Saving Kat (2 page)

There were four types of witches, Air, Earth,
Water, and Fire. All of them ranged in different levels of talent
and skill, varying in what they could do. Kat had always been able
to grow plants, even in unsuitable areas. She scanned a little
farther afield to the large open area. Some members of the pack
worked the soil, readying it for the next rotation.

Jessie Reece, one of the youngest in the
group and Adam’s sister, glanced up and waved, as if she’d felt Kat
studying her.

She didn’t have to see them to know Jessie
had freckles on the bridge of her nose--a gift from the time she’d
spent in the sun. The young girl hated the brown spots and
constantly asked for something to erase them. Because of this, Kat
never told her she thought they were cute. No teenager wanted to be
cute. Her revenge on Adam could wait a few hours, but reminding the
girl not to take life too seriously, couldn’t.

Jessie glanced up again as Kat stumbled over
the damp, uneven ground. All of the shifters had unbelievable
strength, even in their human forms. She almost felt delicate next
to them, and knew that she’d never be able to beat them in an arm
wrestle, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight dirty.

As Jessie returned her attention back to her
task, Kat let the first handful of mud fly. It landed with an
audible squelch, quickly followed by the giggle of a young wolf.
The sound filled the air as the next mucky grenade missed her by
centimeters. She darted to the left and helped herself to her own
messy missile.

“My darling brother paid a visit, huh?”

For a teenager, she was perceptive beyond her
years but wolves had a habit of becoming old souls before their
time. “How did you guess?”

Kat watched Jessie warily as the wolf rolled
the thick substance between her hands, her mischief-filled
expression reminded Kat of Adam. “I heard the yelp. He likes you,
you know.”

She snorted. “You mean he likes driving me
nuts.”

The younger girl shrugged. “I know what I
mean.”

Kat didn’t have too long to ponder on what
the girl had said, before the fight began in earnest. The first
missile hit her dead center and spun her on her feet, and she would
probably have a bruise in the morning. She quickly tried to run for
cover but came up empty.
Next time, Kat, pick a fight you might
actually have a chance in winning
.

Adam breathed shallowly through his mouth
when he entered the hospital block. He’d always hated the place.
The walls were a depressing off-white, and the chemicals played
havoc with his nose. He didn’t know how Mari managed to spend hours
exposed to the sterile stench and drab atmosphere.

The young doctor walked toward him, head bent
over a chart. Stepping into her path, he touched her arm. “How is
he?”

Mari shrugged scowling. William had a habit
of being stubborn. The sickness hadn’t changed that. “He doesn’t
talk to me much anymore.”

Adam might have appeared calm on the surface
but underneath all that, he was worried he might lose his best
friend, despite the efforts they put in to save him. The worry
curled his stomach into knots. William had been sick for some time,
but only recently had he been forced to take bed rest. It should
have been enough to help him recover from the mysterious illness
that drained him of his strength. The lycanthropy virus that
ensured every wolf stayed in prime condition should have taken
over; fighting and destroying whatever wrecked his immune system,
leaving an otherwise strong body, weak and powerless.

The illness that raged through his body had
destroyed too much for the wolf to keep up. The flowers that Kat
grew should help but it was a waiting game. The blossoms couldn’t
be encouraged to grow faster without nullifying their potency.
.

“What do you need me to do, Doctor?”

A blow to his shoulder caught him off guard
and made him stumble, bouncing into the wall of the corridor He
glanced down at the much smaller woman who’d hit him. If he’d been
human, she would have left a nasty bruise. Usually a show of
violence meant a challenge to become Alpha, but Mari could care
less about that. Her frustration had come to the surface, and he
couldn’t blame her, he wanted to punch something too but that would
have to wait until he was alone.

“You need to talk to him, Adam. It’s been a
week since you last visited. Don’t get me wrong, he’s had visitors.
Kat comes every other day to check on him and deliver her special
tea, and your sister’s been here too, but he needs you. He needs
his best friend.”

