Becoming the Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 2)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  Erik opened the door for her to one of the auditoriums.

  They sat down just in time to see half of the previews. Erik told Katey that they were watching some horror movie. She didn’t care. She would be checking her phone the whole time and not even paying attention to the movie. If the movie wasn’t over by nine, she was going to walk out whether it was over or not.

  “So,” Erik began, “how did you get mixed up in Logan’s crowd anyway? I mean, he doesn’t exactly get out much.”

  Katey took a breath, but with every bit of her being, she didn’t want to talk to him. Not just because of who Erik was, but because she never liked conversation during a film. It defeated the purpose and she had missed vital dialogue when people busted out with their own unnecessary comments or questions. But, she knew that if she didn’t give Erik the kind of dating experience he wanted, he might go back on his word to leave her alone. So, she indulged him.

  “We met a couple of weeks ago on my birthday,” she replied, her eyes glued to her cellphone screen.

  “Just a few weeks and you decided to be one of us. Amazing.”

  “I’m not one of you,” Katey hissed at him. “Logan told me what you do to humans. I’d never be like you.”

  Erik’s eyes flashed with a brief moment of indignation. “Did he also tell you about his little handicap?”

  Katey looked away. “He did. So, don’t try gossiping about him. Nothing you say can change how I see him.”

  “Even if I told you he’s killed humans, too?”

  Her fingers stilled over her phone’s keypad as she was typing out a text to Lily. “He told me that he killed his parents, but that was an accident.”

  Erik chuckled. “Next time you talk to him, ask him what happened in Chicago.”

  Katey finished out the message and hit the send button, letting her friend know that she survived Logan’s rage from earlier that day. “I know what happened in Chicago. He told me that you killed one of his friends.”

  “And he killed some of mine,” Erik countered. “There was enough blood spilled in Chicago to fill this theater.”

  Katey’s guts knotted at the thought that Logan could have intentionally murdered anyone. Yet, how well could Erik’s word be trusted? “It changes nothing.”

  “Oh, it does. It changes quite a bit when you consider that Logan is just as much of a monster as I am. Yet, here we are on a date. Has Logan taken you on dates?”

  Katey glared at him. “We have. Don’t think you’re the first loup-garou I’ve ever gone out with.”

  Erik glanced to her and there was a new softness to his expression that startled her. As long as she had known him, Erik was the macho, egotistical, self-absorbed epitome of an ass hole. But, looking in his dark eyes, she began to see what the other girls at school must have admired in him. Yes, he had a smug look painted on his face almost all the time, but it was in these rare, raw moments that he exposed a sensitive side.

  Katey turned away again and swallowed hard. “But you are the first rougarou,” she added.

  He let out a condescending huff. “Rougarou… It’s as if we’re a whole other species.”

  Katey would not respond to that. To her, they might as well have been. It was comparing apples to oranges or dogs to hyenas. They weren’t the same, not by a long shot.

  Throughout the movie, she wasn’t even consciously there. The movie was nothing but senseless violence and gore with nearly no plot or character development, mostly because they all died way too soon; plus, she couldn’t follow what was going on anyway.

  She kept thinking about all that Logan and Erik had said. They both held unwavering grudges against one another, but did it change who either of them truly were? They were both murderers, although loup-garou in their own right. But, they were also both unique in their personalities. Erik did also have another thing in common with Logan, in that – whether with good intentions or not – he wanted Katey.

  Feeling her stomach rumble reminded her that she neglected to eat before coming to the theater. In fact, she hadn’t eaten since before sixth period that afternoon. She was more than overdue for a meal and Katey wondered if any of the teachers would have ventured to knock on her door to get her to eat, then she would be discovered missing. At least they knew where to find her.

  During the movie, she began to hear Erik chuckle a bit at some of the death scenes and she slid him an offended sideways glance. Was he truly so insensitive to violence that this movie was a comedy to him? Such callousness seemed characteristic of how Katey imagined a rougarou could be. Even if Katey wanted to be with Erik, she could never be a rougarou. She understood what it was to be human and valued them as highly as herself.

  A little over half way through the movie, Katey checked the time on her cell phone. It was almost eight o’clock and the movie wasn’t over yet. Erik reached over and put his arm around the back of her chair. Katey sighed in frustration and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

  He looked so proud as if this was his victory and she was his trophy. He had one-upped Logan and snatched away his girl for an evening. Katey leaned away from him onto her armrest and placed her head in her palm, bored out of her wits and regretting her decision to come here. Was it too late to leave now and go back to ask forgiveness? Why couldn’t she have realized earlier that the promise of Erik leaving her pack alone was not worth the price she paid being with him and disobeying the very people she cared for most? Even if this date made Logan jealous instead of furious, it wasn’t worth enduring Erik’s constant chortles at the image of a woman’s neck being spliced open.

  The theater doors behind them opened, letting in the offending bright lights of the lobby to blur the image on the screen. The doors slammed shut. Katey closed her eyes when she smelled the man she loved and knew that her torture was finally over. Yet, there would be a whole new level of hell to endure when they got home.

