by Jenna Aileen
“Well, my mom left my dad when I was tenI think? Maybe eleven or twelve. The memories are fuzzy. But then we – my mom, my brother and I—moved to Oregon. I haven’t seen my dad in eight years. Ryan moved out a few years ago and I haven’t seen him since. And I’m probably never going to see them again, am I?” She started to cry again as she curled herself up even more, burying her face deeper in my chest.
I stroked her hair as she cried, unable to offer her any other comfort.
How could she know anything then about her father? She was probably too young to understand any of it before her dad left, and it sounds like she hasn’t been in contact with him since then. Vladimir might be a little angry that he can’t get any information out of her, but maybe that’s for the better. Even if she did know something, it would probably take a lot to get it out of her. I knew Vladimir wouldn’t hesitate to torture her to get the information. I cursed loudly, causing Kathryn to jump.
“Sorry,” I apologized.
She nodded and settled back down, pressing her body close to mine again. “It’s just so weird, Conan, I mean I haven’t seen my dad in years, and all of the sudden I start dreaming about him,” she sighed wistfully and shook her head. Kathryn was silent for a while, and I thought she had fallen asleep, but then she spoke. “Conan, why am I involved in all of this? Why did you kidnap me? I want answers.” Her voice was filled with desperation.
“It would be pointless if I told you now—you’re going to fall asleep in a few minutes and you probably won’t remember any of what I say.”
“Oh, now all of the sudden you’re worried about me remembering something you don’t want to tell me? C’mon, Conan.” I shook my head and she swore rather loudly.
“I hate you,” she said, shoving me off the bed with a grunt. She whimpered in pain and slowly laid back down.
I got back in my own bed and sighed. The sound of her soft, even breathing soon reached my ears and I knew she had fallen asleep again.
Questions danced around my head the entire night. Why did Aidan leave? Did she know where Aidan lives now? Did Vladimir know she had a brother? I was determined to find these things out. I had to know, I just had to. I couldn’t help but feel a little twinge of guilt as I lay there and listen to the sound of her breath, so slowly and peacefully.
I quickly pushed those thoughts out of my head.
There was no room for guilt. Vladimir had given me a job to do and that was to bring the girl back to him, not to develop feelings for her. The beast inside me whined and told me she didn’t matter. That she was just a piece in the game—the game of hide and seek, trying to find Aidan. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what Vladimir would do to her once he got what he wanted. Would he kill her along with her dad? I was up all night thinking all of it through. Fighting the feelings of guilt was not easy.
*~*~*
Unfortunately by morning, I still hadn’t figured anything out. I got up around seven to go find a screwdriver so we could hotwire a ride.
Kathryn woke up around nine looking rather groggy. Her hair was a mess and her shirt was all wrinkled and had ridden up, revealing the bandages covering her stomach.
“Morning, sleeping beauty,” I greeted. She threw her pillow at me and ran her fingers through her hair. “How are you feeling?” I asked.
“A little better,” she said with a shrug.
“We’re leaving in a few minutes, so get your stuff together.”
“Where are we going?” she asked, rolling out of bed and walking towards the bathroom.
“The longer we stay here, the bigger the risk of rogues finding us again. I’m surprised they haven’t come yet.”
“That didn’t answer my—wait, we’re not walking, are we?” Kathryn came out of the bathroom, her mouth all bubbly and full of toothpaste.
“No, we’ll drive. It’s about a seven-hour drive to get across the border.”
“Finally! We get to drive some of the way. Why didn’t you think of this before? We could have probably already been there and back again twelve times.”
“It’s complicated,” I said, “We’d be taking a huge risk if we accidentally crossed into another pack’s land. It’d be like Desmond all over again, except we’d be on our own.” “Everything’s complicated with you!” she shouted over the running water. She came back out after a few minutes with all of our toiletries packed up in a plastic bag.
“Here, use some of this…you smell. And please, put a shirt on.” She threw a deodorant stick at me.
“Hey, I did just shower yesterday you know. How long has it been since you showered? Oh yeah, that’s right…three weeks?”
“Yes, no thanks to you. I washed up as best I could yesterday. Being wrapped up like a freaking mummy kind of makes it difficult to shower,” she snapped.
I clicked my tongue. “Excuses, excuses.”
“Oh shut up,” she muttered.
*~*~*
“Alright, I may to need you to help me with this,” I said when we were in the elevator.
“Help you with what?”
“Hotwiring the car.”
“No way! I am not helping you steal a car!!”
“Kathryn, come on!”
“No! And I refuse to ride in said car if you do manage to hotwire it.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me.
“Oh you’re going to ride in it. But it’s your choice whether you want be tied up in the trunk or sit in the passenger side,” I said, pointing my screwdriver at her. She huffed but didn’t say anything else. We walked along the sidewalk until I found just the right car.
“How many times have you hotwired a car?” Kathryn asked me as I broke the ignition switch with the screwdriver.
“A dozen or so,” I replied casually. The look on her face was priceless when she heard the engine start.
“Can you teach me how to do that?” She whispered curiously, tilting her head to the side.