Adam nodded and walked into the room. William
Golden opened his eyes. A weak smile crossed his lips before his
eyes fluttered closed again. When he’d been well, his eyes had been
a startling shade of blue, as if he’d stayed in wolf form for too
long and carried the physical reminder of the animal he shifted
into. Now his eyes appeared watery, a pale, icy color. The illness
robbed him of his vitality. It didn’t seem possible anymore that
they were the same age.

“Hey, Will,” Adam said as he sat down on a
chair next to him.

William had been the joker before the
illness, but that part of him was now so deeply buried, that
William could have been a completely different person. He twisted
slightly until he faced him. Adam braced himself before William
spoke. He said the same words every time. Today wasn’t going to be
any different, however much he hoped. However much those words
caused him pain.

“Kill me.”

Adam closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of
his nose. They used to argue about it for hours, but whatever raged
through his best friend’s body, had destroyed the fight in him. He
now kept his words simple and to the point. The idea of suicide
might have been unheard of in Pack circles, but the disease made it
seem like the only option. Adam reached up and rested his hand over
William’s. His skin felt papery. Sickness throbbed beneath it,
pulsing like a caged beast. “No, you have to let Kat help you.”

“And if she can’t, if whatever she’s working
on doesn’t work?” The way his eyes drifted closed, showed how much
the words tired him.

He would have given anything to push his
strength into the fragile shell of his friend. He’d never felt so
powerless and he didn’t like it. Being an Alpha meant he had to
protect his people, not sit there and watch one of them die. “Then
we’ll talk about it again.” He practically whispered the words, but
William heard them and nodded.

***

Kat weaved her way through her workshop and
turned on the tap over the sink. She brushed her hair back and
washed her face. It had been her own fault for getting into a
mud-flinging fight with Jessie. The shifter girl could move fast,
and Kat ended up with the majority of the dirt plastered on her.
Large splatters covered her shirt and the back of her jeans.
Coupled with the coffee stain on the front, the shirt couldn’t be
saved. She needed a bath. If anyone wanted her, they’d have to
search for her there.

The door opened behind her. She might have
missed it that morning when he’d managed to sneak up on her, but he
didn’t try that now. He always smelled awesome, earthy, inviting,
and familiar. She turned to face him, the witty line she’d been
about to deliver, died on her lips at the sight of him.

“Adam, what’s wrong?”

He moved sluggishly, as if he carried a huge
weight on his shoulders. Dark shadows tinted the skin beneath his
eyes, and tension tightened his shoulders, making his posture
rigid. His hands were buried deep in the pockets of his jeans, and
he seemed tired, withdrawn and hurt. Not many people saw him like
this. He took his role as Alpha very seriously, except with her. He
never showed weakness.

He took a few steps toward her, and she
stopped herself from reaching out and holding him. Touching him
would destroy the playful friendship they had, and bring to the
surface the reason for the underlying tension between them, at
least for her. The pretending would stop, and in her mind, it only
ended one way, with her leaving the pack she loved.

She didn’t want to go, but it would be easier
than facing the fact she liked a shifter. Witches didn’t have
relationships with wolves, well some might, but the wolves they
loved were lower in the pack hierarchy, not Alphas. A relationship
between them would be impossible, and she had no clue if he felt
the same way. Why risk everything she knew and loved on a girlish
crush?

“William told me he wanted to die.”

“What are you going to do?” By Pack law,
William had put the decision firmly in his Alpha’s hands, being too
weak to take his own life, and in a lot of pain, even with the tea
she’d brewed for him.

“I told him we’d wait until he’s had the
potion you’re preparing for him. If it doesn’t work, then we’d talk
about it.”

Kat moved, around the counter and stopped in
front of him. Adam had always been tall, with broad shoulders and
long legs, but she had never felt small around him. The Alpha had
never belittled her place in the pack. Other than his great talent
for annoying the hell out of her, he seemed to respect her
abilities. “There aren’t any guarantees, Adam. I wish I could give
you some, but I don’t know what’s wrong with him and neither does
Mari.”

