Winter Wolf (A New Dawn Novel Book 1) (3 page)

The door at the end of the hall opened. Cage stormed out, his face red and fists clenched. His angry steps faltered as his eyes met hers. Kat stared, her brain blank, trapped in his gaze. Her heart beat a thousand time per minute, lips parted, no words came out.

Cage’s finger came to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. He nodded and gestured for her to go outside. Pulling the door open, he followed her out. Taking her hand, he led her into the trees surrounding the house.

“Where were you going?” he asked when they’d ventured further into the trees.

Katalina snapped out of her daze and went on the defensive. “Why, are you going to tell them?” she countered crossing her arms.

“No.”

“Oh.” Her arms dropped limply to her side. She felt kind of mean for being so snappy with him. From what she’d heard, he was in just as bad a position as her. “Well, I want to go home.”

He studied her for a minute, his eyes focusing on her injured parts before coming to a stop on her face. “Okay then, if you follow this tree line until you reach the road, it’s about a five-mile walk to the nearest bus stop. I’ve no idea when the next gets in. If you haven’t noticed already, we’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s at least a half-day’s drive. I’d drive you myself but they’d notice if I took a car.” He rummaged around in his jeans pocket. “Here, it’s all I’ve got on me, but it should pay for the bus ride home and some food.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“One of us should get to choose our life. I’m sorry if I upset you. I’ve been told my whole life we were meant to be together. I suppose I was just so excited to finally meet this girl everyone had always told me about.”

“So you were just happy to do as they told you?”

He considered her question with a frown. “I was brought up differently to you, Katalina, and, well, I wouldn’t mind belonging to someone as beautiful as you.” Cage brushed his thumb gently over her cheek and quickly dropped it, as if realizing what he’d done. “Be safe, Katalina Winter,” he whispered.

Katalina stood and watched him run deeper into the forest. He jumped and changed into a wolf before his feet hit the ground again. Her mind reeled. Part of her wanted to get to know Cage, the other rebelled against doing as she was ordered. For a second, she stared at the miracle she’d just witnessed, transfixed with the wolf becoming smaller and smaller in the distance, until Arne whined and nudged at her leg.

“Okay, okay, let’s get out of here.” Katalina took one last look at the wolf, just the tiniest speck in the distance, before turning and walking away.

Chapter 3

“Shit!” Her leg gave way under her. Katalina sprawled face first into the snow, the cold shocking the breath from her. She lay in the piercing cold, feeling the snow bite into her fingers, the chill frigid against her skin. “What was I thinking, boy?” she asked her dog as she sat up with a grunt. “I’m never going to make it to the bus stop, and even if I did, they’d never let you on anyway.”

It was tempting to lie back down and not move, to allow the snow to numb her body to the point beyond pain. A trickle of wetness rolled down her face. Katalina so desperately wanted to be home, in her family’s front room, watching TV. The fire roaring, its crackle and hiss the homiest of sounds. Only Katalina could never have that again. She’d never have the chance to go on another Sunday family dinner, or listen to her parents’ playful banter. She buried her head in her hands, tears dripping through her fingers and freezing on the snow. Arne whined, trying to comfort her with a lick and nudge.

“I know, boy,” she mumbled through her broken sobs, “I know.”

There was a rustle up ahead, further into the woods. Katalina lifted her head, squinting into the gloom of the trees. She scanned the area for movement. Arne growled low, the slightest of rumbles vibrating up his chest. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, her eyes never leaving the woods.

Arne barked.

“What is it, boy?” He positioned himself in front of her. “Show yourself!” she called, taking a few steps into the trees.

The wolf stalked from its hiding spot, eyes wary, hackles raised. Its dark fur startling against the white snow.

“You,” she whispered, recognizing it as the dark wolf she’d felt drawn to in the shed.

Arne barked louder, jumping forward.

“No boy, come here!” she commanded, stopping Arne in his tracks.

The wolf studied her for what seemed like forever. Katalina couldn’t stand the silence anymore. “Are you a shifter, too?” she asked.

He didn’t answer.

“You’ve lost it, Kat, talking to a wolf,” she muttered to herself.

Before her eyes, the wolf morphed into a naked boy. “Yes, I’m a shifter, but not from your pack.” His voice vibrated through the air, low and brassy, pleasing to her senses.

“So you’re here to kill me then?” she asked, surprised at her calmness.

