Everlasting Bond

by Christine M. Besze

  “Hey guys,” Stacy smiled.

  “Hi, Stace. What are you up to?” Katrina asked, hearing the excitement in her voice.

  Stacy returned a friendly nod to Cole and then answered her. “Not much. Just running through my costume ideas for the dance.”

  “Come up with anything interesting?” Jake stood next to her with Andrew in tow.

  “Not really. I don’t want to do anything traditional. I mean the whole vampire and witch thing is totally cliché.”

  “Totally.” Andrew didn’t attempt to hide the huge grin on his face.

  “Yeah. I want something that hasn’t been done before.” Stacy looked up at him. The way she looked at him, Katrina could still tell she was bummed he was gay. Until she saw him with Jake, she had her heart set on going to the dance with him.

  “How about a dress made of meat?” Andrew laughed. “You can go as your own slaughter house.”

  “Gross,” Stacy wrinkled her nose in disgust. “No thanks.”

  “Suppose you’ll play it safe then,” Andrew mumbled with disappointment.

  “So, what are you guys going to go as?” Stacy asked, turning her attention back to Katrina.

  “I’m not sure.” Katrina had to admit the last thing on her mind lately was what to wear to a school dance.

  “Romeo and Juliet,” Andrew answered for her.

  “Are you really?” Stacy’s face lit up in excitement. “That’s great.” Katrina went to rebut, but Stacy never stopped talking long enough. “How about you guys?” She turned to Jake and Andrew.

  “He’s going as a giant ass!” Cole nodded in Andrew’s direction, standing next to Katrina and joining the conversation.

  “Yup. You know every good party needs one,” Andrew cocked his eyebrows.

  The bell rang cutting their conversation short, not that Katrina was too hurt by it. If left there any longer with Andrew, there would be no telling how things would have ended up going.

  “Catch you later, lefty,” Andrew snickered before grabbing Jake’s hand and walking off.

  She rolled her eyes and followed Cole to class. They didn’t hold hands, but they walked very close together. Things between them were still a little awkward. She wasn’t angry with him anymore, but she hadn’t totally forgiven him either. It was going to take some time before she made a decision about that.

  The rest of the school day went by pretty fast. The only thing she had to endure was more ridicule from Andrew at lunchtime. Other than that, her day had gone by smoothly.

  After school was the only time she hit a snag. She caught Mason walking down the hall and her stomach clenched in knots. She hadn’t seen much of him since he slammed her into the school lawn and hadn’t really wanted to either.

  He made eye contact with her and she froze. He started to make his way towards her, when he suddenly stopped and hurried the other direction.

  “Aw, look at that. Seems he’s repulsed by you too,” Andrew said into her ear, as he suddenly appeared behind her.

  Turning, she found an odd look on his face. “What did you do?” she asked, as she quickly put the pieces together.

  “Me? Now why would you assume it was something I did?”

  “Because you have guilty written all over your face.”

  “Honestly, Caroline. I have no idea what you’re talking about and I’m a little hurt by the accusation.”

  She ignored the fact that he called her Caroline and folded her arms over her chest. “Drop the innocent act. I know you’re far from that.”

  “That is true. I have discovered being myself is way more fun. You should try it sometime.” Katrina gave him a stern look. If annoying her was his motive, it was working.

  He stared back and Katrina could see he was intrigued at her challenge. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, he caved and answered. “I just gave him a friendly reminder that I’m the only one that’s allowed to mess with you.”

  “Exactly how friendly?”

  “Extremely.” The deviance behind his voice reached his eyes as he winked. “Let’s just say he’ll be sleeping with his doors locked from now on.” Andrew smiled and then walked off.

  Dumbfounded, Katrina just stood there. It wasn’t until she heard Cole’s voice that she came back to reality.

  “What did I miss?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure.” She started walking towards the car with Cole and couldn’t make sense of what just happened. “Andrew just shocked the hell out of me.”

  “I’m sure he did,” Cole laughed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, as they walked out the front of the school.

  “He may be a stubborn ass, but he’s not afraid to fight for what’s right.”

  Katrina nodded her head. “Guess I’m just stunned he did something nice for someone.”

  “He’s definitely full of surprises.” He opened the door for her.

  Looking around she noticed they were missing half of their group. “Jake and Andrew aren’t coming?”

  “No. They wanted some time alone.” Cole gave her an odd smile. He seemed much more on edge than he had this morning.

  “Oh.” Embarrassment flooded her. Sometimes she really hated her brother. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever get to the point of accepting everything like he had. Katrina sat back against the seat and watched Cole shut her door and walk around into the driver’s seat. She could feel tension emanating off of him the whole time. He seemed to have the weight of the world on his mind. She thought about starting a conversation with him, but each time she got up the courage she hesitated and talked herself out of it.

  When she saw her farmhouse come into view she felt a bit of relief. Cole put the car in park and walked around to open her door. He was reluctant, but followed her to the front door.

  Katrina turned and found him leaning against a post, twirling his keys in his hand. It was obvious his mind was elsewhere at the moment. “Cole.”

  “Yeah?” He came around at the sound of her voice.