“I know. I just wish….” He quickly spun
around and Kat caught the split second his fist connected with the
wood next to her front door. She jumped as the wall splintered
under his rage. She rarely saw this part of him, the part he kept
tightly contained. The tiny workspace filled with an almost
tangible energy as Adam’s beast tried to rage free.

Anyone else would have been scared or at
least backed away, but Adam had never frightened her. He needed
that outlet. She knew and understood that. There was no feeling in
the world that compared to it. Sadness threatened to swallow you
whole and not being able to help, made it the worse.

“I feel so useless.” The words came out as a
harsh whisper.

His pain called out to her and she closed the
distances between them, fighting against common sense, she wrapped
her arms around his middle, pressing her face against his back. She
breathed him in, letting his natural musk envelope her. His essence
always reminded her of home and protection Adam took everything
onto his broad shoulders, and he did it without complaint. In all
the time she’d known him, he’d never seemed to consider finding a
mate to help him carry the burden. She’d never be happy with
another woman offering him comfort. At some point, she would have
to get used to the idea, just not today. Adam stilled then relaxed
as some of his tension faded.

After a few seconds she let him go and moved
away, trying not to focus on how empty her arms felt. “You are not
useless. You’re the strongest, most infuriating man I’ll ever know.
William just needs to hold on a little longer. I know it isn’t easy
to ask of him, but all we’re waiting on is that blasted flower. I
wouldn’t have suggested it, if I didn’t think it might help.” The
potion was simple, but the main ingredient, a flower called the
African Daisy, had been harder to find.

“I’ll fix the wall tomorrow.” Adam always
kept a tight leash on his emotions, but not today. He turned around
to see Kat back at her pots and pans. She always wore her dark hair
down, usually in a long braid which brushed the top of her butt.
His breath had caught in his throat when she’d wrapped her arms
around his waist.

Wolves were tactile by nature, but Kat had
never touched him like that. He’d only seen her as a friend,
nothing more. But the way her body had pressed against his back,
the way her scent had teased him, made him acutely aware she was a
woman.

“It isn’t a problem, Adam. I can probably ask
one of the other members of the pack to do it. You guys are
shifting tonight, and you’ve got a lot on your mind already. It
doesn’t have to be you.”

He breathed in deeply. The air carried a
perfect blend of intoxicating herbs, spices and flowers. Did her
skin carry the same aroma and taste as sweet? Even in his human
form, he could smell the lavender, vanilla, and rosemary. They
shouldn’t work together, but somehow they did. “I broke it, so I’ll
fix it.”

He took a seat in front of the counter and
watched her as she worked. Her hands were beautiful, with long
fingers that pinched at herbs before adding them to a pot. She
never measured anything but trusted in the lesson taught to her by
her mother. The way she moved behind the counter reminded him of a
dancer and Adam, transfixed by her graceful movements, couldn’t
look away. If he blindfolded her, she’d still dance around like
that. Everything had its place. Blindness wouldn’t change that fact
or the surety of her movements.

Kat pulled her long hair over her shoulder
and inhaled the scent given off by the simmering liquid. A happy
sigh escaped her lips, and he tried hard not to picture her
blindfolded and naked, while he did things to her body that
resulted in a similar sigh of pleasure.

He shook his head.
What the hell?
Had
it been so long since he’d had sex that being closed to Kat started
to inspire some very interesting thoughts? No. He respected the
woman opposite him more than that. She would never be someone to
just warm his bed.

“You’re staring, Adam. Would you like a cup
of this?”

“It isn’t going to turn my fur pink, is it? I
remember what you said earlier.” Adam chuckled and it sounded
forced, a part of him was desperate to get back to their usual
playful banter.

She laughed softly. “If I didn’t want you to
hear it, I wouldn’t have said it so loudly. It’s just some tea I’ve
been brewing. It’ll help you relax.”

She poured it into two cups and handed him
one. He spent more time with her than with anyone else, but now it
felt different…new, and he struggled to deal with the naughty
images that played through his head. There had always been
something incredibly relaxing about Kat’s presence, but slowly it
had begun to change with that one hug, into something else. He
wasn’t sure he wanted to explore further.