“I know.”
“And she tried to kill me also. Because of what I am.” Her shoulders slumped. “I always knew there was something different about me. Something I just couldn’t put my finger on. It all makes sense now. Everything.”
“Does it?”
She turned her head to look at him. Tears covered her cheeks. “Do you still hate me for what she made me do?”
“No.”
“You should.” She turned back towards the window, and Thorn walked up to that window, looking out also. “You should hate everything about me.” She tried to get up but swayed on her feet. Before she fell, Thorn grabbed her and Katrina began to fight him. “Don’t!” she sobbed in his face. “I can do it!”
“Can you?” He gave her a small shake and raised his voice a little, getting her to look up at him. “You can’t stand on your own anymore. You and Dannie need help.”
“I never asked for any damn help.” Clearly, her anger was coming back as was the will to fight him more. She tried to twist out of his hold but couldn’t. She was still too weak and still healing. But seeing the determination in her eyes had him wanting to grin. After all, that was a shifter trait.
“No, you don’t ask for help. You just carry it all on your own. Well, guess what, little girl? This load is too damn much for you to carry this time.” Her eyes began to fill up with tears and her lip was quivering. He gave her another shake. “Don’t you start that shit either,” he finished with a growl.
“What shit?”
“The self-pity bullshit.” He held her from under her arms and kept her standing up. “We don’t have time for that crap. You want to fight them, I don’t give a shit. Fight me. You want to get even with her, then do that also. Just don’t stand here and start crying for shit that neither one of us can fix.”
“I don’t cry,” she sniffed. He had to give her credit; those tears that were filling up in her eyes didn’t fall.”
“Good.”
“And I don’t want to fight you,” she whispered. “I want to kill her.”
Her eyes locked with his, and the coldness in them sent a chill down his spine, for once. It seemed like he was looking into lifeless eyes, now that the tears were gone. They had a short stare off before he lowered her back down to the bed.
“You go down that road, Katrina, there’s no going back,” Thorn told her, looking down.
She stared right back up at him. “I know.”
Thorn nodded at her. “I’ll get Dannie in here to help you.” He started for the door and stopped when she spoke again.
“God, is killing so damn easy for you?” she snapped. “You don’t even blink when I say I want to do it, why?”
Thorn took a deep breath and turned at the same time to face her once more. “What do you want, Katrina? What would you like for me to say?”
“I don’t know.” Again, she raised her voice and turned in the bed to see him. “How about don’t?”
“Is that really what you want me to say?”
Her eyes narrowed on him and she shook her head, giving Thorn her back once more. “How about go to hell.”
With a low growl, Thorn walked right back up to her, grabbed her again under the arms and had her up on her feet once more. “What do you want from me?”
“Let go,” she said through her teeth.
“Answer my damn question.”
“I said, let go!” her voice got louder.
He narrowed his eyes on her and snarled, “Are you that desperate to have blood on your damn hands?” He gave her a shake. “Are you? Because once you put it there it doesn’t come off easy.” Seeing the pain now in her eyes he let go of his own little amount of anger. Gently he put her back down on the bed and took a deep breath. “We both know that she’s going to have to die for this shit to be over.” Katrina didn’t answer, only nodded her head and lowered her eyes. “You don’t need her death on you. You’re not strong enough for that.”
“And you are?”
He knelt down in front of her so they were face to face and rubbed his own. “I’m strong enough to protect you, but only you. I can’t keep us all safe. I can’t look over my shoulder all the time to make sure Logan is doing what he needs to do for Dannie and you as well.”
“What’re you trying to say?”
“I’m saying that in order to keep you both safe, we need to split you two up.” She gasped and opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could speak. “I know you don’t want to leave her, and I know she feels the same way, but this is the only thing I can think up to protect you both. She’s hunting for us just as I’m going to be hunting for her. To make it harder I need to split you two up.”
“What exactly are you talking about? Or better yet, how long are you thinking about?”
“I’m talking about taking you some place where I know we will be safe, you can finish healing and I can think about what I need to do in order to stop this shit. A place where I don’t have to look over my shoulder all the time worrying about if she is going to come out of a damn corner and be there. We need to go underground.”
“And what about Dannie?”
“She’s in good hands with Logan. They’re mated. He’ll protect her with his life. You won’t have to worry about her at all.”
She swallowed hard, bit her lower lip and looked like she might start crying any second. But she didn’t and that gave him a small amount of pride. “I can’t leave her,” she whispered.
“We don’t have a choice here.”
“We always have a choice. She’s my sister. She’s all I’ve got left.”
“And to keep her safe we have to split up.”
She snorted at him then, glaring. “You hate me. How can you expect me to go with you when you can’t stand me?”
“You go with me, Katrina, because deep down you know I’m the only one who can help you.” He stood up and her glaring eyes followed him. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t up for a debate. We won’t leave here until the stitches come out. That should give me enough time to get things moving.” He stopped at the door, hand on the knob. “And I don’t hate you. I only want to keep you safe.” Opening the door, he went out closing it behind him.
