Catalyst Page 0,20

you do that and tell me!"

"You needed to know," Will said flatly, opening his hands like he was being reasonable.

Kahli laughed like a crazy person. "I needed to know, so you told me. Of course. That makes sense. Why else would you tell me?"

"Kahli - " Will tried to speak over her, his voice reassuring, but she didn't feel reassured.

"So, how many times did you use my name? How many times did you compel me to do something I didn't want to do?" Kahli pushed back from the table and stood. She turned her back to him and closed her eyes.

"Kahli, I did it when I had no other choice. The first night you were there, when you stabbed me, you were going to get yourself killed. I couldn't allow it. I'm sorry. One promise superseded another, and I had to. And as for the other time, compelling you not to die was different."

Kahli looked over her shoulder at him. There was a softness to his features that was usually hidden, an insecurity in his eyes that swallowed her whole. Kahli wanted to believe him. His actions kept her alive. She was in over her head that night and she knew if he hadn't subdued her, that the Queen would have destroyed her. That night she didn't care if she died. The idea of living amongst vampires was deplorable. Kahli couldn't fathom it. But her time with Cassie and Will had turned into something else. That existence wasn't what she thought it would be. She had friends now.

Kahli was no longer alone.

Will expected her to do something drastic, like bite off his head, verbally or literally - it was hard to tell with her - but Kahli seemed to deflate. The longer she stood there thinking, the more the tension flowed out of her body. Eventually her eyes met his again, the anger gone.

When she didn't speak, he said, "I'm sorry I did that to you. I shouldn't have used your name."

"Compelling me not to die seemed like it was a good plan, especially since I wouldn't listen." Kahli's arms folded over her chest, her anger fading. "It made sense then, but it doesn't anymore. Tell me what I need to know. Don't expect me to blindly follow you, because I can't. And, now, if you say my name again for any reason, whatever relationship we have is over."

Instead of asking the obvious, Will caught on the thread Kahli never wanted to acknowledge. "What is our relationship, exactly?"

A chill sprang from her stomach. Kahli stepped back, as Will tilted his head and looked up at her. "I'm seriously asking you. Based on everything you said, and everything that's happened, I have no clue where we stand. You have no reason to believe anything I say, and yet - you're still here."

He was right. Her actions made no sense. "Our relationship doesn't matter," Kahli finally said. Kahli watched him, his blue eyes locked with hers.

His voice brushed against her mind, whispering to her. It matters to me. Kahli wondered if he knew that she heard him. She pressed her lips together and looked away.

"I mean," she offered, correcting herself, "what we call it doesn't matter."

"How many rules are you willing to break?" The pitch of his voice, the intensity of his gaze made her heart lurch. Kahli could feel her body being pulled to his like a magnet. She took a step back, but Will took a step closer.

"As many as it takes to win." She stepped back again. The room was large and sparsely furnished. Will advanced every time he spoke and Kahli retreated in response.

"You're all about winning," he grinned, stepping toward her.

"I'm all about surviving," she corrected, stepping away.

"What about living?" he asked, advancing again. "When does that matter?"

"Surviving is living," she said, and stepped back.

Will stepped toward her, "No, it's not. It means running, hiding. It means no friends, no home, no hope. Tomorrow's a promise you don't have."

"Oh, and you do?"

Will nodded. When Kahli's back hit the wall, Will reached for her. "As long as you're here, I do."

Kahli's heart felt like it was going explode. She knew Will could feel her panic mingling with the lust swimming through her veins. There was something about him, something that called to her and she couldn't ignore it - the way his eyes drank her in, the way his lips curved into a perfect grin when he saw her. If he was human, she would have wanted him.