Bane of Tenebris (Wolfgods Book 2) by Blaise Ramsay (i love reading books txt) 📕

see you again, I’ll kick your blood loving ass.” Damien shoved Bard away.

The black lycan stepped away, holding his injured claw. Gabriel, Lune and Cade all formed up behind Damien. Kain rose to his feet, careful to keep his face hidden but still ready to back his fellow lycans.

Bard snarled, ordering what remained of his werewolves to back down. His eyes met Kain before laughing and fleeing into the woods.

Kain watched Damien turn to face him. The light around him faded to a manageable level so Kain could stare at him.

Damien shifted back, his eyes locked on the fresh wounds on Kain’s face.

The look in the lycan alpha’s eyes was unmistakable. Damien wanted to talk.

Due to the night’s events, the First Moon event had to be canceled. The lycans spent hours taking care of the remaining visitors from neighboring packs. Not many had been killed or injured in the scuffle.

“Damien, that was incredible,” Gabriel said, while the lycans walked back to the Woods Edge.

Damien didn’t reply. His fists at his side told Kain he was clearly upset.

Tala ran up to Kain and reached up to touch his face.

He stopped her, shaking his head and asked for a gauze pad from the first aid kit in his car.

Damien met Jill and hugged his pups. He motioned to Kain to follow him.

Kain took the gauze Tala handed him and followed his friend until they were out of listening distance.

“Talk,” Damien demanded.

Kain sighed, leaning against a nearby tree, holding the gauze to his face. “It is true. I trained Bard, but it was many moons ago.”

“And you think this wasn’t important enough to tell me sooner?”

“There are many things about my past I have yet to share. As I am sure there are some things you have yet to tell me. Damien, this is not the time. Bard is injured. We need to focus on finding a way to stop this.”

Damien whipped around. His lips drew up around his fangs. “What about your face, then? What did you do, Kain?”

Kain explained the deal he made with Tenebris. How he believed protecting Damien was more important than his previous chosen. However, Kain refrained from mentioning the encounter with the goddess. “Damien, all I have ever asked is for you to trust me. It is all I ask now, brother. Please.”

Damien’s eyes softened. “I know, Kain. I know I need to trust you and I know I shouldn’t demand for you to tell me about your past. I just wish you would trust me with more of it. Promise me you won’t do anything reckless. That you’ll come to me.”

Kain took Damien’s hand in a firm shake. “I promise.”

Damien embraced Kain. The gesture saying more than any words. Worry, concern, fear and love flowed into Kain the longer Damien held him. It was something not even Kain’s siblings gave him when he was younger.

Damien meant more to Kain than many of the lycans he knew. No matter what it took, Kain would keep him and his mate safe, even if it cost Kain his life.

Chapter Twelve

The morning following the disaster at the Wood’s Edge, Kain received a rather unwelcome visit in his dreams. Kain wondered if the injury Damien had inflicted upon Bard had something to do with it.

“I am in no mood to entertain your company.” Kain felt the heavy claws on his shoulders squeezing his flesh.

“To my greatest regret, my soldier, you never are.” The god folded his leathery wings around Kain’s upper body. The gesture took on an air of protection. “Why continue this fight? Be mine, Alexander. Serve me.”

It appeared as if Barghast was pleading. Something Kain had never seen or expected of the god during their time together. Kain shoved the god’s claws off.

“Enough. I am not your soldier. I will never serve you nor accept any gift you may want to give.”

The dark god’s chuckle held a sense of malice and surprisingly, sadness. His burning red eyes closed to tiny slits. “You will be mine, Alexander. The precious Purifier you seem to care for cannot save you. Make whatever deal with whatever goddess you wish but your soul is mine.”

A feeling of terror flooded over Kain. He didn’t know how the dark god knew of his encounter with the goddess, but the pledge Barghast made caused Kain’s stomach to churn. He had thought to ask why Barghast wanted him so desperately and why he’d become so hellbent on Kain serving him.

Before Kain ventured to ask, he found himself alone in the black plane.

Kain opened his eyes to find he was still in bed. He was so upset after the Wood’s Edge that he and Tala went on a hunt during the wee hours of the morning.

Tala lay asleep next to him. The gentle breath coming from her helped Kain calm down after his encounter with Barghast. He smiled, caressing the exposed skin of her side down to her thigh where the bedsheet fell to her knee.

She smiled in her sleep, purring and nuzzling deeper into the soft sheets.

To avoid waking her, Kain slipped out of the bed, put on his jeans and left the bedroom to go downstairs.

A gentle rain began pattering over the landscape, echoing in the vivid green made more prominent by the light of the sky. A fresh scent greeted Kain as he stepped out onto the front porch. Its cooling touch upon his senses eased the flames of the dark god’s glare.

“Morning, Kain,” Damien said and took a drink of his coffee. His eyes were locked on the landscape with his brow furrowed in agitation.

The intense focus Damien had in his eyes and the nervous tapping of his foot gave Kain the idea the young lycan had something on his mind.

“Morning, Damien,” he responded. “Mind telling me what it is you’re thinking about?”

After placing his empty coffee mug on the table, Damien sat down on the top stair of the porch, motioning for Kain