Chapter One-Hundred-And-Seventeen

Chapter One-Hundred-And-Seventeen
Ryder

“What’s she to any of you? She’ll only get all of you killed. And for what? To protect a being that’s better off dead than alive?” Milindya said scornfully, and then her body dissolved right there.

She’d determined the fight was over.

Coward.

Catalym stayed frozen there for a long moment. She didn’t acknowledge us, even when she turned to the door to leave the store.

Go after her, Corrine commanded.

Her sadness weighed on me as we darted out the door. She didn’t need to be alone. To know she had friends here.

She sat on the ground at the shore edge of the man-made lake.

She was like that when she came into my care, but, Corrine whispered, I have remedied the worst of it.

I closed the remaining distance between us without hesitation, sitting behind her with my knees bent on either side. I gathered her bounty of honey-blonde hair, putting my chin on her shoulder to stare out at the water.

Kev and Kelly sat on either side of us while Marcus looked at the area warily.

“She’s right, you know,” she said brokenly. “I’m not worth what they will do now.”

Each crystallized tear that fell added fuel to an already out-of-control fire. Indeed, there was a way to fix this mess we found ourselves in so she could live and have freedom of her own, as much as our race allowed any one of us.

“Cat…”

“I’m a danger to all of you, and she hit that home for me now more than ever. I don’t know why I thought this would ever be okay. They will come for me, and I don’t doubt they will stop at nothing to get me back. Judo is here now as well. I can feel him. She brought him here.”  She curled into an upright fetal position in my arms, not scared of her family, only of what they would do to us.

I couldn’t bear this a moment longer.

I picked her up and cradled her in my arms, tipping her tear-stained face back to meet mine. I brushed my lips across her forehead, but she refused to meet my eyes.

“I want you, Catalym. You’re a compassionate, good woman. I want to get to know and be friends with you, just like you said. We, willingly and wholeheartedly, fight for you. You are family, and we protect our own.” I knew she required solace and would accept nothing less than her having it.

“I’m not worth what they will cause, nor will I exchange all of your kindnesses for the trouble that will ultimately be inflicted. They are capable of only corruption and destruction,” she whispered, eyes shut tightly.

“We will prove you are, honey. You make my Ryder happy, and for that alone, I’ll be forever in your debt.” Kelly lightly touched Catalym’s thigh, determination deep in her gaze.

Kev’s startled gasp drew my attention, telling me he, too, had noticed the difference in Kelly’s magic.

“You make it sound like a woman has never made me happy.” I smiled crookedly while rubbing Catalym’s back.

Marcus and Kelly stared at me like I’d missed something vitally important.

“To our knowledge, they haven’t, sexual gratification aside,” Kelly said slowly, glancing back at Cat. I knew she was also speaking from Marcus’ knowledge, which meant a far extended period than Kelly had known me.

“Let’s take her home,” Marcus offered.

Kelly’s hand was on Catalym’s arm, and we didn’t miss the power surge between them, the immensity of it impossible for a human convert.

Normal secondary powers, yes, but a possible Primary? It was undeveloped and sporadic…but very potent.

She doesn’t even know she’s doing it, Kev murmured.

But what is it? The power is well-defined, and it grows within her. It’s like she’s always had it,I asked anyone who could answer.

That’s impossible. She is calming Catalym. An ancient vampire, who by all rights could kill us all with a thought, is being emotionally manipulated by a human convert! Marcus shifted nervously.

That’s not quite right. It would appear Kelly is an emotional mirror or manipulator of some sort or, to some extent, and she has no control over it. She isn’t maneuvering anything per say. I don’t understand this. Even the root of the power is different than our powers.

She won’t be happy about this.

Why?

It would be any convert’s dream to be considered more powerful and accepted by their pure-blooded peers.

Kelly wants to be expected. She hates being different already, which won’t help her fragile mindset.

Of course, he would hate anything that made his mate unhappy. And now, I was finding out exactly what that felt like.

There wasn’t an order my Leaders could’ve given at this point to make me care more about this lost creature. It hurt to watch, but she would inspire that in any man worth his salt.

“What am I going to do?” Catalym said brokenly.

“Cat, no matter what, we’re with you, I promise,” Kelly murmured back.

There was another surge unmistakably coming from her, prickling my flesh as it wrapped around us. The depth of her unconscious power was titillating, yet still malformed somehow.

Then I smiled.

You know what makes it different? The power would’ve manifested in full if she'd been born, but she isn’t. It is both strong and weak at the same time.

I didn’t even think about that, Kev blurted.

But why her? Marcus caught my eye. I saw the unsettled hope his fear almost hid. That and there was guilt.

There was a very dark corner of his mind, the part Kelly had yet to learn that thought about having her become more powerful. He wasn’t embarrassed by her, not by any means, but his entire life had been built upon pureblood. The very idea of him, eternally and unimaginably, tied to a convert was blasphemy to his upbringing.  And he hadn’t entirely come to terms with it yet.

The idea of forever protecting something so frail and vulnerable terrified him beyond any rational means. Not even I could comprehend the daily fear, something he’d never felt before Kelly and Sara had run to Vancouver to flee from what amounted to a misunderstanding.

I don’t know what’s happening, but I won’t tell her until I do. And that’s only if I can keep her inquisitive nature from finding out. This will anger and scare her. Don’t I do that enough already?

Catalym’s mind broke, not by much, just enough to hear random thoughts.

I don’t have a home.

My gut twisted at the sadness of this realization upsetting her so much.

Long as I breathe, and even after, you’ll always have a home. Corrine and Max love and care for you and will not allow your family to realize their goals. You have friends, baby, and you have a real family now. Trust us to take care of you.

Her body softened, molding into mine, but then she stiffened violently. I scented the air with unease.

Another memory flooded her unprotected mind.

The men around me stilled like the lethal predators they were, no matter how good of a front we put on for the humans.

Judo was here somewhere and wasn’t attempting to hide from the apparent scan, except just enough to distort his exact location.

But he’d ensured we knew he was there, watching, waiting.

This one was nothing like Milindya, a fearsome opponent all by herself. The energy that emanated from this being was genuinely terrifying, at least for someone who felt fear.

This Judo sounded like one powerful son of a bitch.

Regardless of our confidence, right or wrong, a lack of fear didn’t mean anything.

Dying, however, meant a lot.