Cade by Mason Sabre

shakily. “Have you hunted tonight?”
    It took too much effort to vocalise anything, so he simply shook his head slowly instead, each breath more laboured than the last.
    “I’m going to find Stephen,” she said again, pulling her arm away from his weak grasp.
     
     
    It tore at Gemma to leave Cade. Even though it was going to just be moments, everything in her screamed that she should stay. She touched his forehead, his skin hot and clammy against the coolness of her hand. She studied his handsome face with a mixture of concern and longing in her chest. It looked pale and gaunt, as if he had just aged in front of her. She needed to stay with him. She needed to hold his hand and tell him that it was okay.
    Her mind was all over the place. It pictured everything possible that could be happening to him and landed on the worst—that the boy would drain Cade and take him down with him. That’s what was happening, she was sure. She couldn’t lose him now. Not now. Not when he had finally started to show some interest in her as a woman. She had waited so long for him to stop seeing her as a little sister. It seemed like she had been in love with him forever. The way he had looked at her tonight when she had shifted … She shuddered. She had lain awake for so many nights, just dreaming of him looking at her like that.
    The need to touch him was so … so wolf, not tiger at all. But it was there, and she couldn’t deny it. She swallowed down her tears and the fear that had constricted her chest. “I’ll be as fast as I can,” she whispered. “Please hold on.” She barely resisted the urge to kiss his mouth. Reluctantly, she pulled herself up and ran down the hallway, almost slipping down the stairs as she raced down them. She flew through to the kitchen and out the back door, her heart a beating drum in her chest. Where the hell was Stephen?
    She almost sobbed in relief when she saw Stephen strolling back along the makeshift path, clutching two squirming rabbits tightly in his big hands. When he saw Gemma, concern instantly crossed his features, and he picked up his pace as she ran to him.
    “We need those quickly,” she shouted. “What took you so long?”
    “I was like ten minutes.” He frowned. “Is something wrong?”
    “The boy,” she rasped. Her throat was tight from trying to keep in her sobs. “He’s making Cade sick.”
    Stephen was already racing into the house, Gemma close on his heel.
     
     
    How much time had passed, Cade didn’t know. He heard footsteps from far away, and he tried to focus his attention on them. They faded in and out and he started to think that maybe he was just imagining them—everything around him was shrouded in darkness.  His head fell to the side as big hands suddenly shook him. There was a buzz in his head, and he realised somebody was talking to him, but he couldn’t quite grasp what it was they were saying.
    What did it matter? What did anything matter? He’d ruined everything. His life, his family’s life. He’d ruined himself and the poor boy outside. He’d killed him. He’d killed his mother, too. Cade gasped, the pain of the thoughts flooding him in agonising waves. Were these his thoughts? His mother wasn’t dead, so none of it made any sense. He fought through havoc in his head, pushing it all away.
    The rich smell of fresh meat hit Cade’s senses with force “Eat,” someone instructed, but the voice and command were difficult to follow. “Open your mouth.” He swallowed, then slowly did as he was told. Something was shoved between his lips—warm, rich, succulent. He could hear the racing heart of whatever it was. Closing his jaws, his teeth pierced fur and flesh, the taste of blood in his mouth making him groan in pleasure as he set to ripping away the flesh.
    “Cade,” someone yelled. “Cade. Open your eyes.” The sound was familiar, yet he couldn’t quite understand. “Open your eyes, Cade,” they repeated. He tried, his eyelids