Chapter 7

Chapter 11

Mrs. Cale watched in complete horror as her daughter reluctantly pulled herself from the ground, her eyes burning defiantly. The rest of the people in the room were forgotten as mother and daughter faced off. Wendy marched over to Caitlin, her cheeks flushed with anger.

"Caitlin Rose Cale! What on earth are you doing?" her voice shook with out range. Caitlin looked at her mother "Well mother, it looks I'm kissing a guy," she said calmly. Her mother sputtered indignantly. Before she could fly into another parental tirade, Max stepped between them.

"I hate to interrupted this mother-daughter bonding session but Zack and I need to go," before either of them could move Mrs. Cale said something worst then all the Manticore torture combined. "You little gold diggers will not get away with this! Your little act of pretending to care about them will wear thin, I mean what can you offer them? No connections, you little leaches will not hurt my family." Her voice was hard.

Caitlin and Logan hissed in out rage. Max and Zack stiffened but remained silent as they walked slowly out of the room, after a moment Jondy followed. As soon as they were out of the room Caitlin and Logan whirled on their meddlesome family member. Caitlin was trembling with buried rage. Logan was griping the chair so tightly that his knuckles were white. Mrs. Cale tried to place her hands on each of their shoulders. Caitlin whirled around and struck her mother fiercely. Her mother stepped back in shock. "Caitlin were are you going?" she called as her daughter fled the room.

"After the man I love!" she called back.

Logan followed his cousin. They both ran after the people they love.



Logan quietly came to stand behind Max. She sat on the upper most balcony of the east wing of the estate. Her shoulders were stiff and Logan saw her face was a cool mask of complete calm.

"She's right you know, what kind of future would we have? The genetically engineered freak who has major emotional issues and the idealistic journalist full of truth and morals, not exactly the stuff dreams are made of," her tone was bitter and sarcastic but as she turned to face Logan was shocked to see tears streaming down her face.

"Max…" he began

"Save it Logan, I was kidding myself. I thought that maybe I could possible be happy, but genetic freaks can't be happy, oh and they can so totally not fall in love. I was the star pupil, Lydecker would be so ashamed," her voice flat and emotionless but her eyes betrayed such heart-wrenching pain that Logan ached to take her in his arms and rock her pain away. Max suddenly choked as a sob escaped her lips, she fell into Logan's arms and cried for the third time in her life.