Everlasting Bond (31 page)

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Opening her eyes the next morning, Katrina let out a muffled groan as she curled into a ball of pain. She was aching from head to toe. Her body felt as if it had been used as a piñata the night before. Except instead of candy, she had mud falling off her body. It took her a moment to realize she was in bed alone. Her
mother was gone.

She slowly rolled over and propped herself upright. Standing took all her strength, so she took it easy getting to her feet. Once she did, the room started to spin. She tried unsuccessfully to brace herself against a nearby table. Her arm missed and she went flying forward, thumping against the floor.

Andrew came running in. “What’s all the noise?”

Katrina looked up and felt her face turn red. “I lost my balance. I’m fine.”

“Right.” Andrew bent down and put his arms around her. “Up you go.” He lifted her so fast that she almost couldn’t catch her breath.

Katrina couldn’t bring herself to look at him as embarrassment flooded her body. “Thanks.” She kept her eyes planted on the floor until she felt the chill of Andrew’s hands gently cup her face and force her to look up at him.

“Don’t mention it,” Andrew grinned. “You’re a hot mess. There’s a bathroom right over there. I stopped by the house and grabbed you some clothes and human stuff. Shower and then we’re going to have a friendly chat when you’re
less smelly
. Death is not a good scent on you.” He cocked his eyebrows and then left.

Katrina made her way into the tiny bathroom and shut the door. It wasn’t extravagant by any means. With a typical one sink vanity and a shower that was just big enough to stand in, it was pretty simple.

Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she gasped. Her reflection was horrid. She was still wearing the soiled clothes from the night before and she looked like something out of a horror movie. Remnants of last night were still nestled in between her dirty disheveled hair. Thick strands were stuck like glue against her head. Even her once white cast was now a dark almond color. Katrina was horrified at her appearance and threw her musty smelling clothes on the floor.

Turning on the water, Katrina’s body tingled in anticipation. When the scorching water hit every achy muscle, she wanted to scream in ecstasy. The warmth felt like a waterfall of heaven against her body. It provided a brief release to the pain that had been holding her body down all morning. Not wanting it to end, she stayed until every last drop of hot water was used up.

Creeping back out, she wrapped herself inside one of the soft navy bath sheets. When she dried off she found the bag of clothes on the floor. She looked through until she found something she liked. To her surprise Andrew picked out some decent clothes. She threw on a pair of her favorite comfortable jeans and a purple t-shirt. Clean clothes never felt as good as they did at that moment.

It took some doing, but she forced herself to leave the bathroom. She slowly headed towards the front part of the house. Her stomach was in knots and she was nervous as hell. Now she had to face Andrew and that was something she could do without.

She could hear the sound of running water and dishes clanking. Entering the kitchen, she found a table full of food. Andrew was busy drying off a dish. He never turned around.

“Compliments of your mother.” He faced her and leaned back against the emerald counter. “Smells repulsive, but enjoy.”

Katrina stared down at the table. “I’m not really hungry.”

“Suit yourself. Can’t say I blame you. I wouldn’t want to eat it.”

Ignoring his rude remark, she slowly sat down at one of the vacant chairs in the kitchen. It was something straight out of a New York magazine. Stainless steel cabinets lined the space. They were a nice compliment to the dark counter tops. Even the appliances were of the highest quality. Her mother must be in heaven with a kitchen as high tech as this one. And then she realized she hadn’t seen anyone except Andrew this morning.

She looked around the room and found it empty. “Where is everyone?”

“Your mother and Uncle Alaric went shopping. It seems we’re running low on human necessities.”

Katrina felt an odd tension in the air as Andrew spoke. It didn’t help that he was staring right at her with a blank look on his face. She turned in her chair trying to get comfortable, but she couldn’t. Katrina felt any minute he was going to put her in the hot seat. “And Jake?”

