Winter Wolf(27)

She froze as the door clicked softly. Rushing to the door, Katalina listened for any sounds and when she heard nothing, she crept out. It was time. Halfway down the stairs, the front door opened. Karen rushed in, slamming it so hard behind her the glass in the tiny rectangle window cracked. Katalina stood frozen, her heart in her throat, but Karen didn’t notice her as she marched into the kitchen. Jackson started shouting and then Karen started shouting back. For a second, she didn’t move. She’d never heard Karen so mad, but then she realized her advantage; their fighting would distract them as she escaped.

Running the last few steps, Katalina waited until Cage was out of sight and then ran. Luckily, Arne was asleep on the porch. He woke the second she leaped off and ran after her. Halfway to the woods she remember Toby told her to change, having only done it once without wanting to, she wasn’t sure what to do. Pulling her clothes off as she ran, she tripped, landing face first in the snow.

“Fuck it!” she swore, dragging her jeans off and then jumping back to her feet. As she started to run again, she heard Cage yell.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered.

Katalina closed her eyes. She pictured her wolf in her mind’s eye, instinctively knowing this was how to take control of her wolf. The pain of the change ran up her spine. She screamed, falling forward as her wolf burst from within her.

Cage had already closed the distance between them, but she didn’t look back. The woods became a whole different world as a wolf. She could see and feel the best path through the trees. Her paws easily glided over the uneven earth, but Cage had been a wolf longer than her and he was soon snapping at her heels.

Arne was already far behind them, not able to keep up with the wolves, but she couldn’t think of him now; she had to think of herself, no matter how much it hurt her to leave him behind.

Cage jumped onto her. They tumbled to the ground, a ball of snow white and dark grey fur. Katalina was startled by the savage snarl, which ripped from her throat. She leapt to her feet, prowling around him, her wolf instincts taking over. Cage snarled back at her. He was twice as big and covered in more muscle. His growl vibrated through her bones, and she felt the command in his tone. He was more dominant than she was, higher in rank within the pack, but Katalina didn’t truly belong to the pack. She shook off the command, and leaping, as she sunk her sharp wolf teeth into his flank.

Cage had spent his whole life training to fight. He’d been a wolf for many years and Katalina was no match for him. He had her pinned within a matter of minutes. He snarled above her snapping at her exposed throat. Ice-cold fear flooded her veins, causing her human form to come through.

Cage changed back. “Well done, Kat, I’m impressed. You’ve been a wolf one night and you actually managed to draw blood.” He smiled at her as if it was all some big game. “Imagine how powerful you’ll be when I’ve trained you.”

“You’ll never train me, Cage. I’m not staying here!” she spat at him. Lashing out, her nails scratched against skin, drawing blood.

Anger flared in his eyes, but he didn’t fight back. “Back home,” he snapped.

Cage lifted her up, his arm tight around her waist as he dragged her back to the house. Katalina didn’t go quietly; she kicked and screamed, slashing her nails across his skin but he didn’t let her go.

“That’s not my home! It will never be my home. Put me down!” she screamed.

“For God’s sake, Kat, will you just stop? Do you think I want to be doing this? Dark Shadow want you dead and they’re responsible for your parents’ deaths. I can’t let that happen, can’t let them hurt you. This is for your own good. Please just stop fighting. We’re supposed to be friends, remember?”

Katalina went slack in his arms. Cage let her go as she relaxed, realizing she’d given up trying to escape. She fell back, her naked ass hitting the snow.

“Friends! If you were my friend, you’d be taking me back to my home, so I can say goodbye to my parents. We could have been friends once, but not anymore.” Kat jumped to her feet, turning on her heel and stormed back to the house, collecting her discarded clothes along the way.

“Kat!” Jackson growled at her as she walked up the porch steps.

“I want to go home, Jackson!”

“This is your home,” he said, barely containing his fury.

“No, it isn’t. If this were my home, I’d be free to come and go as I pleased. This is my prison. You claim to be my father, but fathers don’t lock up their daughters.”

“I’m sorry, Katalina, but this is for your own good.”