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

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  Darren must have seen her hesitation. “You need to eat something, even if you don’t feel like it,” he said, his eyes trained on her.

  Katey refused to lift her eyes to her alpha. She knew she would be hearing those words for the rest of her life, but it wasn’t the words that made her so disgruntled. “It’s going to be my fault if Erik kills Logan tonight,” she muttered.

  She was the reason Logan was risking his life against a rougarou, a cold-blooded killer of humans and loups-garous alike; all because she wanted to make Logan jealous of Erik. Not in all her life could she recall a more fatal error than this. If Logan died, Katey could never forgive herself for the stupid, childish mistake she had made. If she could have fought Erik herself, she would gladly get in the ring with him and wrestle until there wasn’t a bit of breath left in her; all to keep Logan alive and safe.

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Dustin said. “He’s been itching to fight Erik ever since the twenties.”

  Katey reached in and pulled out the fixings for her tomato juice and deer meat cereal and brought it to the island in the middle of the kitchen. “Is that when Erik killed his friend?” she asked.

  Darren exhaled deeply and looked to Katey from the breakfast nook. “You may have heard us mention Chicago around Logan. After we got Dustin and came over the Atlantic on the Titanic, we dropped Logan off with a friend of ours in Chicago while we went to go find Ben out west. Logan was there with two other loups-garous that he had trained with during his first few months as a loup-garou in Devia.

  “They were all very close, but Chicago was the poorest place to leave him during the prohibition. Logan and his friends were involved with a gang, but so were Erik and his father, Gregory. There was some conflict between the two gangs and Erik killed Logan’s friend. So, Logan lost his senses and tried to track Erik down, but missed him by a couple of hours at a warehouse outside of town that was a storehouse for bootlegged alcohol. Logan was so mad he killed everyone there and burnt the place down.”

  Katey stared wide-eyed at Darren as he told the story. Erik had been telling the truth all along. Logan did kill some of the rougarou’s friends in vengeance for the murder of his own friend. But, she never imagined it would be in such a heated conflict as a gang war during the prohibition. She remembered watching documentaries about the vicious tactics of the mob bosses and cutthroat deals. Under such circumstances, murder must have been a commonplace thing and both Erik and Logan could justify their actions. Yet, Katey’s was still unsettled by the idea.

  “We got there just in time before he went up in flames with the warehouse, but he’s never moved on. He hates Erik for killing his friend, especially, since he trusted Erik from the very beginning when they first met before the massacre.”

  “That’s terrible,” Katey said as she lost her appetite even further. What’s more, they were once friends, or at least loose business partners in the bootlegging industry.

  “It is. We’ve tried to teach him to let it go, but he refuses. He’s always had anger problems, even before he changed. If being a loup-garou has done anything for him, it had given him a reason to control his anger, but he still fails sometimes, as you have seen.”

  As Katey stared into her bowl, chasing the chunks of meat around with her spoon, the teachers came into the kitchen to put away their dishes. Dustin approached her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, probably sensing the mild panic flooding her system.

  “Don’t worry too much about Logan. I think he’ll do just fine.”

  Katey could hear the tenseness in his voice and instinctively knew that he was worried too. She gave him a weak smile as he walked away up the stairs. His words might have been convincing, but Katey could not be consoled.

  Darren stood across the counter from her and put his hands on his hips.

  “By the way, I’ve been forgetting to tell you amongst all the craziness of training you and exams, but we’re going to be going on a trip tomorrow.”

  Katey blinked as she looked up to Darren. “Where to?”

  In any other circumstance, she might have been delighted to travel. Perhaps when tomorrow came and Logan was safe in her arms, then she could be a little more enthusiastic.

  “Every year, loups-garous from around the world gather together in Alaska at one of the nature parks for the last full moon of the year. We’re leaving tomorrow morning.” Darren heaved a belligerent sigh and continued. “There will also be a charity luncheon for a foundation that is dedicated to preserving the wolf population across North America. You’ll be expected to attend with us, so if you have a nice outfit to wear, I suggest you pack it. This is a formal engagement.”

