The Finding (43 page)

Ryne lounged
languidly against the door frame, his thumbs hooked in his belt
loops, looking totally bored while Kane paced the room, giving
orders in what was probably supposed to be a helpful manner. Bryan
suspected it was just making Cassie even more tense because it
certainly was doing that to him. He gritted his teeth and clenched
his fists, biting back the comment that hovered on the tip of his
tongue.

“Cassandra you
need to concentrate and stay focussed. Build a clear mental picture
in your mind of the far side of the room. Picture the lamp, the
texture of the wall paper, the feel of the carpeting beneath your
feet. Gather your personal energy into a ball inside you, then let
it expand and reach out into the space around you...” Kane’s voice
droned on and on.

Bryan closed
his eyes and tried to ignore the dull throbbing in his head. Each
word Kane spoke was like hammer beating against his brain over and
over and over... He inhaled deeply and tried counting to ten.

“Dammit, I’ve
done that so many times, I think I’m going to puke. It isn’t
working. Now will you please just shut up!” Cassie threw her hands
up in despair and glared at Kane. The Alpha stood frozen in place,
an expression of stunned surprise on his face.

For a moment
the whole room was silent, even Cassie appearing shocked at her
outburst before the outrage drained from her body and she seemed to
shrink into herself. The flush left her cheeks, leaving her face
pale; her eyes dark orbs staring at the powerful man before her.
She pushed her hair from her face, then tucked her hands in her
back pockets. Giving an apologetic shrug, she licked her lips in a
nervous fashion and dropped her gaze to the floor before
speaking.

“I...I’m sorry.
It’s just that—”

A slow clapping
came from Ryne’s direction and they all looked towards him. He’d
pushed himself away from the door and walked towards Cassie with a
crooked grin on his face. “Good for you, girl. If you hadn’t said
it, I was going to.” He gave her a playful punch on the shoulder
before sauntering over to grab a handful of peanuts from the
selection of snacks on the small table in the corner.

Cassie appeared
flabbergasted by the comment and looked at Bryan obviously
uncertain about what to do. In some strange way, he found it
incredibly easy to interpret what she was feeling. She was
surprised at her own actions and Ryne’s as well, and on some level
her wolf was berating her for having mouthed off to an Alpha. That
was a definite no-no in wolf society and retribution would normally
be swift and severe.

He walked over
to her while struggling to keep his face bland, his own feelings
about what had just happened firmly in check. As Beta, his job was
to enforce, support, and protect. While Cassie likely didn’t need
protecting—Kane might be ticked off, but he’d not attack the
girl—she definitely needed support. Putting a hand on her shoulder,
he whispered words of encouragement to her. “You just impressed
your new Alpha and let me tell you Ryne is hard to impress. Way to
go.”

Kane glowered
at all three of them and opened his mouth, most likely to protest,
but the door opened at that moment and Elise walked into the
room.

“Hi! How’s it
going?” She’d stopped by earlier to see what they were up to, but
then had left to visit with Mel.

“We’re still
trying to teach Cassie to teleport.” Kane answered stiffly.

“Except your
mate is being a pain in the ass and acting like he’s an expert.”
Ryne added, a devilish glint in his eye.

Elise raised
her eyebrows and seemed to be biting back a smile. “So what else is
new?” She casually walked over to Kane and kissed his cheek.

“Elise, you’re
developing an attitude—” Kane growled a warning.

“Oh hush. I
know how you can get sometimes. You mean well, but you can be so
stuffy.” Elise patted his shoulder and turned to Cassie. “From the
emotional atmosphere in the room, I’m assuming Kane is irritating
everyone, isn’t he?”

“Well...”
Cassie blinked and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“He was just trying to help...”

“You don’t need
to defend him Cassie,” Ryne leaned against the dresser and stuck
his legs out crossing them at the ankle. He appeared immensely
pleased with the turn of events.

Kane’s face
darkened for a minute, then he sighed and pushed his fingers
through his hair. “Was I getting that bad?” He looked around
somewhat sheepishly.

“Yes.” Bryan
decided it was time to call a spade a spade. “Repeating the same
instruction to her twenty times isn’t going to help. You’re just
making Cassie more nervous and that increases the level of
difficulty. From what you said she needs to be relaxed in order to
be successful.”

