She shook her head and threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her close. A lump formed in her throat and hot tears burned at her eyes once more. She gripped his shirt tightly and began to sob into his chest. He pet her head gently and rubbed her back. When her sobs finished racking her body she became aware that Kedar was trembling. He moved away, placing his quivering hands on her shoulders.
“Let’s go outside and get some fresh air…” He said softly.
Samantha nodded slowly and she let Kedar help her out of her chair. They walked down all four flights of stairs, Samantha clutching onto Kedar’s arm the whole way down. They passed a clock on the way out and Samantha saw that it was six-thirty in the morning. She frowned. Normally on a Christmas morning she would be waiting very impatiently for her aunt to get up so they could eat an early breakfast together before opening presents.
They stepped outside and they sat on a bench together. Samantha rested her head in her hands. Kedar lightly placed his hand on the small of her back comfortingly. The winter air was crisp and it nipped at her skin, but she ignored it.
“What happened?” Kedar asked after an extended moment of awkward silence.
Samantha sighed and filled Kedar in, explaining all of the previous evening’s events. He clenched his jaw when she told him that Charlotte had appeared to have abandoned her post. However he remained silence until Samantha finished speaking.
“Do we know where Charlotte is now?” Kedar asked the aggravation clear in his voice.
Samantha shook her head slowly, “I don’t think that we do… I don’t anyway, Colin might…”
Kedar ran his fingers through his hair and wrapped his arm around Samantha, pulling her close. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against him, resting one of her hands on his leg. She took slow deep breaths, attempting to keep her tears at bay. She heard approaching footsteps and she pulled away from Kedar. It was Alex walking up to them. She sat down beside Samantha and rested her hand on her shoulder.
“Dad thinks that we should go home and rest now…” Alex said softly. Samantha turned to look at the hospital looking defeated. “There’s nothing we can do for her…” Alex added.
“She’s right, you know,” Kedar interjected. He rubbed Samantha’s side slowly.
“Do you want to go home with Kit or would you like me to drive you?” Alex asked tenderly.
“I’ll take her home, Alex. You need your rest too, you’ve been up just as long as she has.” Kedar replied. Samantha simply nodded.
“Alright,” Alex responded as she stood, “Go get some rest… Merry Christmas guys…” She walked away, stealing a couple glances back at Samantha and Kedar.
He stood and held his hand out to Samantha. She took it and he helped her up, “Do you want to go back to your place or mine?”
“My place,” Samantha began softly, “I have family visiting, I’m sure they’d like me to come home…”
Kedar frowned, “Oh…”
“But you can stay over… I’d really like it if you did, actually.”
Kedar smiled softly and led Samantha to his truck. He helped her in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before he climbed into the driver’s side. While he drove Samantha dozed in and out of sleep. Before she knew it Kedar was waking her up. She rubbed her eyes and he helped her out of the truck carefully. She led Kedar into the house. It was eerily quiet and Samantha paused for a second.
“I thought you had family visiting?” Kedar asked, clearly confused.
“I do, they must still be at the hospital…” Samantha responded, “I hope they brought Madam Pandev home on the way there…” Samantha muttered to herself.
“Who?” Kedar raised his eyebrows.
“Olivia’s grandmother…” Samantha replied leading Kedar up to her room.
Once they were in her bedroom Samantha threw herself face down onto her bed, not even bothering to kick off her shoes. Kedar carefully undressed her, pulling off her shoes, her shirt and her jeans and then laying her clothes out on her desk chair. He took his t-shirt off and helped her pull it on before stripping down the rest of the way to his boxers. He laid down beside her and she curled up against his chest.
“Sam…?” He whispered.
“Hm?” She barely looked up at him, finally realizing how tired she was.
“Do you think I’m handsome?” He asked softly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Samantha frowned. She thought the question was odd. She slowly ran her fingers down his chest, over the many scars both indented and raised that scattered his chest and sides; no doubt scars from being in one too many fights with rival wolves. She looked up at him, placing her hand on the side of his face, her thumb caressing his cheek, “You’re the most handsome person that I have ever met…” She whispered before kissing him softly on the lips.