  Logan stormed down the aisle to where they were sitting, grabbed Katey by the arm, and pulled her up without saying a word. She didn’t resist him this time. Erik stood up as well and followed the two out of the building and into the cold night air of the parking lot.

  “Hey, what’s the deal?” Erik shouted.

  Katey hadn’t planned for Logan to come after her, but now they had an entirely new conflict on their hands. If Logan and Erik broke out into a fight, there would be witnesses.

  Logan pushed Katey behind him and turned to face Erik, his eyes glowing their fierce gold. “Stay away from her!”

  “Why should I? Is she your property?” Erik asked.

  “She’s under pack protection. You had no right to ask her to go anywhere with you!” Logan shouted. Looking around, there was no one in the parking lot to witness such a scene, except for the ticket booth attendant who was too absorbed in browsing his social media on his phone.

  “Again, why? She doesn’t mean anything to you besides the fact that you changed her. It’s not like you two are dating. Your pack shouldn’t hog all the fun. Can’t I get in on some of the action? I’m sure a female loup-garou is a lot better than any human girl.” Erik moved to the side to leer at Katey with hungry, sadistic eyes. Katey gasped and clung to the back of Logan’s leather jacket in an effort to seek some shelter. Logan didn’t push her away.

  “Shut your filthy mouth! You touch her and I’ll kill you, I swear it.”

  “You don’t want her, so why can’t I have her?”

  “I do want her!” Logan bellowed.

  “You don’t show it,” he laughed. “It seems like you don’t even care about her. You treat her like she’s some object to covet.” Erik’s voice was taunting, as if he were trying to goad Logan into doing something stupid in view of the public. Of course, his words were anything but true.

  “I do care about her, that’s why I’m trying to protect her from you and everyone else like you. You’d rather risk her life for your own selfish gain. There’s a vamp out and you don’t even care! You think this is all one big game, don�
�t you? You’ve always thought this life was a game and she’s just another play thing. You don’t care anything about her. I do... I love her.”

  Katey gasped and her tears welled up behind her eyelids. He finally said those words she had been yearning to hear all week, but it was a hollow victory. The night was not over.

  Erik was finally struck speechless. They stared at each other for a long moment. “Fine. Let’s settle this the old fashion way. We’re old fashioned, right? Tomorrow night at the ring. You against me... For her,” Erik growled and offered out his hand to shake on it.

  “Deal,” Logan barked, taking Erik’s hand firmly in his own, squeezing tightly to show his dominance. Erik smirked and walked away to his car with a lightness in his step as if he thought he was the victor.

  Logan waited until he was out of sight, and then turned to Katey. The impulse to leap into his arms was strong, but it would not have been welcome in the least. The mission was complete, but Katey kept her hands to herself, knowing that she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

  She saw Logan’s arm muscles flex and chest heave with a sigh. For a moment, she wondered if it was her turn to be yelled at, but he gave a quick jerk of his chin toward her jeep. She took the hint and climbed into the passenger seat while he took his place at the wheel. Katey figured he must have ran all the way there from the house after discovering that she was gone. The run did little to blow off the steam that was still coming out of his ears.

  Once in the car and on the road, Katey reached out to him through their bond, but Logan had either shut her out or completely shut down. Besides the building tension between them, he was unreadable, void of the feelings she had expected from him.

  They were halfway home when Katey finally decided to break the thick silence that hung about them.

  “Are we going to talk?” she asked softly, wringing her hands in her lap, knowing that she was in for a world of hurt when they got home. Darren and the others must have known.

  “Wasn’t planning on it.” Logan’s voice was gruff and agitated. He refused to look at her.

  “Can we?”

  “I’d rather not... I don’t want to say something I’ll regret later.”

  Katey was shocked by his lucid honesty. “You ate?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you mean what you said back there?” she asked, licking her lips nervously and ignoring his wishes to remain silent.

  Logan paused for a moment with his eyes fixed on the road ahead and took a deep breath “Yes.”

  “What was the deal he was talking about?”

  “We’re going to fight.”

  Her heart lodged in her throat. Didn’t Darren say that fights between them and the rougarou never turned out for their favor? Why would he make such a deal when he knew it would end badly? Or was he too confident in himself? Katey shook her head, wishing she would have known that this would happen. If she had thought they would try to challenge each other, she would have never gone in the first place.

  “Please don’t fight... You don’t have to fight for me.”

  “Too late, I already accepted the challenge. I can’t go back on it now.”

  “Can’t you tell him to call it off?”

  “I’m going to be a laughingstock if I do,” he replied with a sigh.

  “Why do you have to be so prideful?” she murmured at him.

  “I’m not proud... And besides, even if I did back down, Erik won’t and he’ll keep pursing you.”

  Katey turned her gaze out the window, knowing that he was right. She didn’t want him to be, but he was. Their date was interrupted and the way Erik looked at her in the parking lot spoke volumes about his intentions for her. He wanted Katey in his bed, nothing more. It was what she had suspected all along, but she never wanted to be right.

  “Why did you do this?” he asked softly, pain laced in his voice so much that Katey regretted everything. Why did she have to treat him like that? “You could have gotten hurt. Why didn’t you just stay at the house?”

