Page 38 of The Night Burning

I picked at the food—delicious medium rare steak with a creamy butter sauce and au gratin potatoes—and waited for Raika.

Where the hell was she?

At first, I was mad at her. Disappointed.

She didn’t trust me. What had she thought I would do if she told me she had magic she didn’t understand? Leave her? Lock her away?

But as the clock ticked away, my feelings seemed less jumbled, and a little reason made itself known.

I hadn’t been straightforward with her about my curse. Looking back, I wasn’t sure when I would have told her about my Shadow Wolf, if things had been different, if I had been able to save the pack well before or after the full moon.

Eventually, I would've had to tell her.

But I had been concerned about her reaction. She already mistrusted me. She thought I had abandoned her and the pack. She thought I hated her. I was afraid that if I told her, she would push me away.

I understood now.

I cursed under my breath and stared at the bedroom’s double door, willing it to open and for her to enter. She was probably upset with me now too. Maybe she needed time to calm down.

I sat in bed, picked up my phone, which didn’t work down here, and waited.

Next thing I knew, I woke up, twisted in an awkward position, my neck hurting. I glanced at my phone. It was freaking four in the morning … and Raika wasn’t here.

I bolted from bed, now truly worried.

Where was she?

I walked in the hallway and the same half-demon who brought dinner last night appeared from the shadows.

“Can I help you, Mr. Shane?” he asked, his voice too bright for the middle of the night.

“My mate, Raika, where is she?”

“In the library, sir.”

Of course. “Where is the library?”

“I’ll take you there.” The half-demon took me through more dark corridors past silver-framed mirrors and creepy decorations. We went down two floors, turned into several other hallways, until he stopped before half-closed doors. “In here.”

“Thank you,” I said, pushing one of the door panels open.

At first, I didn’t see anything, just the impressively large library. If Raika was in here, it could take weeks for me to find her. If she wanted to leave. This place was paradise to her, and since she was probably still mad at me, she might prefer staying here.

But I didn’t need to worry. Raika was on one of the large leather couches right in the library’s center, slouched over the couch’s arm, a heavy leather bound book in her lap.

I picked up the book, put it on another couch, and sat down beside her. I wanted to wake her up, but I also didn’t. She looked so peaceful, her luscious hair fanning around her like a black halo, her skin smooth and radiant, and her lips so plump. She was pretty and pure. There was no one better than her. I knew that just as I knew my love for her would endure anything. It would go on forever, even after we parted from this life.

And I had made her feel bad about her heritage when she couldn’t even control it. I had been a jerk and I couldn’t take that back.

But I could make it up to her.

I glanced around and found a big wicker basket between the couches with blankets. As gently as I could, I adjusted her body so she was lying on the couch and placed the blanket over her.

Then I settled back on the far end of the couch and watched over her while she rested.

“Shane?”

I blinked, realizing I had fallen asleep too. I sat upright, my neck hurting a little more now, and saw Raika staring at me, her expression guarded.