She realized her mistake too late. She was alone. Susan had long since gone back into the house and she’d ventured to the far end of the garden. The garden backed onto a small crop of trees and wasteland. There were houses either side, but where she was at that moment, she was vulnerable. Her wolf paced for a whole different reason; her hackles rose. Katalina felt the urge to change. As a wolf, she could protect herself better. But she lived on the outskirts of town, a town that had never had wolves venture so close before her birthday. If her aunt or grandmother saw her, how would she explain the fact she was a shifter?
Katalina backed away, slowly and carefully moving over the ground, never taking her eyes off the fence line. She’d managed only a few steps back when someone appeared at the fence. She didn’t recognize him, but then she’d only met one other enforcer apart from Cage. His chest was bare and she guessed the rest of him was too, but the shrub around the fence hid the rest of him from view. She heard movement and saw the outlines of two wolves standing either side of him.
“Katalina, we won’t hurt you. We’ve just come to take you home. You’re not safe here.”
She took another step back. “This is my home.”
“Kat, can I call you Kat? Please don’t make this any harder than it is.” He held his hands up, palms out.
“It’s not hard at all. Just leave. Tell Jackson I’ll never be forced into being in his pack.”
His hands dropped. Katalina took another step back, her heart racing so fast she could hardly hear his reply over the pulsing blood running through her head. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Katalina. I have orders and I don’t disobey my alpha.”
Katalina turned and ran. She heard the rattle of the fence. The garden wasn’t long but the enforcer was fast and his hand latched onto her arm before she could make it to the house. Katalina gasped from his harsh grip. Twisting her body around, she slapped him across the face as she pulled with all her strength, trying to escape.
“Bitch,” he muttered, yanking at her. She lost her footing.
A growl escaped her as she pushed against him. “Get off me!” Her knee came up, slamming between his legs. He fell back with a grunt, finally letting go of Katalina’s arm. A savage growl came from behind the fence, but the enforcer held his hand up signaling for the wolf to hold position.
“Hold, I can handle the bitch,” the enforcer growled, looking feral.
Fear left Katalina. Instead of running, she stood her ground, feeling the strength of her wolf close to the surface.
Before the enforcer could take a step toward her, Bass appeared beside her, his body angled slightly in front of her.
“I leave you alone for five minutes and you find some stray mutts for me to play with.” Bass’s voice was oddly calm and yet held the savage, untamed note of his wolf.
“They were just leaving, weren’t you? Sorry, I never caught your name?” Katalina replied with venom.
“We’re not leaving without you,” the enforcer demanded.
“She’s going nowhere with you,” Bass growled.
The enforcer let out a bitter laugh. “Are you going to stop us? You do realize there are three of us and one of you.”
Bass simply smiled.
“Katalina?” her grandmother’s voice came from inside the house.
The enforcer’s eyes darted toward the house and back.
“Do you really want to explain to your alpha how you exposed yourself to humans? I’m sure Katalina’s grandmother will have cops around the house when she realizes some savages want to take her granddaughter away. I’m happy to fight of course, if you feel the need.”
“This isn’t over!” he spat, before turning on his heel and disappearing over the fence.
“There you are,” her grandmother hollered into the garden. “I’ve been calling you. I’ve set up some leftovers for supper. Come inside.”
Katalina took a deep breath and slipped her hand into Bass’s. “Coming,” she called back, overly cheerful.
“Are you all right?” Bass whispered as they walked toward the back door.
“Never better.”
Chapter 14
Later that day when the sun had set and everyone had gone to bed, Katalina lay awake, her mind going over the day. She shot upright in bed when the sound of her door opening disturbed her. She closed her hand around the baseball bat hidden under the covers.
“Urgh, Bass, you scared me,” she sighed, when his smiling face appeared.
“Katalina, if you’d have used your senses, you would have known it was me.” His eyes settled on the bat she still held. “Planning on knocking me out?” he joked.