When they finally slid to a stop in front of the house, Logan shut off the engine, thrust his helmet off, dismounted, and glared at her. His eyes were beginning to sparkle with golden flecks and Katey fled quickly in the house, thinking that the teachers might shelter her from his wrath.
Logan ran after her and slammed the door behind them, making the whole house shake from the force of it. Katey tried to run toward the stairs, but Logan blocked her way with his body, driving her back into the living room.
“What do you think you were doing?” Logan shouted.
Katey felt her shackles rise in defense. “I was just hanging out with my friends for a couple of minutes. What’s wrong with that?”
“Didn’t Dustin tell you there was a vamp in town? I was waiting for you!”
This conversation nearly mirrored the one they had just before he bit her and she braced herself for another angry loup-garou assault.
“Yes, he told me, but I was just going to tell them that I couldn’t stay long when you came riding up. You couldn’t have been waiting for that long.” Katey could feel her voice rise with the unfairness of it all.
Darren and Dustin entered the living room.
“What’s going on, you two?” Darren asked, his voice even louder than theirs.
“Katey didn’t come right to me after school.”
“It was only like a five minute detour! What’s the big deal?” Katey cried pleadingly to the guys.
“For just visiting friends? Logan, don’t you think you’re over reacting?” Dustin said, his voice soft and mediating.
“No, I’m not!” Logan snapped. “I know about your meeting with Erik, too. I can smell him all over you.”
“Erik?” Darren asked incredulously. “Like, rougarou and Chicago Erik?”
Dustin wrinkled his nose. “So, that’s what I smell,” he muttered, mostly to himself.
Katey sighed and shook her head. “He cornered me, what was I supposed to do?”
Logan took a bounding step toward her, his massive body looming over her threateningly. Surprising even herself, she stood her ground and would not cower. “You could have pushed him away, stomped on his foot, hit him in the jewels, something!”
“I tried!” Katey roared back in rage. “He was practically breaking my wrist holding me there!”
“What did he want?” Darren asked, his voice carefully calm.
Katey thought for a moment, looking between them all and debating whether she should tell the truth or not. “Nothing, he just wanted to talk,” she said rather meekly.
Dustin must have picked up on her hesitant body language and shook his head. “Lying to the alpha is a felony around here, Katey.”
“I’m not lying!” she cried. “He just wanted to talk.”
“About what?” Logan growled, his eyes showing their full loup-garou gold now.
“He asked her out,” Dustin suddenly said.
Katey turned to him in shock. “How did you know?”
Logan began pacing the length of the living room, his hands formed into tight fists and his knuckles white from the visible effort he made not to throw them into the wall. Katey saw this and her pulse quickened, hoping he wouldn’t bring those fists her way.
“I was walking close by when you two were talking. I was on my way out of the school.”
Darren sighed and folded his arms over his barrel chest. “And what did you tell him?”
Katey bowed her head in shame. “I said I would meet him for a movie, but I don’t have any intention to go.”
“Be sure that you don’t, Katey,” Darren advised. “The rougarous are not only vicious to humans, but also to us and the Devians. Fights happen all the time and we almost never win.”
“I said I had no intention of going,” Katey shrieked again.
Logan turned on her. “Then why did you tell him that you would?”
Katey shivered at the deep and throaty change in his voice.
“Just to get him to leave me alone. He’s persistent. He’s been hounding after me for months to go out with him.”
“I’m still amazed the gobshite is going out while there is a vamp in town. He should know better,” Dustin mused, shoving his hands into his jean pockets.
Darren walked over and sat himself down in his armchair. “You forget that the rougarou sometimes associate with the vamps.”
Katey’s suspicions had been correct.
“Please, promise us, Katey, that you will not go out tonight. It’s not safe.” Dustin looked so concerned, so heartbroken that Katey was tempted to promise him anything if he asked it. She had known Dustin to be a nonchalant and witty man, but his show of compassion always surprised her.
“What could a vamp or Erik possibly do to me? You said so yourself that short of taking my head off, nothing can really hurt me.”
“Oh no, they can still hurt you,” Logan spoke. “Vamps can kill you. Erik will use you.”
She stared into his eyes, seeing how much rage and hate shined through them, but Katey still didn’t know the true reason for his loathing toward Erik. “Besides him being a rougarou, I still don’t get why you hate him so much.”
Logan opened his mouth as if to answer, but then clenched his jaw shut and turned away to continue pacing.
“They haven’t had the best and brightest relationship,” Dustin said as he leaned his shoulder against the cased opening between the kitchen and living room.
“But, why? What has he done besides kill innocent people for food? You make it seem so personal, Logan. There’s got to be more to this.”
“Don’t go there, Katey,” Darren warned tensely.
“I’m going to go there because I deserve a better explanation. Not just from Logan, but from all of you.” Katey felt embittered rage rise up in her throat. “Whenever you talk in that other language, I know you’re hiding something from me. If I’m part of this pack now, shouldn’t I know what’s going on? I’m not a human anymore, I can take the truth!”
