Everlasting Bond (17 page)

“Jake are-are you sure?”

“I love him,
K—”

Katrina’s heart ached, as Jake attempted to explain. He was becoming weak fast and she knew she didn’t have a choice. Jake had made his decision.

“Please. We’re running out of time,” Cole urged.

Katrina fought back her tears and stood back. “Do it q
uickly.” Watching Andrew gently caressing her brother’s frail body, she hoped she made the right decision.

Andrew kissed Jake’s cheek. “This might hurt a little.” He pulled the metal piece from Jake's bloodied chest. Even in his weakened state, Jake let
out a blood curdling scream.

Katrina turned away and shuddered in fear. It was an image she knew she wouldn’t forget anytime soon. Watching Andrew pull out the large shard of metal from her brother, made her stomach turn. She heard the hollow sound of it agai
nst the ground and her body began to sway. For a moment, she thought she was going to lose it. She braced her hand against the dirt and tried to steady her breathing to keep herself from falling over.

“I’m sorry. The next part’s not so bad. I promise,” she heard Andrew assure Jake.

“What’s wrong?” Cole asked, as he knelt down beside Katrina.

“I don’t know,” Katrina shook he
r head. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Why don’t you come with me to get some air? It might help.” Cole’s hand
gently tugged on her shoulders.

Katrina hesitated. She was afraid for her brother. It was hard for her to leave him like this and not know if she would ever see him again. She couldn’t imagine life without him. It had been the two of them since childhood.

“Please?” Cole pleaded.

Katrina nodded. “Okay.” She felt his arctic limbs tenderly help her to feet. She walked off in a slight daze. They didn’t stop until Jake’s wheezing gasps for air were far behind her. She came to, only to see the immense cloud covering of trees surrounding her. Soon, she felt Cole stop.

“Let’s sit here until you feel better.” Cole helped Katrina sit against a tree trunk. Images of her dying brother lying on the blood-soaked ground replayed in her head, as they sat in awkward silence.

“What’s going to happen to him?” she asked, finally feeling better. “I
mean, is he going to be okay?”

“He’s going to be fine. Better than fine, actually. He’s going to be one of us.” It was obvious he meant that to be uplifting, but all it did was make her cry. Cole stopped walking and furrowed his brow.

“What is it?” She wiped at her tears.

“I need to tell you something. I was trying to tell you earlier, but I wasn’t sure how you would react.”

She turned to face him and felt her anxiety grow. “Tell me now.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and hesitated a slight second before he answered her. “Before you died, we were running away to—” Cole let his voice trail off.

“To what?”

“To be together,
forever
.”

“What?” She put her hand to her mouth in shock.

“Don’t you see? It’s the only way to keep you safe. I love you and I won’t lose you again.”

“What do
you mean, ‘it’s the only way’?”

“As long as you’re human
, they’ll keep coming for you. Hunting you down is their greatest conquest. They won’t stop, until you’re either one of them—or
dead
!”

“Why? Why do they want me so bad?” Tears were starting to stream down her face.

“Because once you’re turned, your power grows.”

“You keep talking about these ‘powers’ I don’t even have!” Katrina shouted. Her frustration was boiling over.

“You have them. They’re just waiting for you to remember how to use them.”

“What if I can’t?” She looked into his eyes, afraid.

“You need to try.” Taking her face in his hands, Cole pleaded with her. “Please, for us?”

Cole gently pressed his cool lips to hers and Katrina's body quivered. The warm urges resurfaced making her head spin. Her heart melted at his slightest touch. It took all her strength to keep her emotions under control, as she pulled away from his tender sweet lips.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say you’ll try.” One of his
fingers traced over her cheek.

“But
you’re asking me to give up everything.”

“No. I’m asking you to runaway and have a future with me. We can have a lifetime together.”

“I wish it was that simple.”

“It can be.”

“You want to turn me into a monster!” Her lips trembled as she spoke.

Cole let go of her and stepped back. “Is that what you think I am?”

Damn it! Take foot and insert into my big mouth!
“No. That’s not what I meant. I just mean I—” She struggled for the right words. “I’m scared of losing myself.”