Dannie and Logan were in the small kitchen when he came out from the bedroom. They stopped talking and looked at him.
“How’s she doing?” Logan asked.
“Broken and pissed,” Thorn sighed. “Nice little cocktail if you ask me.” He looked at Dannie. “I told her about splitting you two up to keep you both safe.”
“How’d she take it?”
“That’s when she got pissed.”
“So when will this all happen?” Dannie asked.
“We won’t move until the stitches come out. The rate she’s healing shouldn’t be but hours. The shifter blood in her works fast. Even you must have seen how fast she healed at times.”
“Where are you going to go?” Logan asked. “I mean, they should be able to talk even if they’re apart, man. They’ve been each other’s support.”
“We’ve got phones,” Thorn stated in a detached tone. He had to detach himself quickly or he wouldn’t be any good to her.
“Yeah, but where?” Logan said again. “They are going to be looking for us. All of us. And even though that bitch has cut her ties with Katrina doesn’t mean she’s going to let Dannie go.”
“I know,” Thorn said. “That’s why I wanted you to call Nick. He has some places you two can go underground where I know you’ll be safe.”
“And you?” Logan asked.
“I have a place where they will never find us or even think about trying to find,” Thorn said. “Trust me here. I know how to disappear.”
“Yeah, I know you do,” Logan stated.
“I’m going for a walk,” Thorn said. “Need some air.”
He didn’t wait for them to respond. Out the door he went, not only to clear his head and get some space away from everyone, but he also needed to make a couple of very imp
ortant phone calls. One being to Nick.
“Man, it’s so damn good to hear from you,” Dominic Vanderburg said on the other end of the phone. “Where the hell are you?” Desperation was in his voice.
“For the moment I’m hoping safe.” Thorn sighed. “Shit has landed in our laps and I’m struggling man to get us out of it.”
“What do you need? Name it and it’s yours.”
Thorn glanced at the small cabin and started to walk away. He didn’t need Logan to hear everything. “Has Logan called you?”
“Yeah, said something about needing to move and all.”
“I need you to put them underground until I can take care of that bitch personally.”
“Thorn, what are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
Dominic sighed into the phone. “Damn man. You’ve got enough blood on your hands. You don’t need anymore.”
“This isn’t going to end unless I end it. She’s ruined enough lives. It has to stop.”
Dominic went quiet for a few minutes. “What kind of time frame have I got?”
“Couple of days. I want Logan on the road as soon as possible. He’s mated, so his main focus is going to be on her and keeping her safe.”
“So I need to hide three, gotcha.”
“No, two,” Thorn corrected.
“But aren’t there four of you right now?”
“Yes.”
“Then I need to move three of you.”
“No. Katrina is staying with me.”
Dominic whistled. “Now you’re going to have to explain this better for me. Um, tell me why?”
“Her mother tried to kill her, Nick, which means that bitch is going to come looking for her to finish the job. Being at my side is the safest place for her. I can protect her.”
“Or use her as bait.”
“I’m not using her as bait. I’m just protecting her.”
“You know what all of this really sounds like, don’t you?”
“Don’t say it,” Thorn growled in a low warning.
“Oh, I’m going to say it. The protective instinct is what starts it, man. Next is the desire to mate.”
“I’m not going to mate. I told you that a long time ago.”
“And I’ve told you before that when it happens you have no control to stop it.”
Thorn growled again. “Don’t start this shit with me, Nick. I don’t have the time and I sure as hell don’t have the patience either.”
“Another sign.” Another growl and Dominic went on. “Okay! Um, I’m going to need a couple of days to work something up and find a place where they can go. Do you really think that once you take care of their mother that it’s all going to stop?”
“No. There’s another.”
“Who?”
“Human male. It’s all I know.”
“And how do you know that?”
“His scent was on Katrina. He’s the one who whipped her.”
“Shit,” Dominic hissed. “Whipped? A female?”
“She has some shifter in her.”
Again, Dominic went silent for a few seconds. “That changes the game, Thorn.”
“I know.”
“Does the other have any?”
“No, all human.”
“You think we should try to find her father then?”
Thorn ran a hand in his hair. “No. She just told me that her mother killed him a long time ago.”
“All right,” Dominic sighed. “That does start to explain a few things. Let me work on this and I’ll give you a call back when I’ve got something.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
Thorn hung up and paced outside. He kept glancing at the cabin, frowning at what he needed to do and what he wanted to do. He had never been this torn before and it was driving him nuts. Instead of going back inside, he decided to make one more call. Dialing the number without even looking at it, he stared at the cabin as he waited for the other line to pick up.
“Yeah?” a deep, male voice answered.
“I’m heading your way,” Thorn stated.
“Okay. When?”
