Unfortunately for him, Cassie was one of the few people he was fond of. She had practically been raised in Sanctuary. Her Wolf Breed stepfather had come to the Felines for help while trying to save her and her mother's lives. Because of that initial call for help, Cassie was now a part of them.
"I rarely worry, Cassie," he assured her with a slight grin as he took a seat next to her on the stairs. "Let's just say this hasn't been one of my better days."
"Because your mate is still denying you?" Playful humor glinted in her gaze as her lips quirked with a charming smile.
"Because my mate is a stubborn woman," he argued.
Cassie leaned back to rest against the step behind her. "Perhaps it's not stubbornness so much as it is fear," she stated then. "You would be a very hard man to walk into a mating with, I think."
"Ah, Cass, I thought you loved me." He chuckled.
She didn't smile back. Instead, she turned and gazed thoughtfully at the door for a long moment before turning back to him.
"Do you ever hate your life, Jonas?" she asked.
"No." He shook his head decisively. "I don't hate my life at all, Cassie. Though sometimes I must admit I hate those who attempt to destroy the life I and those like us have the right to live."
She nodded slowly again. "That's why you fight so hard for us. It's why some of us love you so much that we would do anything to see you happy and to see that you never regret your life."
Jonas frowned back at her. "Okay kid, you were waiting here for a reason. What was it?"
She nibbled at her lip for a moment as she considered her next words.
"Many Breeds don't like me. Do you know that, Jonas?"
He reached out and mussed the top of her hair a bit. "I love you, squirt."
The gesture didn't bring the usual smile from Cassie.
"I frighten them," she said softly. "I'm not one of them, yet I am. I know things I shouldn't. And they fear what I could mean to their lives. Do you fear what I could mean to your life, Jonas?"
He tilted his head and stared back at her with a sense of understanding. Cassie wanted to feel accepted, and sometimes, that was the last thing she felt.
"You don't frighten me in the least, Cass. Though sometimes, I am afraid for you."
She nodded. Sometimes, Cassie seemed to be a magnet for trouble, even more than she would normally be.
"Do you trust me, Jonas?"
And here was the kicker. "I trust you, Cass." He sighed. He did, though he didn't always follow the advice she gave him.
"Then don't berate Merinus for what was my fault," she warned him softly. "I told her a friend would call Kane, and that friend would be in dire need as well as important to all that we are."
"Enough, Cass." He laid his finger gently against her lips, amazed that there was no discomfort in that light touch. Mates normally found it entirely distasteful to touch anyone, in any way, of the opposite sex during the first stages of mating heat. "I know where this is going. It doesn't matter why Rachel came to me, or who played a part in it. I berate Merinus or she thinks she can make a habit of poking her nose in my business. It's that simple."
Cassie shook her head. "Nothing is ever so simple." She sighed. "No ill will come of berating her, but as you said, she will give a second thought to her actions for a while." Cassie stood slowly to her feet. "And really, Jonas, you don't want her to do that."
She didn't say anything more.
Turning, she ran up the stairs, leaving him to watch after her. He shook his head in resignation. He'd be damned if he couldn't have drained some of the frustration eating him alive if he could have tested his wits against Merinus's rapidly growing will.
Cassie paused at the top of the stairs, turned and frowned curiously. "Jonas?"
"Yeah, brat?" He rose to his feet and stared up at her with a patient scowl.
"Why did you tell Rachel she thought that while the cat was away the mouse would play?"
He didn't answer.