“What happens? You mean see if I really do have another side, or if this is all a hoax.”
She stood up, the light catching her eyes as they flashed amber, flecks of pure brilliance, and he saw how she fought to keep herself under control. “This isn’t a hoax. Being one of us is not a joke. Now, I don’t know you. But if you are any kind of man, you would want to go and find out if what your uncle says is true. And if it is, you would want to help your mother.”
“Do you believe him?” Kane asked. She was close to him, now, her fingers reaching out and running along the front of his jacket, reaching beneath his skin and touching his soul. Another step took her so close their bodies touched and he felt the same arousal he had experienced last night, but he fought it off; this was not the time to be swayed by sex. He needed to keep a clear head.
Yet when she stood on tiptoes and kissed him, he was powerless. His arms went around her waist and he pulled her close, making sure she knew exactly how turned on he was. Maybe he should take her now, bend her over the upturned dinghy and fuck her senseless. But she pulled back.
“I saw her once,” she said, her voice and her legs unsteady. The kiss had the same effect on her. “I have never seen such sadness in one person. I’d heard the rumours of course, but until that moment I didn’t understand the tremendous sacrifice she made. It’s the same look I saw today in your uncle’s eyes.”
“What if I can’t help her?” he asked, voicing his real doubts as they surfaced.
“But what if you can, Kane?” She kissed him on the lips briefly before taking his hand and heading to the door. “Can you live with the not knowing?”
He followed her, his mind made up. Darius had taught him to never run from a fight. Until now those fights had always been in the boardroom. But he saw it plainly now; Darius had been grooming him for this moment his whole life.
Amara was right. He had to know.
10
She was going home. She … was … going …home!
Amara tried to keep calm and not alert anyone to what was happening. Darius had been waiting for them after they left the boat house, and when Kane had told him his decision to leave, his uncle had seemed both relieved and terrified.
“I will do everything I can to help you, Kane,” Darius said.
“What about you, Darius, why don’t you leave and come with us,” Kane asked.
“For now, my place is here. I can’t walk away from everything I have built. I know it’s hard for you to understand but there are many people like me, sleeping shifters they call us.” He smiled. “Stupid name. But apt, considering all my lion has done since I came here is sleep. I think he has been dormant for so long he doesn’t know how to wake up. The moon no longer calls me.”
“One day you will return, though. Won’t you?” Amara asked, sensing the deep sadness in Darius.
“I hope so. And that day may be sooner than we all think if this goes wrong. Kane, you must do as I say: keep to the story I have given you until you are well inside the Prime. If anyone sees you, or recognises you, then you might not even get as far as our pride lands.”
“Great, you mean I’m about to put myself in a whole mess of danger.” But even as he spoke, Kane seemed different somehow; he might be resigned to what he had to do, but he also looked committed. Amara hoped that commitment would not wane when things got rough. And they would get rough, right about the time he finally took the bracelet from his wrist.
“Not just that, Kane,” Darius said, a hitch in his voice as he finished, “You are about to live. For the first time in your life, you will find out what it is like to truly be alive.”
Amara’s lioness moved in the corners of her mind and she knew if she could see her, she would be roaring in agreement. “We should hurry.”
“Yes, come on. I have everything arranged, so go to your room and pack as if you are going on a business trip, because that is the pretence of your journey into Shifters Prime. I have all the paperwork ready, your visa, and a meeting set up. When you pass through the border, it will look as if you are a normal businessman.”
“You mean they won’t test my blood?” he asked.
“No, the guards on this side only test those coming from Shifters Prime. Once you reach the other side of the border, I have made arrangements for you to be met by someone loyal to me. He will take you to a safe place, where you can hole up for a few days while you get used to the new you.” Darius nodded. “I am so very proud of you, Kane.”
“I still think you should come with us,” Kane said,
Amara moved towards the house. “Enough trying to persuade him. We all have our paths to walk, and for now ours is separate from Darius’s. Don’t make it harder on him.”