Winter Wolf(13)

“Sleep, Kat,” he said softly, as more cold touched her forehead.

She didn’t want to sleep. She didn’t want to be looked after anymore, but her body wouldn’t listen and she was swept into darkness





Chapter 5



Katalina slowly peeled open her eyes. The light blinded her, making her eyes swim with tears. Feeling stiff, she wiggled her toes and fingers. She sat up in bed looking around the room, feeling a little confused. There was no one with her, not even Arne. There was a chair pulled close to her bed, a small bowl of water sat on the bedside table, a cloth hanging half in, half out the bowl as if it had just been tossed there in a hurry.

There was a drip attached to her hand, clear liquid half-filled the bag hanging on a metal pole.

Where is everyone?

“Toby?” she whispered; he always seemed to be lurking nearby. “Toby?”

The door slowly opened. Toby’s grinning face appeared seconds later, followed by Arne.

“There you are, boy,” she croaked, her voice gravelly.

“Sorry, I took him for a walk, seeing as he’s been cooped up for days.” Days? How long have I been out?

“What day is it?” she asked, not sure she was ready for the answer.

“Sunday, you’ve been pretty out of it, Cage has literally just left for a pack meeting he couldn’t miss. He’s been glued to your side. Sad really,” he laughed.

“What are they meeting about?”

“Oh, not sure, I can go spy if you’d like?” he said, half getting up.

Katalina laughed, shaking her head.

“So are you feeling better?” he asked, dropping into the chair. Arne stuck his head on his lap whining for a stroke.

“Traitor,” Katalina muttered at the dog. “Yeah, I feel a bit better; not hot, just weak, and thirsty, would you mind getting me a drink?”

“Sure, back in a min.” Arne jumped up and trotted after him.

“Great, I’ve lost my dog now, too,” she muttered.

Toby came back minutes later, a glass in his hand. “Sounds like they’ve nearly finished, so Cage will be here any moment.”

“Hmm.” Katalina couldn’t quite remember what she’d said to him before being ill; she remembered the feel of his hand in hers. She liked him; he made her smile and he obviously cared for her, but all she wanted was to get better and go home.

“You know, he’s been waiting for you all his life,” Toby said, his voice unusually serious.

Katalina whipped her head around, not quite believing he’d said the statement. Toby was carefree; she wasn’t expecting such a serious comment from him. “Yes, I can see that. I can see he truly cares for me, but where I come from, people don’t choose who they love; it just happens; sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes it grows over many years. I don’t want to hurt Cage, but I don’t know how I feel about him. All I feel right now is a gaping hole in my heart, from where my parents were ripped away, for the normal life I used to live. I just want to go home. Is that so hard to understand?”

“No, it’s not.” Cage walked into the room, and by the look on his face, he’d heard every word.

“Cage…I—”

“No, its fine, Kat. I get it. I truly do, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” He looked at her a second longer before turning on his heel and exiting the room.

Toby looked awkwardly toward the door and then Kat.

“It’s all right, Toby, you can go.”

He didn’t even say goodbye. Toby was up and out the door in a flash, locking Arne inside the bedroom, who scratched at the door.

“Oy! Come here, boy.” Arne came over with a whine, jumping up on the bed besides her.

Katalina wasn’t sure how long she lay staring at the ceiling. Absent mindedly, she ran her fingers through Arne’s fur, and when the bedroom door opened again, it wasn’t Toby or Cage this time; it was Karen, the doctor.

“Hey, I heard you were awake. How do you feel?” she asked with a warm smile.

“Better.”

“Fever’s broken,” Karen said, holding a hand to Katalina’s forehead. “I just need to change the dressing on your leg. It was infected. That’s why you had such a bad fever, but you’re on the mend.”

Katalina nodded and stared at the wall, while Karen busied herself with changing the dressing. A heavy feeling sat in her chest, gnawing at her, churning her insides.

“So where have your guards gone? Those Sinclair boys haven’t left your side… Well, Toby mostly lurked outside because Cage wouldn’t let him in.” Karen smiled warmly.

“Cage is angry at me and Toby went to see if he was all right.”