The Beastkeeper's Redemption

Twenty-Five

Twenty-Five 

-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ- 

A calm fury simmered beneath Izzy's skin, which is why the icy evening air did not bother her as it came into contact with her flesh. The street was quiet- devoid of life given the lateness of the hour– and illuminated by the intermittent spherical orbs of misty golden light provided by the lit gas lamps that trailed along the main street outside her townhouse.

The sound of the heels of her worn, leather ankle boots held a faint echo as they met the stone of the paving, her breath misting in hasty plumes of steam before her face as she marched towards her set destination.

"Izzy!"

Of course, she knew, he would follow her.

Kaede was too honourable to let her out of his sight for too long, especially as she proved her intention to traipse headlong into trouble along a deserted and dark London street.

But tonight, she really hoped that he would heed her pleas to stay near her sister. With Cassie's bruised cheek seared into her mind, that quietly simmering fury churned through a crack to flare briefly and vehemently above the crumbling surface of her demeanour.

Izzy whipped around, her skirts swirling, and she held out a hand to him. "Kaede-" the tremor in her voice caught her off-guard and she swallowed it back, along with the effect the sight of him swaggering towards her had. His strides were long, purposeful, the predatory sway to his broad-set shoulders almost mesmerising, and there was plain intent writ across his deeply hooded gaze as he pinned her in place. God, there was no man more handsome... Internally, she wrenched her thoughts away from the sensuous memory of his muscular frame surrounding her, of his ardent words and devoted affection. There would be time for that later. "Please," she said instead, her voice stronger now, "you must tend to Cassie- I implore you!"

If he heard her, he made no sign of it. Instead, Kaede completed his advance until her fingers were pressed against the damp linen of his shirt, a tenuous barrier between her skin and the warm, hard flesh beneath. A hand rose up between them, long fingers spanning her wrist with a gentleness that squeezed her heart and suffused her cold skin with his warmth. "Iz," Kaede murmured, and the fury was calmed somewhat when she did not detect any censure in his tone. "Cassie will be taken care of, I have arranged for my brother to join us shortly."

That made her hesitate, trepidation mingling with the anger. If Kaede's twin was approaching, then he would be meeting her as Izzy Hawkins, too. New problems and concerns arose with that realisation, but she pushed it aside for now. Presently, she could only allow one point of contention to dominate her thoughts and actions, and she vowed retribution in the only manner she knew how.

In the only manner she was grateful to be afforded due to her social standing and specific gift. "I have to do something," she told him firmly, staring up into his mercurial eyes. "You cannot stop me."

Confusion flashed through his gaze, lining his brow. "I do not wish to," he said, a thumb drifting across her cheek, "but your safety and wellbeing are of utmost concern to me. I know you are used to doing everything alone, to only having yourself and Cassie to fend for, but I cannot allow you to continue so. I am your shadow, Iz, and more."

How the universe contrived to bestow her with a male like Kaede, she would never know, though she was eternally grateful that somehow the trajectory of her wayward life had led her directly to him. Resisting the urge to throw her arms about his neck and bury her face into his chest, she could only blink up at him with furiously burning eyes for several long moments. A fine sheen of mist and drizzle darkened the long strands of his hair, clinging like tiny diamonds to the edges of his lashes.