“Well, he never cowers on the floor when I tell him off and what did Jackson expect? You can’t just kidnap someone and expect there not to be consequences.”
“He cowered ‘cause I’m a wolf, Kat, or have you forgotten? And we didn’t kidnap you. You are Jackson’s daughter. You would have died if we’d hadn’t found you,” he snapped.
Katalina looked at Toby and for the first time, she could see it; he wasn’t just a kid with a carefree smile. Underneath it all, he was a wolf, a wild creature.
“No, I didn’t forget, Toby. I’d just thought you were different, my mistake; one I won’t be making again.”
She grabbed hold of the drip and hobbled from the room. “Heel, boy,” she said to Arne.
“Kat…Kat, at least let me help you.”
“No! I don’t need any more help, from any of you. As soon as I’m better, I’ll be leaving and there is nothing Jackson can do about it. Just because you are a shifter, Toby, doesn’t mean different rules apply.”
She heard shouting that night. Jackson was banging and swearing as Karen and whomever else was down there, tried to calm him down. She stood at the window watching darkness take over the sky when she saw the glimpse of a wolf dash away from the house. Toby, she thought, and then moments later a larger grey wolf followed.
Cage…
She couldn’t know for sure as she’d never seen his wolf, but if that had been Toby, then it would be Cage following him. She wondered if this was what it was like all the time here, or whether Jackson was acting like an ass because of her. She hoped he wasn’t always like this. What a horrible life it would be always tiptoeing around him, trying not to upset him.
“Are you all right?”
Katalina jumped, not hearing Karen open the door.
“Sorry, dear, didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s all right. I just didn’t hear you come in.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll be able to hear everything we can after the full moon.”
“Why is it you all presume I want to be a shifter? I’d love nothing more than to reverse time and never meet any of you!”
Karen didn’t answer; though, Katalina could see she’d hurt her.
“I…I’m sorry that wasn’t fair. I’m just…”
“It’s all right, Kat. I understand and I am truly sorry for your loss. Being a shifter is something we treasure. I hope you will understand after the change.” Karen stared off into space for a second, her mind elsewhere. She snapped her head up, plastering a smile on her face. “Right then, Toby tells me you’d like this drip off. I think you’re almost better, so let’s get it off.”
Katalina sat on the edge of the bed in thought as Karen bustled around her, collecting medical supplies.
“I’d like to change that dressing one last time, too, if you don’t mind?”
“Sure,” Katalina answered, swinging her leg gently up onto the bed. “So is Jackson always like that?”
Karen locked eyes with her. “Did you look through the album?”
“Oh, no, I just, I’m not ready.”
“Look at it, Kat. There you’ll see the man Jackson used to be, the man he could be again.”
“I don’t understand why everyone puts up with him. Why would they want a leader with such rage?”
“Because, Kat, wolves live by a code of honor and loyalty. He’s our alpha and we would die for him. We also hope that one day the man we lost will come back to us.” She left quietly on those words and Katalina went back to staring out the window.
She wasn’t sure how long she’d stood there, but when she finally decided it was time to look at the family she’d once had, the moon had risen high into the sky, its crescent shape casting a dim light over the snow-covered world.
Picking up the album and a thick blanket from the bed, Katalina went down the stairs and out the front door; there she sat on the porch steps, the blanket wrapped around her and the album in her lap. Taking a deep breath, she opened it. The first picture was of a woman. She looked to be in her early thirties. She was sitting on a bed with a baby in her arms. Katalina looked at the woman’s smiling face, at the happy glint in her eyes and the glow of love for the newborn she held.
She didn’t need to read the description to know this was her mother; they shared the same eyes and hair; in fact, Katalina thought it was like looking at an image of herself in another fifteen years. There was no mistaking their relationship.
She turned to the next page and almost didn’t recognize the man who stood with her and Winter. Jackson still had the same messy fire-red hair, the same imposing stance, but in the picture, his eyes didn’t hold the haunted look of grief, his mouth didn’t have the hard set of rage. Jackson was truly happy, his hand gently holding Winter’s, beaming proudly at the camera.