived my whole life here, on this side of the border. Until you touched me, I had no idea I might be … different.”
“Look. I don’t want trouble. I have a contract; your uncle owns that contract. I can’t help you,” she said, although it was the hardest thing she had ever done. They were meant to be together, they were mated. But the strong feelings weren’t there, and at that moment she was glad. Glad his anguish didn’t rip into her heart and tear it out.
“Of course. I don’t want to cause trouble for you,” he said, stepping back away from her.
She moved, keeping her distance as she left the room. But in the doorway, she hesitated. “Don’t you remember living anywhere else?”
“No. I have always lived here with my uncle,” he replied.
“Did he give you the bracelet?” she asked.
“Yes, he said it was my father’s.” Kane lifted his arm and touched the bracelet. “He told me to never take it off.”
She nodded, knowing with certainty that Kane had been given the bracelet in a bid to keep his identity as a shifter safe. “Then perhaps you have been asking the wrong person. You should speak to your uncle.”
And then she left, despite the gnawing in the back of her mind, which she presumed was her lioness showing her disgust at them deserting their mate. We need time to think, she told her lioness, but had no idea if she could hear.
5
After she left the kitchen, he stood and thought about what she had said. He was sure she knew much more than she was letting on, but couldn’t blame her for not wanting to get involved. Especially when he had accused her of testing a secret shifter weapon on him. Nice touch, he berated himself.
The sound of one of the other servants moving around woke him from his thoughts. He headed back to his room for a long shower, to try to wash away his doubts and fears. As he washed himself, the bracelet on his wrist became more noticeable, heavier somehow. The weight of his decision concentrated on the thin piece of metal he had worn all his life. He lifted it up, letting the water splash over it and could see the thin line of copper that threaded through the silver. It was of the same composition as the collars shifters wore, but the question was: Did he wear it for the same reason? Was he capable of shifting?
As he got out of the shower and grabbed a towel, his fingers touched it, and for a split second he was tempted to take it off. But his fear of the unknown was stronger than his need to know the truth. Once he had let his inner beast free, if he indeed had an inner beast, then there would be no putting it back in his cage, not if anyone in the house saw.
All his uncle’s plans for him to take over the company would be crushed. She was right, he had to talk to his uncle; he owed him that much at least, after all the time and effort he had put into raising Kane.
Dressing in his usual Armani suit, he looked at himself in the mirror as he adjusted his tie. The man staring back at him was different. It was in the way he moved, the way his brow furrowed.
Stupid. It’s just your imagination. No one else will notice any difference in you. They will all see the heir to the Reinier Corporation. Nothing more.
Or could he be more? So much more, but not here.
Her face swam in his eyes; he still didn’t know her name. And yet he seemed to know her. There was a connection between them, and he flexed his hand, reliving the shock of electricity that had shot along his nerve endings each time she touched him.
Cursing, he grabbed his keys and wallet, and made his way downstairs. Glancing at his watch, he knew he was too late for breakfast, but he didn’t think he could stomach food, not when his whole future hung over a precipice. He could grab some coffee at work, and send his PA out for food later if his appetite returned.
“Kane,” Darius’s voice called out to him as he reached the hallway. “Are you feeling well?”
Kane mentally put a smile on his face and prayed he would be able to fool Darius, the man who knew him better than anyone else in the world. The man who had raised him as his heir. The man who had given him the bracelet.
“Morning, Darius. Yes, why do you ask?” he said nonchalantly. The discussion he wanted to have with his uncle would wait until they were in the car. He didn’t want anyone else to overhear what was said. What secrets might be shared.