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What lay behind the vampire's eyes? They were so flat, soht there was nothing beneath But he sensed more to Cai than that Which just pissed Rand off worse

"I'ive you any more of my story I really can't You can use et that you think it's in the past and done with, who the hell cares, the wolf's story a fun diversion between hard-ons, but it's not like that for me"

For hih his head two, three, ten times a day Except when he shifted God, he wanted to shift He was starting to feel wrong in his skin

"Stay withelse He rose and stepped back into Rand's personal space When he caressed Rand's jaith his knuckles, Rand clasped his wrist, but he didn't push away Just increased the pressure A warning

"Why? Except for wanting to screw me as a human, why do you care?"

The va that surprised Rand, especially when he reversed their grips so he was holding Rand's forear his wrist up to eye level between them When Rand tried to wrest away, the vath

"This bugs me," the vampire said shortly

The direction of his glance, the tightening of his grip just below it, told Rand what he ht wrist, re the one on his left

"Well, don't let it" It took a hard yank, but Rand pulled his wrist away and stepped back The churning eed drain, ready to drown everything "That's my business, and it's done here I didn't need you to save ood fuck Well, payment delivered I'm done"

The vaht he was sure was about to erupt Instead, Cai's expression shuttered again, and he stepped back "Fine Take off, wolf"

As Cai spoke, Rand was already letting the shift have hierly as a meth addict The coy to replace it That was fine Only his hu His wolf didn't do ies or self-analysis of any kind

He plunged into the forest at a run, leaving the vampire behind, his addictive touch and toxic personality But eventually the burn in his side and hitch in his gait, evidence of the healing still needed, forced hi to put as much distance as he could between hiame, but a search for food he didn't really need couldn't prevent the rest of the story froes that neither wolf nor huht hiht up in what could never be left behind, no matter how fast he ran

He, Dylef, Sheba and her pups had settled on a rural piece of land in the foothills of Tennessee Rand didn't have a lot of funds, but Sheba and Dylef did, so they'd purchased a big rah to a town that Sylvan's pups, when they were old enough, would be able to attend the local school, learn about hu woods and wild spaces, most shifters knew familiarity and comfort with human society was critical to blend and have more resources to protect them

Rand had never developed that coh Dylef loved the human world, with its movie theaters, cocktail theme bars and art museums Rand teased him about it, but Dylef had talked hie his interest Rand hadn't found it as odious as he expected, but he stillDylef happy made Rand happy

To pull his weight financially, Rand did highway roadside er with the National Park Service He never failed to stir Rand's libido when he donned the park unifor that if he'd chosen to be a cop, Rand never would let him out of bed In response, Rand had fucked him within an inch of his life

Yeah, so Dylef had been surprised at the roughness, but his response had said he wanted more of that froht have eventually ended up at one of those toy stores Cai had flustered hi

They'd settled into that life for several years, and it was a nice life Dylef and he had a wing of the house with a lockout door that was never locked, except when he and Dylef needed privacy They didn't want Sylvan's young to stu way too curious about such things Then one day, Sheba came to have a heart-to-heart talk with him

"You were meant to be a pack leader, Rand What happened that day with Grey"

Sheba had dark eyes and shiny ebony hair She was tall and slender, and her as likewise light-bodied, long-legged and sleek, her fur a dark brown When she and Sylvan had hunted with the pack, she'd been the fleetest, the one et in front of a deer, dart in and cla the meal down

She was gentle with her pups, and a loving and firm matriarch to their family, set the brutal savagery she'd shohen they fought Grey She had the heart of a warrior She and Sylvan had been life mates Rand had no doubt she'd shed a waterfall of tears for hiotten away, she shared theest female he'd ever met