“I should be, but for some reason, I seem unable,” he answered, his voice void of emotion.

“That’s comforting,” she sneered.

“I imagine it is,” he stated. His face remained stoic.

Katalina burst out laughing.
Is this guy serious?

“What’s so funny?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“You! Are you always so…literal?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Katalina shook her head. “Never mind, so if you’re not here to kill me, then why are you here?”

“You intrigue me, Katalina Winter.”

“You know my name,” she queried, shocked.
Everyone knows my name.

“Most know your name but not your face.”

“Well, that’s something I suppose.”

Silence fell between them. He stared at her as intently as he had when a wolf. She found herself taking an unsteady step, an invisible force drawing her to him.

He frowned, looking down at her leg. “You are still injured?”

“I’m f—” Her leg crumpled. She braced for the cold snow, but he’d crossed the space between them in a blur of movement, catching her inches before impact.

Stunned, she stared, opened-mouthed as he set her on her feet. This close she noted every detail; his hair, just long enough to tangle fingers into and the urge to do so was a potent thing. His bare chest was a solid muscled wall, her fingers flexed where they rested, trailing through a smattering of dark hairs.

“Why haven’t you healed yet?” he asked, oblivious to her wandering thoughts.

“What? Oh, I…”

He leant forward, breathing deeply at the curve of her neck.

“Did you seriously just sniff me?” she asked, shocked at the strangeness of the past twenty-four hours.

“Yes, I was just getting your scent.”

“Scent?” she asked bewildered.

“Yes.”

“Shifters are strange,” she muttered to herself.

“You’re a shifter too.”

“So I’ve been told,” she grumbled, still hardly believing it herself.

“Though you’ve never changed, have you?” he continued, not giving her chance to answer. “Your father left you vulnerable. He has been foolish keeping you away so long. He’s left you weak. You’ll need your wolf to protect yourself.”

“Mmm.”

“Why are you out here alone? Unprotected? You should rest. You will need to have healed enough before the next full moon, for the change to go smoothly.”

His reference to change had her refocusing on his words, and not on the expanse of his chest. Having enough of the wolf talk, she snapped, “I’m going home.”

He frowned. “Is that not home?” He gestured in the direction of the old farmhouse she’d escaped from.

“No, those people are strangers to me. I don’t trust them. They took me away from my home.”

“You are the alpha’s daughter. No one will hurt you there.”

“That man is not my father. My father is…”—she swallowed the lump in her throat—“is dead.”

Wiping the tear spilt from her eye, he murmured, “Don’t cry.”

Don’t cry? Don’t cry?
“Why not?” Katalina stepped back from his hold, not caring about her wobbling feet. “I watched my parents die last night,” she stared at the ground, not seeing the snow covered earth, but the crash. “Wolves attacked, almost killing me, and then I woke up in a strange bed, with strange people telling me I’m a wolf shifter, and I need to come back because my blood is pure and they want me to keep the line going. I turned eighteen yesterday. The last thing on my mind is children and I most certainly will not be told who I’m supposed to marry. And
that
man who claims to be my father… Where’s the proof? He doesn’t even look like me. For all I know, he’s just some nut job.”

Katalina sucked in a deep breath, lifting her eyes from the ground to meet his. “What better reason is there to cry?” Her cheeks heated, realizing she’d ranted to a complete stranger, and told him things she maybe shouldn’t have.

He studied her. “Very well. If you’d like to go home, I’ll take you, but first you need to go back and heal.”

“What? Really?” She hadn’t been expecting that answer. She’d expected him to have run for the hills after all she’d said.

“Yes, that’s what I said, isn’t it?”

“But why?”

“You intrigue me.”

“That’s not a reason.”

“Yes, it is.”

“You are very frustrating,” she laughed; surprised she still had it in her to. Around him, things just seemed a little better. Her reaction to him was confusing and Katalina added it to her mental list of things that just didn’t make sense.

“Am I?”

Shaking her head, Katalina wrapped her arms around herself, trying to get warm.

“You are cold,” he stated.

“A little.”

“Right, time for you to go back.” He scooped her into his arms.

“Put me down!”

Arne barked.

“Shush!” he growled at Arne. To her he said, “You’ll only do yourself more damage. I’ll carry you back.”

“You can’t just go around picking people up without permission!”

