Everlasting Bond (7 page)

“Werewolves.” He nodded his head.

“What are you talking about?”

“The creatures you saw. They’re werewolves.”

“How do you know that?”

“You saw what I am.”

“No.” She forced out a nervous laugh. “I was having a hallucination. Stress causes people to do that all the time.”

“I forgot how stubborn you can be,” Cole mumbled to himself. Turning his attention back to her, his lips pressed together in a firm line and he became serious. “Trust your eyes.”

“Believe I saw you getting ready to have Brody for dinner?”

“No. I stopped him from—” Cole stopped mid-sentence and pain filled his eyes. “Draining him dry would have been an added bonus.”

“How can I be sure you don’t want to do the same to me?” Katrina stared at him and then put her hand up to her mouth in shock of a terrifying realization. “You brought us out here, so you and your creepy cousin could have a midnight snack!”

“That’s ridiculous!” There was a hint of amusement behind Cole's laughter.

“Is it? Who knows what Andrew’s doing to Jake right now?” For some reason that statement made him laugh even harder.

“You’ve seen too many movies. It’s not like that. Needing blood to survive doesn't make all of us become savages.”

“What does that mean?” She started to edge away from him.

“There are some vampires who enjoy the kill,” his voice became serious again.

“Do you—kill people?” Her curiosity was causing her to lean in closer to him.

“No. My family’s different. We only take what we need to survive and we never hurt anyone.” Cole hesitated a second and it was obvious by his tight face the subject was making him uncomfortable.

Katrina took a moment to process what he said, but then another question arose and before she thought better of it the words were already leaving her mouth. “How come you can walk around in the daylight?”

“Another misinformed myth. We can walk around in daylight like you or anyone else. Our skin is pale from a pigmentation deformity. It happens from a chemical oddity in our blood.”

Katrina wanted to say something in response, but she was at a loss for words. Everything that happened so far seemed like a dream and she wanted to pinch herself to see if she'd wake up.

Cole must
have picked up on her apprehension because his voice became very soft and gentle. “You believe me, don’t you?”

“I don’t know. This is a lot to take in at once.” She felt a bit overwhelmed by the overload of information and her mind was trying to stay grounded in reality that it wasn't real, but she couldn't deny the fact that the more she talked to him the more her body had started to relax. Despite everything she’d been through in the past few hours, he hadn’t attacked her and he had plenty of opportunities. She hated to admit it, but she was actually starting to feel safer around him than before.

“You’ll remember everything in time.”

As he looked up, Katrina’s eyes met his. In that moment her heart stopped. It was like staring into a beautiful ocean. Feeling the electric current start to swelter under the surface, Katrina immediately looked down at the floor. Staring at the car’s carpet, Katrina's voice was barely above a whisper. “Remember what?”

“This.” His voice came out as a hoarse whisper causing Katrina's body to respond. She lifted up her head as Cole bent towards her and gently cupped her face.

The moment his lips met hers, Katrina's body tensed. Her shock soon faded into a sweltering sensation of need, need for him. Katrina closed her eyes and gave in to the floodgate of emotions his kiss released inside of her. The current of electricity that always built between them slightly faded into the distance and Katrina was unable to hold her feelings back any longer. She stopped over-thinking about what he just told her and let her body do the rest.

Cole’s icy cold, yet soft lips held hers ever so gently. His sickly sweet scent caused a friction of warmth to coil deep inside her belly. Her whole body weakened in submission, as his hands left an intense friction of heat against her cheeks. Shivers of ecstasy pulsated from her very core. Katrina was becoming lost in him and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. Their bodies were pressing together so close; Katrina felt his body quiver under her touch. They were merging into one being, one soul and Katrina felt a strange hint of familiarity about it all.

Caught up in their moment, they were oblivious to the light tapping on the car’s window. It wasn’t until the sound became more of an impatient pounding that the two finally managed to pry themselves apart. Katrina missed his touch as soon as he pulled back
and looked towards the window.

Andrew was staring back at them. “Time to g
o. It’s getting late.”

Katrina's head was still spinning from Cole's kiss, as she looked over Andrew's shoulder and found Jake standing with his hands in his pockets. He wouldn't make eye contact with her, but Katrina could sense through the bond that something was off. His emotions were just as intense as hers. She wondered what the two of them had been up to while they were supposed to be looking for the truck. Now that she thought about it, it was odd to be looking for a truck in a dark field in the first place. Their body language also seemed strange. They stood much closer than was necessary.

Jake and Andrew climbed inside the car and were very quiet. Katrina was picking up on a very strange vibe, but wasn't sure if it was an appropriate time to discuss it. She decided she would talk to Jake about it later and tried to keep things friendly.

“So, did you guys have any luck?” Katrina asked.

“With what?” Jake looked at her confused.

“The truck, Jake?”

“Oh, that. No, we didn’t see it anywhere.” He shook his head, but wouldn't look her in the eye.

She scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. “What did you think I meant?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged.

“Uh-huh.” Katrina let the discussion stop there. It was obvious he wasn’t going to tell her why he was acting the way he was. She had been down this road before and knew a lost cause when she saw o
ne. Instead, she turned around.

The car fell silent as Cole pulled onto the empty highway. The Camaro's engine was the only sound that echoed inside the small space. The trip home was both a little tense and a little awkward.

Katrina's thoughts were elsewhere. Her mind kept replaying their kiss over and over and each time, the intense feelings took over her body. Sitting inches from Cole didn't help matters any. His presence was overpowering and her body couldn’t shake the anticipation for more.