Kane grunted in
acknowledgement. “Okay. I get your point.” He looked at Cassie and
gave a crooked smile. “Sorry.”

Cassie visibly
relaxed and smiled back. “It wasn’t all a waste of time. The
instructions were helpful...the first time you said them.”

“The first
time, hmm?” Kane cocked his head and studied Cassie. “But not the
next nineteen?”

Cassie shook
her head and flushed. Everyone chuckled.

“Okay. I guess
I’ve done my part then.”

Elise grabbed
Kane’s arm, tugging lightly on it. “Good. If you’re done here, we
can spend some quality time together; that was supposed to be one
of the reasons for this trip after all, wasn’t it? Oh, and John’s
phoned twice, and Jacob wants to tell you about his loose
tooth.”

Kane looked
down at her frowning. “This is supposed to be a vacation for you,
but this is the second time you’ve been on the phone talking to the
kids.”

“And you
haven’t snuck in a call to John about pack business? That’s not the
story he was telling me a few minutes ago when I talked to him.” A
slight flush appeared on Elise’s cheeks as if her temper was
starting to rise.

A muscle worked
in Kane’s jaw and his lips tightened into a flat line. Bryan
frowned sensing an undercurrent between the two of them. Was there
trouble in paradise?

Kane put his
hand in the small of Elise’s back, but she stepped away and left
the room. With a sigh, Kane followed. The room was silent after
they left, no doubt everyone trying to interpret what they’d just
witnessed.

Finally, Ryne
broke the silence. “Well, that was an interesting exchange, wasn’t
it? Still, it did my heart good to see Cassie take Kane down a peg.
He can get too full of himself sometimes.”

Bryan bit his
lip and resisted saying that the same thing applied to Ryne. It was
one of the hazards of being an Alpha, he supposed. Everyone was
always turning to you for advice, expecting you to make all the
major decisions; it was natural to start to think you were
omnipotent. At least Ryne wasn’t as inclined to that failing as
some pack leaders were.

“So what should
I try next?” Cassie brought Bryan’s attention back to the main
problem; teaching her to teleport on command.

“Perhaps, this
isn’t a good idea.” He began to express his doubts again. “You’re
still too new to all of this and—”

“At the moment
it’s our only course of action.” Ryne cut off his protests. He
frowned and stared around the room. “I’m no expert on this, but it
seems to me that teleporting across of small room isn’t the best
way to start. On some level her brain is probably telling her it’s
a dumb idea; why waste energy teleporting when you could walk over
there in two seconds?”

“That makes
sense.” Cassie’s face brightened. “I was sort of feeling that way.
Um...what if I tried going from this room to the bathroom?

Bryan nodded.
“And we’ll lock the door so you can’t just walk in.”

“Sounds like a
plan.” Ryne straightened from his perch on the edge of the dresser.
“Just one more thing. I’m leaving. Cassie doesn’t know me that well
and I sense some tension coming towards me.” He paused and looked
at Cassie, his brow slightly quirked.

She flushed and
stared at the floor, but said nothing. Bryan looked between the
two, rather impressed that Ryne had picked up on that; he wasn’t
always the most sensitive of men. And it was true, Cassie still
associated Ryne with the savage creature she’d first encountered. A
few hours in his company wouldn’t change a three year belief.

“Okay.” Bryan
nodded. “It makes sense to me. She needs to be relaxed for this to
work. Once she has the basics down, I’ll give you a call and you
can come back. Then we can practise having her teleport in less
ideal conditions.”

“Sounds like a
plan. I’ll go check on Mel and see how she’s feeling.” He walked
across the room, pausing briefly as he passed by Cassie to give her
hair a gentle tug. “You can do it, kid.” With that he moved to the
door, then stopped one more time. “And Bryan, if she needs to be
relaxed, a little sex might help.” He gave Bryan a wink and shut
the door.

Cassie looked
at Bryan, her mouth hanging open.

“See?” He
shrugged. “I told you he wasn’t such a bad guy.”

“Not such a...”
She sputtered. “He just suggested we...” Apparently she was
incapable of finishing her sentences.

