like they were made of smog and it was noticeably dimmer. The light left a warm, satiny gold blanket across the floor, as if the sun was fighting against being puffed out like a flame.
“Maybe not, Kane, but when you talk it calms me down. Please don’t stop; I really want to know more about you.”
“I’ve never told anyone this,” he began.
She snorted. “Who am I going to tell? Really, Kane. Think of me as your confessional, because you have zero chance of this ever getting out. Was she adopted?”
“No, I was. They were human.”
Caroline sat up and gave him a pensive stare. “What?” she almost gasped. “You were raised by humans?”
Might as well have been wolves , he thought to himself. They were genetically different. Kane hadn’t experienced what his body was truly capable of, nor learned how to refine those abilities at an early age. As a result, it became a detriment to him. It was like being born a thoroughbred and living in a confined pen until you were mature. No one had taught him how to harness his skills, so he’d been running wildly out of control while the others stayed on course at a steady pace.
“Yeah, my parents were human,” he said, trying to avoid her inquisitive eyes.
At some point, Caroline had inched closer to him. Most women looked at him with desire, but she looked at him in a completely new way that he wasn’t comfortable with accepting. It was invasive and personal.
“What happened to your real parents?”
Kane made a frown that was the equivalent of a shrug. “That’s something I’ll never have an answer to. I was always different, and my dad figured it out early on. It wasn’t until high school when I found out just how different I was from everyone else. By then, I’d stopped touching people because of a few bad experiences I’d had with a couple of girls I dated.”
“Why would that be bad?” she wondered aloud.
He quirked a brow. “I’d never felt sexual desire directly from another person and it scared the shit out of me. One girl was a little more experienced than I thought, and when I touched her neck during our first kiss, she was definitely thinking about someone else.”
“Slut,” Caroline muttered.
Kane tried unsuccessfully to contain his smirk.
“Another time, we were planning a garage sale and everyone was digging through the house to find old junk we didn’t need anymore. I went through my mom’s cedar chest and found a small blanket. The minute I touched that thing…” Kane pressed his lips tightly together and Caroline turned his chin to look at her.
“Tell me,” she said.
“My abilities amped up. You know how strong death is. It clings.”
She nodded, no longer sitting up but lying against his chest with her ear pressed over his anxious heart.
“I accidentally touched a drop of blood on the blanket and experienced the residual pain of my birth mother’s death. I confronted my mom and it was one fucked up conversation. She always knew something was odd about me, and when I told her about my ability, she didn’t hide the lie anymore. My mom still doesn’t know about our world; most humans can’t wrap their heads around the fact that supernaturals exist. I didn’t even know this world existed until much later. Anyhow, my explanation only confused her. But she was open with me and confessed everything about my birth. Maybe it was the guilt of carrying the secret for so many years.”
This was harder to talk about than he expected. Most Breed didn’t associate with humans unless they had to, but Kane didn’t share that mindset. He didn’t see them as that much different outside of a few extra abilities the Breed had. Yet, something as simple as his upbringing had made his life so damn complicated.
“Don’t stop, Kane. Tell me what happened.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly and before he knew it, he was telling her a story that no one else had ever been privy to.
“Around the time I was born, my dad—the man
“Maybe not, Kane, but when you talk it calms me down. Please don’t stop; I really want to know more about you.”
“I’ve never told anyone this,” he began.
She snorted. “Who am I going to tell? Really, Kane. Think of me as your confessional, because you have zero chance of this ever getting out. Was she adopted?”
“No, I was. They were human.”
Caroline sat up and gave him a pensive stare. “What?” she almost gasped. “You were raised by humans?”
Might as well have been wolves , he thought to himself. They were genetically different. Kane hadn’t experienced what his body was truly capable of, nor learned how to refine those abilities at an early age. As a result, it became a detriment to him. It was like being born a thoroughbred and living in a confined pen until you were mature. No one had taught him how to harness his skills, so he’d been running wildly out of control while the others stayed on course at a steady pace.
“Yeah, my parents were human,” he said, trying to avoid her inquisitive eyes.
At some point, Caroline had inched closer to him. Most women looked at him with desire, but she looked at him in a completely new way that he wasn’t comfortable with accepting. It was invasive and personal.
“What happened to your real parents?”
Kane made a frown that was the equivalent of a shrug. “That’s something I’ll never have an answer to. I was always different, and my dad figured it out early on. It wasn’t until high school when I found out just how different I was from everyone else. By then, I’d stopped touching people because of a few bad experiences I’d had with a couple of girls I dated.”
“Why would that be bad?” she wondered aloud.
He quirked a brow. “I’d never felt sexual desire directly from another person and it scared the shit out of me. One girl was a little more experienced than I thought, and when I touched her neck during our first kiss, she was definitely thinking about someone else.”
“Slut,” Caroline muttered.
Kane tried unsuccessfully to contain his smirk.
“Another time, we were planning a garage sale and everyone was digging through the house to find old junk we didn’t need anymore. I went through my mom’s cedar chest and found a small blanket. The minute I touched that thing…” Kane pressed his lips tightly together and Caroline turned his chin to look at her.
“Tell me,” she said.
“My abilities amped up. You know how strong death is. It clings.”
She nodded, no longer sitting up but lying against his chest with her ear pressed over his anxious heart.
“I accidentally touched a drop of blood on the blanket and experienced the residual pain of my birth mother’s death. I confronted my mom and it was one fucked up conversation. She always knew something was odd about me, and when I told her about my ability, she didn’t hide the lie anymore. My mom still doesn’t know about our world; most humans can’t wrap their heads around the fact that supernaturals exist. I didn’t even know this world existed until much later. Anyhow, my explanation only confused her. But she was open with me and confessed everything about my birth. Maybe it was the guilt of carrying the secret for so many years.”
This was harder to talk about than he expected. Most Breed didn’t associate with humans unless they had to, but Kane didn’t share that mindset. He didn’t see them as that much different outside of a few extra abilities the Breed had. Yet, something as simple as his upbringing had made his life so damn complicated.
“Don’t stop, Kane. Tell me what happened.” She squeezed his hand reassuringly and before he knew it, he was telling her a story that no one else had ever been privy to.
“Around the time I was born, my dad—the man
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