  “I don’t like Erik at all if that’s what you’re thinking. I only came out to make you jealous and maybe take your suggestion.”

  Logan finally tore his eyes from the road and looked to her in disbelief. “To join their pack? I said that when I was angry. I didn’t mean it.”

  Katey refused to meet his hurtful gaze, knowing it would make her break down into tears. “I didn’t know that at the time.”

  “You’re not-“

  “No, I won’t.”

  “Why would you want to make me jealous?”

  “Did it work?”

  Logan was silent as he stared back to the road, gritting his teeth at the question. A few moments of silent driving passed by before he decided to speak again. “By the way, you can forget what I said back there.”

  Katey looked up. “Why? What was wrong about what you said? Wasn’t it true?”

  Logan made a face, slowed down the jeep and pulled over onto the side of the road. He turned in his seat to face her and placed his hand on the back of her seat. Her gaze was wounded and confused as if he were torturing her and she didn’t understand why.

  “I... I do care about you... I’d rather you be with me than his pack... I can’t stand the thought of you becoming like him. It only takes one taste of human flesh for us to lose what shred of humanity we still have.”

  “What about the love thing?” Katey could care less about anything else.

  Logan’s lips parted and he shook his head. “I wish I had never said that.”

  “But, why?”

  He ran his fingers through his hair. “I just wish I hadn’t... I didn’t want to ruin anything with you.”

  Katey was growing so flustered that she could hardly hold it in anymore. “When are you going to stop being cryptic and tell me what’s going on with us? What are we? Are we a couple? Just pack members? Just friends? Roommates? I could keep going with a list of all the things I’ve tried to imagine we are and I can’t figure it out.”

  “Neither can I,” he mumbled.

  “If I mean anything to you in any way, please do me just one favor and don’t fight Erik tomorrow.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t do that because I do care about you.”

  Katey’s voice was becoming choked with impending tears and rising into a squeal. “But what if you get hurt?” She could hardly stand the thought of it and tears brimmed at her eyelids.

  “That’s a risk I’m willing to take... for you.”

  She was touched by his sincerity, but she would never understand why he thought that fighting would prove anything. Violence was the bane to humanity, as well as loups-garous. Couldn’t he understand that?

  Logan reached out and brushed his thumb against her cheek to wipe away the tears that had snaked down her face. She gripped his hand in hers and clasped it tightly as if their joined hands would somehow translate how she felt without having to say it.

  “But, I can’t bear to see you get hurt. Do you want to end up like your friend?”

  That struck a chord within Logan and he withdrew his hand. His expression turned stony and she knew she shouldn’t have mentioned it. She sniffled back her tears and turned away, knowing that the moment had passed and he was now too upset to talk it out.

  Logan pulled the car back onto the road and drove like a madman the rest of the way home with heavy metal rock music blaring over the radio. It hurt her ears, but she knew that he was doing it to fill the silence so she wouldn’t have to.

  Katey stared out her darkened window at the swiftly passing trees, wishing with all she had that she could go back in time and undo what she had caused.

  10

  The next morning, Katey woke up early enough to join the others for breakfast. She dragged herself down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from her eyes when she walked into the kitchen.

  The night before when Katey came home, she got a stern lecture from Darren about the importance of staying in the pack when she knew that there was
danger close by, as well as the risks of associating with the rougarous. They were all equally disappointed in her poor judgment, but Logan was the crossest of all of them and it was his trust she had to earn back.

  It was nothing she didn’t already know, but Katey despised the crushing power of Darren’s dominance. He was alpha for a reason; she understood that now. But, she would tell none of them of the true reasons for her disobedience. Her silence was enough to convince them that she was repentant and they dismissed her to bed after a quick meal.

  She and Logan didn’t speak a word to one another after their conversation in the car and she hoped that a good night’s rest would put them in more amiable moods to finish their discussion.

  The others sat and ate at the dinette table as usual, but Logan was not among them. Even through her grogginess, she couldn’t sense him anywhere in the house. His scent was stale, as if he hadn’t been anywhere close since the night before after they came home.

  Katey looked around frantically, then to the teachers. “Where’s Logan?” she asked.

  “He’ll be gone all day getting ready for the fight tonight,” Dustin replied, not lifting his eyes from his plate of bacon. She was glad to hear the lack of malice in his voice. It seemed they had all recovered from the shock of her defiance.

  “You know about that already?”

  She thought Logan had failed to mention it the night before, probably not wishing to be on the receiving end of another lecture after they got done with Katey. If going out on a date with a rougarou was such a serious offense, picking a fight with one had to be worse. Yet, there was an absence of the residual ire to show that they didn’t agree with Logan’s challenge.

  “He told us after you went to bed,” Ben said, his mouth full with a couple of grapes.

  Katey sighed and went to begin fixing her breakfast. But, when she opened the refrigerator and stared at the shelves packed with meat, she paused. Despite her rumbling stomach, she had no appetite or desire to eat. The night before left her upset and her mind in a muddled mess. With Logan’s absence, there was no way for her to try and make amends and remedy her conflicted feelings.