Katrina was brought back down out of her foggy haze as the car slowed down. She was filled with a mixture of relief and sadness. The night had been a crazy one, but she wasn't sure she was ready to leave yet.

Looking at the crème colored farmhouse, Katrina frowned. Something wasn't right. “What time is it?”

“
11:30,” Cole said.

“Great. What are we going to do, Kat?” Jake asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“What’s wrong?” Andrew asked from the backseat.

“Our mom’s still up.” Katrina started to freak out. “So, we’re going to have to tell her the truck’s been stolen and come up with a really good excuse for being late. Because there’s no way we can tell her the truth. Not to mention the fact that neither one of us called her.”

“Do you want us to come in and smooth things over?” Cole offered.

“No. That’s all right.” Jake shook his head and sighed. “We’re going to have to face her sooner or later.”

“It’s no trouble.” Andrew assured him.

“Thanks, but we can handle it. Kat and I’ll just have to get our story straight before we go in.”

While they were talking, Katrina’s eyes started to roam through the field. She was trying to think of good excuse her mother would believe when something caught her eye. The moon only lit up a part of it, but she kne
w what it was. “What the hell!”

“What's wrong?” Cole asked.

“Over there,” Katrina extended one of her fingers towards the side of the house.

“How did the truck end up here?” Jake sounded annoyed.

“Is this someone's idea of a joke?” Katrina grew pissed at the thought of it.

“It’s not a joke. It’s them.” Anger and concern filled Cole's voice.

At the same time, Katrina jumped. From the back seat Andrew let out a low hissing sound. When she turned around to look at him, she gasped in shock. His fangs were out and his body went rigid. It was obvious he was lost in his own world. There was a feral look burning within his deep cobalt eyes. One that screamed he was ready to kill.  And it made every hair on Katrina’s body stand on end.

Even though it frightened her, Katrina found herself fascinated. She couldn’t look away nor did she want to. Adrenaline flooded her body and the sound of her pulse started to pound in her ears. She was so caught up in the sight of Andrew she almost forgot where she was. It wasn’t until Cole’s voice broke through the silence, that she came back to reality. “They’re gone.”

“Who are
they
?” Jake asked.

“I’ll explain later,” A
ndrew hissed through his fangs.

Katrina's eyes were wide in shock and she couldn't look away from Andrew. Jake's description of him ran through her mind and she had to admit he looked every bit as fr
ightening as Jake had said.

She was still staring
at Andrew when the sound of her door opening caught her attention. Katrina turned and found Cole waiting for her.
How the hell did he get there so fast?
She had been so caught up in Andrew's reaction that she never even heard Cole get out of the car.

He must have caught the question in her gaze because his lips curled into a deep smile, as he offered her his hand. “Let me hel
p you.”

“Thanks.” As Cole's fingers curled around her hand, Katrina felt the familiar spark of current shoot through her body. His hand was strong as it held her, but
still gentle at the same time.

On her feet, Katrina slightly swayed back and forth. Cole wrapped his hands around her waist and held her tightly against him. If he had been anyone else, she would have knocked to the ground with her, but he wasn't. His abnormal strength was just another reminder he was definitely not human. And as the night began it scared the hell out of her, but now she wasn't sure what to think of it all. Having him so close caused her body to respond. Her head was still trying wrap around the fact that he wasn't human, but her body had its own agenda. Butterflies consumed her insides at the feel
of his hands pressing into her.

“Careful.” Cole was so close his cool
skin brushed against her cheek.

Real smooth!
Katrina's cheeks blushed. “Sorry.”

“Don't be.” A gleam of fire flickered through his pupils and he pressed his hand to her face.

Katrina's breath caught. His voice was soft and smooth, like velvet. She stared at him too dumbfounded to speak. At the moment, time seemed to stand still. There was no one else but the two of them. She held onto that belief until she heard the sound of Jake clearing his throat. That brought her back down to reality and fast.
What the hell am I doing! He's a vampire!

Cole quickly removed his hands from her waist and she turned away, her face inadvertently meeting Andrew's. She was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl under a rock, but Andrew only smiled. He gave her a quick wink, took Jake by the hand and walked on ahead of them. That's when things started to slowly make more sense to her.

The sudden chill of Cole's hand in hers drew her attention back to him. He pulled her towards her house, as they walked side by side. Katrina could feel his eyes on her the entire time. Katrina slanted her eyes in his direction and felt a strange connection to him.

“I’m sorry if my cousin scared you,” Cole apologized.

“Yeah. Is that normal?”

“It can be. Depends on the situation,” Cole shrugged. She was going to ask what that meant, but part of her wasn't sure she really wanted to know. “Can we give you and your brother a ride to school tomorrow?” He changed the subject.

She thought about it for a second and debated. The fact that he was a vampire was hard to ignore, but he hadn't attacked her and he had plenty of opportunity. And he did save her from Brody's assault. In the end, she nodded. “I’d like that.”

They took a few more steps towards the forest green front door and Katrina could hear Andrew and Jake conversing on the front porch. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop on them, but found herself doing so anyway. She glanced in their direction and found Andrew’s fingers intertwined with Jake’s. Without realizing it, she stopped and watched them. They were so close to each other. It looked very intimate. They were laughing at a joke that was lost between the two of them. It was obvious to Katrina they were very comfortable with each other.

Then Katrina blushed. She found herself a witness to something she wasn’t expecting. Andrew leaned in and planted a soft, but passionate kiss on Jake’s lips. Feeling awkward staring, Katrina turned back towards Cole.