Katalina pulled back from the hug. “Tell Dillon I said hello.”
Aunt Susan nodded at Katalina before her eyes rested on Bass across the room. “It was nice to meet you, Bass. You be careful with this one’s heart. It’s been battered enough.”
“I will,” Bass replied, unfazed.
Katalina watched as her aunt walked out the door, her grandmother following behind, and a shiver of dread roll down her spine. She wasn’t quite sure what brought on the feeling, but then her wolf pushed against her skin, reminding her of who she now was. Her aunt was just going home. She’d see her again, but with each brush of fur, Katalina couldn’t help thinking she didn’t belong in this world anymore, no matter how hard she clung onto it.
Chapter 16
“Would you mind cutting some wood for me please, Sebastian?” Katalina’s grandmother asked when she returned back inside. “That storm looks like it’s going to be pretty nasty and we are nearly out.”
“Not a problem at all.”
Bass walked to the front door and slipped his feet inside his boots.
“Are you not going to put on a jacket, dear? It’s pretty chilly out there.”
Bass’s hand paused on the door handle. He turned with a smile. “I’ll be fine. I don’t feel the cold.”
Katalina followed him, putting her coat on as she passed the coat rack. She sat on a bench in the garden and watched him as he swung an axe over and over, the loud crack of wood splitting echoing around them. His lean muscles flexed beneath his tight jumper, his dark hair ruffled by the wind. Bass was all fine lines and chiseled muscle, a lethal wild animal wearing a civilized mask. Most people looked at Bass and saw a handsome young man, with a warm smile and good manners, but Katalina saw all of him: the vulnerable boy who’d lost his mom and the fierce, loyal wolf who lived barely contained beneath the surface. She saw the smile he had only for her and she’d witnessed the lines he’d crossed to protect her.
“What was it like growing up as a wolf?” she asked.
He didn’t pause as he spoke, but his voice traveled over the sound of splitting wood. “The Dark Shadows are an unforgiving pack. Only the strongest survive amongst them. It was hard. My father loved me but he didn’t hold onto the good around him; he hung onto the pain. I remember the man he was, before my mother’s death, and then I remember the man who raised me. Dark Shadow changed after such a loss and I don’t think the pack ever recovered. I learned to fight at a young age. I learned that the people my age feared me. I learned to rely on only myself.”
“That sounds awful,” Katalina whispered, wanting to reach out and hold him, the pain in his voice, physically hurting her.
“I didn’t know any different, but I had my grandmother. My father’s mother was kind and loving. She showed me the beauty of being a shifter. Shifters can be loyal creatures. When we love someone, we’ll do everything in our power to make them happy. It was hard growing up as a Dark Shadow, but I wouldn’t change it.”
“What about your mother’s family?”
“My grandfathers died before I was born, both fighting, and my mother’s mother went to sleep one day and never woke up. Her heart was broken from losing my mother.”
“I think I’m pleased Jackson gave me away,” she whispered, looking off into the distance.
Bass stopped, the axe landed to on the ground with a thud. “We could change the way things are.”
“Is that what you want from me?”
“No, I just want to make you happy.” He walked toward her, the love, the strength in his eyes too much for Katalina to bear. She glanced away feeling unworthy. She was such a mess, her emotions all over the place, while Bass was so caring and understanding. He deserved someone who could accept who they were, someone who would run with him at night.
“I’m lost. I’m not sure who I am or what will make me happy,” she admitted, looking down.
His hand grazed along her jaw. “You’ll find your way, and I’ll be next to you every step of the way.”
He walked toward the house, his arms full of wood.
“What about your home, Bass. Don’t you miss your home, your grandmother?”
“She died last year. You’re my home now, Katalina Winter.”
Katalina sat for a long time outside on the bench. Bass walked back for wood a few times but never interrupted her. She wasn’t thinking, not really. Questions swirled around in her mind, but she couldn’t focus on a single one. Her mind was a jumble of new information, questions with no answers, and questions with answers she didn’t like. Her eyes stared off into the distance not taking in one particular thing.