“He’s upstairs. And I’ve moved him to the third floor, to make him wanting to kill you a little less tempting.” Never taking his eyes off her, he slowly crossed his arms over his chest. “And we’ll discuss that little snag later. Right now, it’s time for us to have a chat.”

“About what?”

“Last night.”

“What else do you want to know?”

“I want a name!”

“Donovan. Donovan Stevenson.”

“Who’s that?”

“He showed up right after Cole left. He’s Ms. Stevenson’s nephew.”

“Hold on.” Andrew pulled up a chair across from her and sat down. “He’s related to a teacher?”

“Yeah, so. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Not much. Except they’ve been here a lot longer than we thought. They could have been watching the two of you for years, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. For all we know the entire town could be swarming with werewolves and that’s a serious problem.”

“No way! I’ve lived here my whole life. I refuse to believe that.”

“Don’t be naïve. Just because you refuse to believe something, doesn’t mean it isn’t true!” He was talking to her like she was a child and it was getting on her last nerve. She’d lived there her whole life and she didn’t want to believe everyone she’d ever known could be a killer. Why was it so hard for him to understand that? She wanted to shout all of that at him, but her anger wouldn’t let her.

Katrina lost it. “Screw you! You’re an ass!”

“An ass who’s trying to save yours! As soon as my uncle gets back, we’re leaving.”

Tears of frustration welled up inside her eyes. Sliding her chair out she snapped, “If I’m such a burden, then why’d you even come here
? Everything was fine until you and Cole showed up!”

“I doubt that.”

“Really? What about Stacy? Or even Jake? Because of you and those damn werewolves, I lost them both!”

Katrina was so upset her throat ached. Without another word, she walked out the back door ignoring Andrew’s protests behind her. She wasn’t sure where she was going, she just needed some air and ran. A quick look back and she didn’t see Andrew, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t followed her.

Wiping her tears, she kept walking in a blind haze of fury. It was hard to keep on a straight path. She couldn’t see much. Rows and rows of pine trees blocked most of her view. Letting her feet carry her, she kept moving until the house was out of sight.

She walked a few more miles and stopped when the trees parted a bit, revealing a small open space. The surrounding vegetation was low and easy to walk on. She found a big boulder nestled against one of the trees and sat down. She buried her head in her lap and cried out her annoyance. Through her tears she felt a cold hand on her back. Her face immediately looked up.

“Leave me alone.” Katrina wiped away her tears.

“I can’t do that.” Andrew pulled his hand back. “Not after last night.”

“Whatever.” Katrina rolled her eyes, still annoyed with him.

“Look, I understand this is hard for you to deal with. The fact is
that if we came here or not, the werewolves would still be here.” Andrew slowly sat down next to her. With his hands in his lap, he changed his voice into a gentler tone. “They want you or your brother. That’s not going to change.”

“I know.” She admitted in between sniffles. “Doesn’t mean it’s any easier for me to deal with.”

“It can be. All you have to do is make a damn decision already.”

“Oh, here it comes again.” Katrina stood up and waved her hand in his face. “I get it. Everything’s my fault. I’m just a stupid human!”

Andrew stood up and grabbed her arm before she could walk away. His hands were firm blocks of ice, but he held it gently. “Like it or not, it’s reality and the sooner you get a grip, the easier it will be for all of us.”

“Reality sucks!” She glared at him.

“You can hate me all you want, but at least you’ll still be alive!”

Katrina didn’t answer him. There was nothing left to say. He was right, as much as she hated to admit it. She stood there out of excuses, but Andrew hadn’t noticed. He wa
s too busy staring at her neck.

He frowned and let go of her arm. “Where’s your amulet?”

Katrina motioned towards her throat. “I left it at home.”

“Do you have a death wish?”

“No. I just couldn’t take the pain anymore.” She left out a few of the details behind that. He didn’t need to know all the reasons why she did.

“Pain? What are you talking about?”

“It kept burning me!” As soon as she shouted at him, Andrew froze.

