©2013 Darlene Kuncytes
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author, except for brief quotations for reviewing purposes.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places and characters are solely a product of the author’s imagination, and any similarity to people or places is purely coincidental.
This book is dedicated to my family and friends - who mean the world to me, and of them, I am fiercely loyal. I love you all. You are my strength, my soul and my heart – forever.
Chapter 1
Katrina Winslow pulled the thick blanket over her head, and groaned into her pillow as the sounds of Hall & Oats Maneater blared through the bedroom. "Shit," she swore, as she blearily grabbed her cellphone from the bedside table – not in the least bit happy about being jerked from her sleep.
"What?" She bit out.
"Katrina?"
Kat sat up in a flash, her mouth going painfully dry. "Mother?"
"Oh, thank the Gods you haven't changed your number!"
Kat hadn't heard from her mother in almost three years, and the sound of her voice coming from the other end of the phone was a shock - to say the least. She ran her fingers through her long, auburn hair and sighed - a small part of her wishing that she had changed her number. She knew without a doubt that hearing from Elaine Winslow was not going to be good. She and her mother had never been what anyone would call close, and Kat knew that if she was calling her now it was only because she wanted something from her. She hadn’t heard from the woman in almost three years and even on the rare occasions that Kat went to a gathering of the Coven – Elaine was always absent.
"What do you need, mother?" she asked on a sigh - her voice tight.
There was silence for a long moment, and Kat held the phone away from her ear and looked to make sure that the connection had not been lost, before she finally heard her mother speak. "Katrina...you're in serious danger." She finally said softly, and Kat almost burst out laughing at the ominous tone to her mother’s voice. Geez - she thought with a shake. Her mother always had been a drama queen; but this was a little much - even for her.
"Oh, really?" Kat asked, shaking her head with a grin as she threw back the covers of the bed and eased herself over the edge. She rested her elbows on her knees and sighed heavily. It was just too damn early in the morning to have to deal with this. "What is it now Elaine? Did another boyfriend dump your sorry ass? Did you break a nail? Oh, let me guess, your hi-lights didn’t come out right?”
"Katrina, I wish you wouldn't talk to me like that. This is not a joke!"
Kat rolled her eyes and glanced around the room. She had been staying at Lucas Blackwater's cottage ever since she, Luke, Desmond and Marcus had saved her best friend Abby from a hell of a nasty demon. And she found that she enjoyed Luke’s company more than she was willing to admit - even to herself, and the thought of leaving and going back to her old life of working at the bar Echo's was becoming less and less attractive. Even though the Were tried her patience at every turn with his macho, he-man ways - Kat couldn't lie to herself and not admit that she wasn't attracted to the mangy cur. The man was make your knees weak sexy.
"...have its consequences." She heard her mother say and she shook her head, trying clear it and concentrate on the conversation at hand in order to put it to an end - and quickly.
"I'm sorry, mother. What did you say?"
Elaine puffed out of breath of disgust and cleared her throat. "Damn it, Katrina!" She bit out -and Kat could feel her anger. "You killed another witch!"
Crap! How the hell could she have found out? Kat wondered, twisting a strand of her hair between her fingers in a nervous habit that; at thirty years old, she had yet to break. "How did you hear?" She finally asked - not liking the pit that was developing in her stomach at all. This was definitely not going to be good.
"Katrina,” she replied, sounding completely exasperated. "Alexis came from a very powerful coven. They knew she had raised Argramon; and they welcomed it. You and your little band of Vampires ruined that.”
"Don't forget about the Weres," Kat mumbled under her breath - her mind instantly going to Luke, and she felt the heat rise in her cheeks.
Yes, Katrina had killed Lexie. But the bitch had brought back a powerful Demon, and had captured her best friend in order to bleed her dry and give Abby's fey blood to the filthy beast - making him almost impossible to destroy. What in the hell was she supposed to do? - Kat thought with a grunt. Let the witch get away with it? Not in her lifetime!
