Cat's Choice: The Chosen's War

by Jana Leigh

  Cloe laughed and threw her arm around the smaller wom an who had long, blonde, curly hair and looked like a pixie —she was so cute. Caterina shuffled a little and felt uncomfortable again, very aware of her appearance.

  “Duh, exam, it’s what doctors do,” Cloe said and looked back at Caterina and winked. “Don’t worry, she just hates not to be in on all the conversations we all have. If she misses out on something, she pouts.”

  “Screw you. I’m sorry. My name is Cami. I am the Alpha female of the Pack. This is my home, and we welcome you into it. Let’s get you up to a room and let you change, Tripp said these were all the clothes you have?”

  When Caterina nodded slowly and remained where she stood, Cami looked at Cloe for guidance. Cloe stepped forwa rd and bent down to talk to her , “It’s okay; I swear I would never bring you harm, or take you to someone who would hurt you. Please, come inside and let ‘s see what we can do to help you.”

  Finally, her feet became unglued, and she moved forward. Cami threaded an arm through her s and began to chat in an animated tone as she tried to take in her surroundings as she walked in. The house was amazing. A huge entrance that led off into smaller rooms stood before them . To the right was a huge staircase that led to the other floors. As far as she could tell, there were at least four hallways that led in different directions , each with a different nameplate next to it. It might help her from getting lo st at least, she thought, and strained her neck to see if she could read any of them as Cami led her to the staircase.

  Finally, the Alpha stopped and pointed, “That leads to our wing of the building. You are welcome anytime, although you may not want to come around bath time , since my wonderful children have decided they would rather play than be clean. It’s usually a production. The other one past ours, leads to the security offices and wing of the Pack. On the other side is the staff wing that leads to the kitchens and employee suites. And last is the Council wing, where there is a library if you like to read, but make sure Blaine and his mates a re not in there; it could scar you for life. Then the meeting rooms and offices for all the Council. The Alphas is the first one; you will see the sign —if you get lost just stand for a second, and someone will wander by. There ‘s always someone afoot. Upstairs ha s only two hallways, one for the guest suites and one for the separate shifter community leaders ‘ offices that have settled here. All the shifters have a leader, and they have an office in the Pack Compound, so we can communicate. Of course, we ‘re still adding on for those offices since ther e a re shifters popping up everywhere now.”

  Caterina tried to keep up with the fast—talking woman . Cloe held out a hand to her friend and said, “Do you see the glazed expression? That means she stopped listening when you said ‘that’, so le t’s ge t her upstairs and have the cook send up her meal. We can talk to her there.”

  Cami rolled her eyes at her friend but kept quiet and led her upstairs. Caterina looked around as they walked and wondered how she would ever fit in with this place. It was so huge, and the people looked like they stepped out of the pages of a magazine.

  When they got to the top of the stairs, they paused, and she looked over her shoulder. This place was huge. Cami tugged her arm, and she turned and followed. They finally stood before a white door; Caterina felt the anticipation of seeing where she would be staying for the foreseeable future. She knew that after leaving A do l fo, she had nothing, no home, no family, and no friends.

  Cami swung open the door and all but pushed her into t he room. She looked around with fascination . It was huge, a living room just inside a small entrance hallway . It was decorated in stylish country, with greens and whites. Off to the left was a kitchen; from the looks of it, fully stocked , if the fruit on the counter was any indication. Her gaze roamed to the right where there was another small hallway, it had three doors; she itched to go down and see what they were. Cami must have felt her need because she began to explain.

  “We put you in my favorite suite. It has a master bedroom with a bath and a spare room with a separate bathroom. Everything is fully stocked so you can stay in here and cook or come down to the Pack common room and have dinner with us. I ‘m looking forward to having you here. There are so few women staying in the house right now, since all of these bitches have their own homes a nd families , they ignore me now,” Cami sniffed , and lau ghed when Cloe stuck out her tongue and then went and sat down on the couch .

  Cami followed and sat in a chair, and they both turned to watch her. She felt like a bug under a microscope, and she had no choice but to walk and sit on the opposite end of the couch.

  Cloe looked at her Alpha and said, “I think it would be better to talk about some things before we went down to t he meeting.”

  Cami nodded and smiled at Caterina, “Of course. Everyone was scattered to the wind today anyway so it will be a while before they are all back. Do I need to get my husband’s ?”

  Caterina looked panicked and shook her head. “Please, no, ” she whispered desperately .

  Cloe scooted over slowly and sat next to Caterina and took her hand and held it. “Cami, I think we need to have a little girl talk here.”

  “Sure,” Cami said hesitantly , for the first time the Alpha female finally understood there was something m ore going on than met the eye. Cloe knew her Alpha female, if anyone would be able to put Caterina at ease, it was her; she would understand the delicacy of the situation a nd handle it appropriately.