“I thought you said—”
“I know what I said but I was just thinking this may come in handy someday—if I ever live to tell about it. Lord knows what will happen to me with all these werewolves around,” she said, hopping in the passenger side. “I still don’t agree with this, you know.”
“But you think it’s pretty cool, right?”
“Maybe,” she muttered under her breath.
We drove in silence for about an hour until Kathryn switched on the radio. She stopped once she found a country music station.
“Seriously, country music?” I turned the dial to try and find something more tasteful music.
“Hey, eyes on the road, mister.” She smacked my hand away, but I continued to search for a different station. After a few minutes I found a classic rock channel, and Kathryn started singing along with some song from the eighties.
“How old are you again?” I asked her.
“Nineteen,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Isn’t this a bit before your time?” I asked.
“Yeah…but my dad used to listen to this all the time when I was little. I, uh, kinda grew up on this music. It reminds me of better days. Ooh! I love this one.”
She sang along with the song and looked out the window. She had a sweet voice. I had never heard her sing before.
“Tom Petty was always dad’s favorite,” she said quietly, gazing out the window.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. George hates Tom Petty, I swear only because I used to listen to him all the time.” Her sparkling blue-gray eyes disappeared as she smiled.
“Who’s George?” I asked.
“Oh…he’s my, uh, stepdad. He’s a cranky, fat, ugly, stupid— pig.”
“So I take it you don’t get along?”
“No, not at all. Well…I mean…he was almost tolerable until my brother moved away. Then he started…” She huffed and shook her head.
“Was he…abusive?” I asked. She turned to look at me. All the happiness that was in her eyes a few seconds ago completely disappeared and
was replaced with anger and pain as she nodded her head.
“Sort of, but only after my brother left for college. I hit him back a few times. But it wasn’t always worth it. I mean…it wasn’t that bad. Some days were worse than others, but it wasn’t all the time. The thing that killed me the most was that my mom just…just let it go. She pretended nothing happened and she didn’t care. She’s a psycho anyway, though. On or off her meds, it doesn’t really matter. My step-sister would egg him on, too. She was such a bitch. She would take any chance she got to just pick at me and get me in trouble. And I couldn’t do anything back unless I wanted George slapping me around.”
“Wait, Stephanie…is she that tall blond girl that spilled the lemonade all over you at the mall?”
“Yeah, she—hey, how did you know about that? Oh right, stalker.”
“Didn’t she tattle on you for tripping her?”
“Ew, you creep! How long were you stalking me?”
“Just for a day…the day before I broke into your house and you hit me on the head with a flashlight,” she laughed.
“I hope that hurt.”
“Oh trust me, it did. That stupid flashlight must have had silver in it or something,” I winked at her. She smiled, then her face became serious again as she studied me.
“Conan…what’s going on? I mean…what kind of kidnapper risks his life to save his captive? I mean, seriously…why are you going through all of this. Are you trying to protect me from something?” Her voice got really soft and quiet as her bright eyes pleaded with me to answer her question.
“You’ll find out soon, Kathryn, just be patient.”
“Are you working for the government?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“No, I am not working for the government. You watch too much TV,” I replied, rolling my eyes.
I turned the music up again and kept my eyes on the road, doing my absolute best to ignore the pleading looks Kathryn was sending my way. She finally gave up with a huff and looked out the window. The only noise that came out of her after that was the sweet sound of her singing along with the song that was playing on the radio. I knew she would figure it out sooner or later—why we took her—but I didn’t expect her to be begging me to explain it all. I thought she would already know and try to run away again once she finally figured it out.
Her ignorance still came as a shock to me, and the realization of how innocent she was when it came to the subject of her father weighed heavily on my shoulders.
A part of me just wanted to say, “Tough, she’s the offspring of the enemy and so she has to just deal with it.” While the other half felt some form of guilt for dragging her into this and not doing anything about it while knowing that she has done no wrong and she shouldn’t have to pay for the sins of her father.
I shoved all of the thoughts and feelings away and reminded myself of the task that was at hand. Deliver her to Vladimir unharmed and let him to the deciding. He was the leader, the alpha, and it was up to him to decide what would happen to her. I needed to follow my orders. It didn’t matter how I felt about her, it mattered that I did as I was told. The annoying thing was that I didn’t feel much better after I decided to put my mind on autopilot, so I tried distracting myself. I concentrated on the lyrics to the music and my driving.
Kathryn’s quiet singing ceased after a little while, and when I looked over, she was sleeping soundly. I looked at the clock and it was half-past noon. She was going to need another dose of painkillers soon. I shook her leg and she groaned and turned to look at me.
“What?”
“You need to take your medicine before it wears off,” I said, reaching back and grabbing the plastic bag from the backseat.
“I think it already has,” she grumbled, wincing as she sat up. “Do you have any water?”
“No, sorry.”
She sighed but popped the pill in her mouth anyway. She tried to swallow three times before she started choking on it. Her face turned all red and I was about to pull the car over and do the Heimlich maneuver on her when she finally got it down and took a big gulp of air.
“That was horrible!” she sputtered. “I don’t care if we pull over and I have to drink from a puddle—next time, I am not taking it unless I have water.”