He kissed her back as he wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her close to him, rolling them over so she was on her back, but she pulled away and shook her head. He smiled and nodded, moving so they were on their sides once more. She curled up against him and put her head on his shoulder. She rested her hand on his chest and tangled her fingers in his chest hair before closing her eyes. Kedar pulled the comforter over them and they drifted off to asleep.
In the morning Samantha woke to the sound of a running shower. She rolled over to find that Kedar was no longer in bed with her. Assuming that he was the one occupying her shower she rolled over and curled up in a small ball. She pulled her comforter up to her chin and wrapped it around herself. She heard her door open and she looked up; it was Kedar, a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Good morning…” Samantha whispered groggily.
Kedar smiled at her, his eyes soft, “Morning.” He replied as he went to her dresser. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out the clothes he left at her house in case of emergencies.
Samantha rolled over and watched as Kedar dressed himself, her eyes studying the contours of his body. She watched his back muscles ripple as he pulled on his shirt, the early morning light highlighting his scars. He turned to her and smirked, raising an eyebrow.
“What are you looking at?” He chuckled softly.
Samantha turned bright red and shook her head, “Nothing…” She bit her lip.
Kedar laughed and leaned over her, kissing her cheek, “I have to get going. I need to fill an order for a full living room set by the end of next month.” He sat on the edge of her bed and pulled on his shoes.
Samantha nodded as she sat up, “I should head to the hospital soon anyway. Can you stop by later?”
Kedar was quiet for a moment, “I don’t know… We’ll see, alright?”
“Alright, that’s fine,” Whispered Samantha. She ran her fingers through her hair, then pulled it up into a bun. Kedar stood and headed for the door. “Hold on a second, I’ll walk you out.” Samantha jumped out of bed and pulled her sweatshirt over her head. She shuffled around her room, looking for her slippers, and once she found them she slipped them on.
She and Kedar walked down the stairs, neither of them speaking. No words needed to be said. They walked to the front door and said their goodbyes quietly. They were afraid they would wake Samantha’s sleeping relatives. Kedar wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace and Samantha was about to kiss him on the cheek when her uncle cleared his throat behind her. Kedar dropped his arms to his side and Samantha turned, her face bright red.
“Good morning, Uncle Roberto…” She said sheepishly.
Kedar looked at her puzzled.
“By marriage…” She whispered to Kedar. He nodded.
“Good morning, Samantha. Who is this young man?” Her uncle Roberto asked, raising his eyebrow, his face giving away that he was less than happy with Kedar’s presence.
“His name is Kedar, he’s my…” She hesitated for a moment, glancing up at Kedar.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Kedar interjected, offering his hand to Roberto.
Roberto looked down at his hand, but made no move to shake it, “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Where are you two headed?”
“I’m walking him out to his car, he’s going to work…” Samantha mumbled.
Roberto nodded slightly, eyeing Kedar, “Your aunt would like to speak with you when you have a moment.” He walked away.
Samantha opened the door quickly and ducked out onto the porch. Kedar followed close behind her. She turned and looked up at him, “Boyfriend, huh?”
“Yup,” Kedar simply responded.
Samantha was hesitant, “How did you know I broke up with Riley…?”
“I didn’t, honestly.”
Samantha didn’t know how to respond.
“I really should go…” Kedar said as he opened his truck door. “I’ll see you later…”
Just before he climbed into his truck Samantha stood on her toes to kiss him on the cheek gently. He looked down at her and a small smile spread across his lips. He kissed her forehead, then got into his truck and drove away. Samantha watched him drive down to the end of the street, then she went back into her house. She met her aunt and uncle in the kitchen.
“What’s up?” She asked as she made herself a cup of coffee. She turned and leaned against the counter, bringing the cup to her lips.
“Sit.” Katarina demanded. Samantha sighed but did as she was told. “Roberto told me that young man is your boyfriend?” She pursed her lips. Samantha could tell by the tone of her voice that she was irritated.