  “Something on your mind?”

  “Everything’s fine.” He forced a smile, but Katrina wasn’t buying it.

  “Then I’ll see you later.” What a load of crap! Annoyed, she went to go inside when he suddenly appeared next to her.

  “Wait!” He pressed his hand against the door.

  “What?” She arched an eyebrow at him.

  He hesitated a moment before he spoke. “Can we talk?”

  Katrina gave him a funny look and debated. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was on his mind. He was on edge and at the moment he was starting to scare her.

  He must have realized it too because he moved his hand and gave her some space. “Please?” he pleaded.

  It took Katrina a few seconds to decide. “Do you promise to tell me what’s really going on with you?” Cole didn’t answer. He just gave her a long hard stare. “Fine, suit yourself.” She moved to go inside when he finally spoke.

  “All right. You win.”

  “Everything, Cole!” He nodded. “Then come in.”

  Following her inside, Katrina caught him doing a quick check of her house. She didn’t feel it was necessary. After all, she hadn’t seen one werewolf yet, but, she let him do it anyway.

  Once he was satisfied, it was just the two of them he met her in the kitchen. Katrina heard him enter the room, but never turned around. She dropped her bag down next to the table and made herself some hot tea.

  Over her shoulder she asked him, “Can I get you anything?”

  “No, thank you.”

  She grabbed her cup and walked over to the table. Taking the seat across from him, she found him fidgeting with one of the cloth placemats. His face seemed paler than normal. Suddenly, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what was bothering him.

  Katrina sipped her tea and waited for him to speak. It took him a good while before he got up the nerve. He looked up at her and opened his mouth, but it wasn’t the sound of his voice that made her jump.
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br />   The muffled sound of her phone was humming through her backpack. She bent down and rummaged through her bag for her phone. Cole never took his eyes off her the entire time. Looking at her phone, she knew it was an important call.

  “Hi, Kat honey,” Katrina heard in between the clanking of dishes in the background.

  “Hi, mom.”

  “How was school today?”

  “It was, you know, school.”

  “Uh-huh. Have a good one,” her mother laughed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing honey. I was just saying bye to Principal Weber.”

  “Oh.” Sometimes Katrina hated when her mom called her from work. Her attention was always being diverted to her surroundings. She waited for her mom to finish talking, but occasionally she’d forget Katrina was even on the line.

  “Did you need something mom?” Katrina was growing a little impatient. Normally it wouldn’t bother her, but at the moment she had Cole’s eyes on her and it only sparked her curiosity of his troubles more.

  “Sorry about that sweetie. You know how it can get around here.”

  “Right.”

  “Look, I know you guys were looking forward to spending time together, but Tracy called in sick and—”

  “And you have to cover for her.” Katrina had a hard time hiding the disappointment in her voice.

  “I tried to get out of it. I really did. I’m so sorry.”

  “Look, can we just talk later?” Katrina felt her disappointment turning into anger.

  “Sure,” her mom sighed. Katrina went to end the call when her mom’s voice stopped her. “Oh, one more thing.”

  “What?”

  “Is your brother with you?”

  “No. Why?”

  “I’ve been trying to get a hold of him and he’s not answering his phone.”

  “He went to town with Andrew to run errands after school. He probably doesn’t even hear his phone.” She didn’t want to tell her mom the real reason he might not be answering his phone. And Cole’s face grew concerned at her mothers words.

  “I guess you’re right. Will you have him call me when he gets home?”

  “Yup.”

  “Thanks sweetie. And I promise I will make it up to you both.”

  “Fine.”

  “I have to get back to work. I love you and I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Love you too. Bye.” Katrina set the phone down on the table and rested her cheek against her hand.

  “Something wrong?” Cole asked.

  “My mom has to work late again.” She blinked to stop the watering that was forming in her eyes.

  “I’m sure it’s not because she wants to.”

  “I know. I just miss her.” Katrina attempted to nonchalantly wipe the stray tears away. “Sorry,” she sniffled, “What were you going to say?”

  He looked disappointed that she remembered he had been about to speak. “I was wondering if you’ve had anymore—dreams?”

  “No more than normal.”

  “Nothing—new?”

  “Nope. It’s just the same two.” Seeing the disappointment on his face she asked, “Why?”

  Cole leaned forward to answer her, when he froze. His eyes went blank and he zoned out like he had been doing when Andrew or his father called him.

  After a few moments of silence Katrina grew impatient. “Hello!” She waved her hand in his face. When Cole came to, he gave her a grim look. “What is it?”

  “Something’s wrong. I need to go.”

  “With Jake?”

  He nodded and went to leave when she protested. “Wait, I’m coming with you.”

  “You can’t. It’s too dangerous. It’d be much safer for you to wait here.”

  “No. I’m not staying behind.” Her temper flared as she stood up.

  “I can’t risk something happening to you.”

  Oh, hell no! You’re not telling me what to do! Katrina walked up to him. “If something’s wrong with my brother, I’m the only one who can sense him and you know it.”

  He was debating, but Katrina had him and she knew it. “Grab your coat.”

