“Hell, yes,” Thorn sighed.
With a nod, Kane motioned for him to follow back into the cabin. For the first few years, after he had mated with Jada, Kane had kept the small cabin because he loved it very much. But it wasn’t too long before the two of them came to an understanding because they needed more room. So, he had a new home built a bit closer to his sister, Sasha, but he left the small cabin standing and kept it in good shape. Then when Thorn got older and wanted his own space, Kane gave him the small cabin.
“Your mother stocked the place for you,” Kane told him.
“Where is she?” Thorn asked.
“I had her go with the others to the city, but give her time. She’ll show back up.” Kane walked to the back, into the large kitchen and went straight to the refrigerator. He brought out two beers, handing one to Thorn. “So. Spill it.”
“How much do you want to know?”
Kane snickered, bringing the bottle of beer up to his mouth. “All of it.”
Thorn sighed and twisted the top of his beer bottle open. He pulled out a chair and sat down. Kane noticed right off how worn down he seemed. He opened his mouth and Kane cut him off.
“I mean all of it.”
Thorn looked up at him. “How much do you already know?”
Kane grabbed a chair, turned it around and sat down straddling it. “I know there was a human woman who took you. And I know there is some prick out there, who thinks he has big enough balls to hunt us down. Now, where do you fit into all of this?”
Thorn tipped the bottle and downed half of it before putting it down. He didn’t look Kane in the eyes, and that was enough of a tale as to how bad things were for sure. He nodded. “She did take me. During a full moon when I was in the woods hunting. I never even sensed them. I was running, chasing this rabbit, and the next thing I knew I was naked, chained and drugged.”
“What happened?”
Thorn shook his head. “The drugs took away all sensations so I wasn’t able to feel myself. I couldn’t feel the animal inside, or control my body.” He swallowed and brought the bottle back up, finishing the beer. “That bitch is her mother.”
“What did she do to you?” Kane had a very hard time keeping his rage in check. Knowing that some human had brought his son down pissed him off. Knowing things had gone farther made him want to shed blood.
“She made her daughter fuck me.” Thorn looked him in the eye and stood up fast, grabbing the back of the chair and flinging it away before storming out back.
Taking a deep breath, Kane pushed away from the table, bent over and picked up the chair then followed Thorn. He stayed on the back porch, watching his son pace back and forth.
“She watched it,” Thorn went on, not looking at Kane. “That fucking bitch stood in the dark, watching her scared daughter touch me, and then screw me. It didn’t matter that she didn’t want to.”
“Did you want to?”
Thorn stopped his pacing and looked up at his father. “No.”
“And now?” Thorn frowned up at him, and Kane went on. “I can see it in your eyes. You care about her.”
“Her mother had her whipped just for helping Logan’s father get away.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t know how to answer that question.”
“Then answer this one. What do you want to do?”
“I want to end this shit.”
“And her?”
“She’s in the middle of it all.”
Kane sighed, rubbed his face and crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t lie to yourself about her. Take my advice when I say if you do that, then it will bite you so hard in the ass you will be fucked for life.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“I’m saying don’t fight it if it’s meant to be. I tried to with your mother and things got so way out of hand that I almost lost her. Thorn,” Kane sighed. “You know everything that there is to know about me. We never sheltered you and I don’t want to see you make the mistakes I did. There’s an attraction between you two, so don’t fight it. You want to protect her then I’ll help you do that. You want to end this shit, then end it. Just don’t lie to yourself, son. It’s all I ask.” Thorn said nothing. “Go in and check on her. You two move back to the other cabin and I’ll take care of the truck. I’m sure your mother will be calling you soon, so get ready for her questions.”
Kane turned and went back into the house, leaving Thorn alone outside. Halfway into the front room he stopped. She was standing in the middle of the living room, just staring at him.
“Katrina, right?” Kane pointed a finger at her and she nodded. “You okay?”
“You know I didn’t think he had a family,” she said. “Sort of figured he just came out of a test tube or something.”
“That would be me, not him. He was born.” Her eyes got huge and he couldn’t help but to grin at her shock. “Sorry. I’m still working on having a sense of humor. My mate tells me often how much mine sucks.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s try this again. Thorn keeps us protected. We don’t need others finding out about me and my sister.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m unique and there are a few out there who would kill to get their hands back on me. Have a seat, we should talk some.” He moved over to one of the large chairs and sat down. Katrina followed, taking a seat farther away from him. “So what’s the deal with your mother? Thorn told me a few things, but I know he’s holding a ton back. He always does.”
“What do you want to know, besides the fact that she’s fucking crazy?”
“Mothers that I know of don’t whip their children for something so small as helping someone get away. Fill in the blanks for me.”
Katrina took a deep breath and brought her legs up to her chest, hugging them. “I just found out but I guess I’m one of you. Besides that, I don’t know any more than that. I really didn’t want to believe it was even possible, before she turned on me like a damn vulture.”
“For helping someone get away?”