He took a long pause before answering. “Caroline, we need to get you out of here.” He put his arms around her shoulders and gave her a serious look. “You’re not safe anymore. Do you understand me?” Andrew quickly started ushering her back towards the direction of the house.

“Wait.” She pulled away from him. “You know something. Don’t you?” When he didn’t answer her, she demanded to know. “What are you not telling me?”

“I’ll tell you everything, but we need to get back into the safety of the house first.”

“No!”

“Caroline! Please?”

“Out with it, Andrew!”

“It’s the prophecy!”

“Prophecy? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nikolas didn’t want you to know until you made the decision to change on your own.”

“The hell with that! I’m sick of the lies!”

“You have to pick a side. Until you do, your soul won’t rest. Caroline, you’re destined for this life whether you like it or not. It’s your fate.”

“I’m going to be sick!” Katrina bent down. Her head started to spin and her stomach burned. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”

Furious, Katrina looked up ready to rip him a new one, when she stopped herself. It would only make everything worse. “No more lies. Promise me.”

“I promise.” Andrew helped her up. “I really am sorry.” He took her hand and turned to go back into the hou
se when he came out of nowhere.

“Batter up!” Donovan grinned, as he clocked Andrew in the head with a thick piece of wood and sent him crashing to the ground. Andrew l
aid on the ground, unconscious.

“No! HELP!” Katrina screamed. She turned to run, bu
t was stopped by Ms. Stevenson.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The lanky teacher slowly edged towards her. Katrina was able to run a couple feet when she hit something hard and felt a tepid hand press against her mouth.

“I told you. You’re mine!” The warmth of Donovan’s breath sent chills up her spine, as he whispered those dreadful words into her ear.

She wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn’t come out. Katrina tried to fight back, but Donovan was just to
o damn strong. Feeling him coil around her like a snake, Katrina started to panic. Ms. Stevenson came and placed a rag over her face and that’s when she smelled it. Fighting the urge to breathe in the funny smelling odor, Katrina tried to head butt him from behind, but it was no use. During the struggle she had taken a deep breath and that was a big mistake.

As soon as she did, the acidic rusty odor began to burn its way down her throat. It took only moments for the drug to work its way through her system. Katrina’s head started to spin wildly out of control. Everything blurred into one large lump of blackness, as her eyes closed and her body went limp.

“Caroline, wake up,” whispered a husky voice.

“What?”

“Caroline,” repeated the same familiar sound.

“Cole?” Katrina whispered, “Is that you?”

“Wake up.”

“Cole?” She opened the lids of her eyes and found nothing. Blackness glared back at her.

Taking time to adjust her eyes, she could see the walls more clearly. They were very sharp and rocky. On the floor, silver pipes poked through in a couple of places, some broken and jagged. She wasn’t sure where she was, but it felt like she was underground. The only light she could see was seeping in through
a crack in an old wooden door.

The only sound she could hear was that of water trickling down the walls. As it echoed through the hollow space, it sent an arctic chill through her. Beneath her, the ground was also cool and damp. It caused her body to shiver in protest.  Her short sleeved dress didn’t help matters either.

She tried to rub her hands against her body for warmth, but she couldn’t. Lifting her arms she saw a thick brown rope wrapped tightly around her wrists.

Katrina’s eyes looked just past the rope at her clothes and found them to be very strange. The material was made of some type of foreign cloth. It was as silky as satin, but the material had a very durable and rigid quality. Looking down, she could make out tiny sparkly beads outlining the ivory dress’
s trim. She had never seen anything like it. It was so elegant. She was lost in her curiosity, when she froze in a panic.

“It always did fit you so nicely,” whispered a familiar voice from across the room.

It wasn’t just his chocolate eyes that caused her heart to race, but his body language. Donovan was leaning against a corner wall looking much more sinister than she remembered. “Don’t look so surprised to see me. I’m sure Nikolas told you we were coming.”

