Page 7 of Kept
By the time he’d stalked up out of the basement, that scent was threaded thick through his house, mouthwatering. It turned the air electric. It shouldn’t have made him this hungry. This intrigued.
In the hall, he paused, breathing in the details. The scent was everywhere, bright and raw and tempting as sin. Kade followed it, senses open wide.
In the living room, he trailed his hand over the window sill, noticing how the dust was swept in a narrow pattern—not knocked wide, just shifted near the edge. No broken glass. No carelessness. Just quiet, deliberate movement.
Sneaky little thing.
Kade couldn’t help the rough edge of pride that crept into his chest. Most people would piss themselves at the thought of even crossing his yard tonight. Whoever this intruder was, he’d slipped inside, moving soft, leaving only faint marks in the dark.
Desperate, or crazy—but not stupid.
Kade drew in a deep breath and let it fill his chest. The fear was fresh and sharp, but under that, something warmer, somethingthat made Kade want to bite and cradle all at once. Not pack, not a rival: not even wolf.
He was dealing with ahuman.
He almost felt a kind of respect. It was suicidal, maybe, but there was a twisted bravery here. The kid had guts. Maybe he even deserved the chance to show what he was made of, if he survived.
He took the stairs, stalking his prey now, letting every instinct sharpen. The trail led to the end of the hall, straight to his bedroom. Not a place for hiding, unless you wanted to be found…
He stopped, hand tight around the knob. His pulse thudded steady, a hook of anticipation tugging under his ribs. He’d expected a fight or a mess, but this trespasser felt like something else.
What do you want, kid? Shelter from the monsters out there—or are you looking for the monster in here?
Kade let a grin slide over his teeth, rough and wolfish, then pushed open the door, ready to see exactly how far this brave little human would go.
The door swung open, and the sight of what was inside hit Kade like a punch to the gut.
Perched on the edge of his bed, small and trembling, was everything his wolf had been craving.
4
The kidon his bed was curled up like he still might bolt. Too-skinny legs drawn up, knees pressed together. Shoulders hunched forward, creating a curve of spine that spoke of years learning to make himself smaller. His fists were knotted tight in the sheets—Kade’ssheets, the ones that still carried yesterday's sweat, last night's restless dreams. Not shaking, not exactly, but vibrating with something. Like a guitar string plucked and left to hum.
Brown hair tousled like he'd run through wind, or worse. Like hands had been in it. Like he'd been grabbed. The thought made Kade's jaw clench.
Those eyes, though. Big, wide, the color of whiskey in firelight. Locked right on Kade like he was both salvation and executioner.
Christ. That face.
He was grown, but couldn't be older than twenty. Pale skin flushed pink at the cheekbones, at the throat where his pulse jumped visibly. Wired tight with fear that rolled off him in waves.
But not just fear. Something else floated in the air, thick enough to taste. It hit Kade the second he crossed the threshold, wrapped around his lungs and squeezed.
His scent. Panic was at the surface, sharp and acrid, but beneath it: need. Raw, unprocessed. Real.
The bone-deep kind that came from being alone too long. From wanting to be held down by something stronger until the world stopped spinning.
Kade felt it in his teeth first, that ache in his canines like they wanted to drop. In his gut, low and hot. The wolf inside him lifted its head, ears pricked forward, suddenly awake in a way it hadn't been in months.
This wasn't prey. Not quite. Prey ran. Prey didn't climb through windows and curl up in beds that reeked of alpha wolf. Prey didn't look at you with those eyes, equal parts terror and hope.
Mine, the wolf whispered from somewhere behind his ribs. Not yet. But close.
So fucking close he could taste it.
The kid sat perfectly still on the bed. Kade could see the effort it took not to shift, not to crawl backward into the corner where the walls would guard his back. Every muscle in that too-thin body was locked, fighting instinct. But he didn't move. Just sat there, knuckles white on the sheets like a lifeline, like if he let go he'd float away.
Hunger pooled low in Kade's gut, spreading thick and dark through his veins. His cock responded, swelling with the warm promise of everything this could turn into.