  Katey swayed with the overload of information. “So, it’s like one of those black-tie events?” she asked taking a spoonful of meat into her mouth.

  Darren nodded. “It is. We managed to call and reserve a plate for you at the last minute.”

  “How much do I owe you?” she asked, mostly as a reflex.

  The alpha chuckled. “If you want to pay me back, it’s three hundred dollars for the plate.”

  Katey nearly choked. “I don’t have anywhere close to that in my savings.”

  “Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay me back. As I’ve said before, I’m your alpha and I’m taking care of you.” Darren cleared his throat. “So, we recommend that you be packed and ready by this evening so we can get up early enough to catch the flight. I bought your ticket last night while you were off with Erik.”

  The cold hand of terror squeezed Katey’s guts at the thought of boarding an airplane. “Flight?” she squeaked.

  Darren’s brows pinched together with a frown. “Well, do you expect us to drive all the way to Alaska?”

  “I’d prefer it.”

  Then Darren broke into another laugh. “You don’t like to fly?”

  Katey winced at the confession she was about to make. “I’m scared of heights.”

  He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder and leveled an amused look at her. “You’re loup-garou. A plane crash isn’t going to kill you easily.”

  She took a deep breath to settle her nerves as the concept infiltrated her mind. “Do you know from experience?”

  Darren didn’t directly answer her question. “You’re going to be just fine, I assure you.”

  She nodded and turned her gaze back into her bowl, her hands still trembling a bit. But there was still something more that Darren must have sensed below the anxiety about Logan’s fight and the idea of flying across the country.

  “Listen, I know it’s not the best time to be taking you out and traveling so close to your turning. It’s not my choice. No offense, but if I could leave you here, I would.”

  Katey looked up, her brows furrowed. She wasn’t sure if she should have been offended by what he just said. Then again, she could understand his predicament.

  “It’s not that I wouldn’t want you with us. It’s just that it could be a potential hassle to make sure you’re going to be safe. I never took Dustin or Logan anywhere during their training unless I absolutely had to. It’s easier to keep an eye on them that way.”

  “So, I’m going to be an inconvenience,” Katey lamented.

  Darren pulled a face. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. I’m just apologizing for taking you on a trip that could be hard on you. The sights, sounds, smells, people… It might be overwhelming. It’s going to be difficult for all of us, including you... Please don’t misunderstand me?”

  Katey tensed her jaw and nodded that she did understand, but deep down she began to feel that perhaps she was going to be a bother to them. She understood why she couldn’t stay home alone, but also didn’t want them to completely cancel their trip just because of her.

  “Listen,” he began again, “about what you said last night… how it seems we’re keeping information from you…”

  Katey held up her hand to stop him. “We all said things yesterday that we didn’t mean. I was upset. I know there’s things that I
may not be ready for.”

  “It’s not just that,” he said, his eyes probing the ceiling for the right words. “You do deserve to know what’s going on in the pack.” Darren turned his compassionate brown eyes to her. “Sometimes we forget that you can handle so much more than the average teenager can. When we were talking in the loup-garou language, we discuss some things that may be distressing to you. We talk about politics amongst the other alphas and changes that take place that effect all of us. It’s more than you need to worry about and I don’t want you to think that we’re excluding you without good reason.”

  Katey cast her stare to the tiled floor. “I get it. Really, I do… Can you teach me the loup-garou language one day?”

  She didn’t have to see his face to know that his was smiling. It was clear in his tone. “Absolutely. It’ll be part of your training later, I promise.”

  Darren took a breath and turned away to leave the kitchen, but stopped himself and turned around. “Oh, I almost forgot, don’t bother waiting for Logan. He’ll be training all day out on the property and won’t have any time for school. If I see him, though, I’ll ask him to check in with you.”

