Chapter Fifty-Three--Syber May Become A Problem

Chapter Fifty-Three--Syber May Become A Problem
She latched onto me. “None of this matters, Kat. We can leave, right now. I know where your truck is. We run and drive away. We’ll go home, and I’ll help you deal with this whole cat thing. No one will ever find out about you.”

I swallowed my tears.

Despite her words, she didn’t believe me. Bile rose in my throat. She’d thought I lost my mind. She pretended, and I smelled it. No doubt she planned some harebrain scheme to get me the help she no doubt that I needed.

“I can’t,” I mumbled into her shoulder.

“Don’t say that. Are you scared of them?”

“No, they wouldn’t hurt me.”

“They already have,” she said solemnly.

“You need to understand. My mom is involved in a hunt to kill the Colbanes. I won’t abandon my own. Not to her.”

She pulled back. “They’re nothing to us, Kat. We need to leave, get you away from them. Don’t argue with me, trust me for once.”

The barb hurt. “I’m not crazy.”

She petted my hair. “I know you’re not.”

A lie.

Okay, time to go at this from a different angle. “Honey, what do you think happened that night at the bathroom? Where did you go?”

“I saw something, walked no more than fifteen feet, and when I came back, you were gone. And all I could hear was you screaming like you were being murdered. The noises came from every direction, and no matter where I ran, I couldn’t find you. I smelled blood, Katrina. Something else was with me in the darkness. I started for the ranger’s station, and then, Kalvyn comes waltzing out of the trees, carrying your mangled body. Your blood smeared all over his face and body. I know I was drunk, but I remember that. I will never forget. No matter how many times Syber tells me it was my imagination, I won’t believe it. You. Were. Dead. Gone. Now tell me the fucking truth! He tried to kill you. The only thing I don’t understand is why you’re alive now.”

“I’ve already given you that answer. Part of you believes they didn’t try to kill me, that it was something else. Or you wouldn’t be so close to Syber. You wouldn’t trust him as much as you do.”

She deflated. “I can’t explain what it is about him. He feels pure. As if what he is on the surface, is what he is. He doesn’t lie, but I know he omits.” Oh, did I understand that. “My brain says run away, but my heart interferes. When he is away, it hurts.” She gazed at the door. Was it possible they too were fated? Shit. “I can’t stay away from him, even when I know I should. He’s the only thing that kept me sane while you were sick.”

“He won’t hurt you.” I’d make sure of it. “Neither will the rest of them.”

“He said that too,” she continued. “Then I finally see you again. You move and act differently. You have a quiet confidence you’ve never had. When you speak, it’s as if someone else is inside of you. As if you woke up from a coma, possessed by a demon. You want me to take this on faith alone. Tell me, Katrina.” I flinched as she stood, backing away from me. Every time she spoke my full name, it was like a nail in my coffin.  “Have I gone as crazy as you have?”

Choked up, I fisted my hand against my mouth to battle the sobs. I’d lose her. She’d walk away from me. Forever. Maybe tell the police about us. Another danger to the Colbanes. Another source stemmed from me.

Kalvyn rushed into the room like a whirlwind, gathering me up. I clutched as his shirt, calming my breath.

“You asshole!” Lola shrieked. “This is all your fault.”

“Enough!” He roared. “Not another word from you.”

“You drank her blood, you freak. Admit it. You’re a vampire or some tainted wizard, aren’t you?”

Oh my God. Of course she’d come to that conclusion. Hadn’t I at some point?

“He’s…he isn’t a vampire,” I choked.

“Then what are you? What have you become, Katrina?” She screamed. Syber was there, holding her back from running at us, failing to control her flailing arms.

“Get off me!” She beat at any part of Syber she could reach. “How dare you? You’ve completely messed up a vulnerable woman, who needs serious help. You should be slaughtered by her mother. Serves you right.”

I clutched my head, screaming in my mind, so loud I couldn’t hear my cat’s rational pleas. I’d been trying so hard to keep my sanity through all this, but Lola turning from me was the last straw. A full blown anxiety attack tightened my chest. My body trembled.

“Syber, shut her up, or I will,” Kalvyn threatened.

“I’m a jaguar!” I screamed, my cat echoing behind me. Everybody froze. “A shifter.”

“Prove it,” she said quietly. “Change into a fucking cat, right now.”

How did I do that?

Kalvyn set me gently on the cushioned. His fingers run beneath my eyes, collecting my tears. “Just rest.” He faced her with the confidence of a true leader, who commanded respect. “Lola, are you sure you want proof?”

“I wouldn’t have asked for it, if I didn’t.”

“Kalvyn,” Syber warned. “This isn’t the way. She needs time.”

He rolled his shoulders and glared at the beta. “My mate needs a lot right now, including the one who calls herself Katrina’s friend. Lola has been coddled long enough. If she is to exist in peace with us, she must understand the severity our clan is under. If she can’t, other arrangement will be made.” He didn’t give anyone time to object.