"Oh, yes," her mother hissed into the phone, and Kat felt an icy chill begin to creep up her spine. "The Were. Well, you listen to me closely Katrina Margaret Winslow! Because of your little stunt, this Were that you have become so fond of, is in as much danger as you!”
"Mother...” she started to say, but Elaine cut her off - her voice now raised to the point that she was yelling into the phone and Kat winced – the sound reverberating through her head and causing it to instantly start to pound. Ah, crap.
"No! You listen; and you listen close little girl. The witches from Alexis's coven are pissed, and that is putting it mildly! You killed one of their own, and when you did - you took on some of her powers,” she said, and Kat felt her heart jerk. She hadn't noticed any new powers since they'd been back, and her mouth turned down in a frown – her brows furrowing. Had she?
Kat tried to think over the past few days and came up with nothing. She, Luke and Marcus had brought Desmond and Abby back to the estate and had spent the next three days waiting for Abby to wake from some type of sleep, or coma...or whatever the hell she had been in - and in that time she had noticed nothing. Not that she had any powers at all to speak of anyway. Her powers were bare minimum at best.
She shook her head to try and clear it as she stood and walked over to the window - looking out at the rising sun. Hell, she thought with a groan; it's barely dawn. "Mother, I have no new powers,” she replied, trying desperately to keep her voice steady.
Elaine huffed out a breath and tsk'd into the phone. She actually tsk'd! "Katrina, you might not be aware of them now - but you will be. Believe me when I say, you took her powers when you took her life. I don't know what powers she had exactly - but I'm fairly certain they aren't good. And if you had not practically turned your back on our Coven, we could have warned you.” There was another long silence as Kat tried desperately to take in everything her mother was saying; but when Elaine finally spoke again – she dropped the biggest bomb on Kat that she had ever had dropped on her in her life. "Because of your foolishness, Katrina- and this misplaced loyalty to these people,” her mother barked into the phone. "You have now put your sister at risk!"
Kat braced her hand against the wall as the air came rushing out of her in a whoosh. Sister? -her mind screamed at her. Did her mother just say sister? She didn't have a sister! "Mother; just what in the hell are you talking about now? Have you finally lost your mind?”
"I only wish that I had, but I'm afraid I'm completely sane." She said, sighing heavily into the phone, and Kat could feel her mother struggling to maintain her control. "Do you remember when you were thirteen and you went to spend the summer at your Grandmother's?”
Kat nodded absently, her mind going back to the summer she had spent at her Grandmum's. It had been a wonderful few months, and Kat found herself missing the woman constantly. Her Grandmother had been a warm, loving, nurturing force that had made Kat feel safe and loved as she never had before. She had taught her to be strong and independent, and to stand on her own. And she missed the woman horribly every single day.
"Yes," she croaked out, her eyes filling with tears at the t
hought. She had taught Kat so many things that she still carried with her today, and the woman’s loss was something that gnawed at her heart constantly.
"I sent you there so that you wouldn't notice that I was getting close to delivering your sister. You couldn't know," she said, almost apologetically - yet she couldn't quite pull it off. Her mother was a heartless bitch - that never thought of anyone but herself.
Kat thought back to that time, and realized with that sudden light going off above her head, that her mother had been acting strange. She had suddenly started wearing loose fitting clothes - whereas before she had always favored skin tight clothing to enhance her ample figure. And then there had been the bouts of 'food poisoning’ that had plagued her mother.
Oh, sweet Lord - Kat groaned - resting her head against the wall as realization dawned on her. Her mother had been pregnant!
"How could I have not seen it," she whispered.
"Darling, I did whatever I could to hide it from you. And when Harper was born; I had to send her away."
Kats head snapped up and her eyes blazed. "You sent her away?" She ground out, angry as Hell at this woman; who chose to hide the fact that she had had a sister! A sister for God's sake! "You selfish, heartless bitch," Kat spit out; her voice filled with venom. "What was the problem Mother? Where you afraid that a baby might cramp your style? Do you even know who the father is?"
