be his girlfriend.”
Grinning, Kane ruffled Candace’s mop of red hair. “It’s hard to argue with logic like that,” he said, winking at her. Seeing that, some of the tightness eased off Lilly’s chest. Just some, but at least now she could breathe.
With children dancing around them as if they were some sort of pied pipers, they reached the main house. A knot settled low in Lilly’s stomach. She had zero practice with any kind of social situations. After all, the only interactions she’d had in the past fifteen years had been with her captor and the doctors who’d tortured her in the name of Sanctuary.
She felt as if she was about to take a blind leap off a cliff. Which she knew was foolish—this was only dinner, after all—but she couldn’t help herself.
“It’s going to be okay,” Kane murmured, his breath tickling her ear. “I promise.”
And then he pulled open the door and they went inside.
Her first impression was the chaos and the noise. A blur of activity—people and food and music—so much the swirl of energy overwhelmed her. She took a step back, forgetting Kane still had her hand engulfed in his.
“Come on.” Smiling in reassurance, he tugged her into the middle of the maelstrom. As she tried to hold back the rising tide of fear, the creature inside her raised its bruised and battered head and curled its lip in the beginnings of a snarl.
The beast. Her beast. No. Not now. Fear changed to horror, to panic, to terror. She froze as the thing within her stretched, flexing its claws, making a garbled, sorrowful song low in its battered throat.
All around her, in the middle of the noise, people began looking around, sniffing the air, as if they somehow sensed the struggle being waged inside her. Maybe they did, perhaps this was a Shifter thing, but she knew whatever the creature inside her might be, it wasn’t the same as theirs.
If she had her way, her beast would never again see the light of day. She’d vowed this, no matter the cost. She had to save the rest of the world from its awful vengeance, even if she had to die trying.
Kane turned to look at her, at the same time tightening his grip on her fingers. Something must have shown in her face. Using his body to block her from their sight, he shepherded her away from the others.
Chapter 5
“Come with me.” The deep rumble of his voice sent a shudder through her. She felt as if he’d tossed her an invisible lifeline. Grateful, she went where he led, ashamed of the way she clung to him, yet unable to do more than that.
Inside her, the creature still stirred, wary now.
He took her down a long, narrow hallway and into a small room that had apparently once been a bedroom but had been converted to a craft room/storage space/office. Once inside, he kicked the door closed behind him.
“Are you all right?” Cupping her face with his other hand, he tilted her chin up, making her look at him.
Cautiously, she took a deep breath. She’d been lying to everyone, including her twin brother, and she knew she couldn’t be truthful now, to Kane. She had no choice. He’d never understand. Whatever had been done to her had made her different than the rest of them. No one could help her deal with this. She had only herself and hoped to tap into some inner strength that so far had been conspicuously absent.
“I think so,” she managed, the answer to his question coming a heartbeat too late.
Hand warm under her chin, he studied her, his silver eyes missing nothing. Her entire body flushed. Slowly, moving her head, she gave him no choice but to let her go. Though their fingers were still linked, she backed away, putting just enough space between them so she could once again breathe.
“Are you going to tell me what that was?” he asked.
For a second, she considered feigning ignorance, but since it appeared that everyone in the room had sensed her internal battle, or some aspect of it, she knew this would be futile. “I’d rather not. At least not right now.”
Eyes narrowing, he nodded. “Are you going to be all right to rejoin my family?”
For now, her beast had gone quiet again. She didn’t know what had set the monster off; whatever triggered it seemed to follow no pattern that Lilly could see.
“I think so.” She tried for a smile, partially succeeding.
“Good.” Opening the door, he led her back down the hallway toward the kitchen.
The organized chaos stilled the moment they reappeared. Kane broke the awkward silence by sniffing and grinning as he made a broad gesture toward the pots simmering on the stove. “Something sure smells good. What’s cooking?”
Just like that, everyone went back to what they’d been doing. Bemused, no longer terrified of them, though she wasn’t sure why, Lilly let Kane tug her along by the hand, while he joked and teased his family.
“Go ahead and get seated,” the elder Mrs. McGraw ordered, already bustling from the kitchen to the dining room, carrying steaming bowls of food. She wore a brightly colored apron and her plump hands were adorned with rings, one on every finger.
Judging from the scents wafting from the bowls, she’d made some kind of roast, along with vegetables, and homemade bread. Lilly’s mouth began to water.
Everyone seemed to rush at once to take their seats at a long table. Lilly stopped counting at twelve chairs, amazed as she realized there was another table set up for the kids.
“Here you go.” Kane pulled out a chair for her. Once she’d taken her seat, he dropped into the one next to her. Someone to his left good-naturedly jostled him, almost causing him to knock over his water glass. He saved it with another grin.
Once everyone had taken a seat, they began passing around the bowls. Lilly had never seen so much food in her life. Amazed, she accepted one bowl after another, spooning a little on to her plate, afraid she might offend Kane’s mother if she didn’t sample everything.
Watching, she noticed no one started eating. Apparently they were waiting until everyone had gotten everything. She waited, as well, even though she felt hollow from hunger.
Finally, Kane’s father stood and tapped on his glass with his knife. He flashed a friendly smile at her before glancing around the table. “Today, in honor of Kane’s guest, I’d like to say a little prayer.”
At his words, everyone bowed their heads. Confused, Lilly glanced at Kane, only to realize he too had closed his eyes and dropped his chin.
Unnerved, she also bowed her head, though she kept her eyes open so she could watch Kane through her lashes.
“Higher power, we thank thee for your blessings. This food, our company, the love we have for one another and, finally, our good health. In your name, we salute the earth, the sun, the stars and the moon.”
The moon? She frowned, thinking of the kind of prayers Jacob Gideon and his followers had prayed with such fervor. They’d invoked a lot of retribution and hellfire, and nothing about thankfulness or love. Then and there, she decided Sanctuary and Kane’s family didn’t share the same God.
Once