“I’m sorry, I should have stopped and gotten you something to help you wash it down.”
“Yeah, some story this would make. I survive a month in the wilderness with four werewolves, almost drowning, being mauled by a vicious werewolf, and then I choke and die on a pill that’s supposed to keep me from getting a stupid infection or something.”
“You, my dear, are just very accident prone.”
“Oh trust me, it’s always been this way. But it seems to have gotten worse since I met you.”
“Um, I don’t think that’s true. I saw you tripping around that night I broke in.”
“I had a broken toe! And you had just shown up, so see? You’re just bad luck.”
“I am not bad luck. You’re just clumsy.”
“Whatever,” she said with a huff and shake of her head. She couldn’t argue with that.
We didn’t stop until we drove for about three-and-a-half hours. Kathryn was asleep for most of it, but when she woke up, she said she was starving. Starbucks was the first thing I saw, so I pulled in there. Kathryn got all excited and practically ran in. After grabbing some coffee and sandwiches, she ate them in the car.
A few hours later, we stopped for an early dinner about thirty miles away from where Vladimir had told me I would find him and the others. While we were out, I got Kathryn some more suitable shoes and a winter coat. Her converse sneakers just weren’t going to cut it. She refused to throw them away, however, because they apparently had some sort of sentimental value. She somehow managed to shove them in her coat pockets
“I wonder if Valko and Sawyer and Liam are alright,” Kathryn said as we walked in the dark, bitter cold night. It was only around six or seven o’clock, but the sun had already set. There was a beautiful full moon to help light our paths. I could feel the wolf inside getting restless and wanting to run around and, well, kill things, to put it bluntly. He wanted to hunt, but I couldn’t risk it right now. Maybe once Kathryn was safe I could go hunting, but not now.
“Conan, do you think they’re all right?” Kathryn asked again, interrupting my fantasies of hunting.
“I hope so. We’ll find out soon enough. They might have returned to the pack to wait for us.”
“But don’t you think if they were okay that they’d try to find us?”
“You’re worried about them, aren’t you?” I asked, stopping and looking at her. She looked kind of funny wearing the big puffy coat that made her double in size.
“No, of course not,” she said defensively, sticking her jaw out like she always did when she was mad, and looking at her feet. “They’re my kidnappers for pity’s sake, why would I be worried about them. I don’t really care…I was just curious.” “Who would’ve thought that Kathryn McLeod has a soft spot?” I teased, continuing to walk.
“I do not have a soft spot for them, Conan. And that’s not fair, of course I have a soft spot…just not for big, fat, ugly, stupid, kidnapping—wolf men!”
“Shush! You’re going to get us caught. And I am not fat. You saw my abs yourself…and you told me I was sexy.” I couldn’t resist. She stopped dead in her tracks and stuck her hands on her hips.
“I did nothing of the sort! When the hell would I have seen that?!”
“That night you were in the hospital.” I looked over my shoulder and had a hard time not laughing at the look on her face. “You were a bit out of it from the drugs they gave you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said, putting her head in her hands. “I didn’t say that…” She groaned. It sounded like more of a question than a statement.
“Yes, my love, you did.”
“My love?” she questioned. “Where did that come from? Conan, you’ve been acting really…
weird lately. Why are you being so nice to me; I mean you’re my kidnapper for god’s sake. What is going on?”
“I didn’t mean, um,” I turned back to look at her. The way her lips were pursed and stuck to the side and she had her hand on her hip. The curiosity in her eyes twinkled in the moonlight. I stopped and stared for a moment.
“Conan…Conan…CONAN, what is wrong with you?” she snapped her fingers in my face and I came back to earth. “What just happened? You zoned out for a minute. Are you okay? You’re acting really—” We both froze as distant howls pierced the silent night.
“We’ve got to get moving. Almost there.” I grabbed her hand and we took off running through the trees. After a few minutes, I could tell Kathryn was really feeling it. She kept stumbling and tripping. Her breathing was rapid and strained.
“Come on, Kathryn, come on!” I pulled her along and she started coughing really hard. I stopped and tried to pick her up but she shoved me away.
“No! I can run…just give me a sec,” she gasped, bending over and resting her hands on her knees. She sounded terrible.
“Kathryn, just let me carry you, it’s not a big deal—”
“No…I’m too heavy! Don’t—”
“Kathryn, your stubbornness is going to get us caught and killed, now please just let me carry you.” After about two minutes of pleading, begging, arguing, and demanding, I was running through the woods carrying Kathryn piggyback style. Yes, that was our compromise. I think that way might actually have been easier, but more painful for her. I could tell she was trying not to show that she was in pain. She was getting really tense and accidentally choking me.
“Kathryn, sweetheart, I need you to loosen your grip a little bit,” I panted.
“Sorry.” I could almost feel her pain as her stomach rubbed against my back. “Again with the ‘sweetheart,’ what is with you?” she mumbled. The truth was I had no idea. It was just sort of coming out. She reminds me so much of my Selene— maybe that was why I felt such a connection when I first met her.
I ignored her question and kept on running as fast as I could. I didn’t have time to explain all that was going on in my head, nor did I want to.