Banging the roof, signaling go, the older boy looked down at her, brushing hair from her face, “Hey, I’m Cage, Cage Sinclair. I’ve waited a long time to meet you,” he smiled.
The truck hit a bump in the road, sending a jolt of pain through her. She moaned as her head swam, falling back into Cage’s awaiting arms. Lifting an unsteady hand toward her head, she tried to ease the constant throbbing.
“Shit, those bastards really hurt you. I’ll kill every last one of them for touching you,” he growled.
Questions buzzed through her mind, who are you? How do you know my name? But none of them were voiced as she was pulled into unconsciousness.
Chapter 2
When Katalina woke, she was aware of three things: she was warm, she could hear Cage talking to unfamiliar people, and they knew her name.
She didn’t open her eyes right away. First, she listened.
“Is Katalina going to recover?” The voice was deep, gravelly, holding an agitated edge.
“She’ll make a full recovery. Though it could be slow; the wolf hasn’t been triggered yet,” replied a soft and gentle female voice.
“Will she have healed by the next full moon?” the gravelly voice asked.
What are they talking about?
“Probably not fully, but changing shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” said the female.
“Cage, did you feel anything?” the gravelly-voiced man asked.
“I…no, but she was injured and we needed to get away quickly. There wasn’t really time to bond. She passed out straight away,” Cage replied. He spoke with a soft rumble.
He said he’d been waiting for me, what does he mean?
“The dog? What shall we do with it?” the man asked.
Arne?
“It’s not left her side since she arrived,” said the female.
“It was willing to attack a pack of wolves. I say leave it be. She seemed attached,” Cage replied.
“Very well, Cage,” the man said, sounding bored, “Hang around. You need to be here when she wakes. Karen, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and make sure we have enough protection on the place,” he said, his words were polite but his tone was anything but.
Katalina heard footsteps growing distant.
“I can tell you’re awake,” a voice, young, soft and not yet rough with age said close to her.
Startled, she shot up, groaning as a wave of dizziness overtook her. “Whoa, take it easy, Kat. Do you mind if I call you Kat? Katalina is such a mouthful.”
Laying back down, Katalina rubbed Arne’s head to settle him. He lay at the end of the bed she was in, his eyes watchful of the boy in the room.
“You’re the one who rescued me,” Katalina mumbled, recognizing the young boy.
“Yep, I’m Toby.” His hair was a sandy brown. It fell forward in messy layers, skimming the top of his blue eyes.
“How’d you know my name?” Katalina asked.
“Oh, erm, well… maybe I shouldn’t be the one to explain,” he whispered, and then motioned toward the door, mouthing people were listening.
“Please?” Katalina whispered.
“Urgh, okay. Well, that man outside who was speaking, he’s your father… I mean your biological father.”
“What?” Katalina practically screamed.
“Shush,” Toby hissed, looking toward the door. “Look, Kat, I’m not even supposed to be in here. I don’t know all the facts. I—”
Toby shut up as the door opened, his eyes widening before relaxing when he saw who it was.
“Katalina? Who are you…? Oh, I should have known you’d sneak back in here! Toby, Graham told you to go back home.” Katalina couldn’t see him because of the door, but she recognized his voice as the young man from before.
“What and miss out on all the action!” Toby whined.
Katalina dragged herself upright in the bed. Arne moved from the end of the bed to beside her, his eyes trained on the door.
The door closed as Cage stepped into the room. She was positive that he and Toby were brothers. They shared the same messy, choppy hair, though Cage’s was shorter. Their eyes were the same shape, but different shades of blue, their features similar. Cage had the bulkier frame of a young man on the cusp of adulthood, while Toby still held the lankiness of youth; although, he was as tall as his older brother.
Cage glanced at her dog and laughed, “Possessive, isn’t he?”
Katalina put her hand around Arne and looked at Cage. “Tell me what the hell is going on!” she snapped, needing to know some answers to the hundred questions fogging her mind.
“Wow, okay, no small talk then.” He smiled again, but when Katarina didn’t return it, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Toby, beat it!”