"Katrina, that isn't fair. I did it to protect her. She's...she's special."
"What do you mean special?"
Again there was a long silence, and Kat found her mind focusing on the fact that she had a sister! Holy crap!
Harper - she thought with a deep, growing twist of her gut. She had a sister named Harper! Kat bit her lip, her mind reeling. My God, she thought as she quickly did the math. She would be...seventeen! Sweet Lord, she had missed her entire childhood! She never had the chance to watch her grow - to teach her to ride a bike, to brush her hair...or to pick her up when she fell.
"Her father was a very powerful witch," she heard her mother say. "And it has been foretold that if he ever fathered a female child with another witch...well, she could upset the balance of the supernatural world."
"What do you mean 'upset the balance'?" Kat asked, her eyes filling with hot, angry tears.
"Katrina, there is just too much to explain right now. Once you go and get your sister, I'll explain everything."
"Go and get her?" Kat bit out angrily. "Because of you - I don't even know her! What the hell makes you think she would go anywhere with me? And why don't you just go get her yourself?"
"I can't," she whispered, and Kat could feel her mother’s frustration, and knew that the woman was trying extremely hard to keep her tone even.
"Why?" She asked, brushing the tears from her eyes and taking a deep, ragged breath.
"It has to be you, Katrina. And you must go alone.” Again there was a disturbing silence, and Kat could feel a distinct shudder run across her body - causing gooseflesh to break out. "And you must leave now. You have to get away from the wolf as soon as you can. I cannot stress this enough.”
Luke! God, Kat groaned inwardly as her heart flipped over in her chest. She had to leave Luke? They never even had a chance, she thought sadly. "Why mother?" she asked shakily, her throat constricting with emotion. This was just way too much to deal with first thing in the morning before she even had her first cup of damn coffee.
Her mind drifted back to Luke. For all of his faults - she felt a strange pull towards the man that she had never felt with anyone before, and the thought that she couldn't stay with him and see what happened - felt like a kick straight to her gut. Shit! Would she ever catch a break?
"I'm sorry Katrina," her mother replied quietly, a tiny hint of sadness in her voice – although to Kat it just didn’t seem completely genuine. "But if you stay with the Were - he will be killed. There will be no other choice."
Kat felt her knee's get weak at her mother’s words. Killed?
Oh, God; her life sucked! The one man that she could quite possibly care for - maybe even fall for - was being ripped right from her fingers in an instant.
"Mother," Kat choked out - that pit in her stomach growing to dangerous proportions. It suddenly felt as if she was swallowed a large rock. "Just what in the hell is going on?"
"You have to trust me, Katrina," Elaine whispered. "I need you to tell me the truth about something."
"Oh, that's rich, mother," Kat ground out. "You...asking for honesty!"
"Katrina! Enough of this! We don't have time to argue about this anymore. I need to know if you have slept with the wolf yet."
Kat groaned into the phone, her entire body tensing. Was she serious? "No," she murmured, her eyes glazing once again with hot, angry - hurt tears. Not that she hadn’t thought about it - every damn second of the day.
"Thank the Gods," she heard her mother say, and Kats temper finally hit the boiling point and exploded.
"Yes, thank God you lying witch!" she spat out, her entire body trembling with her pent up rage. "Thank God I didn't sleep with the one man who could have possibly made me happy! That I maybe, just maybe, could have had something with! Why should anything change for me now?" Kat knew she was ranting, but was unable to stop herself. So much had happened over the past week that her head was reeling - and now her mother comes back into her life with all this shit! It was just too much! "Why the hell should I ever have a chance at happiness, huh?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Sweetheart..." her mother began, but Kat cut her off.
