Winter Wolf(59)

“What are you thinking, Katalina?” he asked.

Katalina turned, walking toward the picnic benches positioned along the edge of the tree line. She sat before answering. “I can see the wolf in your eyes. Are you worried?”

With great effort, Bass reined his wolf back. “Sorry, I'm a little on edge, but not worried.”

“It’s fine, Bass. Don't apologize for who you are.” She grasped for a subject change. “Soo…Nico?”

He smiled fondly. “I think you'll like Nico. He's very...how to put it... ‘real world’.”

“I noticed. How could the two of you possibly have grown up together? I’d have thought he was human in any other situation,” she laughed.

“He joined the pack when I was ten. He was eight. His dad's a wolf, mother's human. She lives in the nearby town. She split from his dad before Nico was born. Apparently, his dad forgot to mention he was a shifter. Anyway, Nico stays with his dad most the time, but visits his mom on a weekend. Oh, and he goes to an ordinary school. He was never homeschooled like the rest of us.”

“That explains it. He knows how we ordinary people live.”

“Nothing about you, Katalina Winter, is ordinary,” he said with a warm smile.

No, I suppose not.

The silence settled over them again, pressing down, suffocating.

Katalina sighed heavily. “Am I silly to still hope our problems will be solved without a fight?”

“Not silly, no, but in the world of shifters, there is a hierarchy. The alpha is law.”

“But he's your father.”

“Yes, and that is the only reason I've gotten away with so much. Nico says I'm a rebel, but I never saw it that way. I never disobeyed my father to enrage him. We just have very different views and I refuse to do something I don't agree with. He's wanted your blood for nearly eighteen years. He's the alpha and there will be consequences for my disobedience.”

She already knew the answer, but she had to ask him anyway. “Are you really willing to fight your father for me?”

“I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. You are my mate, Katalina. Without you, my life holds no meaning.”

“She reached across the table for his hand. “Let's go deal with my father first. Hopefully, he's going to be easier to convince than yours. Even though he's been nothing but an arrogant, stubborn ass since I met him.”

“I believe we’ll get through to Jackson.”

“What makes you say that?” she asked.

“The way he looks at you, Katalina…he may have given you up, but he loves you. He’s gone about everything the wrong way, but when it boils down to it, he just wants to have you in his life.”

“He wanted me as a broodmare.”

“You’ll still give him pure babies. They’ll just be mine.” He flashed her his cheeky smile.

“Getting a little ahead of yourself there, Sebastian.”

“There is another thing, something I find quite interesting.”

“And what would that be?”

“You’re of River Run descent, yet your wolf doesn’t answer to Jackson.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s alpha. As alpha, he has the ability to control you. Only the very strong, dominant wolves can disobey a direct order. Jackson has tried to give you commands a number of times. I’ve felt the strength in the words, yet you’ve brushed them off.”

“Sometimes it’s as if his voice is pressing down on me, but then it passes. Why is that?”

“I’m not sure, really. You’ve only been able to change for a short while. You’re dominant, yes, but not nearly as strong as you will be. Maybe it’s simply because you’ve grown up away from the pack, so your wolf doesn’t register them as family.”

“All this wolf stuff hurts my head,” she moaned, rubbing her temples.

“We will get through this, Kat, together.”

Smiling, she got to her feet and pulled him toward her. “Together,” she breathed into his mouth as she stretched up on her tiptoes for a kiss.





Chapter 23



The rest of the drive didn’t take long at all. Before she knew it, the road had become familiar, dark-green pine trees flanking either side of the narrow road.

She took a deep breath. “I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.” She wrapped her arms around her middle. While her tummy did flips, her knee jiggled up and down, over and over in quick succession.

Bass glanced at her. “Are you all right?”

“I don’t know. I feel kinda…” Her words choked in her mouth. They round the corner and discovered a great wall of fire blocked their path.