“Do you have a problem with me carrying you?”

“Well, yes,” she muttered.

“Why?” he asked.

“You have no clothes on!”

He laughed at her. It rumbled in his chest and did funny things to her heart.

“You’ll have to get used to that. Being naked is just part of life when you’re a shifter.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“A little like this, but as a wolf, no. You’ll see how strong and resilient we are, after you’ve changed.”

“I’m not sure I want to be a wolf,” Katalina whispered, looking away from his face.

“Now that, Katalina, you have no choice in. Even if you lived away from the pack again, you’d still change. It’s a part of you, your blood. You’ll feel different after.”

“Hmm, if you say so.”

“I’ll leave you here. The young boy is coming.”

“Oh, okay,” she hesitated, not wanting him to leave.

He put her down and ran off.

“Wait!” she called to his distant figure.

He paused, his voice whispering through the trees. “Yes?”

Shit, what do I say?
“What’s your name?”

“Bass, Bass Evernight.”

“Bass Evernight,” she whispered, liking the sound of his name.

“See you soon, Katalina Winter.” His promise wrapped around her, like silk against skin. She held it close to her heart, wondering when they’d next meet.

Chapter 4

“Kat? Kat, are you out here?”

“Over here, Toby,” Katalina shouted, dragging her eyes from the spot Bass had just been.

“Kat, are you okay?” he asked, running toward her. “What are you doing out here? Your dad is going crazy!”

“He’s not my dad, Toby.”

He frowned at her. “Okay, let’s get you back inside. Can you walk?”

“Yes, if you help me.”

As they neared the house, Cage appeared with a look of worry on his face.

“Thank God,” he muttered, lifting Katalina off her feet.

“Damn it! Put me down! What is it with wolves and their lack of respect for personal space?”

“You’re injured, Kat, and I’ve only made— Wait, what do you mean
wolves
? Who else are you referring to?””

Oops…
Cage leaned forward as if to smell Katalina.
Oh no you don’t!

Leaning away she snapped angrily, “give me some space, Cage, and stop changing the subject. It’s not your fault I want to leave.”

“But if I didn’t give you that money—”

“Whoa, hold on a minute. You helped her!” Toby exclaimed.

“Shut it, dweeb. Not a word to anyone, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…I can’t believe you helped her and then acted as if you knew nothing in front of Jackson.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to just tell him I’d given her bus fare, was I? Jackson would have ripped me a new one.”

“Helloo, can you please put me down?” Katalina said, annoyed.

“Yes, as soon as you are off the snow. I should have never let you go. I forgot you’re practically as weak as a human””

“Hey, rude much!”

“Sorry, but until you’ve changed, you’ll not have the strength of your wolf.”

“Katalina!” Jackson shouted, his face nearly as red as his hair.

“Great,” Katalina muttered. “I’ve changed my mind. Get me into the bedroom as fast as possible.”

Cage smiled at her. “Your wish is my command!”

“What were you thinking? You could have damaged yourself further, or worse, been killed! Never leave this house again without permission!”

Katalina put her head against Cage’s shoulder, muttering, “Asshole.”

Cage choked back a laugh. “She’s fine, Jackson, just needs to get back in bed. Watch out,” he said, barging past him.

Jackson followed them up the stairs, muttering and swearing as he went. Toby followed behind, quietly laughing.

Opening the door and holding her steady at the same time, Cage rushed into the room and deposited Katalina on the bed. She immediately rolled over, looking away from her outraged father.

“I think we best let her rest. She needs to change out of those wet clothes and get warm.”

“Yes, but…”

Cage herded him to the door. “She won’t go anywhere again, will you, Kat?”

“No,” she whined.

A wet Arne pushed past into the room.

“Urgh, that dog needs to be downstairs,” Jackson huffed.

“He goes, I go,” Katalina snapped, glaring over her shoulder.

Arne curled up on the floor near the foot of the bed.

“He’s no harm,” Cage added.

“Right, yes, well, I want you guarding this door, Cage!”

Katalina glanced over her shoulder and mouthed ‘thank you’ to Cage as he ushered Jackson out the door.

‘No probs,’ he mouthed back, giving her a salute.

With the door closed, Katalina climbed back off the bed and gently pulled off her wet clothes, replacing them with dry ones.

Maybe a sleep would be nice.