“Farkas?”

“No, although Farkas did find you.” Donovan gazed over Katrina’s blank expression. “You really don’t remember me, do you?” Confused, Katrina shook her head and waited for an explanation. “It wasn’t always like this, you know. There was a time when things were less—complicated.”

“What do you mean?”

Katrina tensed, as Donovan closed the distance between them in two long strides and knelt down on the cold hard floor next to her.

“I was born into privilege. I could’ve had anyone and anything I desired. The world was mine for the taking. Then
she
came along and changed everything.” As he spoke, Katrina could hear his tone change. It became distant and distracted, as he relived every intricate moment in front of her.

“She was everything I could ever want. Besides being the most gorgeous looking creature, she was also very kind and smart. She had the kind of smile that could light up a room. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her. It was at the annual masquerade ball. I attended many other parties, but in 100 years no one was able to catch my attention like her. She was so angelic and innocent looking. And I felt drawn to her.” He del
icately touched Katrina’s hand.

At the same moment Donovan’s hand grazed hers, something happened. Her mind was flooded with images. It was as if she was reliving his story with him. She could see every vivid detail, as if
it were right in front of her.

The overflowing masses of people were adorned in their finest attire, each wearing an intricate mask that hid their true identities. Large columns rested against the rustic wooden floor. Looking around, Katrina found a familiar feature. Using an abundance of linens and other décor they attempted to cover up most of the building, but Katrina would recognize the old courthouse anywhere. Everything was neatly trimmed in shimmering gold accents and looked very expensive. The brick walls almost blended in unnoticed.

Making her way to the other end of the room, she was approached by a masked male figure. He was wearing the same gold trimmed mask she had envisioned a few nights earlier. His cream colored shirt had a deep V neckline revealing a crescent shaped birthmark. His soft hand grabbed hers and led her gently onto the crowded dance floor.

The masked stranger never spoke a word, as he twirled her effortlessly around the room. They were lost in the moment, the only two people in the room and everyone else faded into the distant background. Moving to the sound of the violin, the two flowed brilliantly together, like one being, one soul. Guests began to gather and watch
the spectacle they had become.

Before they could gather around, Katrina and her masked companion reached the other end of the room. Suddenly, she felt the stranger loosen his grip and give her a charming smile. Then as quick as he swept her off her feet he had disappeared into the crowd, leaving her alone once again.

Standing there, Katrina started to feel the blood rushing to her face in embarrassment. Everyone was staring at her. She didn’t want any of the attention. Her body was starting to become hot and sweaty at the thought and she needed some air. She was making her way outside when she looked up and stopped.

Across the room another masked gentleman was staring back at her. His eyes were the most brilliant blue color she’d ever seen. They were like two sapphires lighting up his corner of the room. Giving her a smile, he wasted no time coming towards her and striking up a conversation.

“You’re Caroline, Caroline Reinhardt?”

“I am.” Katrina felt herself respond, without meaning to. “Who are you?”

“I’m Nikolas Aldrich.”

“Oh, another one of the Aldrich boys, hmm?”

“Yes ma’am,” he chuckled as he bowed towards her.

Then the scenery changed. She was inside Alaric’s house staring at the family portrait. Her eyes wandered from each figure. They were still incredibly gorgeous even in her dreams. Her heart still ached when she came to Cole’s image. She wished he was with her at that moment. Then her eyes shifted to the other young figure with the crescent shaped birthmark. As she did her body froze. Everything came crashing down on her all at once.

Katrina felt herself gasp for air, as the revelation hit her. The sudden jolt forced her back into reality. Donovan’s chocolate eyes were curiously fixed on hers, but she could see the resemblance now. His eyes were darker and his hair was shorter, but the face was still the same. There was one more thing she needed to see to confirm her suspicions. She gently reached out her bound hands and Donovan didn’t stop her as she pulled down his shirt revealing a crescent shaped birthmark.

“Adronis?”