Chapter 63

KATHERINE.

As several cars pulled into the parking lot and the excited chatter of all the people around filled the air, I bounced on the balls of my feet as I waited to catch sight of a familiar car. Minutes later, I did and I smiled so hard, it felt like my face was going to split in half from the force of it. I immediately began to walk towards the car as quickly as I could before it even came into the parking lot and the moment it parked, I practically rushed over to it while the back seat’s door opened.

“Kathy!” Kit yelled excitedly just before I picked him up and swung him around, making him laugh. Holding him and talking to him in person made me relieved beyond measure because last week, Aunt Vivian had told me sometimes he refused to eat and cried himself to sleep. I had no idea if it was because he missed me or our parents or both but I’d been worried ever since and he hadn’t wanted to talk to me about it whenever I called, the only thing he wanted to know was when I was coming home.

“God, I missed you. I missed you so, so much.”

“I missed you too!” He pulled his head back from my shoulder so he could look at my face and I couldn’t help but grin at the way his eyes twinkled. “We’re going back home together, right?”

“Ah–”

“Katherine,” Aunt Vivian called as she came down from the passenger’s side and I smiled at her while she walked over to us.

“Aunt Vi.”

“How are you?” She pulled me into a side hug since I was still carrying Kit.

“I’m fine,” I replied before Uncle Lander also got down from the car and when he locked the car after smiling at me, I glanced at Aunt Vivian. “Where are Helena and Tiffany?” After finding out that my pack had been invited for Blackwood’s anniversary, I had told them about it and they had been excited and told me they’d definitely come.

“Oh, they went to Irving. They need to register something so when they’re done, Tiffany’s dad will bring them over.”

“Oh,” I muttered before Kit began to squirm in my arms, drawing my attention back to him.

“Put me down. I’m not a baby.”

“Oh. Yes, sir.” I set him down and he pouted at me as he brushed his hands over his clothes before holding his hand out to me.

“Hold my hand,” he said and I grinned as I did so before he pulled me closer to the car. Uncle Lander unlocked the car and Kit opened it, revealing the back seat which had several bags and wrapped boxes in it.

“Uh…” I trailed off, wondering what these were before Kit spoke.

“Those packs sent them for you. We couldn’t bring everything so there are still a lot at home. They sent me a lot of gifts too. I shared them with Jamie and Arla.” Jamie was Helena’s brother and Arla was Tiffany’s sister.

“You did?” I asked and he bobbed his head, making my smile widen before I used my other hand to ruffle his hair. He groaned and swatted my hand away. “Sorry, sorry,” I said before glancing at Aunt Vivian and Uncle Lander. “What packs sent them?”

“All the ones that want an alliance with ours,” she answered and I muttered an ‘oh’. We hadn’t accepted all the requests we had yet – the council was involving me in the process – but more were still coming in and the students in Blackwood from the packs that had sent requests had been friendly to me ever since.

“Where’s your dorm, Kathy?” Kit asked as he pulled his hand out of mine and grabbed some of the bags in the car.

“Are you sure you can carry all those?”

“I’m carrying them, aren’t I?” he replied even though he couldn’t stand straight with everything he was carrying and I snorted before collecting some of them from him and grabbing more from the car. Aunt Vivan and Uncle Lander grabbed the remaining bags and after locking the door once more, we began to make our way over to my dorm.

Several students were also walking with their families and as I talked to mine about things that were happening in our pack, I spotted Theo with Lenore and her siblings. They were all laughing – yes, Theo too – and Theo was gently pulling Lenore away from her siblings like he wanted to keep her all to himself… ‘They’ looked happy. Lenore’s gaze began to turn in my direction but before it could settle on me, I immediately looked away and cleared my throat.

I’d sort of been avoiding talking to and looking at her ever since I finally admitted to myself that I had a crush on Theo. Yes, I knew doing that was weird but I just couldn’t help it. Theo was her boyfriend… fiancé… whatever, they were getting married, and I shouldn’t be having a crush on who my friend was getting married to.

“That’s Dark Moon’s daughter,” Uncle Lander muttered, letting me know he had spotted her too. “Katherine, introduce us to her.”

“Ah, no!” I blurted out and he drew his brows together at my reaction. “I mean, she’s with her family. We’re going to my room now. I’ll introduce you guys to her when she gets there.”

His gaze darted from me to the direction Lenore was in, then back to me. “Sure.”

We got to my room in Stavenger Hall a while later and the moment I opened the door, Aunt Vivian gasped as she took it in.

“Oh my God. Why’s it so big? And you have only one roommate?” she asked, reminding me of my reaction when I first saw the room, and I nodded while Kit walked over to my side of the room to drop the bags.

“Who are those for?” He pointed at my center table which had snacks on it as I shut the door.

“You.”

His face lit up and he ran over to the table while I glanced at Uncle Lander who was currently surveying Lenore’s side of the room and I cringed.

“Uncle Lander, please stop doing that,” I said and he glanced at me, raising a brow.

“Doing what?”

“You know what? It’s weird.” Sure, he wasn’t snooping through her things and he wasn’t creepily staring at her side but he was staring because he wanted to know the kind of person ‘Dark Moon’s daughter’ was so he could give me ‘tips’ on how to get closer to her and talk to her about an alliance between her pack and mine like he and the pack’s council wanted me to.

Aunt Vivian laughed at my words as she plopped down on my bed. “She’s right, Lander. Oh, this bed is so soft. You’re living the life, Katherine… I think I should apply to be a student here.”

“You’re old,” Kit mumbled.

“No one is old enough for school, Christopher. And I’m just thirty-two.”

“Still old.”

She tsked at that and turned to face him while I returned my attention to Uncle Lander before he said, “We should talk.”