*****

Grinding metal, smashing glass and her mother’s screams. Hair and skin burning, she’s surrounded by the sound of howling wolves. “Kat, help us! Help us!”

She tries to shout, but inhales ash and dust. Her lungs burn. She’s nothing but fear, pain and fire…

“Kat, help us!”

“MOM! DAD! DAD!” Katalina woke shouting their names. Her skin felt as if it were on fire. Surrounded by darkness, for one horrible second, she thought she was back in the car, trapped, burning.

The door burst open with a crash; the room suddenly immersed in light.

“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Jackson scanned her room looking for danger, his face one of concern.

“Nothing, I…it was…” She took a deep breath, to calm her ragged breaths and racing heart.

“Kat, tell me what’s wrong? I heard you shouting for me and I—”

Katalina interrupted him, “I wasn’t shouting for you.”

“Oh, sorry…I could have sworn I heard you shout Da... Oh, right.” She saw hurt cloud his eyes briefly.

“I had a dream. I’m fine. You can go now.”

Jackson looked at her, unsure of what to do. Running a hand through his unkempt hair, he looked at the floor and then back at Katalina. “I’m sorry, you know…it was never supposed to be this way,” he murmured.

“Sorry won’t bring my parents back.” She regretted her words the second they left her mouth and yet she still couldn’t quell the temper inside of her.

His face dropped, the hard line of his mouth softening. For the first time, Katalina could see the man he must have been, the man with a wife and a child. “I—”

“Look, I’m sorry. I just…I don’t have room for you right now. I get I’m your daughter, but I’ve just lost my parents. I’m not ready for another dad and I’m not sure I’ll ever be. A day ago, I was happy and I had a family. Now, my world’s been turned upside down and I’m all alone.”

Jackson looked at her one last time and then switched the light off. She heard the door creak, but before it closed, he spoke softly, “I’ll be here whenever you’re ready. If you need anything, shout for Cage. He’s asleep on the sofa. I think Toby’s hidden himself away somewhere, too. He hates to miss out on the action. You’re not alone, Katalina, please remember that.”

“All right,” she answered, not sure what else to say, or how she even felt by his words.

As soon as the door closed, Katalina let the flood of tears she’d been holding back fall down her face.

Feeling emotionally wrung out, Katalina cuddled up to Arne when he jumped onto the bed. Trying to sleep, she struggled; she couldn’t relax, and the longer she lay in the silence of the darkened room, the worse she felt. Slipping from the bed, she crept from the room across the dimly lit landing. The house was quiet and in darkness. Fumbling for the light switch, Katalina flooded the bathroom in light and walked to the sink. She turned the tap and splashed water onto her face.

A headache throbbed behind her eyes and she felt weak and dizzy. Reaching for something to steady herself, Katalina missed the basin and she slid to the floor, her head spinning.

“Toby?” she whispered loudly. “Toby?”

“How’d ya know I was here?” he asked, popping his head around the door, a big grin on his face.

“Hey, you all right?” he asked, coming into the bathroom.

Her head gave a violent throb. “Urgh…ouch! Yeah, I just have a headache. Don’t suppose you’d help me up and find me some pain killers?”

“I can get Cage if you’d like?”

“No, no, just help me up. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but I’m not sure, Kat, you look kinda ill.”

“Hey,” Cage said, his head appearing above Toby’s.

“Urgh, what is it with you Sinclair boys, lurking around doorways?”

“I wasn’t lurking. I was downstairs. Wolf hearing, remember? Every wolf in this house heard you calling Toby.”

“Well, not every wolf in this house needs to be in this bathroom with me, just one.”

Her head hurt so much; every sound of their movement rattled her brain.
Urgh, God, I need my bed.

“Ooh, touchy!” Cage laughed. “Toby, help her up. I’ll find some painkillers.”

“Thanks.” Katalina smiled guiltily.
Maybe I shouldn’t snap at every person I meet.

Toby held out his hand and pulled Katalina up. Walking her back to the room, he said, “I’m beginning to think you only like me for my amazing walking stick skills.”

She laughed at him only to trigger another throb to her head. “Urgh, stop making me laugh.” With a hand to her forehead, she climbed onto the bed, curling into a ball to try and settle the throbbing.

“Are you sure you’re all right. You feel really hot,” Toby said, touching her face.

“Probably just a fever from getting cold. I just need those pills and sleep.”