She nodded. “Logan’s father. She had him chained up. He was drugged like the others, tortured, and I don’t know what else. I—I couldn’t leave him like that.” Her voice started to break a little but she held it together. “He knew my father,” she breathed out. “There was another, I think her partner. He did the whipping while she watched. I never thought those cruel eyes of hers would ever be turned on me, you know.”
“I know things, only because my son seems to be involved in them. Guess you can say a family thing. Your mother has been selling young shifter males as sex slaves, you know that right?” She nodded, the guilt over her mother’s actions clearly in her eyes. “No one that she’s ever taken has come back alive, except for one that I know of. He didn’t last long, went rabid and had to be killed. There are going to be more than a few who will want to talk to you about her and you will need to tell them everything you can think of about your mother’s business.”
“Well then, that’s going to be a problem.” Her chin came up with a bit of fire in her eyes. “She kept me and Dannie in the dark all the time.” Kane raised one eyebrow up at the mention of the name Dannie. Katrina rolled her eyes. “She’s my sister. Your son figured it would be better if we split up until this shit with my mother is fixed. Something I don’t agree with at all.”
“He’s right.”
“Seems you all think he’s right about everything, but I don’t like it. I’ve been the one to take care of my sister and I’ve done a good job so far.”
“And you think you can take care of your sister knowing that your mother wants to kill you.” He took a deep breath and sat forward. “I’ve been in your shoes once. I know all about wanting to take care of someone but needing help even if you don’t want to ask for it. You’re still weak, drained. It shows in your eyes. You’ve been holding a load for too long and I know all about carrying loads on the shoulders. Thorn brought you here for a reason. You need to regroup, have an op
portunity to get your strength back, and heal. While you take care of yourself, you let Thorn and I figure out the rest of this shit.”
“You mean how to kill my mother.”
Kane didn’t answer her question. Thorn came back inside then and stood in the archway between the living room and kitchen.
“Time to go,” Thorn said.
Thorn spoke to them both, then turned and walked back out the front door. Kane stood up and so did Katrina. They both followed him and watched from the porch as Thorn took out the bags from the back of the truck.
“Where are we going?” Katrina asked Kane.
“Deep into the woods to a smaller cabin,” he answered her. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before,” she grumbled as she went down the steps towards the truck and took a bag. Kane just grinned.
* * * *
Katrina took her bag from Thorn and followed him towards the back of the house and into the woods. She followed him along a worn path looking like it hadn’t been walked on in a very long time. She was just about to call out and ask him how much longer it was going to be, when their destination came into view.
She stood in the middle of the brush, staring up at a small cabin, true to the word of small, it seemed to be in the middle of two paths going left and right which were over grown, but still there. Katrina looked around, wondering if they were indeed going to be safe here or not. True, it did seem as if they were in the middle of nowhere, but were they safe?
“You coming?” Thorn asked.
Katrina snapped out of her daze and finished her walk up to the house. Up the stairs and inside she stopped again to get a look at things.
Simple and sweet. That is what she would call the small space. A wood burning stove sat in the far corner with a counter space on both sides, one had a sink in it. There was also a small fridge under part of the counter. In the middle of the front part of the cabin there was a large red sofa, which was wide enough to make her think of a bed, and it faced a fireplace. To the back, a bedroom with a large bed, and looking up she frowned to see a bar screwed into the doorway.
“Bathroom is through here,” Thorn pointed. “You can have the bed. I’ll take the sofa.”
She made her way to the back only to stop in the doorway and pointed over her head. “What’s that for?”
“This used to be my father’s place before he mated with my mother. That is just something he would work out on.”
“Really?” She looked up at him and tried to picture that big man she had just met doing chin ups on it. “Huh.” Moving around Thorn, she went into the bedroom and looked around. The bed wasn’t anything impressive, just a large bed and off to the side a bathroom. “So now what do we do?” she asked, turning back around. “Build a fire and start singing as we do marshmallows?”
“You heal,” he stated. “I’m going to try to think up our next step.”
“Don’t you mean, think up a way to kill my mother.” Linking her hands together, she rocked herself back and forth and gave him a small grin. “I’d kind of like to be involved in that plan.”
Thorn sighed. “Mother, huh? Still think she’s the one?”
“She is my mother.”
He rubbed his face and worked to stay calm, but failed. “You need to stop living in a fantasy world, Katrina. That woman does not want to be a mother to you and has never been one. She’s a cold-hearted bitch, and yes, I am going to kill her. Satisfied?”
“You’re a dick!”
“Yes I am.” he crossed his arms over his chest. “Get used to it.”
“Well, I guess saying go fuck yourself might be a little late in coming,” she smarted back, also crossing her arms over her chest.
“Damn right it’s too late, since the last time I fucked anything it was you.” She opened her mouth to speak, only to get cut off by him. “Don’t try to pick a fight here. You’ll lose.”
“Wasn’t going to start anything, only wanted to say you might want to find someone to practice on then. You sort of sucked at it.”
He snorted, “Got you off.”