  Cloe looked at Caterina and nodded. Shit, now she had to talk all over again. It was so painful to remember everything again. The nightmares had been coming every time she closed her eyes, sometimes about Adolfo’s death and others about her parents and the time she was imprisoned. But she knew this would happen when she asked for help, she knew she had to gather her courage up and tell the Alpha what happened. So Caterina only hoped she would understand and not throw her out the door immediately .

  “It started when a good-looking guy walked into the place I was working.” Caterina said, and Cami nodded.

  “It’s always a man,” the Alpha snorted.

  “Well, I wish it were that simple. A man would have been easier to deal with.”

  “Wait, a shifter?” Cami growled and looked at her friend. “A shifter hurt a female?”

  Cloe held up her hand and let the Alpha know she needed to wait.

  Caterina continued, “He was so nice at first, attentive, everything I thought I wanted in a guy. Then he wanted me to move with him, away from my family, and school. I told him no, and that’s when I found out what he truly was.”

  Cami held her breath waiting for the punch line. She was certain she wasn’t going to like what came out of the poor waifs’ mouth. “A Vampire . He killed my family and kidnapped me, held me prisoner while he tried to bleed me. I escaped and have been on the run ever since, but somehow, they always find me. This last time, it was Diavolo himself; he killed my friend and protector and set me on the run again. I ‘m so tired of running, and then I get here , and some guy sniffs me and says I ‘m his mate; I just don’t know. “Caterina finished and finally let the emotion she had been holding in for so long release. She covered her face and sobbed while she felt Cloe pull her to her side and comfort her. Caterina could hear Cloe filling Cami in on the rest, the abuse she suffered and also about Tripp, but she didn’t care; she just wanted to sleep without dreaming and feel safe again. Something she had not felt in a long time.

  Chapter 5

  Even though she could feel the excitement of learning yet another magical being, Cami was pissed. She didn’t know how the Vampire s worked but abusing their mates was not going to be tolerated under the New Council . She certainly hoped that this guy was not a norm, because she would really hate to have to kill all of them.

  Cami left Cloe and Caterina in the living room and walked out into the hallway to wait for her mates to come to her. She knew they felt her rage and were on their way. That poor girl’s nerves were shredded. She didn ‘t think she
needed to stand up in front of the Council a nd relive all of this, especially in front of the men. She would take care of it.

  Quin and Jaden rounded the corner with frowns etched on their faces.

  “What happened?” Quin said and pulled her into an embrace. Jaden rubbe d his had up and down her back, and she sighed allowing their strength to flow into her.

  “Caterina,” Cami said and felt the emotion from listening to the story of the last five years finally get t o her. Tears threatened to fall, but she cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “The human who ‘s seeking sanctuary, w e ‘re going to provide it to her; the Council is meeting in an hour, and she will not be there. She has been subject ed to too much already .”

  Quin looked at his mate ‘s eyes and then frowned and looked at Jaden . Cami w hispered what Cloe told her. She could feel the anger pulsing off her mates , and she stepped back when she was done.

  Quin nodded. “Please have Cloe come down when we call and explain everything to the Council. Remain with her until we call for you. I ‘m going to talk to Argus now , and find out what he knows about Vampire s. We need to know what we ‘re facing. Also, I will invite Tripp into the meeting, so he knows what he ‘s dealing with; for now, let’s get her fed and rested. The Pack will protect her; she will be officially part of the Pack.”

  Cami looked at her mates and put her hand on their faces and said, “This is why I love you.”

  She smiled and kissed them both and then returned to the room. Cloe was still holding a sobbing Caterina. Once she let loose, she had a lot of anger and sadness to get rid of. Cami w ent to the couch and inched her s elf in on the other side of Ca terina and took her hand.

  “Please, talk to me,” Cami whispered and Caterina sniffed. Through her tears, she talked about the abuse, and the pain. Her wanting to die , and finally, the peasants who helped her escape. Through it all, Cloe and Cami listened and murmured encouragement in her ear.

  Caterina then talked of her friend, how he took care of her, and for the first time she felt like she wasn ‘t alone. How he kept ahead of the Vampire s , but if they were discovered how he fought them. She talked about her blood and cried when she blamed herself for the whole mess.

  “First off, not your fault,” Cami said firmly and took Caterina’s face in her hands and made her look her in the eye. “I ‘m serious. NOT YOUR FAULT. You have to remember that. You ‘re going to need someone to talk to, I suggest Lacy , she’s the best one. I will call her in a minute . You need to realize that we ‘re now going to protect you. I know you ‘re scared, especially about Tripp and the mating thing. But don’t be, we will work this out together.”

  Caterina nodded and then said, “Adolfo arranged for a counselor when we arrived in t he United States, I have dealt with the rape and stuff; it just rises to the surface, especially when I have felt so alone over the last week.”