Logan turned on her in an instant and she could see his fangs glisten with each roaring word. “He killed some of my best friends!”
Katey was tempted to recoil at his outburst, but the wolf inside her reared its ugly head once more and she felt the courage to thunder back. “Don’t yell are me like that! How was I supposed to know?”
“What else can I do to get it through your thick, stubborn skull?”
“Please keep your voices down before I have to raise mine,” Darren said so softly and calmly that it was a little intimidating. His authority as alpha pulsated through the pack bond.
Katey pursed her lips shut and pushed her way past Logan to escape up the stairs. She had enough of the arguing and the yelling. It was pointless and they were only getting angrier.
Before she could get far, Logan turned and grabbed her wrist so hard the bone nearly fractured. Katey whimpered under his grasp, but he didn’t loosen it.
“We’re not done here,” he bellowed.
“Well, I am. Let go of me!” she screamed.
“No, not until you learn to listen.”
“You’re not the boss of me! Darren is! I don’t have to listen to anything you say!”
Dustin added, “Logan is actually your superior in rank.” But he said it so softly that neither of them heard.
“What we ask you to do is for your own safety. Why can’t you see that?” Logan said.
Katey’s eyes flashed their loup-garou gold and her lips curled back into a snarl. “That’s all any of you ever think about is safety! Safety, safety, safety! I thought I had to be safe being human around you, but now I have to be safe about everything else that was totally fine before! I can’t even hang out with my friends or go see a movie without someone having a conniption fit!”
Logan snarled back. “You asked for this and you knew what you were getting into. It’s your own fault!”
“No, it’s yours!” Katey jabbed an accusing finger at him, hardly knowing what she was saying until it cam
e spilling out of her mouth like vomit. “If you had just left me to decide in my own time then maybe I wouldn’t have chosen this at all!”
“You two need to calm down,” Darren butted in, his tone rising with aggression. It didn’t matter. Neither of them were listening.
“It still doesn’t change the fact that you’re one of us now and you have to do as we tell you. This isn’t some license to go off and do as you please. You’re in a pack now!”
“Well maybe I don’t want to be in your pack!” Katey viciously retorted.
Dustin turned to Darren, an amused grin on his face that was incongruous with the raging storm around them. “Do you think they’re serious or just hungry?”
Darren raised an eyebrow and rubbed his cheek. “It’s hard to tell,” he mumbled.
“If you don’t want to be in this pack,” Logan roared, “then fine! Leave for all I care! Go be with Erik’s pack and be his whore!”
Katey had enough. She screeched and slashed her claws at his face, leaving behind long, deep gashes in his face. He roared, let go of her, and stumbled back holding his face as it ran with blood. Katey turned and bounded upstairs before anyone had a chance to catch her again.
She slammed her bedroom door and began striding around her bed with her arms folded, her whole body shaking with anger as the wolf inside continued to froth at the mouth. No thought could take hold in her mind, other than the glaring rage that consumed her like a fire.
She grabbed one of her heavy hardback books from a shelf and chunked it at the far wall with a shriek of rage. The corner of the book made contact with the wall and left a gaping dent in the sheetrock.
Her vicious words to Logan echoed in her mind, taunting her and condemning her for the way she had spoken to him. He was completely right, but she refused to admit it. She chose this life, as mysterious as it was to begin with, and such a mistake couldn’t be pinned on him. It wasn’t his fault that she was feeling a bit of culture shock in her transition from human to loup-garou.
She turned to her laptop on the desk and double clicked on her rock playlist. Once it began to play, she cranked the volume up as loud as her exterior speakers and ears could handle. Her eyes still glowing gold, she let the music envelope her, feeding the incomprehensible emotions.
Downstairs, Logan panted heavily, snarling with each breath he took. Once the cuts in his face healed, he wiped away the drying blood with his sleeve. His eyes still gold, he wanted to despise Katey for everything she had done. She disobeyed Dustin’s orders and made a date with Erik when he told her so explicitly not to even associate with him. How could she betray him so cruelly?
But, try as he might, he couldn’t hate her. His love for her was too deep, too ingrained in who he was that he could never feel anything different for her. This treason left him in anguish, but he could never take that leap and recant every sweetly spoken word he had ever given to her. Even if it broke his heart, he would never stop loving her.
“When was the last time you ate?” Darren finally asked after Katey’s music began playing.
Logan kept his back turned on his alpha and grumbled hateful curses at him.
“I’ll take that as awhile. Come on, Logan,” Dustin said, walking into the kitchen to fix a quick snack to calm Logan’s nerves.
Logan didn’t move for a while, but then followed Dustin, knowing that a little meat wouldn’t hurt to calm his nerves. It wouldn’t erase the acrimonious words and all that had transpired between Katey and him, but it would smooth back his ruffled fur enough to think clearly on a solution to redeem her trust. Perhaps if she knew how deeply he cared for her, then she wouldn’t be so obstinate. But how could he form his passions into words that she would accept and understand?
9
Katey had a vital decision to make. Would she obey her pack and stay or would she go to spite them? With her temper still in full flare, she wanted to do everything she could to disobey them. Logan’s comment reverberated in her mind like a broken record. Go to Erik and be his whore. The words stung her deeply.