“You won’t.”

“I wished I could believe you.” Her tears built up again blurring her vision.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” Cole wrapped his arms around her. He bent down to kiss her, but they were interrupted. They both turned around and Katrina’s heart sank. Andrew was carrying her brothers l
imp body towards them.

“Jake! What the hell happened?” Katrina snapped. Her pain turning into anger, as she ran towards her brother’s lifeless
body. “You said he’d be fine.”

“And he will be,” Andrew assured her. “He just needs some rest while his body tr
ansitions.”

Still looking at her unconscious brother, Katrina couldn’t speak. Her stomach turned, as everything started to take its toll on her. She had almost been killed by a werewolf and now she was faced with the fact she might have lost her brother. It was more than she could handle. Her head started to spin and black spots started creeping into her vision. S
ounds became distant and foggy.

“Caroline?” she heard Cole shout, but she couldn’t answer. She tried to focus, but she couldn’t. Her body was growing numb and it was like she wasn’t really there. And then just lik
e that, everything went black.

“Caroline, wake up,” she heard a familiar voice whisper. Katrina slowly opened her eyes and found Cole’s staring back at her. Confusion hit her and she couldn't move. Her memory was slightly foggy.

Glancing around, she scrunched her eyebrows. She had no idea where she was. The room was larger than an average bedroom and it was actually a lot bigger than her mother's master. It looked more like a hotel room suite than a bedroom. Large, over-flowing, metallic gray drapes adorned two French doors, which she assumed led ou
t to a patio.  “What happened?”

“You passed out. I brought you to my room.”

“Your room!” She sat up and regretted it as soon as she did. A wave of dizziness hit her like a brick. Oh.” She held her hand to her head for support. The sudden change in position was too much for her.

Cole put his hand on her shoulder and sat up with her. “You’ve been through a lot tonight; you should l
ie back down and take it easy.”

She wanted to, but her thoughts immediately went
to Jake. “Where’s my brother?”

“He’s with Andreas.” When Katrina gave him a blank stare he continued, “He loves Elias. He won’t let anything happen to him.”

“Who?” Katrina asked, but before Cole could answer she figured out who he meant. “Jake.”

Cole nodded. “You can see him if you like?”

“I’d like that.” Katrina was careful this time when she sat up and scooted off the bed.

It took her a moment to steady herself. Cole was right next to her waiting, patiently. When she finally got her footing somewhat stable, Cole took her by the hand and led her down the hall to Andrew’s room.

They stopped in front of the door and Katrina was overcome with butterflies. She wasn’t sure what she would find on the other side of that door and it was scaring the hell out of her.

Cole opened the door and Katrina’s heart felt like it had been squeezed through a vise. Under the navy bedding, was Jake. He was lying so still. If it wasn't for the sound of his shallow breaths, she would have thought he was dead.

Katrina held her breathe and walked over to the bed. With every step her anticipation grew. It wasn’t until she saw his face that she sighed in relief. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but so far he looked like the same Jake she had always known.

“Is he—?” she turned to
Cole, but let her voice falter.

“Not yet.”

“I told you he’d be fine,” Andrew’s voice interrupted, as he suddenly appeared on the bed next to Jake.

“When will he wake up?”

“There’s no way to know for sure. Each
person
reacts differently,” Andrew said. Katrina suddenly felt nauseous and her body started to tremble.

“Maybe you should take it easy?” Cole wrapped his hands around her.

“I’ll be all right. I just need a drink.” She took a deep breath and tried to shake the feeling away.

“I’ll get you some water.” Cole went to lead her away, when she stopped. She wasn’t sure she wanted to leave her brother.

“He’s going to be fine,” Cole assured her. “I promise.”

Katrina hesitated a brief second. She gave Jake one last look, then nodded her head and followed Cole down stairs. They were heading into the kitchen, when they ran into Alaric.

“Hello, Caroline. How’s your cast holding up?”

“Hi.” Katrina held up her arm. “It’s still here.”

“Is the itching getting to you, yet?”