  With how the night before went, she wouldn’t be surprised if Logan was gone all day and all night. Darren hurried up the stairs to get ready and Katey sat herself up on the counter, slowly eating her breakfast. She didn’t want to be so alone, not right now with all the drama between her and Logan.

  She wondered what it would have been like if she had never gone to Erik. Maybe everything would have been fine. She would have gotten yelled at about staying out a few minutes to be with her friends, but that was a much more pardonable sin than going out late at night without permission, especially, to see a rougarou while the rest of the loup-garou community was on high alert from a vampire sighting. Katey mentally kicked herself for being so foolish and irresponsible. All just to hear Logan say those three words she had always wanted to hear from him. It wasn’t worth it, she realized.

  Katey wanted everything to go back to the way it was before she and Logan had their first fight in the living room, but she knew better than to think things would ever be the same. Logan had so many issues to work out and no amount of flirting or obedience could heal the hurt that had been done to him by her and Erik. He must have felt double-crossed because of what happened, and it must have made things exponentially worse to find the love of his life out with his most hated enemy.

  She arrived at the school a little earlier than usual so she sent a text to Lily to meet her in the cafeteria if she wasn’t busy. She replied within seconds with an affirmative so Katey headed down to the lunchroom.

  The room was practically empty, with only a few groups of students sprinkled throughout the cafeteria. She spotted Lily on the far side of the lunchroom eating a bowl of scrambled eggs. Katey hurried over and in a rush of emotion, hugged Lily around the shoulders. If there was ever a time she needed a friend to talk to, it was now.

  Lily was surprised to receive the hug, but unquestioningly returned it as her friend sat down next to her.

  “You don’t look so good,” Lily remarked.

  “I feel absolutely terrible,” Katey said, resting her head in her hand.

  “What happened?”

  “We got into a fight.”

  Lily’s eyes went wide. “About what?”

  “Erik asked me out and I said yes, but Logan burst in halfway through the movie and dragged me out. Now him and Erik are going to fight over me tonight. It’s such a mess and I can’t do anything to stop it.” Katey laid her head down upon her arms in defeat, feeling she would cry at any moment now that the truth had been released.

  “I know,” Lily stated.

  Katey perked up. “How do you know? Did Forrest know?”

  “Nope,” she replied. “It’s plastered all over the school.”

  “The school knows that I went out with Erik?” Katey whispered.

  “No,” Lily giggled. “About the fight. There are flyers all over the school advertising for this big wrestling match outside of town tonight. Here, I pulled one off the wall.” She reached into her backpack and pulled out a crinkled piece of red construction paper.

  Katey snatched it from her grasp and unraveled it. There was a picture of two wolves fighting with the headlines reading, “Watch the fight of the century” in big letters. Down below listed the time and place of the event. Katey groaned and buried her face in her hands.

  “Oh, why did I have to go out with Erik? If I had just stayed home like Darren wanted then none of this would have happened.” Tears brimmed in her eyes.

  “Not to change the subject, but are you living with Logan and his pack?”

  Katey looked up to Lily and sighed. “Yep. I moved in with them just after the accident.”

  Lily nodded. “That explains so much.” She leaned forward on her elbows. “I can’t believe you went out with Erik. You know, Forrest was there in Chicago. Tell me you already know about Chicago.”

  It seemed that everyone on the planet knew about what happened in Chicago except for Katey. “Yeah, they told me. Did Forrest know the guy Erik killed?”

  She nodded gravely. “They were cousins from Devia. Forrest was all tore up about it too and tried to tell Logan to leave it alone, but he wouldn’t. How did he take it when he found out you went out with Erik?”

  Katey blew out her cheeks. “Not good. I was scared they were going to fight in the theater parking lot. The match was Erik’s idea… Logan did say that he loved me,” she said with a pathetic shrug, as if that made the whole situation any easier to cope with.