"Don't even bother, mother. It is just too damn early in the morning to deal with you any longer. Just tell me where my sister is; and I'll go get her for you.” She sighed heavily and shook her head, the beginning of a headache seeping into her brain with a vengeance. “But, I am telling you right now - I am bringing her to you, and then that is it! I don't want to have anything more to do with you ever again. Is that understood? I don’t want you to try to contact me again. I’m done! Done with you – done with the Coven! Done!”
Elaine sighed heavily. "You don't mean that Katrina," she said softly.
"The hell I don't! No more - do you understand me? My entire life I’ve had a sister that I didn't even know about. It wasn't bad enough that you left me alone every time some guy came along; but to find out that I could have had someone there with me to love...” she paused as she tried to bite back her tears. "And now when I might have a chance at some real happiness in my life, you come along - after three fucking years - and tell me that if I stay and try - he’ll be killed! Christ, mother - what's next?"
"Katrina, I don't expect you to understand or forgive me right now, but in time..."
"In time - I'll just grow to hate you even more," Kat finished quietly. "Just tell me where she is." Kat stormed over to the dresser and grabbed her purse, pulling a pen and a piece of paper from it. "Where did you send her mother?" she asked; her voice clipped.
"I sent her to some friends of mine," Elaine replied softly. "They are good people, Katrina, and I know they gave her a good life."
"Really?" Kat bit out, unable to control the contempt in her voice. "Did you ever bother to check up on that?"
"I...I couldn't..." she stammered. "No one could know."
"Yeah, I guess not. We wouldn’t want to have your sparkling reputation tarnished by people finding out that you dumped your kid on someone.” She took a deep, steadying breath. “Just give me their information."
Elaine rattled off an address in South Carolina and Kat felt her body stiffen. My God, she had a sister not eight hours from her, and never knew it! Damn her mother!
"Their names are Constance and Jack Bradford,” she went on - beginning to sound very business-like, and that only served to increase Kats anger. She was making it sound as if she was going to pick up a sofa or some other incidental object; and not her sister.
"What do I tell these people after seventeen years, mother?" Kat asked, her eyes blazing. "Hi, yo
u don't know me, but I'm here to pick up my sister. You know, the girl who you've been raising as your own. Thank you very much for taking such good care of her – here is your gift card to Olive Garden." Kat barked out a short, bitter laugh. Christ, she thought again, could her life suck anymore?
"I'll call them right after we're finished here," she explained, her tone becoming even cooler as she went on. "They knew that this day would come, and they will need to get some things ready.”
"Well, isn't that comforting," Kat seethed - just growing angrier by the minute. She needed to end this call - and to end it fast. This was just way beyond screwed up.
"Katrina, I can't stress to you enough...you must leave the wolf behind."
“Yes, mother. I heard you the first time." She ground out between clenched teeth - her heart twisting painfully in her chest so tightly that she was finding it hard to breathe.
No! She silently screamed at herself. She needed to stop this nonsense. She and Luke had nothing. He irritated the hell out of her, and tried her patience at every turn. She nodded her head harshly - trying desperately to convince herself that the thought of leaving him didn’t twist at her insides like a vice.
"Well, then," her mother replied, "I'll let you get to it then." She cleared her throat. "Save my number and call me when you have Harper. We will meet up then. Goodbye, Katrina." With that, the phone went dead and Kat cursed under her breath.
At the moment, she was completely and utterly angry at the world.
Chapter 2
Kat crept down the stairs as quietly as humanly possible - her backpack slung over her shoulder. She held her breath as she listened for any sounds coming from the house - but thankfully there was only silence.
She had packed her stuff quickly and dressed - hoping to be gone before anyone woke. The pack had accepted her without question, and she was going to miss each and every one of them. Not to mention their Alpha. Kat's throat tightened at the thought of Luke - once again her eyes welling with tears. Damn it to hell! She had to stop pining over the arrogant ass. He would have most likely just used her and tossed her aside anyway. That's what those self-centered, mangy curs were famous for! They all thought that they were doing the women of the world a favor with their stud services.
A Wolf's Savage Embrace Page 1