  “Well, you’re not alone now. We ‘re here , and we ‘r e going to help,” Cami said and then looked at her friend and said, “They want to talk to you at the Council meeting. I certainly don’t think we need to make Caterina go through all this again today. We will eat, and get her cleaned up , and then be down. Please ask Lacy to come up here so we can talk.”

  Cloe nodded, and then did something completely out of character. She leaned over and hugged the small woman , and kissed her on the head. Very few people had been able to wo rm their way into the tough Beta’s heart. Cami knew; it took her a long time for Cl oe to warm up to her. But she was fiercely loyal and overly protective when she did take to someone. Caterina did n’t know it yet, b ut Cloe was going to be one of her closest friends while she was here.

  “I’ll be back in awhile,” Cloe whispered to Caterina, who nodded and finally let go of the tall, strong woman.

  A light knock on the door indicated that their meal was arriving. Cloe opened the door slowly , and made sure who it was before allowing the female cook into the room. She would make sure that for a while , only females were allowed into Caterina’s room. She was unmated , and frightened. They didn’t need a randy wolf trying to draw her attention.

  Cami had the food placed on the table, and then showed Caterina the bathroom, so she could wash her face.

  When she returned, the small Alpha was waiting patiently for her. Caterina put her head down and walked to the table. She felt embarrassed now, for crying all over the place.

  “Don’t be shy,” Cami said softly. “All of us have been there , at some time or another; I did n ‘t have the best childhood growing up. But it ‘s nowhere near as bad as you. My circumstances were different; I ran away before my mother’s boyfriend could actually do anything. But I remember the shame and the fear. You did what you had to do in order to stay alive. That ‘s all that matters. You know some women would have given up. You ‘re strong. I can see it in you.”

  Caterina listened as she ate. The food was so good. She ate it like a starving animal; she thought when she was done, and wiped her mouth off. He r stomach hurt from the feeling of fullness for the first time in days.

  “Okay, now we need to get you into a bath, some clothes, and then you ‘ll be ready. I know this is going to be a long day. I wish I could tell you that you could just go crawl into bed, but we need to deal with the threats against you. My mates will make sure you ‘re safe,” Cami said and led her into the master bedroom.

  It was more than she ever could have hoped for. When she went into the guest bath earlier , she had like d the neutral colors it was decorated, but the master bedroom and bath were lavish and decadent . It held a huge four-poster rustic framed bed with a gorgeous comforter on it in a southwestern design. Pale peaches , light blues and greens were the basic colors of the room. It made her feel safe. A small sitting area, to what looked like a patio outside, held a television and also a small book shelf stocked with paperbacks. She grinned and wandered over . She saw the name on some of the books and turned and raised an eyebrow. Cami grinned and said, “Wait till you meet her, she ‘s on the Council .”

  The bathroom was in the same colors, and large fluffy towels hung from the bars. She had a shower and whirlpool bath. She had died and gone to heaven, she thought.

  “Okay, I just need your sizes, so I can get some clothes rounded up,” Cami said, and Caterina let her eyes widen. She hated talking about her size, even though she was now a size 12. It was only because she had been on the run for so long —her usual size was a fourteen.

  Caterina mumbled her sizes and then turned around not wanting to see the look on the Alpha’s face. The wolf was gorgeous, and probably never had to worry a day in her life about what she was eating.

  “Hey, none of that, you’re beautiful . It ‘s time to start building up the self-esteem again,” Cami said softly. “Now, I ‘ll be back. Get cleaned up, and I will be in t he ot her room ordering your clothes . We have a shop in tow n that will deliver. One of the Council members owns it. She has great taste.”

  Caterina nodded and watched as the woman left the room. She was right; Caterina needed to take back the part of herself that she had left behind when she ran. Diavolo could n ‘t have any more control over her than what she allowed him to have. She was safe, and she was home —for the time being, at least.

  ***

  Tripp picked up his cell and called his mother. He needed to talk to her about finding his mate. His parents and siblings were close. He knew that if he waited, and she found out somehow, there would be hell to pay.

  “Hey, ma,” Tripp said when she answered her phone.

  “Hello son, why are you calling me when you should be sleeping? I know you’ve had a long schedule. Your brother told me that you have been covering for people. You need your rest,” h is mother said, and he chuckled .

  “Well, I thought maybe you would like t o know that I found my mate,” h e said quickly, hoping to stop her from entering the lecture about his sleeping habits.

  “WHAT?” she screamed and then began planning her trip to Milliken. They only
lived an hour away, but for his mother, it was always a production. She had to bring everything under the sun, including frozen meals for his freezer. She said he didn’t eat right. Tripp listened as she demanded to know about her new daughter-in-law.

  “Wait, ma, there are a few issues, “ Tripp said.