Chapter 20
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Mary folded her arms, holding one more gingerly than the other. Reid widened his eyes thoughtfully.
"Well, now that you mention it-"
"You honestly expect me to believe that you'd kill yourself for her? And even if you did, what good would it do? I still wouldn't let her go."
"You won't risk it," he said assuredly. "As for the other part…" With a sharp movement that had Kat stiffening, nostrils flaring, he jerked his hand a bit. Crimson beaded around the blade. Mary's lips tightened. Kat inhaled sharply, taking in the strong, primal scent of blood. Dropping to all fours, she let her muscles collect and bunch, a silkysoft readiness.
"Reid, put the knife down," she hissed. He didn't look at her, but his lips quirked.
"Come on, babe," he said smoothly. Now, he was all confidence and arrogance. "You know me. Would I really lower myself to obeying the likes of you?"
"Don't be stupid," Kat replied, also keeping her eyes on Mary. "You aren't helping."
"C'mere," he said. Slowly, Kat rose and padded over to him. Mary stood stock still, watching, her eyes locked on the knife. With his free arm, Reid grabbed Kat around the waist and pulled her close so he could whisper in her ear.
"Shut the hell up," he murmured. "I know what I'm doing."
"Getting yourself killed is not-" His grip on her tightened almost imperceptibly. She stopped talking, and he continued.
"I can take care of myself. Don't move," he added to Mary, who had begun to shift her weight. "Besides, I'm way too selfish to actually die for someone who's not me," Reid finished smartly. Kat rolled her eyes. It seemed that, when he had nothing left to lose, Reid dealt with the utter terror and adrenaline he must have been feeling by regressing to his most obnoxious.
"This doesn't work," she whispered into his ear, pitching her voice at its most seductive, "and I will personally rip your throat out, loverboy."
"Who needs affection when I've got death threats?" With that, he let her go and tilted his head, baring his neck further. Kat lowered her own head in the pattern of an angry wolf, backing up as her back arched. She stood a few paces behind Reid, her shoulders hunched, her hair falling in long tangles down her back and across her face. Baring her teeth, she gave Mary a grin that had way too many teeth. The witch, eyes flicking from the knife in Reid's hand to the naked girl behind him, swallowed briefly but did not lose composure. Fluidly, Kat fell to all fours. When she landed, the only thing human about her was the murderous look in her amber eyes.
"So what's it gonna be? If I die, you won't ever complete your sick little ritual. If she lives, well, I guess you get to keep on trying."
"You'd really sacrifice yourself for her?" Mary sounded disbelieving. Reid gave a theatrical sigh.
"Would you please stop making this sound so goddamn romantic? Do I look like fucking Romeo to you?" He pressed a little harder. "Ooh, that hurts a bit. Little more blood, huh?"
"I continue to underestimate you," she bit out. "Fine. The girl can go. But be assured, my coven will hear of this. You are only buying her time, not life. As for you… You just forced me into a decision I did not want to make. This could have been easy. Now, I'll have to make you will me your power."
"Like I'd do that."
"With no options left," Mary said grimly, "I must do what I must. I didn't want to have to harm you any more than necessary. I would have made it fast. Painless."
"If you could torture me," Reid said baldly, "you'd have done it before. If you could beat me in a power fight, you would have taken the knife as soon as I pulled it."
"You're not the only one with tricks up your sleeve," she replied blandly. "You win this battle, Reid Garwin. For now, your wolf is safe. Kitty, you may leave. I lift the barrier for you." Kat hesitated, then stalked proudly past Reid. When she reached Mary, she let out a soft, promising snarl that was barely a whisper, but vibrated through both humans like the rumble of a distant train. Without a backwards glance, the white-streaked wolf prowled from the room, padding silently into the shadows. Mary closed her eyes, her forehead knitting with concentration, and Reid could feel a shift in the barrier that held him inside the house. There was a heavy waiting silence, and then Kat's presence was gone from the building and Mary let out a breath and opened her eyes.
"There," she said. "She's out. Put down the knife."
"Why should I? Why shouldn't I just end it?"
"Because that, boy, is a bluff I know I can call." Slowly, silently, Reid lowered the knife.
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Kat found the front door in wolf form, and then shifted back to human to open it. Breathing steadily to keep her nerves from taking over, she reached out and turned the knob. The door swung open, and she stepped out.
Nothing stopped her.
No barrier.
The witch had kept her word.
And now, Reid was alone with her.
Kat felt an alien tugging in her gut, an unfamiliar, instinctive push to go back. She raised a hand to her face, shocked to find a single tear there. Slowly, comprehension filled her: pack. She'd fallen for Reid, slept with him, formed a bond. He had become her pack. A wolf is born to run with a pack, to sleep with a pack, to hunt with a pack. Loyal to the death. Loyal to the point of death, actually… and Kat had just abandoned the only pack she'd ever had.
"Kat?!" The sound of another voice startled her, made her jump. It was Caleb, sounding utterly astounded. Immediately, Kat ripped her hand away from her face, taking the tear with her. She strode down the steps of the front porch, moving towards the gate. Caleb, Tyler and Pogue stood there, each in varying degrees of exhaustion. Sweat was pouring down Caleb's face. She understood that they'd been trying to break through Mary's walls.
"Hey, boys," she said, and vaulted over the gate. They stared at her, either because she had just jumped over what had been holding them back for hours, or because she was naked. Kat looked down at herself and sighed. This seemed to happen a lot around them.
"Do- How- Where's Reid?" A coat was handed to her, and she put it on absently, not really caring about her nudity. There were far more important things going on.
"Back there. With her." She buttoned the coat enough that it closed over her breasts, and then ran her hands through her hair. Caleb's eyes fell on her chest; rather, on the violent scar that had recently been a gaping wound.
"What the hell happened in there? Why didn't Reid come with you? What's going on?"
"I got shot. I died. I got better. She wants to steal Reid's power when he ascends, and there's some ritual she wanted to do. Reid tricked her into letting me go. That's all you really need to know. If you ever want to see him again, we have to find a way into that house before the hour he turns eighteen." Sarah and Kate were out of the car now, hurrying to where the others stood. They moved towards Kat, but something in her face made them keep a little distance. Smart girls.
"That gives us a couple hours," Pogue said, glancing at the house. "We're fucked." Kat lifted her eyes to his, and he took a step back: hers weren't their customary brown, but a deep shade of yellow-gold. There was no trace of the Kat that had snarked and joked with them before her abduction: now, she was far more animal than human, and neither Pogue nor the others were sure of how to deal with that.
"We are getting him back," Kat contradicted the long-haired teen. She eyed each of the others with her lupine gaze. "I fight for what's mine." Caleb studied her for an instant, and then lifted his chin.
"Reid's the rulebreaker," he said softly. "Always getting into trouble." Kat smiled, pointy teeth showing through. Caleb met her gaze, and continued. "He's gotten himself into some pretty deep shit here… so I guess it's time we picked up the slack."
"What are you saying, man?" Tyler was looking at the house that trapped his best friend, but his attention was on Caleb.
"Kat's right. We're getting him back, no matter what it takes. We only have a few hours? Well, then. Let's get the hell moving."