“Why?” Samantha asked, putting her coffee down and folding her hands on the table.
“Would Melody have approved of him spending the night?” Katarina’s gaze bore a hole right through Samantha, and it made her uncomfortable.
“She has before. What are you getting at?” She fidgeted in her seat.
“Well first your uncle and I did not appreciate discovering a strange car in the driveway when we returned from the hospital this morning. Second, I was very… Upset, to learn that you had a boy sleep over without my permission. Third, we don’t even know him. How old is he? And what ever happened to you and Riley getting married?”
Samantha put her hands up, waving them in front of her, “Whoa, whoa. Stop right there. Riley and I were never getting married. What happened between him and me is my business. And what is the big deal with me having a boy sleep over? I’m seventeen, I’ll be eighteen soon enough. Aunt Mel allows it, she knows I’m smart and she knows I’m being safe. Why do you have a problem with it?”
Katarina didn’t answer her questions, “How old is he?” She repeated.
“Twenty-one,” Samantha snapped.
“Twenty-one?” Katarina repeated, enraged, “Melody lets you be involved with a twenty-one-year old? Does she realize how old he is? Or is she perfectly alright with letting a fully-grown man have sex with a child?”
“The age of consent is sixteen, get over it!” Samantha practically hollered.
“Don’t yell at your aunt, Samantha. She’s concerned for your safety.” Roberto interrupted.
Samantha turned to him, “My aunt is acting like a crazy person.”
Katarina whacked the table with the palm of her hand, hard. Samantha jumped and turned back to her, eyes wide, “I don’t care what Melody allows you to do. I understand you want to be treated like an adult, but the reality is that you are a child.”
“I’m a young woman, not a child.” Samantha protested.
“That may be how Melody treats you, but she’s in the hospital in a coma right now. So as long as she’s in the hospital, I will be your caregiver. Therefore, you’ll be treated how I see fit.”
“And that’s like a child?” Samantha mocked.
“Exactly. You’ll be living by my rules from now on, and one of those rules is no boys in my house.” Katarina’s voice was sharp as ice.
“Your house?” Samantha pushed her seat back and leaned forward a bit, “Your house? I hate to burst your bubble, Aunt Kat, but this isn’t your house. You haven’t seen me, you haven’t see either of us, in years. How dare you come into Aunt Mel’s home and tell me how I’m going to live my life. You don’t know anything about me.” She stood.
Katarina stood as well, “You’re about three seconds away from getting yourself punished.”
Samantha rolled her eyes, “What are you going to do, take my dolls away? Fuck this bullshit. I’m out of here.”
“Excuse me? Is that how Melody raised you?” Katarina yelled as she clenched her fists.
“Yup, that’s exactly how she raised me. See, here I am, raised by Aunt Mel. I’m getting in the shower, I’m packing a bag and I’m going to the hospital. I’ll be staying elsewhere until you come off your power trip.” Samantha turned away, but Katarina grabbed her arm, spinning her around.
“Don’t walk away from me. You aren’t going anywhere.”
“You can’t tell me what to do. You most certainly can’t tell me that I’m not allowed to go see the woman who took me in and raised me in the hospital. You know maybe, just maybe, if you had owned up and helped Mel while I was growing up I’d consider doing as you say. But you pussied out as soon as mom died. How long was it before you called me? Four, five years? Then you disappeared for months after that, and now we’re lucky if we hear from you on Christmas. This big visit was a huge surprise, I had expected another unsigned card this year.” Samantha spat.
Smack – Katarina slapped her hard across her face, “I’m the only family you have left in the states. Your father’s parents are in Brazil, mine are in Portugal. You need to get used to my way of things, you have no other choice.”
Roberto stepped in between the two, facing his wife, “You need to go upstairs and calm down, Kat. You don’t have the right to lay your hands on Samantha. It’s Christmas, for God’s sake. You can’t talk to people like that, especially your flesh and blood.”
Katarina huffed, and went to move around Roberto and Samantha. When she was in the doorway Samantha stopped her. She turned around, half expecting an apology.