“Not really. I faked it.” His eyes narrowed on her and his mouth opened, but instead of letting him get another word in, she quickly went to the small bathroom and slammed the door. Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the toilet seat, head between her legs and worked to get herself under control.
For the first time ever she needed someone to talk to, and Dannie wasn’t it. But as real life seemed to like crashing down on her head all the time, she reminded herself she didn’t have anyone. This is it. Her sister is with someone, her mother tried to kill her, and she’s with a guy who not only hated her guts, but she was pretty sure wanted to hurt her as well. Everyone wanted to hurt her it seemed.
Katrina jumped with the sound of the front door slamming hard. It was so damn hard the walls shook. Straightening back up she took a few deep breaths and thought, fuck this. Getting back up she left the bathroom, grabbed her backpack and headed for the same door through which Thorn had left. Staying here wasn’t something she was going to do after all.
Thorn was indeed outside. Hell, he was pacing right in front of the porch and stopped when he saw her come out. He already had a pissed off look on his face and when he saw her it stayed but shock joined it.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he demanded.
“I’m not doing this,” she said as she walked down the steps and didn’t stop walking. “I’m better off on my own.”
“You’re not leaving.”
“Yes, I am. I’m not going to be used as fucking bait for you. Find another sucker.”
She didn’t get too far before he grabbed hold of her arm, rough and tight, jerking her back towards his body, her backpack dropping to the ground. “I said you’re not leaving.”
Katrina tried to jerk free, but his hold was much too tight. “Let go of me,” she said with clinched teeth.
“Where do you think you’re going to go?” he snapped back, giving her a jerk and tightening his grip on her arm. “Have you forgotten your bitch of a mother is out there waiting for you to show up? Looking to finish the damn job?”
“Go to hell!”
“I know her kind and she isn’t going to stop until she gets what she wants,” he went on.
Katrina made to swing at him only to have him bend slightly away from her fist and grab hold of her wrist at the same time. They struggled and she ended up with both of her arms crisscrossed over her chest with him holding onto one pressed tightly up on her chest. He held her tight against his chest, and almost picked her up off the ground.
“You want to fight then fight,” he growled low in her ear. She struggled and it seemed he only held her with ease. “But if you’re wanting to fight with me, then you better think it over real carefully.” She tried to drop her weight, but it didn’t seem to bother him or affect his hold on her. “You’re not strong enough.”
Katrina did the only thing she could think of doing. She threw her head back and butted him right in the nose.
“Son of a bitch!” Thorn cried out, letting her go.
She turned around to see how much, if any, damage she might’ve done to him. “Strong enough for you now, asshole!” Backing up, picking her bag up, she wanted to cry out in frustration over the fact she didn’t draw any blood.
“Don’t do it,” he growled at her, while rubbing at his nose. “I’m warning you.”
“Up yours,” Katrina turned and took off running away from the cabin, but not in the same direction from which they came. She didn’t need his father helping Thorn out right now and knew he would.
Not one bit shocking was the fact Thorn was right behind her. Katrina didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know it. She could hear him and the crunching of leaves under foot. And the fact he was swearing like crazy almost had her smiling.
However, like the animal she knew him to be, Thorn pounced upon her, taking her down hard to the gro
und. But it didn’t mean the fight was over for her. Katrina might have been taken down, but she wasn’t going down without a fight.
Thorn had his arms around her legs and was crawling up as she tried pulling away from him. When he reached past her knees, she started to kick out at him, getting rewarded with a few grunts. A deep growl from him and he flipped her over to her back. Fine, she could get nasty as well. Bringing one leg up she kicked him hard in the chest, knocking him away and giving her the few precious seconds she needed to get back up to her feet. And as soon as she was back on them he swiped her legs with his hand, bringing her right back down.
This time he held her down with his whole body and crawled up her back to lay right on top of her, pinning her face down in the dirt.
“Enough!” he growled low in her ear, breathing hard. “Do you have any fucking idea what a chase and fight like this does to males like me?”
“Get off!” She still struggled against his hold.
“Fuck,” he growled. “You need to learn and learn this shit real fast.” Twisting just right she landed her elbow in his side. “I said, enough!”
Only she hadn’t had enough. She still wanted to run away, but something had her stopping. Something pressing in the curve of her ass gave her a shock and enough of a shock to have her quitting the fight and giving up. A hard dick pressed into her ass.
He stayed on top of her for a few more minutes, mostly she guessed to make sure she was calmed down enough. Pushing away, Thorn took hold of her arms and jerked her back up to her feet. He kept hold of her arms, and kept her right in front of him, turned her back towards the direction they came and gave her a shove to start walking. A short walk back and she stepped into a hole and went down hard, twisting her ankle so bad she felt it pop.
“Damn-it!” Katrina cried out, grabbing her ankle as pain shot up her leg.
“Let me see,” Thorn sighed, kneeling down in front of her.
“Don’t,” Katrina snapped, scooting away from him. “You’ve done enough.”
“Hey, I told you not to run, remember.” He reached out and grabbed her leg, dragging her closer and looking down at her ankle. “Starting to swell fast.”
Untamed Beast Page 4