Chapter 40
Kathy hesitated, her thumb hovering above the green button as the phone vibrated softly in her hand. The quiet after breakfast was still settling in the house, the echoes of laughter and footsteps fading away. Sarah watched her with a gentle, curious gaze, but said nothing, sensing the delicate web of old memories tightening around Kathy.
She inhaled deeply, steeling herself, and answered, her voice steady though her pulse fluttered like a trapped bird. "Hello?" she said, unsure what might spill through the line—awkward small talk, news, or perhaps the hint of a long-buried grievance.
“Kathy?” The voice was tentative, unfamiliar from the distance of years and the static of lives lived apart. It was indeed her step-sister, reaching out from the other side of silence.
“Hi,” Kathy managed, her mind racing with questions. Why now? Was everything alright? She glanced at Sarah, who gave her an encouraging nod before quietly retreating to the kitchen, leaving her space.
After a brief, careful exchange—half nostalgia, half uncertainty—Kathy promised to call back later, her thoughts swirling with possibilities. The unexpected call lingered in her.
Her thumb still hovering over the phone’s glassy surface, Kathy exhaled, a slow release of air that seemed to steady the trembling inside her. “Skye, what’s the matter?” she asked, her voice softer now, trying to bridge the years and the silence that lay between them.
For a heartbeat, there was only the hum of the line—then, a shaky laugh from Skye, brittle as spun sugar. “I don’t want to be rude but I want to invite you to my wedding. Plus, Dad is worried about you, since he hasn’t seen you and he misses you.”
Kathy’s jaw tightened, old wounds stinging. “Bullshit! He doesn’t miss me. And if he did, he’d call me himself, not send you as his next try.”
Skye sighed audibly, the faint rasp of bitten nails carrying across the distance. Kathy wondered, not for the first time, if there was more to this call than the invitation—if some unspoken trouble flickered in the back of Skye’s mind, or if the urgency came from something else entirely. Maybe she’s pregnant, Kathy thought grimly, maybe this is all about a shotgun wedding under the guise of a reunion.
“Skye, when is this wedding?” asked Kathy
“Next week, make sure you wear something pretty,” Skye replied, the brittle laugh gone now, replaced by a vulnerable sincerity Kathy almost didn’t recognize. “I’d like you there. Even if you just come for the cake.”
The silence that followed pressed against Kathy’s ribs. She wanted to say she’d think about it, or maybe give some snappy retort to shield herself from the ache. Instead, she found herself staring at the faded sunlight spilling across the kitchen tiles, remembering the awkward, hopeful girls she and Skye once were—caught between rivalry and longing.
“I’ll… I’ll see,” Kathy said finally, her voice barely above a whisper, uncertain but not unkind. “Send me the details.”
“Okay.” Skye’s relief was palpable, softening the edges of her nervousness. “I’ll text it all, promise. Just… it would mean a lot.”
As the call ended, Kathy sat for a moment longer, letting her mind wander through old hurts and the fragile hope that maybe, this time, a door could open instead of slamming shut. The hum of the phone faded, but the invitation lingered, echoing into the quiet corners of the day.
Sarah came over to see Kathy just standing there in the kitchen with her phone still in her hand.
“Is everything alright, Kathy?”
Kathy blinked, the words tumbling out before she could soften them. “Yes, my sister wants me to come to her wedding. I think my father’s trying to trap me again. I don’t know if I want to go at this point.”
Kathy wandered into the living room, restless energy propelling her from window to window, her footsteps tracing invisible patterns across the worn carpet. She let the words replay in her head—her father’s schemes, Skye’s earnestness, the weight of old family fractures. Every time she thought she’d reached a decision, doubt tangled the edges, and she was left pacing, searching for clarity.
“Sarah,” Kathy called, turning with newfound purpose, “I need to go to the pack house. I want to talk to Luna Evelyn—see what she knows about all this.”
Sarah watched her, eyebrows raised, but nodded. “You think she’ll have answers?”
“She always has something,” Kathy replied, gathering her keys.
With a steadying breath, Kathy stepped out, the door clicking softly behind her, and set off toward the pack house—hope and apprehension twined together as she imagined what Luna Evelyn might reveal.
Sarah walking next to Kathy they were walking toward packhouse, as they walked upstairs the omega open the door for them as Kathy and Sarah walked inside of the house. She looks around to see if they see Luna Evelyn, sitting in the sunroom drinking tea as Kathy enters.
“Sarah can you give us min,”
“Yes, Miss,”
Kathy slowly walked into the sunroom however Luna Evelyn looks up to see Kathy and closed her book that she was reading however it’s looks like she was not in the mood to talk to anyone but Kathy just sits across from her.
“Good morning, Luna Evelyn I want talk to you, about something,”
“Before you say anything else, I want to show you something first,”
A female omega gives Kathy a folder as she looks inside it’s a picture of her father Edward, step-mother Esme and step-sister in their new home. How did Evelyn get these pictures? Now, show no fear on her face Kathy looks at Luna Evelyn who was smiling at her, then even gives her a bag of money, like Evelyn wants Kathy to disappear from Anthony. However, Kathy got another plan for Evelyn.
“I am not going anywhere, I am mate to your son,” said Kathy
Kathy moved her hair aside, exposing the unmistakable mark on her neck—the proof of a bond that could not be denied or hidden. Fury flickered in Luna Evelyn’s eyes, her composure shattering as she hurled her glass at the floor near Kathy’s feet; shards scattered across the polished wood, the water pooling in tiny rivulets. Kathy didn’t flinch, her gaze steady and unyielding, meeting Evelyn’s with quiet defiance.
At that moment, Sarah returned, her steps faltering as she took in the tension thickening the air and the broken glass glinting at Kathy’s feet. She glanced between the two women, uncertainty clouding her features, but neither Kathy nor Evelyn broke their silence. The room seemed to hold its breath, the confrontation teetering on the edge—unspoken truths simmering just beneath the surface, waiting to spill.
“Luna Evelyn, I think you should keep Noah close to you because you never know who might be watching him doing something that he got in business doing, if you know what I mean. Sarah let go,”
Sarah followed Kathy from the living room, then paused in the walkway, mulling over a plan; she knew she had to break into Alpha Samuel's office, as he held secrets about Anthony's mother.