“Give it up.” Cassie laughed. “Though I have to give him credit: He doesn’t look like he’s aged a day in the last ten years. You know, he was voted one of the world’s most eligible bachelors last month on one of those society shows I saw on television.”
Dawn clenched her teeth. She didn’t need to know that. At the very mention of Seth’s name her entire body seemed to respond. Her flesh felt more sensitive, her tongue itched and the tiny hairs along her body lifted almost sensually.
And fear knotted her stomach.
She knew what Seth Lawrence was to her, and to her body. She also knew what he was to her mind. He could break her like nothing that had ever happened in the past.
“I don’t want to talk about Seth, Cassie.” She rose from the bed and moved to the closet, where she pulled out her uniform for the day. Snug black mission pants and a matching tank top.
“You never want to talk about Seth,” Cassie said then. “He asks about you though. Every time he sees me he asks how you’re doing.”
Dawn froze. Cassie always knew more than others. She saw or sensed things no one else could.
“And what do you tell him?” she asked almost fearfully.
“I usually tell him the same thing. You haven’t awoken yet.”
“You tell him I’m asleep?” She turned back to the child incredulously.
“I tell him you haven’t awoken yet,” she repeated, a mysterious smile playing about her lips. “It’s enough for him.”
“And what did you tell him this time?” Dawn tilted her head, not certain why she asked. Cassie watched her for long seconds before answering.
“This time, I told him I was certain you would be awake soon.” She frowned and looked down at her hot chocolate. “Sometimes though, it doesn’t matter if you wake up, does it?”
She shrugged her thin shoulders before giving her head a shake and sipping at the chocolate.
“Cassie, are you trying to tell me something?” Sometimes, Cassie talked in riddles. A person had to know when she was doing it or they would walk around with more confusion than they needed.
“It’s time to wake up,” Cassie said softly, looking toward the window, and the faint hint of dawn that peeked through the curtains, before turning back to Dawn. “The nightmares are getting worse, and so is the mating heat.”
Dawn turned away and stalked to her dresser, where she jerked serviceable black panties from one drawer and a bra from another. There was nothing fancy, nothing seductive. Black socks followed, and after she showered and dressed, she would lace black hiking boots on her feet. She was a Breed Enforcer. Inside and out. She was strong, powerful; she commanded and she led. She no longer whimpered and cowered from the horror of whatever she fought to keep hidden within her own mind. Or the man that haunted her like one of Cassie’s ghosts.
“I’m not talking about Seth.” And she sure as hell wasn’t talking about mating heat.
“Fine.” Cassie shrugged. “We’ll talk about Styx. Or we could talk about Stygian. They’re totally hot too. Though I have to be careful if Dad is around. He gets pretty pissed when Styx flirts with me.”
Dawn wanted to shake her head at the abrupt change of the conversation.
“He wouldn’t flirt if you didn’t force him into begging for that chocolate you carry around.”
Cassie’s smile was all woman now. A hint of mystery, of feminine knowledge. “He could get chocolate elsewhere if he wanted to.”
The red-haired, bolder-than-brass Scottish Wolf Breed was a shameless flirt. He had been inducted into the Bureau of Breed Affairs months before and had been assigned to Dawn’s team just weeks ago.
“Styx isn’t the serious type, Cassie.”
“I’m eighteen. I’m not a child any longer, Dawn,” Cassie pointed out.
“Tell that to your dad, not to me.” Dash Sinclair was serious about protecting his daughter. Both her physical safety and her heart.
“As if Dad would listen.” Cassie shrugged then rose from the bed and glanced at the window again before turning back to Dawn. “Dawn is awakening,” she said again, and a chill swept over Dawn. “Are you ready for it?”
Dawn licked her lips, glanced at the window, then back at Cassie.
“What’s going to happen, Cassie?” she finally asked, knowing, sensing that the girl knew so much more than she was saying.
“An adventure.” Cassie suddenly smiled. “Come on, Dawn. It’s a new day. And we’re going to have lots of fun.”