Chapter 29

Caturix had made his way to Shemika’s place under the cover of night, when the moon was high and the pack was either hunting or mating. He’d knocked on her door over and over, but she never answered, not even a muffled, “Leave me alone.” After a while, he’d had no choice but to retreat to his own place, before whoever was keeping an eye on her reported him to Lyosha. He was desperate to get his picture back—the one that had slipped from his pocket when he’d left in such a hurry—but Shemika wouldn’t open the door.

It was as if she wasn't there, but Caturix was almost sure she was. He knew she'd returned to her room after their encounter and her scent was still faintly lingering around the door. She’d gone in, and hadn’t come out since. He tried again the next morning but was met with the same silence.

So he spent the day as he had the day before, but this time his punches landed harder and his mood grew darker and more brooding. By the time night fell, he was on the edge.

Maybe it was the condition of the men he’d left in their cells, or maybe it was the nearly two days he’d spent without his woman. His associate. His female associate. Caturix was about to turn the corner leading to Shemika’s room when he quickly pulled back.

There was a man stationed right next to the door, leaning against the wall as if he’d been there for hours. He muttered a curse under his breath.

Even if he didn’t take Shemika again, he still wanted to see her, to look into those amber eyes. He told himself he just wanted the photo, which was partly true. The photo he’d dropped was irreplaceable. He didn’t have a copy, but seeing Shemika was priceless in its own way. Caturix slipped out of the building and made his way around to her window where he tapped on the glass, hoping she was awake at such a late hour.

He waited a few minutes before tapping again. Shemika didn’t respond, but he could see the light was on through the blinds and a shadow moving around inside, so he kept tapping, hoping to annoy her into letting him in.

She didn’t open it. She was probably mad at him for how he’d reacted to her trying to lie on his chest, and for how he’d avoided looking at her in the hallway. From her perspective, the moment they’d locked eyes, Caturix had rejected her and stormed off. But in reality, he’d seen her first and had watched her intently until she’d noticed him. Caturix kept tapping, contemplating breaking the glass, but he knew Shemika’s guards would be on him in seconds.

Finally, the blinds opened to reveal…her. The object of his desire. She was wearing a tiny purple tank top and matching shorts, barely covering her voluptuous curves, just enough to stir his senses. His eyes roamed over her quickly, up and down, hungrily taking her in as if they’d been apart for weeks instead of just under two days.

Caturix motioned for her to open the window and let him in…but she didn’t. Shemika shook her head, her disheveled golden curls bouncing around her delicate shoulders.

He started to say something but remembered that each room was soundproof for lycan privacy, for their wild lovemaking and all that. His lips pressed together in annoyance. He mouthed, “Open the window.” He wanted the photo at least, but he wouldn’t put up with her defiant attitude.

Shemika shook her head again and mouthed, “No,” back at him. She added something else, but he couldn’t quite make it out.

They went back and forth and Caturix grew more and more irritated. He opened his mouth to make a threat or something, but his words died in his throat as he looked her over again.

He noticed she looked a bit different. Her skin was flushed and her eyes weren’t wide. They were half-closed, as if she was tired from lack of sleep. Her legs were shaking as if they could barely support her weight.

Caturix’s heart started to race as his worries mounted. Was she not taking care of herself? Was she sick? Malnourished? She looked feverish, with those rosy cheeks. “Open it now,” he mouthed when her eyes finally met his again. He couldn’t even hold her attention, as if her mind was clouded with illness.

Shemika, once again, shook her head. She repeated the same thing he didn’t understand.

He wanted to smash the damn window.

Fine, if she didn’t want him to sleep with her, that was fine. If she didn’t want him to nurse her back to health, that was fine too. He didn’t even want to. They weren’t a couple. She could get better on her own. But what if she couldn’t stand long enough to make herself food?

Well, that was her problem.

What if she got so weak she couldn’t get her own water?

Whatever, he didn’t care. He still needed his photo from her. “My picture,” he mouthed.

She tilted her head in confusion.

He made a motion with his hands to show the size and shape of the lost photo. “My picture,” he repeated.

Shemika’s perfect mouth formed an “oh” as she nodded in understanding. She moved around the room to her dresser across from her bed and picked up a small piece of paper from the top. It was the photo he’d dropped.

She walked back to the window and held it up to him, as if asking if it was his.

Of course it was his, who else would be visiting her room? He thought angrily, wanting to punch the window in frustration. Caturix nodded and gestured to the window latch for her to open it.

Shemika moved toward him and absentmindedly unlocked the window.

He pushed the glass open as soon as it was unlocked and reached for the photo, planning to leave immediately, but he stopped mid-step.

“You’re in heat,” he observed, his jaw clenched.

Shemika’s eyes widened in realization at what she’d just mindlessly done as she slowly nodded. “I kept saying that,” she told him.

So that was what she’d been trying to tell him, the thing he hadn’t understood.

~Damn~.