“A little. It’s just mostly uncomfortable.”

He wrinkled his eyebrows and extended his hand out. “May I?”

“Sure.” Katrina held out her cast.

“Everything looks fine. But, why don’t you follow me and I’ll see if I can adjust it.”

“I’ll get your water and meet you in there.” Cole went ahead of her and disappeared into th
e kitchen.

She followed Dr. Aldrich down the hall and into his home office
. It was a very tidy room for a home office. Much like the inside of his office building, everything was neat and tidy. There was a smaller version of the same Mahogany desk inside his office placed off in the center corner of the oversized room. A few paintings were meticulously hung about on the walls. One of them stood out to Katrina among the rest. She was intrigued as she stood in front of it. They were four of the most gorgeous looking people Katrina had ever seen.

“You know that one is my favorite, too.” Alaric stood beside her and admired the painting. “It’s the last time
my entire family was together.”

“Family?”

“That’s Nikolas’ mother, Isolde there.” Alaric pointed to the striking woman next to his own stunning image. Her long coffee tresses flowed down resting delicately against her perfectly oval shaped face, which brought out the icy blue in her almond shaped eyes. Her petite, turned up nose perfectly complimented her tiny frame.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yes, she was.”

“Was?”

“She was killed by the werewolves.”

“I’m sorry.”

A somber look spread on his face. “It was a long time ago.”

“You must’ve loved her very much.”

“I did. She was my better half. One look into those baby blues and I was mesmerized,” he grinned to himself. “It’s a funny thing being in love. You’ll do anything for the other person, no matter the cost.”

Alaric turned to Katrina and smiled. “Nikolas gives you the same look.”

Katrina gave him a nervous smile. She had no idea what to say to that.

Alaric turned his head and continued talking. “That’s my other son Ad
ronis, Nikolas’ older brother.”

Katrina’s eyes wandered onto the figure standing next to Cole’s mother. He was unworldly handsome. His blonde hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail accenting his squared jaw and
Roman god-like features. His eyes were the same icy blue color as their mothers.

“What happened to him?” she asked. When he gave her the same somber expression, she knew. “Werewolves.”

With his navy shirt slightly unbuttoned, Adronis looked strikingly similar to their mother. Except for a strange crescent shaped birthmark at the center of his chest. Looking closer Katrina found all four figures were wearing the same symbol on their clothing.

“That’s our family crescent.”

Katrina watched Dr. Aldrich point to the emblem on each piece of clothing. The simple yet elegant design intrigued her. Golden leaves swirled into a spiral pattern surrounded by an angry dragon’s head. Its overcompensating wings enveloped the entire background. Encrusted amongst the golden leaves was an articulated style of an “A”.

“Family crescent?”

“It’s similar to the crest human families have.” When Katrina gave him a blank stare, Alaric continued. “Cole didn’t tell you that either, did he?”

“Tell me what?”

“My family is similar to the royal family in your human world. We have ruled our people for millennia. Nikolas and Andreas are my only surviving heirs to the Aldrich family throne.”

Stunned at the unexpected revelation, Katrina paused in silence. The thought of them having been around for that long was hard to swallow. Talking to him she almost forgot what they really were. He reminded her a lot of her father and seemed so normal, like any other human.

He left her to chew on that bit of information while he walked over to a white wooden cabinet. When he opened the cabinet door, there were tons of medical supplies inside. He rummaged through until he found what he was looking for. He turned and walked over to her.

“Here you go.” He sprinkled a container of powder on her cast. “This should help with some of the itching.”

“Thank you.”

“Here’s your water.” Cole appeared next to her.

“Thanks.” Katrina took it and sipped it slowly.

“Father?” Cole turned to his father.

“Yes, Nikolas?”

“I saw—Farkas.”

Alaric paused. He stared in Cole’s direction and looked at him as if he had never spoken. Katrina could pick up some underlying tension, but they said no more about the topic.

“Well, it’s getting late. I’ll leave you to check on your brother.” Alaric gave her a hug. “It’s really good to have you back, Caroline. We’ll talk later
, Nikolas”

As Alaric left, Cole turned to Katrina. “Can I show you something?”

