Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,55
she said to him. “We can’t have visitors.”
“Kat is a member of the pack,” Justin reminded her. “She wants to pay her respects before she leaves.”
“I’ll tell him.” Arial reached for the doorknob, charms on her bracelet jingling.
Justin put his hand around hers. “No. You know that’s something she should do,” he said in a quiet but firm voice. “The alpha deserves her respect.”
Arial sucked in a breath. “The alpha,” she began, then toyed with one of the charms. “Daddy’s resting before dinner.” Then, as if she had to explain, she added, “He’s been through so much. You know what I mean.”
Justin grunted. “I surely do. And I’m wondering who it was that put him through most of it.”
She gave him a wicked scary smile, seductive, dangerous. “Careful, Jus. Remember who you’re talking to.” She still didn’t look at Katelyn as she added, “I’ll tell him she said goodbye.”
Then she shut the door in their faces.
“Sure you will,” Justin muttered.
“I heard that,” Arial said through the door.
Justin smiled sourly. “Knew she would,” he said to Katelyn. He walked her back to her Subaru and politely opened the door. Southern men had manners; she had to give them that.
“Why does she blame me for getting bitten?” she asked him flat out. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You remind her that he didn’t pick her to succeed him,” he said, as she got into the car. He shut the door and she rolled down the window. “And that her alpha’s not in control. Packs are only as strong as their leaders. When the alpha shows weakness, it throws everybody off.”
“So I’m a source of shame to her, too.” Katelyn jabbed the key in the ignition.
“In a word, yes,” Justin said.
“When won’t I be?”
He leaned his elbows on the car door and gave her a sad smile. Then he dropped his arm toward her and tugged on a tendril of her light blonde hair.
“When you’re settled,” he said. “When you fit in. You’re the omega — the lowest-ranking — but the alpha and I are both paying attention to you. That elevates you, and that’s confusing everyone.” One half of his mouth curved up in a cynical grin. “It’ll be less confusing when you’re not such an oddball.”
“Oh, thanks.” She tried to jerk her hair out of his grasp.
He held it tighter, chuckling. “Try to have a little compassion.” He tugged. “Our whole lives are built on pack order. And we’re in disorder. It’s not good for us.”
“Compassion?” Katelyn cried. “For her? She made sure Mr. Fenner knew about me. She nearly got Cordelia killed.”
“Her loyalty didn’t lie with Cordelia. It lay with her father. You know that’s a strong bond.”
“No, I wouldn’t know,” she said hotly. “My father was murdered when I was twelve years old.” She swatted his hand like he was a pesky fly and he released her. Then she started the engine and put the car in reverse, barely giving Justin time to get out of her way.
She sped through the forest, eager to be safely out of it, replaying her conversation with Justin. Remembering that his father was dead, too, and that he suspected Lee had killed him on purpose. Either way, his father was dead. There were a lot of deaths within the pack, so maybe that was why Justin didn’t cut her any slack about what had happened to her.
Her thoughts drifted to her father’s funeral, and how everyone had kept asking her if she was okay. No one had asked her mother, and it was obvious that Giselle Chevalier — her mom — hadn’t been handling it okay at all. And Katelyn had suddenly understood that anyone who asked didn’t really want to know. They just wanted to feel as if they’d done the right thing.
Thunder rumbled through the forest, and the trees shook their gnarled fists at her as she wiped her tears away and fought to pull herself together.
Even though she had wanted to be through the woods as fast as possible, she still wasn’t ready to be back at the cabin when she parked outside. Grateful for the rain, she let it run down her face to hide her tears before going inside.
A sharp odor hit her. Her grandfather was at the table beside her computer, cleaning a gun. He looked up at her and gave her a nod, almost a smile, and she smoothed back her soaking wet hair.
“I forgot an umbrella,” she said, even though that was pretty obvious.