If Erik truly did kill one of Logan’s friends, his anger was justifiable, but the way he spoke to her, as if she were his property or superior to her, was uncalled for in her opinion. Katey had never been one to obey orders, no matter who they came from. It was only when the orders lined up with what she wanted, then she would listen. If she didn’t agree with Logan or Darren, they would know it.
She wasn’t going on the date for herself or for even Erik. It was all for Logan, to make him realize that if he didn’t say something, he was going to lose her. In reality, Katey’s heart would always be his, but he didn’t know that. Not yet.
Six-thirty rolled around and Katey made up her mind.
It was dark outside her window and as far as she could tell, everyone was still downstairs, probably getting ready for dinner or grading school papers. Katey cranked up the speakers a little more to hopefully mask the sound of her movements.
She slipped out of her bedroom window with great ease, then reached her foot down and dug the tip into the wooden paneling on the side of the house. Using her claws, she scaled down the exterior wall and around to the side of the house that faced the carport.
Her foot hit a window, making a tiny tap sound and she recoiled it quickly with a grimace. She couldn’t afford to get caught now. Katey peered over her shoulder and saw the light from the kitchen. No shadow passed by to indicate that someone went to investigate the noise. Either they didn’t hear her or thought nothing of it.
Katey scooted over far enough until she was between the kitchen and dining room window and continued her way down. She jumped off the wall and landed on the rocky gravel driveway without a sound. Crouching below the windows, she scuttled her way over to her jeep. She would have to use her new night vision to drive since the headlights would give her away and she planned to push the car all the way to the road through the grass until she was a safe enough distance away to start the engine.
It was a foolhardy plan and someone was bound to notice something, but she had to try.
As she crawled past the teachers’ cars, she found herself counting. There was Darren’s silver car, Dustin’s red truck, Logan’s bike... But where was Ben’s sedan? He usually parked next to her jeep.
Katey’s chest went tight with panic. She hadn’t seen Ben since earlier that day in class and if he wasn’t home by now, where could he be?
As she came to the driver’s side of her jeep, a bright light found her from the end of the driveway. She froze like a deer in a pair of headlights, knowing that she was busted. There was no way Ben wouldn’t see her standing alone under the carport.
She tried to come up with some explanation quickly; some story to tell so she would be safe for a while at least. Maybe that she needed to get something out of her car or she wanted to check if it was still operational since she hadn’t run it in a while.
The headlights got closer and Katey backed up to let Ben park in his usual spot. The headlights shined against her legs and she could see Ben in the driver’s seat, staring at her with a curious expression.
He turned off the lights, got out, and walked around the front of the car, passing her by. He was about to leave the carport when he looked over his shoulder at her, as if waiting for her to follow.
Katey waited as her palms began to sweat. If she didn’t stay calm, he would hear her racing heartbeat. He knew nothing about her fight with Logan, so he probably had no idea how conspicuous this looked.
“What are you doing?” Ben asked.
For a moment, Katey wanted to tell one of her hastily thought-up fibs, but under his amber stare, she found that she couldn’t lie to Ben. She could to everyone else, but not to him and she wasn’t sure why. “Please don’t tell them? I’m just going out for a little while. I’ll be fine and back soon. I’ll be careful... Please?” Katey whispered, with pleading eyes.
Ben took a deep breath, looked to her jeep, then out to the forest beyond the driveway. He kne
w about the vampire, he had to know. The pack wouldn’t have known and kept that knowledge from him. He let out a long breath and looked back to Katey.
“I owe you one from the tire incident... Just be careful... If you’re not back by ten, I’m sending a search party. I’ll cover for you if I can.”
Katey grinned and whispered a thank you before turning and rushing to her jeep. Ben helped her push the jeep to the very end of the driveway.
She gave him one last thank you and sped off toward the main road as fast as traffic laws would allow. The only thought she had in her mind was to not be late or waste any time getting through this ordeal. This was just something she had to do to provoke Logan and get Erik off her back. She tried to keep that in mind, but her wolf chose now of all times to reprimand her for disobeying Darren’s orders to stay at home. There might have been another way to get Logan’s attention, but at the present moment, this was all she felt she could do.
When Katey arrived to the theater, Erik was standing against the wall by the advertisement posters with his hands slung casually in his jean pockets, exuding his masculinity as if it were him that movie goers came to see.
He saw her jeep and smiled wickedly. She climbed out and coldly marched past him into the tiny lobby of the theater.
“Glad you could make it,” Erik greeted.
Katey brushed him off and waited for him to lead her into the right room since she assumed he picked out the movie already.
“Do you want any candy? Popcorn? Soda?” he asked.
“No thanks. I have to be back by ten or I’m dead. Let’s just get this over with, okay?”
“Or what? Alpha gonna give you a spanking?”
Katey wrinkled her face at the thought of what Darren would have in mind as a punishment for her after this was all over. “Probably a lot more than that,” she muttered.
Becoming the Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 2) Page 13