It didn’t matter that he logically understood Cassie was unharmed. Or that there didn’t appear to be any immediate danger. The beast inside him wasn’t going to be satisfied until those who dared attack his female were destroyed.
“No, I mean he disappeared, disappeared,” she said. “Poof.”
He frowned. Had the witch managed to befuddle Cassie long enough to make it seem as if they’d disappeared?
“That’s impossible.”
She shrugged. “Then he has made himself and his companions invisible.” She sent him a challenging glance. “Is that more possible?”
“The witch . . . ?”
“No, it was the vampire,” she stubbornly insisted. “He grabbed an amulet that was hanging around his neck and they all vanished.”
Christ. His head throbbed as he tried to accept the nasty leech could not only shape-shift, but could appear and disappear in the blink of an eye.
Just. Freaking. Perfect.
“The entire world has gone mad,” he muttered.
Cassie patted his shoulder. “Yes.”
“Are you humoring me?”
“Yes.”
Caine swallowed a sigh, too weak to conjure the proper outrage. In fact, it was taking everything he had just to put one foot in front of the other.
He clenched his teeth as they slowly made their way to the end of the tunnel, but glancing up at the opening, he was forced to concede defeat. There was no way in hell he was going to be able to leap five feet in the air.
“I can’t get out until I rest,” he grudgingly admitted.
Cassie moved so he could lean against the side of the tunnel, her expression one of calm determination. “I’ll go up first and pull you out.”
He scowled. “It’s supposed to be the other way around.”
“Why? Because you’re the male?”
“Exactly.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sexist dog.”
It was an accusation that had never been thrown Caine’s way before. Even when he was a cur he’d preferred women who were strong and independent, with a dangerous edge. Nothing kept a man on his toes like bedding a woman who might rip out your throat if you pissed her off.
But with Cassie . . .
He wanted to become the worse sort of cliché.
He wanted to build a perfect lair where she would be safe and warm and so comfortable she would never leave.
He wanted to hunt for their food and then stand guard, offering protection as she eased her hunger.
He wanted to hold her in his arms as she slept, feeling her soft breath on his neck and her heart beating steadily beneath his hand.
“I like having you depend on me,” he muttered.
She smiled, moving to place a gentle kiss on his lips. “Partners depend on each other.”
“Partners,” he breathed, ignoring just how perilously close the word sounded to mates.