He grinned at
her impishly, suddenly pulling her close, wrapping his arms around
her and nuzzling her neck. “Well, he’s right you know. Sex can be
very relaxing.”

She gave a
slight shiver and Bryan leaned back, watching her face, keeping his
own expression casually teasing. He was curious as to how she’d
respond. Twice now they’d almost kissed, but then stopped. Last
night in her backyard he’d let his scruples take over; they’d just
met and he was in a position of authority over her; it hadn’t
seemed right. And then this morning on the plane, having learned
they might already be connected, he’d been curious, but the pilot
had interrupted and he’d remembered they were in public...

But now, they
were alone. How did Cassie really feel? His hands rested lightly on
her back and he gently stroked her. A flash of hunger passed over
her, her eyes darkening, pupils widening. He could feel her heart
rate accelerate, her breathing hitch and his own responded in kind.
She pressed her hands against his chest, her fingers spreading,
caressing, testing the feel of him. Biting his lip, he stifled a
groan; the heat from her palms burned into him. There was stirring
in his groin as his own body reacted. He’d meant this as an
experiment, a bit of joke, but...

Her mouth
opened fractionally and the tip of her tongue snuck out, wetting
her lips. He felt himself leaning closer, sensed she was lifting
herself on her toes, her chin tilting upward as if reaching for him
and then... She stopped.

Instead of
caressing his chest, she was now pushing away. He loosened his arms
and she stepped back clearing her throat. “I...um...I think I
should keep practising my teleporting.”

He kept his own
disappointment in check and nodded, keeping his arms limp at his
side despite the fact that they ached to grab her and draw her
close once again. She kept her gaze fixed on him as she backed
towards the bathroom.

“I’ll
just...um...lock myself in here and see if I can pop myself back
into this room.” Her back was now pressed against the bathroom
door. She fumbled with the handle and then slipped inside. He heard
the lock snick into place and exhaled loudly, not realizing he’d
been holding his breath.

Sinking down
onto the bed, he propped himself against the headboard and
contemplated what had just happened. Ryne had been teasing—sort
of—when he suggested they have sex. And he had been teasing as
well—sort of—when he grabbed Cassie just now. Well, perhaps his
wolf hadn’t been teasing, but that was a different matter.

What was
curious was Cassie’s reaction. She’d wanted him and it hadn’t just
been the animal inside her. This time her eyes had been clear; she
was aware of what was going on. It excited him to think she
returned his interest and he
was
interested, he couldn’t
deny the fact any longer. Lying to oneself was a pointless
exercise.

Hmm... He
rubbed the back of his neck and considered his new pack mate.
Cassie had an exotic look about her with her warm skin tones and
long dark hair. Her full red lips begged to be kissed and he
remembered his own sliding over hers at the park, tasting,
nibbling... Swallowing hard, he thought of how expressive her eyes
could be; heavy lidded with desire, clouded with fear and doubt,
sparkling with mischief.

A smile crept
over his face as he recalled how she’d inadvertently put Kane in
his place. He suspected once she relaxed a bit, she’d be a bit of a
fire-cracker. The girl hadn’t had much chance for fun over the past
few years. Basically living hand to mouth, dealing with Kellen—the
man was a problem gambler and would likely try the patience of a
saint when his addiction got the better of him—Bryan shook his
head. Cassie’s life hadn’t been easy since she fled the Greyson
Estate. Yet she wasn’t whining and snivelling like a spoilt little
rich girl. She’d found a way to survive. And even now, when her
only real friend—her ‘pack mate’ as Kellen seemed to be—was messing
around with her life, she was still loyal to him.

He sighed and
crossed his arms behind his head. She’d be a great addition to the
pack and he’d enjoy tutoring her in the ways of their people. A
mischievous grin spread over his face as he contemplated how their
‘lessons’ might turn out. If she was indeed his predestined mate,
there really wasn’t anything he could do about it except accept his
fate. It wouldn’t be such a hardship, being mated to her...

A faint
disturbance in the air around him caught his attention and he sat
up expectantly staring at a spot near the bed. For a moment, he
could almost see Cassie standing beside him, but then the image
faded. He held his breath, holding back the impulse to call out her
name, to go see how she was. Breaking her concentration at this
time wouldn’t help.