  “Really?” Lily squealed, leaning her head in her hands with a dreamy gaze. “That’s so romantic! So, he’s fighting for your love tonight!” Then her face contorted like she had caught a whiff of something rancid. “But he’s fighting Erik. Forrest told me how tough the rougarous are. I hope he’ll be okay.”

  “Me, too,” Katey whined.

  Lily bit her lip thoughtfully. “Well, who do you want to win?”

  “Logan, of course.”

  “If he wins, does that make you two mated?”

  Katey sighed and stared off into space. Out of all the possible words she could have picked to define their relationship, “mated” was never in her vocabulary. “I don’t know what we are anymore.”

  “Well, knowing what you want to be may help. Do you want to be just packmates or something more?”

  Katey smiled at the thought and knew that she didn’t need to think it over. “I do want to be more than packmates, but I don’t know how well it’d work out. We haven’t had the best experiences with each other lately. He just seemed so mad last night and we haven’t really recovered from our first big fight yet. I haven’t even seen him today.”

  Lily scoffed and waved her hand nonchalantly. “He’s probably off brooding and waiting for you to come crawling back with an apology. Guys are just like that sometimes, especially loups-garous. They can be so prideful.”

  Katey couldn’t help but laugh. “I wish I knew as much about the loups-garous as you do. Seems like I’m the last one to know anything about how they work.”

  The bell rang and the two friends stood in preparation to leave. Lily was done with her breakfast and they walked to the trashcan just on the other side of the room near the exit doors.

  “I’m sure they feel the same way about us,” Lily joked as they entered the hall.

  The whole morning seemed to pass by in a dismal blur. Without Logan there, it was like all of the color had drained from her world. She could feel an aching emptiness within her that refused to leave her in peace. It nagged and gnawed at her heart so persistently. It was like her lungs had no air, like the light had been stolen from her, leaving her in total darkness without him. It started to creep in slow at first. Then as the day dragged on, it grew worse, until she was almost completely gone. It wasn’t just the usual loneliness she felt so often before, but a full-blown, mind and body numbing sadness that Katey ha
dn’t felt since Logan came into her life.

  The wolf within her could feel it too and didn’t make the situation any easier. Her wolf missed the peace and comfort that Logan brought to her life and Katey occasionally felt the sudden urge to howl, but she at least had the sense to stifle it. The wolf wanted to call out to the world in search of the one who could complete them and chase away the agonizing sadness.

  All of the teachers saw this and didn’t give her a hard time during their classes. They knew very well that her despondency had to do with Logan. Whether it was the effects of a broken heart or the loneliness for her sire, they didn’t know.

  When a loup-garou changed a human and underwent the imprinting process, a spiritual and emotional bond was formed that no amount of science could explain. Dustin and Ben felt it as a brother would miss a brother, but Katey felt it as a lover missing her partner. Such loneliness was out of their realm of ability to heal.

  When lunchtime rolled around, Katey met Beth and Lily for lunch, knowing she had nothing else to do. She stopped by Darren’s room to pick up her lunchbox of meat sandwiches before they made their way to the cafeteria.

  Katey slid her bag up onto the table, crossed her arms over the top, and laid her head down. It took all her self-control to not whine like a lovesick puppy. The other two tried to coax her out of it, but it was all in vain. Her mouth wouldn’t even twitch into a faint smile. If she could just get one text, one call, one word from him, it would have mended her bleeding heart. She managed to eat her two sandwiches, though they tasted bland and hardly did anything to lighten her mood.

  “So, are you going to go see the fight?” Lily asked, throwing Katey from her despairing thoughts. She looked to her friend in a daze, and then blinked a few times to bring herself back.

  “I... I don’t know yet. I want to go cheer him on, but I don’t know if he’d want me there.”

  Lily shifted in her seat and pushed aside her lunch tray to lean closer across the table. “Well, the other reason I ask is because we’re all going to get together tonight at my house for a sleep over. You know Nikki, right? She’ll be there, too.”