“Sure.”

Cole took her hand and led her upstairs. This time they headed in the opposite direction of Andrew’s room. Cole opened the door open and motioned for her to enter. Nerves took over and made her hesitant, but she looked around. This time she was able to take in details of Cole’s room.

A wrought iron four-poster bed big enough for three lay in the center of the room adorned with a midnight black comforter. Like his cousin, Cole also had many electronic toys lying around the space.

“Your room is huge.”

“Thanks. Andreas is still a sore loser.”

“Loser?”

“We wrestled for it.”

“Oh.” Katrina gave him a nervous smile, as she fidgeted with her hands.

Walking in, her eyes became fixed on a peculiar painting. It was larger than any of the others in the room. She gathered it had to be of special importance to him. Moving in closer Katrina could see features of a young lady. Her face was eerily similar to Katrina’s. Hanging around her neck was the amber amulet. “Is that Caroline?” Katrina asked.

“Yes.”

“She was pretty.” Katrina looked up at Cole. When she did his cobalt eyes were fixated on her. They were staring back at her with a complacent stare.

“Yes, you are.” He smiled and walked over to her.

Embarrassed by his compliment Katrina went to turn away, when she felt his hands stop her. As she looked up, his eyes pierced right through her like a dagger of pleasure she couldn’t resist. Placing his hands around her waist, he pulled her closer to him. His gentle lips pressed firmly against hers. Lost in the moment, Katrina put her good hand around his smooth pale neck.

“I can hear you, Nikolas!” Thanks to Andrew’s interruption their
intimate moment was cut short.

Katrina leaned away embarrassed. Cole took her hand and walked her over to the bed. He gently pulled her down to sit onto the black bedding beside him. Neither of them spoke, but Katrina could feel awkward tension in the air. Her body was a nervous wreck and she was trying not to go insane. It didn’t help sitting in silence.

Still a bit jumpy, she fidgeted with his bedding for something to do. And she had to admit the velvet was very soothing.

“Come with me,” Cole finally spoke.

“Come with you, where?”

“Out onto the balcony.” He stood and held out his hand. “I want to show you something.” Cole’s face lit up.

He led her over to the square lined French Doors and stopped. Pushing the doors open, he gave her a playful smile. Katrina was instantly breathless. It was a utopia of flowers.

“Wow!” was all she could manage to say.

Walking out onto the brick flooring, she could smell the sweet mouthwatering odor Jasmine. Adorning a small corner of the balcony, they rested like a delicate feather inside a white marble planter. With every step, Katrina inhaled every essence of beauty before her. She stopped at the edge of the balcony.

Katrina was mesmerized by the exquisite picture before her. Little dots of multicolored lights lined the rolling spaces down below. All of
Morgan Springs was underneath her. The stars floating in the darkened sky glistened brighter then she had ever seen before. She was so high above everything even the usual trees obstructing her view of the night sky were nowhere to be found.

“Do you like it?” Cole asked, from behind her.

“You can see the whole town from up here. It’s beautiful.”

“It definitely is.” Wrapping his arms around her from behind, Cole rested hi
s head on one of her shoulders.

Katrina’s body melted at his touch. It was becoming strangely familiar to her. Feeling the weight of his body against her sent shivers of pleasur
e fluttering about inside her; her body leaned into his and relaxed.

Staring out into the night
, everything was peaceful. Cole held her close and it was just the two of them. She wanted to stay like that forever. All of her worries were temporarily misplaced. In that moment everything was so simple.

A sudden chill of wind thrust through the air. It was colder than normal. Katrina shivered
and her lips began to chatter.

“Look at your skin,” he rubbed her arms, “You have bumps all over. Let’s go back inside.”

Too cold to speak, Katrina simply nodded.

Cole led her back into his room. “I’m sorry. I forget humans are more sensitive to the c
hanges in weather than we are.”

He helped her sit back on the edge of his bed. The next moment a soft blanket was being wrapped around her. Cole knelt down in front of her and rubbed her arms until Katr
ina felt the friction of heat.