“I’ll be staying with my father, you know, the sheriff, until Melody wakes up…” Samantha shot, pushing passed Katarina and going up to her bedroom.
***
An hour and a half later Samantha sat outside of Melody’s hospital room. She was on quarantine and until told otherwise Samantha could only watch her from the window in her door. She sat for the better half of the day, alone. Around three o’clock, Jaden walked up and sat beside her. They went down to the cafeteria, had an early dinner, and went back up to the ICU, waiting in silence for Melody to wake. Just before visiting hours ended, Riley sat on Samantha’s other side and Jaden bid them both goodnight.
“Hey…” Riley mumbled softly.
“Hey…” Samantha responded.
He shifted uncomfortably, not looking directly at her, “How are you holding up?” He sounded as though he didn’t really want to know.
“I’m good…” Samantha hesitated, “…You?”
Riley looked at her, “I’m… I’m good too.” He looked away quickly and Samantha knew that he was lying.
Samantha frowned, “Good…”
Riley reached over and put his hand on hers, “Melody is going to be fine, you know that right?” His voice was soft and sincere.
Samantha nodded slowly, but moved her hand away from his, “I know…”
After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, Kedar walked up to them with his hands shoved in his pockets. He didn’t sit, but instead opted to stand adjacent from Samantha, half facing Riley. Samantha could tell that he was uncomfortable, but she didn’t bring any attention to it. She smiled at him and he smiled back weakly.
Riley cleared his throat, “I just wanted to let you know that there’s a meeting at my house tomorrow. It’ll be after school, and my father requested that you be there as well, Kedar…” Riley mumbled, looking up at Kedar, who didn’t respond. Riley stood, “Alright then… I’ll catch you both later…”
“Bye…” Samantha mumbled.
Once Riley was out of earshot Kedar sat down and turned towards Samantha, “I thought you two broke up?”
“We did, he only came to talk for a minute. He’s still a member of the pack, I can’t just ignore him,” Samantha sighed.
Kedar nodded slowly. He placed his hand on Samantha’s back, “Do you want me to go back to your house?” He asked.
Samantha shook her head, “My aunt Kat is freaking out because I had you sleep over. She’s on some kind of power trip because she’s taking care of me until Melody wakes up. I told her I’d be staying with my father since she’s acting like a maniac, but, he’s in Italy and I don’t really want to stay with him anyway. Is there any way that I can stay at your place for a few days?”
He smiled softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, “Of course you can, babe.” He kissed her head gently, rubbing her arm.
CHAPTER 21
The following evening Kedar picked Samantha up from school and they went straight to Riley’s house. They were relieved to see that they were not the last to arrive and they chose to stand in the back of the room, where they would hopefully go unnoticed. Slowly the rest of the pack member’s arrived and eventually the room was very crowded.
Colin stood front and center. He scanned the room, taking a mental head count. When he was satisfied with the number of pack member’s present he cleared his throat, calling for everyone’s attention. “I am glad that you are all here today. I just came back from a meeting with Malcolm and the other alphas of the area. We have collectively decided it is high time that we go and locate the general whereabouts of the vampire brood’s lair…” He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and he unfolded it, “Malcolm has given me a list of pack members, both past and present, who he wishes to be present during this hunt.”
Kedar clenched his fists. Samantha touched his hand lightly and looked up at him.
Colin began reading, “Luca McLaughlin, Jackson and David Pandev, Riley Patrick Caleb McLaughlin, Charlotte Ann Lévesque, Jaden Adler, Kedar Isaac Taylor, Devon and Chantal Lévesque, and Samuel Adler.” He put the paper back into his pocket, “You ten will be accompanying Malcolm, myself and the rest of the… Hunting party, for lack of a better term, on this hunt for the vampire lair. The trip will last around three weeks and we will be leaving in two weeks, so you have sufficient notice in order to take time out of work. I apologize for the short notice, I only found this out an hour ago. If you have any objections please let me know. To be taken off the list you will have to speak to Malcolm directly. Does anyone have any questions?”
Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Page 18