  Proud she won that argument, Katrina ran upstairs and grabbed the first jacket she could find. On her way back down, she found Cole leaning against the wall with his arms folded around his chest. She could tell he was still not happy about her going, but too bad.

  Cole shut the door behind them and they headed towards the car. He was taking larger strides than normal and positioning himself in front of Katrina. He was glancing at the sunset with a grim face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m just making sure we’re not being followed.” Cole took one last look around and then his body changed. He grew very tense before he practically shoved her inside the car. As he slammed it shut he said, “We need to hurry.”

  Chapter 9

  Katrina had no idea how long they had been driving, but it was long enough for her to watch the sunset. The only thing in her view for miles was the desolate highway and the overgrown pine trees. Generally it would have been an enjoyable experience, but not tonight. With the moon so full, everything had an eerie glow about it and it made her very uncomfortable. The shadows only made things more frightening.

  She turned her body to look at Cole, but did so very slowly. She was afraid the slightest movement would break his concentration. He was gripping the steering wheel so tight, she thought it was going to snap in half. Then her mind went to her brother.

  Thoughts of all the terrible things that could have happened flood her mind. She struggled to push them away, but she couldn’t. Jake was with Andrew and she didn’t know if either of them were okay. Her stomach was turning and she felt her heart jump in her throat as images of what he could be facing forced their way to the surface. They became too much for her to handle and she shook herself out of it. She tried once more to keep her eyes on the road, when it happened.

  Cole let out a fierce hiss and his eyes became dark balls of blue fire. He reminded her of an angry wild cat ready to strike. The only other time she had seen him so angry and dangerous was the night Brody attacked her. Katrina dug into the back of her seat, as two razor sharp incisors protruded from his lips. He seemed to be warding off an unseen enemy from amongst the shadows. She, too, searched through the darkness, but her human eyes couldn’t find whatever it was. Then she gasped in shock, as it came into view.

  Out of the shadows and in the direct path of Cole’s Camaro came a mammoth-sized dark figure. Stepping into the path of Cole’s headlights, Katrina felt her eyes grow wide in terror. She could make out every frightening detail. It was even scarier than any of her memories had showed. Layers of coffee-colored fur covered every inch of its giant muscular physique. To Katrina, it looked more like a horrid science experiment gone amiss. Its pointy-tipped ears were erect like a curious puppy. The atrocity had muscles bulging out from every limb. With lengthy knife-like claws branching out from its fingertips, the creature looked like it could rip a military convoy to shreds in one swoop. Walking upright on its two large hind legs, Katrina could make out black thorns protruding from its spine. Sharp daggers extended from its bottom jowls. Flashing a malicious grin at Katrina, the yolks of its yellow soulless eyes glared devilishly back at her.

  “Hold on!” Cole warned, slamming his foot against the accelerator till Katrina heard it hit the floorboard.

  The sinister figure held its ground, bracing itself for contact. Shaking with fear, Katrina pressed her body back even further against the seat. Digging her hands into the slippery leather covering, she searched for something, anything to grab a hold of. She took a deep breath and readied herself for impact. But the creature did the unexpected. The monster lifted itself up out of harms way and right onto the roof of the Camaro.

  Sounds of twisting metal ricocheted through the deserted highway. The roof began to buckle under the animal’s immense pressure. A sharp scratching sound from its razor edged claws sent chills of fear up her spine. Ka
trina covered her ears. Glancing towards the back of the car, she could see the creature’s foot demolishing the car’s trunk and smashing out the rear window in the process. On its way back down onto the dark pavement, the creature gave Katrina a devilish snicker and then disappeared off into the covering of blackness once again. Cole swerved the car over to the shoulder and jammed it in park.

  “You hurt?” He looked her over.

  “No, I’m fine.” Katrina stared at him in disbelief. “Was that what I think it was?”

  “Yes. That was Farkas, their tracker. They want to make sure.”

  “Make sure of what?” Covered in glass debris, she slowly loosened her iron grip off the seat.

  “That I really found you.”

  “What does this mean?”

  Cole ran his fingers through his auburn hair, exhaling in frustration. He wouldn't look at her as he fidgeted with his keys dangling from the ignition. “It means the others will be coming soon, if they’re not already here.”

  Words escaped her. She sat back taking in deep breathes. Until that moment, she had never seen a werewolf and they were much more frightening in person. “What are we going to do?”

  “We need to go see my father, but first we need to find your brother.”

  Not knowing what else to say, she simply nodded. Her emotions were going to get the most of her if she didn’t get them under control and Cole must have picked up on it.

  Cole leaned over and gently caressed her cheek with his finger. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Katrina’s pulse began to rise and she closed her eyes. Her body had missed his touch and it was picking the most inopportune moment to crave more. It was like the warmth of the sun on a chilly night. Then she felt something cool and soft touch her lips.

  Succumbing to his kiss, Katrina was lost and never wanted to find her way back. Katrina squeezed her fingers around his silky hair, as her heart raced in excitement. Everything went blank and faded into a distant memory, the only thing that mattered was the pleasure of Cole’s touch. But then, Katrina felt Cole’s hold on her loosen.

  He pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, “We need to go.”