“Ask and you shall receive.” Cage smiled as he entered the room and held out a glass of water. Katalina reached for it but the glass slipped through her fingers as her arm trembled. “Steady,” Cage murmured, catching the glass seconds before it smashed.

Katalina looked at him wide-eyed. “Impressive reflexes.”

“All part of being a wolf. You’ll see.” He smiled. “Do you need a hand?” He gestured to the water and pills.

She nodded, returning his smile. She realized she’d been taking out her frustration and pain on Cage. It wasn’t fair of her to do that. He’d tried his best to help her so far, yet there was still the small part of her, which was weary of letting him close. Jackson wanted them together and Katalina didn’t have any desire to do as he wished.

Cage gave her the pills, and then held the glass to her lips, his hand behind her back to hold her up.

“Kat, I think we should get Karen to look at you,” he whispered, laying her back.

“No, please, I do not want to wake up the whole house.”

“I can assure you no one is asleep.”

“No, we’re not,” a woman said, walking in, Jackson behind her.

“Urgh, how can you ever have any privacy living with wolves?”

“You’ll get used to it. I’m Karen, the doctor.” She had a warm, motherly smile and a presence that soothed.

She held her hand to Katalina’s head and then listened to her heart rate. “Hmm, mild fever. Best to take some antibiotics in case you’ve got an infection. No need to panic, though I think it will be best if you’re not alone, just in case.”

“Ooh, ooh, I’ll stay!” Toby said, jumping up and down.

“Cage will. She needs rest, Toby. You’ll be up gossiping all night.”

“Urgh! Fine.” He crossed his arms with a huff.

Katalina took the antibiotics Karen gave her and rolled over, blocking the others out as they talked quietly near the door. She’d had enough of everyone crowding her. She wished her mom could have been the one sitting by her bedside.

“Cage, keep an eye on her breathing. Call me if it quickens,” Karen murmured before shutting the door.

After a while of silence, Katalina rolled over facing Cage. She pulled the covers up to her chin as she shivered.

Cage met her eyes. “Cold?”

“Freezing cold and boiling, all at the same time. I hate being ill.”

“The fever should break soon. You’ll be better in no time. Get some sleep.”

“Hmm.” Katalina closed her eyes, but every time she did, all she saw were red flames flicking over melting metal. “Cage?”

“Yeah?”

“Talk to me.”

“What about?”

“Anything, just distract me.”

“You should really try and sleep.”

“I can’t. I…”—she took a deep breath—“every time I close my eyes, I see them. I see them burning in the car.”

Cage didn’t comment but took her hand. She welcomed the warmth his hand offered, gripping tightly and finding comfort in his touch.

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything, tell me about yourself. How old are you? Where’d you go to school? All I know is you’re a shifter and we’re supposed to make wolf babies.”

“You laugh at that, yet I’ve been told that for as long as I can remember; our childhoods were obviously very different. Well, where to start? I’m eighteen, like you, my birthday is June third, and I was homeschooled like most of the pack kids. I’m one of the best fighters in the pack—”

“Why are most kid’s homeschooled?”

“It’s just easier to keep our secret that way. When kids shift when they’re young, sometimes they find the change hard to control.”

“Isn’t it isolating being cut off from the real world?”

Cage laughed softly. “We’re not cut off, Kat, but we aren’t human. We’re shifters. Pack is family; we look after each other. You’ve been brought up differently, but that doesn’t mean the way I was is wrong.”

“I didn’t mean it was. I just…I’m trying to imagine myself here, and I don’t fit.”

“Where do you fit, Kat?”

Where do I fit?
She didn’t know. She’d loved her life, her family but she’d always felt as if she didn’t belong. She still hadn’t decided what to do when she left school. She’d always put it down to being adopted and not knowing where she’d come from.

“I don’t know,” Katalina whispered.

“Hey Kat, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Katalina sighed, “I’m fine. It’s just…I feel like I’m adrift, nothing seems real. I keep waiting to wake up. My parents died, Cage. Two days ago, I was sitting in the back of the car laughing with them, and now, they’re gone and no one seems to acknowledge that. I feel as if Jackson just expects me to move on and be grateful I have the pack, but I can’t do that. I want to go home. I want to say goodbye to my parents with the rest of my family. I don’t belong here. I belong with the people who’ll understand exactly how I feel.”