“Couple of days.”
Silence. “See you then.” Line went dead.
Thorn put the phone back into his pocket, stopped pacing and headed back to the cabin. Dannie was fixing something to eat when he walked back inside. She looked up from her cooking, and Logan also glanced up from helping her.
“So?” Logan asked.
“Nick is on it. Couple days and we should be moving,” Thorn answered. “How’s she doing?”
“Resting,” Dannie said. “I’m going to take her something to eat and get her into the tub to soak.”
Thorn nodded. “Don’t get the stitches wet, please.”
The next two days flew by. During those two days, Dannie had Katrina back up on her feet, walking around the cabin and outside some as well. Thorn spent most of his time outside. Distance right now felt like it was the best thing for him. Dominic called back with arrangements, along with directions, because Thorn needed to take Logan and Dannie for a pick up. The morning of the third day, he was sitting behind Katrina on the bed, gently taking the stitches out of her back, and having one hell of a time doing it. She had just finished having a shower, smelled fresh and clean, and her natural scent was slowly starting to bother him.
“How many are there?” she asked once he got started.
“Too many to count.”
“How many scars will I have?”
“A few.”
She sighed, “You’re so great to talk to.”
“I try.”
He managed to get one whole row taken out and started on the second before she spoke again. “So what’s the great big plan now that I’m back up and walking again?”
“We move.”
“When?”
“Tonight.” He finished taking them all out and handed her over to Dannie.
Katrina showered once more and dressed in new jeans, new tank top under a new T-shirt as well as new shoes. Logan helped him pack up everything they had and by nightfall, they were packed up in the extended cab truck heading out.
Thorn drove for a couple of hours to the drop off point. When they reached where Dominic told them to be another car was waiting. All four of them got out at the same time. Thorn helped Logan unload their stuff to the other vehicle, then he waited off to the side as the sisters parted, hearing everything they said.
“I don’t like this,” Dannie stated.
“I know, neither do I.” Katrina brushed some of Dannie’s long hair off her shoulder. “But you know as I do that we have to do this. If she finds me she finds you and I don’t think she’d expect for us to part.”
“It’s just…” Dannie started to cry then, and sniffed. “It feels like this is good-bye, and I don’t want it to be.”
“Then it won’t.” Katrina pulled Dannie into her arms, holding her tight. “We will see each other again.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Logan came up to them and Katrina pulled back. “Time to go.”
As Logan took Dannie to the other car, Thorn walked up to Katrina and stood right next to her. They stayed there, watching the car leave before she turned and headed for the truck. Thorn followed her, got behind the wheel, started it up and pulled away, going in the opposite direction.
“This still doesn’t feel right,” she snapped at him.
“I know, but it’s the best we can do.”
“Bullshit.”
Thorn stopped suddenly in the middle of the road and turned in his seat to look at her. She didn’t look back at him. “Look, you said it yourself. She isn’t going to expect the two of you to part.”
“It still doesn’t give you the damn right to decide what we should do.”
“Too damn bad.” He turned back, put the car back in gear and floored it.
“Where are we going?” she asked after almost an hour of silen
ce.
“Someplace safe.”
“You know a straight answer would be nice once in a while. And how the hell do you know this place is so damn safe?”
“Because I do. Not too many know about this place and that makes it one of the best places we can go.”
“Fine.” She mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. After a few minutes went by, she spoke again “How long do you think it will be before I see her again?”
“I don’t know. Once we settle in, you can call her.”
She didn’t say anything else, only nodded. When he looked at her again she was sleeping and he let her sleep. His mind drifted some to plans that he had to make, things he needed to do. He didn’t have much of a plan and that was something else new for him.
The sun was just starting to rise when he pulled into the drive, of their destination. He nudged Katrina awake just as he drove up to the front porch of a cabin pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
“We’re here.” Thorn said.
“Where are we?”
Thorn looked at her and turned the truck off. “Get out.” He opened the door and got out. At the same time, the front door of the cabin also opened and someone came out to greet them. Katrina got out and slowly walked around the front of the truck.
The guy who came out stood about six-seven, built like a brick wall of muscle, with wide, broad shoulders tapering down to a powerful chest. The years had done very little to age him. He happened to be the only male around that Thorn would ever back down to, and for good reason.
“Katrina, this is my father,” Thorn said to her, looking up at him. “Kane Draeger.”
Chapter Three
Kane Draeger, an animal, or a new kind of breed to the shifters, stood on the porch waiting for his only son to join him. Saying nothing, as always, Thorn just looked at him as he walked into the house with the human girl, or as his nose picked up the half-human girl. About twenty minutes after Thorn walked into the cabin with her, he came back out, alone.
“Well?” Kane asked, not bothering to turn around and face him.
“This is the first time I don’t have a plan.”
“That’s not like you.”
“I know.”
Kane nodded. “Want a beer?”
Untamed Beast Page 3